

We've got a new poll for you to participate in! The ontra is currently going through a redesign. As it's quite a big change, we'd like to hear your feedback on it before it goes live! (If you have critiques you'd like to give, please take them to the revamp feedback forum as it's easier for us to go through them there)

This new revamp looks great!! It's so nice to see this older pet get a fresh new look with a bit more uniqueness to it. :) Definitely looking forward to seeing it revamped!!
A few things do throw off the look of the new one, however, so I thought I'd offer a few suggestions to see if I can help! The issue with the eyes has been mentioned by others, and is one of the most notable features that just seem "off". Anatomically speaking, it looks like there is virtually no area for a brain to fit inside that skull-- this could be due to the angle, or simply to the eyes being so large and the forehead being so small. Otters have a fairly flat and sloped skull (varying depending on species), and this critter doesn't really give off the vibe of having that flat otter-shaped head. If that is the impression the team is going for, then the forehead may actually need to be shortened, with the eyebrows showing the frontal edge of the skull, and then additional evidence of the back of the skull could be given around the back or sides of the face. However, if Subeta seeks a more "neutral" animal that is not inherently an otter, then the second one of Spireo's suggested edits is an excellent fix for this. Alternatively, extending the size of the forehead (making it larger, overall) could similarly solve the problem. Ontras always had a pretty big noggin, and this would keep it true to the vibe we have all grown to enjoy about this species!
The "line" down the face (as mentioned by another user), while I understand it seems to be a line of fluff on the face, is a little bit too dark & distracting for that purpose. It truly does look like a crease rather than just fluff! Making the lines a lighter color, or removing the line entirely, would probably be a good idea. Otter fur in general doesn't tend to fluff upward like that, as their coats naturally flow in a single direction, so that fluffy bit doesn't flow as smoothly as one might hope -- plus, with as short as the hairs on their face are, it's unlikely that such fluff should be visible at all, anyway. A cute idea, though!
Lastly, this may be more of a personal preference, and again draws from anatomical aspects of living species... The revamp's ears, though, do not in any way seem natural. Unless that animal is upset (which Ontras generally seem like pretty lighthearted creatures), a posture like that for the ears does not casually occur. They currently resemble the vestigial pinnae of a sea lion more than any form of otter and, with the rest of the Ontra's features being (more or less) like a stereotypical cute and fluffy mammal, such ears really would not be expected. Giving them a more rounded appearance would help, as would making them look more forward-facing (with more of the ventral ear surface visible, rather than it all being the dorsal surface of the ear) rather than downward-facing like a sea lion. I don't think either of these changes will harm their "cute" factor in any way, since people are more focused on how kawaii the tiny ears are in general, haha; it will, however, make them look more cheerful and believable, from the standpoints of realistic/expected anatomy!
Hopefully these make sense and are easy enough to understand. I can always provide redlines, if that may be helpful! All the same, I look forward to seeing the completed product, because I'm loving all the feature additions in this redesign! :)