C.O.W. #135 -- Undead with Two Heads!

[Michael Jaecks]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/images/cow/cow.jpg

For more infos and details about the rules go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110879


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Round #135

Topic:
Undead with Two Heads!

Creature Description: Undead with Two Heads! Design a new undead creature with two heads. Think skeletal, decaying, hanging flesh, exposed failing organs, clotted blood, disease, horror. With two heads. The heads should be simillar, as if coming from the same animal. The creature should also be it's own, new animal. I don't want to see blatant undead two headed rhinos, cows, etc. Think of it as something alien if you have to. Undead with two heads. A side note: Undeath tends to make folks think in humanoid terms. For this topic, please avoid it.
Deadline:
Sunday, 8 March 2009



note: The deadline won't be EXACTLY after a week...it can last up to 24 hours more, i am human and have to work also, you know ;)
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How to post

In this thread you can post all wips, questions, comments etc
However if you are done with your entry, post the final image in the following thread.

THREAD FOR FINAL ENTRIES (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2153613#post2153613)

READ THE INFO IN THE 1ST POST OF THE FINALS THREAD TO SEE HOW TO POST YOUR FINAL IMAGE!!!

[xabian]

I'm up for this, I think I'm going to go about it by creating a new creature and then making it undead =P

[Wixxi]

WOOT new subject, and it sounds cool!
I'm gonna work on the anatomy and perspective stuff ;)

count me in!

[Kiera]

jo, I want to give it a try

[MoHog]

You had me at undead, :P
Promise to work on detail this time

[pablozRamone]

sounds like great idea! i just love drawing undead- but what's really cool about this topic is that it can't be humanlike, awesome :yayca:

[Lenorekitty]

Im in for this one...:^^:

[Joey-b]

Im guessin the Species rule isnt a rule in this round?

*starting to sketch now

[SOUTHERN]

OK MJ another strong topic this week. I'm hoping to spend a little time concept thumbnailing this one. Right now I'm ploughing through a raft of initial idea sketches and keep going for the `two-headed-undead-turtle-look for some reason. not a keeper I feel.

http://southerngfx.co.uk/galleries/sketching/images/img037.jpg

[Joey-b]

Southern, i just doodled one myself haha.. funny how people always have the same idea's, the weirdest things lol

[SOUTHERN]

Joey: That's freaky. There must be something subliminal going on. I just sketched a load more thumbs and b*gger-me they keep gravitating towards turtles. I'm going to spend an hour now activley researching undead animals and see what happens. I think I'll go back to doing marker thumbs for a while to sort out my deviant reptile issue...lol

[benwin21]

what the max size of the final submission

[fylth]

Just a simple WIP image :)

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f31/eviled11/twohwadedzombieCOWwip2.png

Also, hopefully my first ever COW entery, yay

(also I hope this doesnt break the "humanoid" rule, it scuttles, and is more insect like in action than man)

-Fylth

[Kiera]

Southern, what a clean sketch, the flesh on the arms looks so loose and dead :>
hi Fylth, yeah, also a first time poster, the right skull is very cool :D

some sketching gave me a small insectoid alien with organic parts - an undead insect is propably a bad choice since it has to be very obvious undead :/.
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/2509/bugsd.jpg

[fylth]

Looking good Kiera, I didn't think to try undead bugs.

Here's another Wip of my creature -

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f31/eviled11/COMtwoheadedundead.png

Unfortunatly I doubt its going to get any better.

1) I have only just started using GIMP (had it for 2 weeks-ish)

2) This is only my second time using a tablet outside of college, they let me borrow it for the weekend.

As I probably wont have the tablet next week I wont have time to improve it. I could enter it in this state, but it's slightly rushed would probably be rejected. Maybe next week I suppose :S


*edit* Also, an alternate version, which do you prefer?

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f31/eviled11/COMtwoheadedundead2.png
-Fylth

[Michael Jaecks]

Joey-B: No, there is always a species rule. Always. Because your two headed creature is undead it must therefore be an individual? So, what, like there's only ever been one vampire? ;)

I now understand why Fozzy used to get irritated when I or we would nitpick the topics for the week. I guess I'm getting my karma back.

benwin21: There's no max size per se, but don't make it ridiculous. Think about what would fit easily on most people's screens. I used to get all worked up about having images that were a thousand pixels tall so people could see the detail, but quite frankly a well made image looks just as good at 500 or 600 px tall.

[Lanista]

Southern and Joey-b, turtles are one of the more common animals to be born with two-heads, and you have probably seen the images of them before, so that would be my guess as to why you both went there.

Fylth- one thing I noticed is that the pose your creature is in makes it look like a blob of limbs, maybe try a different pose to show off it's anatomy

Kiera- I'm a little lost on which end is which, but for an early sketch thats not really an issue, as for the insectoid aspect, i think color choice will do alot to fit it into an undead state.

