The Artist Becomes the Art

    Rae sighed as the shut the door behind them. Yet another long day with a long night shift at work she just had to deal with. Rubbing her eyes, she walked towards her room, her whole body heavy with tiredness. She couldn’t complain about having a job, not really at least, it provided enough money to live off of and that is important. Yet there was a feeling, deep inside her, that something needed to change. She wasn’t sure what, but something needed to shake up her life. Taking off her glasses, she lied down on her bed with a sigh. Knowing a change is needed is one thing, making that change is another. Especially considering she had no idea what that change was.

    Her sleep was dreamless and deep, it was likely that nothing would be able to stir her. And, once Rae awoke, she at first thought that nothing was out of the normal. Not a thing in her room was out of place, not that she was actively checking, and she woke up roughly around the time she normally would. Sitting up, she stretched, her face scrunching up as she did so. Without even an inkling of something being off, she gathered up some clothes and went into her bathroom.

    The shower did a good job of waking her up. Now fully awake and alert, Rae stepped out of her bathroom. What she saw however made her question if she had woken up at all. There was a panda sitting on her couch. The portly ursine was watching the morning news, sitting casually on the seat as if it was something you’d see on a normal day. She was dressed in overalls and seemed to have a body similar to human’s when it comes to form. Next to her sat a somewhat large suitcase. Rae’s second though, once she had pinched herself to prove she was not dreaming, was perhaps that this was somebody in a fursuit.

    However, upon looking the bear over more, that seemed less and less likely. The closer Rae stepped, the more lifelike the bear seemed. Having no other option, she sighed, trying to start conversation. “Um, hello?” asked Rae cautiously. The panda’s ears twitched at the noise as she turned to look at Rae with a smile. Rae gasped upon seeing the bear’s face. She recognized this bear.

    “Oh hi!” said the Bear, waving at Rae.

    “C-Canvas?” Rae muttered, feeling suddenly very woozy. Canvas nodded, motioning for Rae to sit next to her. Having no idea what else to do, she shakily made her way over to the couch, sitting next to Canvas. A deep red blush was plastered on her face, Rae wasn’t sure if she should avoid eye contact or stare at the bear with awe.

    “Sorry if I surprised you, but I thought I should pay you a little visit!” Canvas said reassuringly.

    “But… I made you, you’re just a character!”

    “Reality is weird, even I can’t really explain it, but in some form or another, I exist, even if that reality is completely fictional to you. Sometimes, gaps can be bridged and people can cross over!” explained Canvas. Rae understood the basic concept, but she could still hardly believe a thing that was happening. So, rather than trying to be explained something she knew would be impossible to fully grasp, she focused on more answerable question.

    “Why pay me a visit?”

    “Well first off, to thank you for making me, and secondly, to help you out a bit!”

    “H-help me?” Rae stammered.

    “Don’t you think you could use a bit of a makeover? To spice things up a bit?” asked Canvas with a grin. Rae’s eyes widened at the though. Canvas as a character could make body paint very real, even being able to go as far as to reshape parts of the body. That in itself would be impossible, but so was Canvas being here in the first place, so Rae had no idea what to believe. “It can last as long as you want.” Canvas reassured. Taking a deep breath, Rae thought it over long and hard.

    “S-sure, why not?” Rae managed to say. Canvas clapped her hands together eagerly, grabbing her case and pulling it close.

    “Now then, I already had a design in mind, I even drew up some sketches if you’d like to see!” she exclaimed, obviously excited.

    “I’d, uh, I’d love to!” Rae said, her own excitement beginning to grow as well. Nodding, Canvas pulled out a sketchbook. She opened it to a page, handing it over to Rae. What Rae saw was an anthropomorphic hyena. The body was distinctly theirs, the curves were exactly what she saw in the mirror every morning. However, things were at the same time extremely different. Brown spots covered her body, her feet were paws, her hands clawed, and her face was a hyena’s muzzle.

    “What do you think? I kinda thought you could laugh and smile a bit more!” Canvas says, patting Rae’s shoulder.

    “I… I like it…” Rae murmured, her gaze locked on the image. It was a rough sketch, but it beautiful to Rae. In this moment there was nothing she wanted more than this. “I, I really, really like it…”

    “Well, now comes the matter of how long the paint should last. I have a fe-”

    “I want the permanent!” Rae blurted out, cutting off Canvas. The panda chuckled, nodding as she opened up her case. Inside were several paints of various colors, sorted by type. She went over to the last row, beginning to pull out browns, blacks, and cream colors.

