Raphtalia! (Free .PSD!) by muddymelly

Edit on December 10th, 2016: rotated   the canvas - and edited Raphtalia's ears/body! Free Photoshop file of before/after: www.patreon.com/posts/ive-upda… ! 

   
^ A close-up and steps for you darling folk!  (My Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter are here; I'd be very honored to connect with you! 💖)

m(_ _)m   Huge Photoshop (final and progress) files of this piece (and "thank you" gifts) are here on my Patreon; my free Photoshop files are here! 

 (If you'd like to get a print of any of my pieces, I'll soon be opening up a print store with affordable prices!) 

After a super long time of me not posting (thank you so much for being super patient with me,) here is a piece of the very warm-hearted demi-human Raphtalia (from the fantastical web novel/light novel/manga series, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari [“The Rising of the Shield Hero!”] She has the cutest round tanuki ears (that resemble a cat's!) and bushy tail, which I hope to draw better next time!! The ring-thing in Raphtalia’s right hand is one of her metal slave cuffs. (As a young slave, Raphtalia had suffered horribly for years at the hands of her previous owner, but feels real pride in being a capable slave to her new master, the grumpy-but-kind-hearted Naofumi. Her many lovely outfit redesigns always include her slave cuffs that she wears proudly.) 
 
I find myself typing and re-typing spoilers as I try to spin up a character description of the graciously kind (and badass) Raphtalia and the series! I’m forever bubbling over with spoilers...
  
I think the best way to describe this uniquely interesting series would be [to use my shoddy memory to paraphrase] in the words of my beloved younger sis’, who recommended it to me:
 

• Tate no Yuusha vividly chronicles the innovative solutions of an ordinary Japanese university student (a young man named Naofumi) thrust into a sprawling and socially complex fantasy MMO-esque world -- where he learns he’s been summoned to be the Hero of the Shield. 
  
• The drawbacks of Naofumi's incredible new life situation include (1) royalty conspiring against him (inducing the whole kingdom to unfairly despise him,) and (2) he cannot equip/hold any weapon - except for his shield (firmly attached to his wrist.) He's almost immediately badly betrayed! 
• Being forced to use only a shield (that cannot be thrown like a boomerang/Captain America's shield) leads to fascinating inventiveness in the face of formidable enemies and surviving a hostile fantasy land. 
• Even with his innovations, Naofumi still needs someone to join his 1-man team who can fight... After Naofumi uses his few hard-earned funds to purchase the heavily-abused Raphtalia from a slave trader, the generally-cold-but-good-hearted Naofumi (grumpily) feeds, nurtures, trains, clothes, and medicates a grateful Raphtalia, who swears she’ll be his sword and to fight for him.
  
• Naofumi continues to be grumpy/cold for some time. 
• Understandably, it takes a lot for this guy to trust a fellow.