This is pretty Charha. It has an ethereal glow to it. Almost like a dream.

Thank you so much, Kaia! I'm happy you like the pic.

I doodled the lineart on really cheap and rough paper, thus the smudgy lines. I'm still not sure if it was a good or a bad idea. ^_^;;

I actually think that it adds to the effect...that or my eyes are watering. Seriously, nicely done. Christmas seems to bring much out, doesn't it (and I don't just mean presents, alchohol, snow and fruit cake *evil*). Mind if I fav this Charha? (I know that I've asked you the same thing for everything that I've favorited of yours, but all the same, may I?)

By all means, fav away if you want! Your approval is quite flattering. =)

Christmas comes earlier year by year. I heard the first christmasy shopping mall muzaks already back in October! Insane.

You want insane, check out the new Tickle Me Elmo. I seriously don't see what's so great about it, it's just a toy that moves around with high pitched laughing that goes on without being tickled. Personally, I think it's stupid.

Thanks Charha.^_^You know, you're english is superb for someone in Finland...unless everyone speaks it there too, which would be an insult on my part. In anycase, I am sorry and meant this as a compliment.

Tickle Me Elmo? That sounds kinda... perverse, somehow. o_O

And thanks for your compliment, dear! My grammar is a bit wonky sometimes, but in general young people here in Finland tend to speak pretty good English. It might be because everything on tv is subtitled instead of dubbed and these days language education in schools is high quality. ^_^

You want perverse...wait, I did something like that already. Well, here's the wikipedia artical about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickle_Me_Elmo , and a certain part catches the eye. What is really stupid though is the sequal, the TMX. Read to find out.

Ah, good to know. That way, if I ever find myself lost in Finland, then I could badly ask where to go in Finish and I could be made fun of in English. Seriously though, it's nice to know that you guys have a second language so avalible. I think that your grammar is maybe even better than mine at times and English is the language I was brought up on. @_@

One night under the starry sky.

I have a thing for stars. And night time, too... It's kinda, well, romaaaantic. ^^ <3

Great looking drawing. It feels cool and sombre.

Hey thanks! Glad you like. =)

OH beautiful! I have you on my watch list right? If I do, I didn't see this in my watch submission thing Actually i havn't seen anyone's @.@ FA is messed...

Heh, thank you very much! To answer your question, you're not watching me - but from hereon I will be watching you. You have quite a gorgeous gallery here in FA. ^^

Alas, there seems to be something wrong with the update system - that, or the people I watch here have been surprisingly slow to submit their new artwork. =P

> there's no other place I'd rather live in.

As I see it, any country that could produce a Jean Sibelius automatically deserves respect. :)

Yay! And you know, we also invented xylitol. That stuff is good for your teeth. *beams with nonsensical collective pride* ^_^;;

That certainly has a special charm to it, aswell as being a well drawn anthro, +fav of course

My kindest thanks - of course both for the comment and the fave. I'm really glad you liked this pic! ^_^

Have you ever heard the song that the Monty Python bunch did about Finland..?

"Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all."

You also have very cute lynx morphs too. ^_^

Haha, yes! It's a classic! ^_^

I'm a big Monty Python fan and I like all their songs and movies. Naturally this song is one of my favourites.

you just forgot 14 cases,vowel harmony and an endless list of suffixes,prefixes and affixes as a Christmas Gift all ina single pack..

now..Finland DOES have IT ALL...why be depressed any, i ask? ;3

I want to live here as well. We live in really wonderful country (even that it may be a bit dull every now and then though). and this picture is kick ass quality, approved <3

Yay for Finland-appreciation! And my kindest thanks for your approval, hon. *^^*

WOW you did good and awesome job!!! :D you did well :)

Thanks! I was supposed to be studying, but then I dimmed the lights and started to listen to some medieval music... Before I knew what was going on I was doodling again. Ack, I should concentrate on my term papers instead! ^^;;

this is such a beautiful picture! i love to hear about national pride. i might have more if my country were'nt run by idiots, but hey we elected them. gah i want to go to iceland first but maybe i'll take a stop by finland and check you guys out :3

If you ever come to Finland, tug my sleeve, ok? I'd love to meet ya. Though I hear Iceland is a great place to visit as well. I wanna go there too some day. ^_^

Thank you.