    “You get undressed while I prepare everything, my travel kit isn’t as organized as my actual studio.” Canvas ordered softly, beginning to take over the coffee table with painting materials. Rae nodded, stripping out of the clothes she had put on only minutes earlier. Once she was naked, she looked over at Canvas with a small smile.

    “I’m ready!” Rae said, shaking with anticipation.

    “Alright, first things first, I’m going to adjust your body slightly, paws, ears, muzzle, stuff like that! Sound good?” Canvas asked, approaching Rae. The moment Rae nodded Canvas got to work.

    She started with Rae’s feet. It was a strange sensation as she pushed up Rae’s heel, cupping her hands around the leg to lock it into a digitigrade stance. Rae wobbled on her toes, not used to the weight distribution. Canvas helped her stay on her feet however, quickly sculpting her legs to better support her. Once Rae had stabilized, Canvas’s pace slowed down once more as she gently reformed her toes into larger paw digits. As a finishing touch, she stretched Rae’s nails into small claws.

    “How’s it feeling so far Rae?” asked Canvas in a soothing tone.

    “Weird, really weird…”

    “We can stop if you want, no paint has been applied yet.”

    “No, no!” Rae responded, shaking her head. “Weird but good…” Canvas smiled upon hearing that, going back to her work. She took Rae’s hands, slightly molding the fingers but mostly focusing on her fingernails, shaping them too into claws.

    The face was a more time consuming process. Canvas started with Rae’s ears, simply pushing them up her head as if they weren’t even fully attached. Rae gasped slightly at the sensation. Next the ears were stretched and squished into aptly shaped triangle shapes. Canvas then took hold of Rae’s chin, pushing it forward along with the front of her face. At this point the muzzle was more of a crude protrusion, but that changed slowly but surely. Rae’s nose was flattened, the edges of the face were smoothed, even her teeth were sharpened out into fangs.

    “On to the fun part!” Canvas cheered, picking up her paint pallet and brush. Still blushing, Rae could only nod as the painting began. The sensation of the brush’s bristles tickling her skin made Rae squirm slightly at first. However, the more she was painted, the less it bothered her. Canvas would go over her whole body, let a coat dry, then paint onto it more, layering the paint over and over. “One layer would probably not wash off, but the more layers of this paint you have, the more permanent it is.” she noted, trying to keep Rae involved as much as possible in the process.

    When the paint dried, it felt smooth on her skin, as if it were apart of it all along. Rae fought the urge to rub the painted parts of her body, not wanting to smudge anything while new coats were being applied. Not a single inch of her body went uncovered, even the spots between the digits of her paws were meticulously painted.

    It was somewhat embarrassing to have Canvas paint her more private areas. Her rear and chest tingled as the artist worked them over. Rae managed to hold her composure though, save for her face being absolutely beet red. Canvas was thankfully rather professional about the whole process.

    Minutes bled into hours as Canvas painted, never once did the panda break her concentration. Rae was honestly surprised when she finally put down the pallet, reaching into her case for a small tuft of fur. “Your tail won’t be long, but a tail is a tail!” Canvas noted, going behind Rae and attaching it. Rae jumped at the sensation, feeling the tail as if it were a part of her body the moment it was attached.

    Canvas grinned as she lead Rae to the bathroom. Rae had shown commitment to not take a peak at herself until everything was done, not even looking down at her paws. But now, she could see everything. She gasped sharply upon seeing her reflection in the mirror. It was everything the sketch had promised and more, she was a hyena, her body covered in a smooth coat of brown and spots that would never go away. Her hand shook as she traced her face with a finger, watching her reflection.

    She turned to Canvas, her eyes misty from tears of joy. “Th-thank you… Thank you so much!” she cried, wrapping the large bear in a hug. Canvas chuckled, hugging Rae back with a warm smile.

    “You’re very welcome Rae, I’m glad you enjoy it so much!” replied Canvas.

    “How can I ever repay you?”

    “Don’t worry about it.” Canvas said, “Consider it a gift for making me!” Rae nodded, looking over her body with wonder. She’s still the same girl inside, but her body was forever changed. And that thought was exciting, intoxicating almost. A sharp giggle escaped from Rae’s lips, fitting for her new body. The possibilities raced through her mind with what she could do with this body.

    Canvas left soon after. Rae wasn’t sure if she went back to her reality, or stayed in this one for a while longer. And, being honest, she didn’t exactly care. Instead her priorities were more exploring her new life. She still had the same job, the same hours, the same workload, the same home, but she herself was experiencing it all in a new way. And, to her, that made all the difference.