Bugs and Stuff

Some thumbnails of beetles creatures.

I’ve been running around like crazy lately. Car repairs (not from an accident thankfully, just worn out parts) have sapped my funds and I’ve had to take on more landscaping jobs. Being in NYC last weekend didn’t help my art schedule either, but I am back on track now! Gonna get stuff done!

When I’m not digging ditches in the rain that is…>:[

A little study of a tree limb.

The Hibix

Hibix make their homes in pools of algae rich water that form between the roots of trees deep in the forest. They sit in the pools soaking up the life and mineral filled water through their stomachs, and expel a mist of what they don’t consume through the tendril on top of their heads.

The Siqqi who live in the forests keep small herds of Hibix as a secondary food source. The sugary mist secreted by the Hibix is a great source of nourishment for the Siqqi, each day the domesticated Hibix is ‘milked’ and the condensed mist is mixed with little bits of rain water to thin it out.

There is a furry cousin to the Hibix that lives high on the peaks of mountains. Jorun Siqqi keep these as a primary food source and eat them for their meat.

The Festival Bug

A large burrowing insect, it is also called the Peppermint Bug because of its coloring. However, it is anything but sweet. It coats it’s exoskeleton in a thin volatile secretion to deter would be predators. As such, the only creature’s that eat it are a few varieties of lizards and turtles, the Hwud people, and Humans.

It’s name comes from a tradition that takes place bi-annually in Tonvey Province. A special condensed spicy powder called Clava is made from the ground up bugs and Gol roots and is used as a test of strength for young men during the ‘Festival of Hanat.’ First, they are covered with copious amounts of the powder after soaking themselves in water (to make it stick). They then proceed to slap each other about in a big one on one tournament (the striking inflames the already stinging skin). The last man standing obtains the accolades of the villages and remains a local celebrity until the next year when he has another chance at defending his title.

Mosquito enemies for a game project I’m working on with some friends.

Also Creature Challenge day 5 with Tony, Amanda, and Jerry! Amanda and Jerry have missed a  few, but they have good excuses, end of semester/ away from home computer and all that. Check out their stuff anyways if you haven’t.

I am so burnt out right now I’m going to post these as they are.

This is my first (almost successful) attempt at rendering a creature concept entirely in Photoshop in a painting style. The legs on the first one (and second and third) are all screwed up anatomically. This is most likely because (for me) thinking with shapes is much different that thinking in lines, thankfully I can look out for this problem in the next batch and correct it before I go gung-ho and try to make a bad form work.

More successfully painted things to follow tomorrow.

The Capreet

A horrible monster found only in the Ocean of Lyr. They have been observed attacking Dire Seals in small packs, overwhelming them with strength of numbers.

They can destroy small ships by breaching in unison and crashing onto the decks. It is said that if their packs follow behind a larger vessel that the crew is doomed to die. This saying has often led members of the crew to fling themselves overboard in a fit of superstitious panic.

Day 2 of creatures with Amanda, Jerry, and Tony. Sorry for uploading another long fish thing. I’ve got something a bit different in store for tomorrow.

Edit: Does anyone think the coloring is too dark and murky?

Fire’s Womb

The abyssal forest is home to many strange undocumented creatures. Yet even stranger are it’s numerous ruins and barrows. Deserted and completely overgrown, they stand as gravestones of past civilisations.

There are a few landmarks however, that appear to continue on, long after their surroundings have deteriorated. The aptly named “Fire’s Womb” is one of them. This strange pit continually gives off a deep red glow that can be seen for miles in the murk of the forest. While the vicinity of the pit can be described as quite hot, and small puffs of crimson fire erupt every now and then, the true nature of the Pit remains a mystery. It doesn’t seem to be a gas well, or a volcanic fissure, it is simply red light and heat.

The Curl Fly. Found in most swampy areas, their swarms can number in the hundreds in the deeper parts of the Abyssal Forest.

I had another creature I wanted to show today, but I’m going to leave it for tomorrow.

Dont forget to check Amanda, Tony, and Jerry’s pages this week for more creature things! 

Daily drawing challenges are back! This time the subject is CREATURES, real, surreal, or imagined. It’s between Jerry, Amanda, Tony, and I.

This is a Mocholor, it lives in the same deep lake environs as the Choir Eel, although some have been found out in the open ocean.

I inked this one all in photoshop… and it actually came out okay this time.