Aw, thank YOU, dear. ^_^

Beautiful snow scene. Finland looks like a beautiful place. But, I have to tell you, as soon as I saw teh name.. that stupid Monty Python song came into my hand. "finland, finland, finland - that's the place for me!" It actually sounds worse than it looks >.< Stupid song.

Haha! I like that silly song! It's just one of the things that have made my home country semi-famous. =D

Really solid anatomy, even for a sketch =) I also agree with Kaia, it does have a nice mystical dream like quality to it.

I guess I was feeling anatomistic. I don't think that's a real word, but it'll have to do. =D

Dang, I'd really do anything to keep myself from studying. Even now as I write this I ought to be working on a couple of papers. =P

We need a furry foreign exchange program. I'd love to visit Finland, and . . . um . . . I'd make you want to visit South Dakota.

WE HAVE CORN!

AND COWS!

BUT MOSTLY CORN!

Hey, corn is awesome! We have cows too, but very little corn. Seriously, I would love visit your state some day - though maybe not just for corn and cows. It would be fun to travel around in general. =D

Oh, and before I forget - thank you kindly for the fave, too!

I wish to see these winter night scene in real life soon...
This must be the first time I have ever seen anthro lynx drawing. Especially since they are quite mystical creatures after all. Also, I haven't anyone else drawn ninny before in furry art (or bullfinch, ninny sounds better (yes, these are the official names of the bird which is sitting on lynx's paw, or at least so demands the official internet Finnish-English dictionary).

But the other thing which amaze me is the reality of this picture. I especially like the way how the "waves" of atmosphere are shown in this picture (see near those bright stars).

Great piece of art in overall.
This pic really makes me wish to be at farm right now...^_^

Thank you very much, dear! The scetch underneath the colour is a bit hasty, but I kinda like this one as well - even if I say so myself. Lynxes are fun creatures. I wish we had more of them in Finland.

A ninny, eh? I had no idea the bird was called that in English. During winter time I've got lots of those guys under the window of my apartment. ^^

oh wow ;____; I love anything to do with either big cats, snow, or night.. and you have all three in here<3 I love that beautiful glow in there and hes so very handsome <3

I like big cats too... And snow... and night. And I sort of wish I had paid a little more attention on how I scetched the trees on the background. They look kinda sloppy and awkward. XD

But thank you kindly for the comment, though - and the fave as well! You're so sweet! <3

Why yes, who wouldn't want to live in a nordic welfare state with cleanest system existed (the least corruption index for several consecuetive years, I've been told by my Finnish friend that on 2005 the Icelanders bribed the surveyors) ?

Well except for the climate, I would be die should I magically stranded during yuletide in Rovaniemi.

All Finns I meet on the net, however, was everything but melancholic.

Oh, also I dig the way you do musculature.

Hah, bribed the surveyors? That's pretty priceless. XD

I think that Finnish people are born with some sort of bipolar mental disorder. When we're - for example - sitting in a public transport we look like silent zombies and we never smile... But if you give us a cellphone or a chat program we start to talk and type like mad. O_o

Thanks for the compliment, btw. And the fave too! Your approval makes me feel awesome. ^_^;;

Amazing! I have such a thing for snow and stars so this is great!

I love the little bird too. I don't know if anyone asked it yet so sorry if I'm making you repeat yourself but... is it a certain kind of bird or did you design it? ^.^
Either way its really cute.

