I have a "working name" for the species but it's so bad I have this burning need to change it. I mean... Demon Cat. Ew. The character in question is a 200 year old immortal shapeshifter. Sort of a cliche concept, I am aware, but I'm having fun with him, so sue me. What he is, what makes him unique, is the fact that he is an arrogant, stuck-up git, and completely, gloriously insane. He has his redeeming qualities but not many of them. For now, he is the main protagonist, but he is absolutely not designed to be the "good guy". This is him, I can't draw people to my own satisfaction so I just sketched his face quickly. His animal form is what I'm more concerned about anyway. He was born human, and he's quite a well-established character with backstory as extensive as one would expect for someone who has lived two centuries. It's what he's made himself into that's bugging me. So far it has this really horrible name [mentioned above] and it's driving me nuts. The name does need to have a demonic nature since this species of feline is a type of demon. I just want something less... lame... than Demon Cat. And I'm stuck.
Firstly, shame on you for saying that - I would kill to be able to sketch and colour like that! Secondly, whenever I want to get the right name, I search the basic characteristic, or whatever, in different languages. This site (https://user.xmission.com/~emailbox/say_cat.htm) should help, as it lists the word 'Cat' in many languages. Just play around with the words and see if anything comes. Something should, because there are some beautiful words there. You could even keep the word as it is, if it's nice enough and suits your story. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Mmm... Latin etymology of cat : Catenate, meaning chain/chained. Not bad. Etymology is one of your best allies to find names... Think about a few key words about your character, lookup their origins (don't be afraid to look at the etymology of the etymology, etymologyception is awesome) and once you find something that sound sweet to your ears, distort it, change a sound or mix it up with a other word...
Thanks guys! Don't apologise, Thomas, you've been very helpful haha. I did specify I can't draw people to my own satisfaction - that is to say, I'm not happy with what I can do. What I need to do is study the underlying structures like I have with horses, cats and canines and work on developing my own style from there. I don't draw people very often at all so my understanding of human anatomy is very weak. I know exactly how the individual bones sit in a horse, or a dog [not cats so much] and I'm very familiar with the shape of a horse skull, which makes drawing them easy. These ideas you both have given me are fantastic, I needed tools to help me name the species! How do you guys always know how to give an author exactly what she's actually after, even if the question is super-vague?
