Creature : Deep-Sea Fish

[William b. Hand]

[EDIT: Since all these links were broken, and nobody could see anything, here's a different image than was previously posted. So... any comments prior to 2oo4 will not match.]

http://homepage.mac.com/dsgfiles/.Pictures/BIOLUM%20comparison.jpg

[infinitipo]

Personally, I like the second and third versions best.

[Ahkahna]

First one in my opinion. You don't want to loose that chin lure especialy since it carries your eye back to the front. Without it, the picture makes my head hurt -_- which is a bad sign.

Maybe if you added the glowing sections of the fish to the fourth one it would help it out?

[Phuzion]

well, if you want to get technical... red light doesn't filter down to the dark depths, so pretty much everything down there looks blue... that would eliminate the amber one. Well, it's not that there is no red, it's that there doesn't APPEAR to be red, cause there are no red light waves. But regardless of that, I like the second one, but how would it look if you changed the luminous areas to blue as well? I think that would look more "deep sea-esque" ;p My two cents. Cool pictures regardless though. Keep it up duuuuude.

[Johannes]

I like number 3 and 4.
Number 4 has a good "X-ray" quality too it. :D
I dont care much for the chin-thingie. Its a good idea, but it looks to fragile for my taste as it is now.

[fukifino]

I think I like the second one best. The blue of 2 and 3 contrast better with the red giving a more vibrant look as opposed to a sickly look. The first one looked ok until I scrolled down then it just looks blah.

And I like the 2nd as opposed to the 3rd because the darker color gives you more of a sense of being in "the deep." Plus, again, more contrast punches up those red luminescent areas.

And finally, I think he looks more menacing without the lure...sort of a floating tank fish.

****

BTW, did I mention this picture kicks ass? :o

[the good war]

i like the 1st and 2nd one and i would have to disagree with Phuzion because the lighting you have captured the creature in is similar to that of a flashlight so the orange would show if you placed a white light on the charactor and if you didn't use this light the only aspect of the creature that you would see would be the bio-luminesant areas of the fish's structure. also i like the chin-lure idea but i would make the path more direct and i make its path either short and stiff or long obeying the flow of the water over the body of the fish (angled toward the body because its pushed by the water the fish is trudging through) oh i forgot fun stuff

[William b. Hand]

infinitipo - Thank you for the vote.

Ahkahna - Vote noted! I'm still unsure about the lure, though... I might change its look. The fourth fish is the same as the third fish, except for the lure (and it's sans glowing pattern, of course ).

Phuzion - Regarding your comment about lighting...
Technically speaking. no light at all filters down to those depths, so any illumination will only come from bioluminescence or from the light on your deep-sea vehicle.
If you shine a light, you'll see plenty of colour... but, since skin pigment isn't necessary for UV protection, or used for signaling/identifying/hiding from any other creatures, and the colour you see will be purely happenstance per the chemical properties of the creature's anatomical makeup... There will be colour -- it just won't be very pretty.

Pinks, reds, and browns are actually extremely common colours for deep sea fish to be. The creatures that look all blue are more likely to be jellyfish and the ilk.

Also, bioluminescence is an opportunity for some visually meaningful expression, and red/orange markings - although less often seen - do indeed exist.

I appreciate the intent of your comment, though :) I just ramble on about stuff 'n junk Ha ha.

This biolum. pattern and colouring is rather stylized... sortuv a HOTROD approach.
Your suggestion about trying a blue biolum. pattern is a good one, and I tried it, but to make it work I'd have to do a fresh pattern -- this one didn't shift well for me. Next fish, perhaps! Am I still talking? Oops!

Johannes - Thanks for the vote! X-Ray, huh? We'll see...
Thanks for the comment about the lure, too. I'll have to attend to that!

fukifino - Thanks! Yeah, I'm leaning toward #2 now, and for exactly the reasons that you listed. And a vote for No Lure... damn that lure, when I drew it I knew it was gonna be a troublemaker. :D

the good war - Glad you like the lighting approach! What you've said about the lure is right-on... I'll definitely consider your advice about that as I attempt a re-dress. Glad U like!

EVERYBODY THANK YOU! :chug:

[Phuzion]

wurd, you know more than I sir ;p
I also tried shifting it in PS and realized that you'd have to do a whole new pattern. Oh well... the red is still cool, so it's all good.

[William b. Hand]

I'M STUCK IN A TWEAKING LOOP

Well, Phuzion...
I messed about with the colouring a bit and came up with a couple of halfway decent blue versions for you ;) .. See whatchya think.

Also a coupla other versions... Jesus, is this a "foothold" situation of obsessive compulsive disorder? I'm embarrassed to even post these, but I made them, so I gotta put them up for a short while at least - right? Just a short while... Then they'll be gone. I'll I'll just take them down later, that's all... Yeah, I'll remove them later...

...

Okay, I'll make a decision before I go to bed and that'll be that.

What do ya think of these, anyways?
THE MAIN ISSUE HERE...
...Is what do you think of the removal of the lure? Image #3 (the darker blue fish with the orange pattern) seems to be winning the battle, so compare it with its lure-bearing equal on the above img file.


http://homepage.mac.com/whand/.Pictures/Comparison%204.jpg

[nBT]

pesky note: the lure usually hangs from above

votes nr. 4 then nr. 3
like the eye and better transparancy/contrast of the fish
lure gone hmm. fish looks more massive/compact = more dangerous?

nBT

[Scrubbin Bubbles]

Keep the Lure and add biolum to it. unless it attracts without light...being obsessive is good for an artist.

I like the purpley one, with blue biolum.

[Phuzion]

dude! That bottom one rocks! I like the red too, but it looks too much like lava I think. That bottom pic is working great. And I liked the lure, but whatever, it still looks great. Props

[Triton]

I would go with nr 3. Nr 4 is cool to but it doesnt feel like under water.

[William b. Hand]

nBT - Thanks for the vote! Yeah, the lure placement probably doesn't make much sense. Didn't think that one out. I'll get back to this tonight and see if I can come up with another. Of course... having a lure on a fish that's already so visible doesn't make any sense to begin with, so it'll all be purely aesthetic.

Scrubbin Bubbles - Tnank you for the vote! Again, I'll see what I can do about that lure tonight.

Phuzion - Glad you like! I'm gonna go ahead with this blue one after all, so thanks for that suggestion. I've been in a funk for the past week or so, but I'm gonna tie-up some loose ends (like this pic) and proceed afresh.

Triton - Thanks for voting! Hmm... I'll see if I can bolster the underwater feeling of #4. It's exactly the same as #3, except for the colouring, so I'll have to investigate the shift in perception.

Again:
Thanks for the interest and suggestions, everybody!
:chug:

[fukifino]

Actually, I really like #4. :o I think of all of them, the bioluminescence looks the most authentic. There's just something about it.

Ahh well, they're all badass anyways.

[Mad Giraffe]

???http://home.hetnet.nl/~artphoto/devilfish.jpg ???

[Carnifex]

http://www.imagequest3d.com/pages/current/pictureoftheweek/deepseaangler/l006_jpg.jpg
http://www.imagequest3d.com/catalogue/bioluminescence/images/v001_tif.jpg
http://coexploration.org/bbsr/classroombats/assets/images/viperfishgif.gif
http://www.city.ac.uk/optometry/Ron's%20Home%20Page_files/ron8t.gif
hope these help you choose.my favourite is the one with blue eyes and blue stripes.:)

[sone_one]

my fav is #1

[Carnifex]

btw i read somewhere that many deep-sea creatures have a red skin tone because it's not so easy to spot in the dark.