And yeah... long winters with not a lot of light does make you go kinda crazy and have melancholy thoughts.<.<

Its some kinda disorder and I finally realized that I have it. o.O


Anyway... ya ya... Kyoot! :heart:

Aww, thanks! Apparently the bird is called a bullfinch - or a ninny in English. In Finnish we call it "punatulkku". ^_^

^.^
It reminds me of a bird we have back home. Its called a red breasted grosbeak.

http://k47.pbase.com/o4/65/431565/1.....sbeak.8036.jpg

I love them! They are so pretty! Just like your picture. :D

Awww, that bird is insanely sweet! I wish we had those in Finland. We only have these guys:
http://www.birdlife.fi/lintuharrast.....a-nurminen.jpg

I like this one too. He has a great hairdo. ^^
http://www.birdlife.fi/lintuharrast.....a-nurminen.jpg

Awww... they are cute tho. The second one reminds me of these ones we have...

Tufted Titmouse!
http://www.gorzow.mm.pl/~bebelebe/Tufted%20Titmouse%20on%20Cranberry%20Branch,%20Michigan.jpg

And then of course you cant forget the popular Cardinal!

And this is the official bird of my state
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/chickadee.....leton_uofw.jpg

Cutesies aren't they? =]

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/_.....s/cardinal.jpg


I love their little tuffts.

I love little birds in winter. I can't wait till Christmas to get to go home and see them!
We have a bird feeder outside our dinging room window so we can watch the birds while we eat. XD

Argh, your tits are way cuter than mine! (sorry for the bad pun, I couldn't resist) XD

But seriously, the red cardinal looks very regal. He's must look like a little red flame if you see him in a snowy wood. You know, it's a good thing you reminded me about these birdies, 'cause I gotta buy some bird feed as well. Days are getting colder and these little guys need all the food they can get. =)

this drawing is awesome, because it shows a great atmosphere :)

when i someday do something that beautiful yet not overly fantasy-themed i bet you'll be at least hundred kilometers away from my reach...*sigh*
the colours are soft and pure; make harmonical feel around, anatomically about 99% right (since we all know lynxs hardly everstand on two feet) and really, just beautiful....

Nah, I'll be right here in Turku, hopefully all my life. And we'll always have teh interbutt. =)

You know, even a clueless runt like me can do some nice tones and stuff with a soft airbrush. The trick is to colour a bit over the lineart as well, using a motharfawkin' HUGE airbrush - preferably with the layer set at screen. =D

Bu hey, my kindest thanks for your appreciation, Kage dear!

if you're a runt them i'm lesser than a vermin -__-'

but yeah, no problem, always happy to please somehow....


btw. have you guys scanned through your schedules and thought about me and the next long holiday in sight(and about five weeks away or so)?

Yeah, we just did look through our schedules. I'm pretty busy with my studies and pro gradu paper, but at least Shadow will be here - or this is what she told me. You could send her a private message about it in Greenhill.

could remind her about that, yup, we already talked about the matter month or so ago but she hasn't yet answered about that when-question...^^

seems like someone has been watching old christmas cards bit too much:P

And listening to christmas songs... (*_¤)

:O Prettyness. I love the colors. I would most likely not be able to live in Finland because it's cold though. xD I'm having a tough time now and it's only 50F. xD

Thanks! ^_^

And rest assured, we Finns have come up with many tricks to keep ourselves warm. Alcohol is only one of them. =P

Aww. He needs a sauna. =x

And someone to accompany him. <3

Maybe not the tit though. ._.

What a wonderful scene. The colors are amazing too! And Finland does seem like the place to be, cold or... cold!^.=.^

Hey thanks!

And yeah, sometimes the summers here can be pretty cold as well. It's always either too hot or too cold. =P

So lovely. I think the smudgy lines go really well, especially where you can see them best, in the trees by the horizon. Very atmospheric, you really get a sense of place by looking at it. :)

The more I look at the trees the more I wish I had actually spent some time drawing them right... I'm always so hasty. XD

But I'm really glad you like this pic, Leah! And my kindest thanks for the fave as well. ^^

Beautiful! I like the solid inking! And nice job on the snow. It doesn't snow here, so I don't have much to go on and I always mess it up.

I didn't know you were from Finland! I know what you mean though. I couldn't live anywhere other than Alabama. I just know it too well.

