Image description
Ever wondered what your cat is doing out there on that wall, sitting on the very same spot for hours on end? Why, playing "Cat Chess" with your neighbours' cats of course! It's a highly sophisticated, exhausting sport (so exhausting that two hours' play has to be matched by eight hours' sleep) probably dating back to ancient Egypt. Cats have kept the exact rules a secret ever since, but it seems that scores are basically made by moving to a different spot without being observed by any of the other participants. Extra points are possibly gained for spending a certain time in the sunlight, and leaving the position with a legal move before it falls into shadow.
The game was first described by James Follett in [1].
The scene depicts the decisive moment of the infamous 1973 world championship match. Last year's champion Chairman Meow (center), having spent 2 hours 37 minutes in the open sun by now in hope for bonus score, is waiting desperately for his chance to move and secure the extra points before the shadows creep on him. While all competitors' eyes are fixed on Meow, 1970's finalist Sir Lick-A-Lot (back, descending down the stairs) takes a chance to make a series of open moves, observed only by referee Major "Eagle Eyes" Tom (right foreground) - the infamous "Winning Walk". Lick-A-Lot, inspired by his feat, later carved the renowned scratchbook "My Way To Mastership" into the bark of a nearby tree.
[1] James Follett, "Cat Chess" (http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/sty_fll1.htm)
Description of how this image was created
Took a bunch of pre-fab houses, some bits of pre-fab vegetation, a 3DS car, and half a dozen siblings of "the Poser 7 cat"; tweaked a few of the textures, lighting, and focal blur. Rendered using Poser 7's built-in FireFly engine.
Cats are deliberately scaled up a bit by 120%, all the better for us to see; foreground cat scaled by 200% to better fit the bricks in size.
STILLS:
