Featuring a baroque and extravagant royal outfit with huge sleeves, a huge dress and a huge heart-shaped collar, the only thing that's "leopardy" about Leopard is his fairly realistic head and his spotty arms and shoulders. To contrast and probably balance the intricancies of the dress, it sports a more muted, "natural" color scheme: copper and silver, with a few pops of colour, these being the blue sleeves, Leopard's green eyes and amber yellow fur.
Leopard... reminds me of when you see a notebook or a shirt that has an anthropomorphic animal that's basically a completely human body with a realistic animal head. No cartoonization, no stylization of any kind, no standard furry design tropes. It's not created with children or furries in mind, and it's marketed as a quirky, trendy thing. The very rare and elusive "normie" anthro. Always a fun sight.
Also, can I talk about Leopard's shape language for a moment? I like how his dress forms a big triangle with his feline head on top. A subtle way to lead the eyes there, and making the head more prominent with the collar and the green eyes. I wish they taught us more things about how to direct eyes through an art piece in art school, you know, beyond two poorly crafted slides in a Powerpoint that pretty much say "this is important" and doesn't explain why or how.
Leopard has a somewhat deep, gravelly voice, but he can hit some pretty nice high notes, too. He kind of sounds like a grandpa, but like a jolly grandpa who knows how to sing and loves his nieces and nephews. He can also pull a very entertaining falsetto, and sometimes he sounds like a funny Disney villain. Sometimes he will trill and gargle his Rs, dragging them for long to simulate purring or cat growling.
He changes often his voice to offer very varied performances, and that's something I can appreciate. He's not afraid of looking a little silly or trying to deliver a professional performance, and most of them all, Leopard always manages to make popular songs "his". Yes, you might recognize the notes of the hits he's singing, but his voice, the faster tempo, and the way he carries these songs makes them feel like a "custom" version of those songs. Yes, it's Teenage Dream and September, but it's Leopard's Teenage Dream and September, and you couldn't mistake them for the originals or any other version. And bringing back the "Disney villain" aspect, if you want something sounding like a Disney villain song, check his Big Spender. It gives me the chills.
Thanks to his prominent royal theme, we get elaborate scenarios with candelabras and statue gardens, but a little variety is always good. I like Teenage Dream with his leopard pack, savannah sunset setting, and him carrying a scepter as if he's their leader singing them promises of freedom and better days.
Leopard knew how to make himself stand out, and it's not just because he choose a mask with a dress.
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| PREV | INDEX | NEXT |