Hey thanks! To be honest, I live in southern Finland and we rarely get a lot of snow around here. It's a shame, 'cause I always hope for a white x-mas. :)

I must also admit that I don't know much about Alabama... I only know this one song that says "Oh moon of Alabama, we now must say goodbye". ^^;;

Same here. I think I'll head north on christmas just for some snow.

That's the Doors I think. Alabama's not all that great. It's just a lot of underbrush and rednecks. And those who aren't really rednecks try so damn hard to be!

Wow, love the body and the bg... everything! Great pic! I'm faving it ^^

Many thanks MW! ^_^

Haha! I forgot to fave it... I'm stupid XD

Snow. Night. Lynx. And that red-chested bird.
I'm in love ;.;

You gotta move to Finland then! Thank you very much for the sweet comment - and the fave as well! =)

Hah, Norway's close enough =)

I came, I saw, I faved. Suomi yay ^^

Utterly stunning work!
Finland is my all time dream destination, I did a project on it as a kid for geography and fell in love, I'm kinda jealous! XD

Cool! You gotta pay us a visit some day! ^_^

I like the character and the tiny splotch of colour the bird adds. Nice background too.

Thanks! I actually ordered myself some stamps based on this pic from the local post office. It was a bit expensive, but I hope they will look nice. ^_^

You can actually get your own stamps made? I didn't know that. Not that you ever would but are they usable?

Yeah, they are. I just received the stamps today and they're looking very nice - perfect material for christmas cards! I bought about 50 of 'em and it cost me 60 euros or so. It's not a bad price considering that they're first class stamps.

Of course you can't have stamps made from just any kind of pic, because the post office has certain standards. And naturally I couldn't have made stamps based on a picture that didn't belong to me. But I thought this was a nice idea and definitely worth my money. ^^

I need to look up the currency conversion from Euros to Aussie dollars :P.

You mind taking a photo of them and putting them in your scraps or something? I'd like to see them.

And being that it is actually winter in your part of the world at this time of year, they would make good christmas card stamps :)

Sure, I'll take a pic of 'em as soon as I get home to my scanner. =)

They'd make even better christmas card stamps if it actually looked like winter here. Currently the weather is pretty warm and there's not a trace of snow anywhere! There might be some truth to this global warming thing.

Our land, our land, our fatherland,
Sound loud, O' name of worth!
No mount that meets the heaven's band,
No hidden vale, no wave-washed strand,
Is loved, as is our native North.
Our own forefathers' earth.
Thy blossom, in the bud laid low,
Yet ripened shall upspring.
See! From our love once more shall grow,
Thy light, thy joy, thy hope, thy glow!
And clearer yet one day shall ring,
The song our land shall sing!

Heh. No, I'm not Finnish, but I had to sing that and the National Anthem of Chekoslavakia at a Christmas Pagent back in High School.

Awesome piece of work here.

Wow, that's wonderful! A little dosage of nationalism can be spirit-lifting every now and then, as long as one doesn't take these things too seriously. ^_^

Where do you live? This pic is perfect and I AM A finnish member.

Suomesta min�kin! Tosin en ihan yht� kaukaa pohjoisesta kuin mit� kuvasta voisi p��tell�... ^_^

Aijjaaaaaa! Pakko sitten sua on kahtoa! ^.=.^

Kaunis. <3

Oooh. Kiitos kohteliaisuudesta!

Ja hip hurraa, suomalaiset kansoittavat FA:n! =D

I live in Finland tooo! I'm Canadian though, my mate is Finnish.

Vaasa/Seinäjoki here, where you at if I may ask?

Cool! =D

I live in Turku myself - The Christmas City of Finland, as they call it. Harh, as if we even had snow here... =P

beautifull =) specially the anathomy and the background =) I would love to visit your country one of this days =) heck I'll do anything to get out of my semi-socialist, animal slaugtheing country X___x

Thanks! What country are you from, if I may ask?

I'm form Mexico =) a country with beautifull landscapes but with extremly selfish people >< we have no laws for animals and bullfighting is legal, there are small organisations trying to change that but the government never lisents

Ah, I see. Well, I hope that with the help of enlightened people such as yourself laws for protecting animals and wildlife will be made in the future of your country.

let' hope for it time is runing out for Jaguars

Jepus, kyllä suomessa kelepaa ^_^
Ei ahistele ahmat eikä pure porot, kun kaikki ammutaan kaupunkin rajaalle!

;_;

mutta muuten kyllä kelpaa ^^
Komia ilivees.

Niin, sellasta se on. Meillä suomessakin pitäis jostain repäistä vähän lisaa tilaa elukoille... Mielellään jostain muualta kuin eläintieteellisestä museosta.

Kiitos kohteliaisuudesta, btw. Kiva kun kelpaa. Huomaan että sulla on FA:ssa tosi komea galleria. ^_^

kiitosta counterkehuista :3
ja kyllä sinunkin galleriaa kelpaa katsella :D

That... is absolutely beautiful. O.O

That's gorgeous.... like a daydream come to life... @_@

Awesome pic. Reminds me of when I sit on my roof in the winter and watch the night. Although I wish it would snow more here :P

Thank you for the compliment! ^^

In reality it doesn't often snow all that much here in the southern Finland. But up north in Lapland it snows a lot. And if the weather conditions are favourable you can see the aurora borealis.

It's kind of silly.. I saw your comment on Lumi's journal or some of his submissions and your avatar got me interested.. I browsed through your gallery and got this feeling that you had to be Finnish, just by the way you drew o_o The reason i'm writing in english is because it bothers some not being able to read comments that are in goreign languages :D
Now I'm bein sillu.
Nyt kyllä watchaan sut :3

Just by the way I draw, huh? That's strange, but fun! And I believe you, we Finns have this certain aura of Finnishness that follows us around.

Huzzah for mutual stalkages! ^^

You know, it's a funny thing, but all my childhood I always felt in my heart I was to live somewhere else when I grew up. But in the last three or four years I learned to cherish Finland and our culture. But now I've started having this urge to fly away from all this gray darkness to a faraway place where the days are always warm. :D

People are seldom alike when it comes to these things. I'm the kind of person who craves security and daily routines... I would never be able to live anywhere else. Sure, it's very dark and cold here, but that's how this country is. My country. ^^

Hey, I'm terrified by alien situations! :D But I'm also scared I'll just end up living a mediocre, uneventful life, and somehow I connect that fear with staying in Finland for the rest of my life.

I have copies of the Elder and Younger Edda ... and the Kalevala

there's a great chapter on Sibelius in Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise"

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/helsinki.html

and  ArskaTheMan 's from there as well

p.s. wonderful pic

You should come to see me in Finland some day and experience the country in real life. ^_^

There are surprisingly many Finns here in FA, you know. We're trying to take over the internet.

I should have the $$$ to travel to Finland

from Longfellow borrowing the kalevala rhyme scheme for his "Song of Hiawatha"
to MST3K showing such classics as "The Day the Earth Froze" and "The Sword and the Dragon"
and a Nokia in my pocket right now
the rapacious tentacles of Finlandia knows no bounds

(p.s. for some international inanity check out
http://angryforareason.blogspot.com.....ion-oh-eh.html )

My Love Ruben Lives in Finland. Never have I met such an amazing person as he. I have studied Finland and its language for eight months and although Ruben wants to come to the states, I hope we can live in Finland. Such a beautiful country with great people.

Hey wow! If you ever visit Finland, be sure to drop me a note. It would be cool to meet you. :)

With Russia and Sweden as neighbors, you can't go wrong.

Its pretty cold up here. You´v been warned!

And beautiful picture :)

Here, it's six months cold and another six months... helluva cold.

Beautiful work! ^^

Pawsup for Finland!

Amazing!
High five from Finland!

Kaunis!

See kalevipoeg? x3

This is really beautiful ^^

oh, it is so lovely, I love this, and I love cold and I've always known that I should be ion a place colder thanwhere I have been born, I think that scandinavia is my home and I want to live there, awesome art, amazing love ly, it has a magic, :3 faved