[darkly]

SOUTHERN: As usual, great sketches! I'm not really feelin' the whole undead thing yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.

fylth: The first one's better, only because it has more contrast. You can pick up a tablet pretty cheaply, like a Wacom Bamboo.

Kiera: Looking real good! I like where your concept's going. I don't think it's a bad choice at all.

[OTTA]

Nice topic man! Thanks MIKE!
It's good to be part of this round :)

[Althael]

Here's something...

[TimM]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Timmah_45/2headedUndeadSketches.jpg

Did up some sketches. I didn't really have the drive to finish my 'hell creature' but here's hoping I'll do something for this one, which sounds awesome. I thought it'd be cool to make some creatures where their second heads are more of a vestigial thing rather than something they NEED to use. The rules didn't seem to say if the head had to be useful, so.

I also thought it'd be cool to have something that incorporates 'undeath' as part of its 'life', as in, even after it technically 'dies' the body always keeps going until it literally falls apart.

[darkly]

TimM: I like your concept. The whole "undeath' as part of its' life," is pretty cool. As far as your sketches, I think the whale-lookin' thing is probably your strongest, but I think it might look a little to "whale-esque." Maybe add some extra dead fins to it and maybe make the extra head part of some bloated, enlarged spout. Or,.... do whatever you want. Just some thoughts :eyeloss: :dead: .

[joyproject]

OMG awesome Idea!

[SOUTHERN]

Lanista: Sounds about right. I think that and I seem to remember reading about turtles eating carrion/carcasses etc. feels like something an undead might do. Although I'm moving away from the concept I think
Darkly: I agree. I need to find a good link to the undead reference as well as keeping away from anything humanoid.
Kiera: Your bottom left image is looking strong. You should progress that one into a full sketch.
TimM: I like your whale a lot. I made a quick start on a cetacean undead and left it alone so i'd love to see someone do it.
MJ: Great topic to get us thinking.

http://southerngfx.co.uk/galleries/sketching/images/img042.jpg

[Halix]

Try Hellgate: London for more ideas. Massive Black did a lot of the concept art so theres some free stuff on their site. I'm looking at it in the book right now :D

[TimM]

Thanks for the Comments, guys. I'll work on it a bit after work today. Was planning on making it more whale-esque anyhow. :D Might need some pointers on composition when I get started.

[benu]

some undead pegasus thing...

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[Wixxi]

nice sketches all. I'll have to start doodling myself if i want sumtin nice outof this ^^

[Joey-b]

Hmm the movie Willow could be inspiring

[Wixxi]

Here's doodle on how might end up...
http://s5.tinypic.com/wwahcy.jpg

no 2 heads yet, just doodling some body and head possibilities. next one will have 2 headz :)

[Wixxi]

doodled some more and made it dual headed.
i'm starting to like this cute beast

http://s5.tinypic.com/154koi0.jpg

[Verehin]

great theme
my one

[Wixxi]

Damn that is sweet Verehin! :o

[Joey-b]

Verehin - nice work man

Wixxi - the anatomy is a bit awkward, im liking the design of the heads.. they look a bit to pleased with themselfs hehe

Here is my sketch and some thumbs i saved.. no good but i just wanted to show lol.. not happy with the sketch.. hmm..

[Wixxi]

yeah lol it's like the lowest head looks and smiles at the upper one ^^
i miiiight wanna change that, i'm kinda aiming for the badass look :p

anyway nice sketches, i like the two heads fighting for piece of human meat ^^

[F-O-X]

I know, I can't us it for this competition.
Reason: not much spare time )=

But I like to show my idea...

Here is it...


Like or hate it (x

[Kiera]

Joey b the arguing heads are a good idea. If you could combine the fighting heads with some of your more dynamic poses that could be an awesome picture (I kinda like the two headed bird you've got there, reminds me of one of those heraldic animals like the Russian or Hapsburg eagle)
Veherin, it's all dried out - cool design
Wixxi - good headdesign there
Benu - aaah, that Pegasus is spilling all it's gutt out while it flies over us (disgusting but that's what it's about)
I also love the whales that TimM and Southern have in there, please someone make an undead cetacean
Edit: Fox is that from spore? it looks cool

I thumbnailed and thought about the concept of my insect thing:
It's a mouse-sized undead creature which is resistant against all kinds of poison and acids and without any natural enemies.
It carries a giant variety of germs (the bacteria culture depends on the stage of decay) and it stinks enormously.
Too bad that it prefers warm and dry places like houses which makes it a terrible pest- I tried to make a picture that shows that creature in a simple human environment, in a fruit basket? on a newspaper?
There could be an article on the newspaper about the creature itself.
(one head of the front creature on the paper is looking up to the viewer, it's difficult to see. the other creature is "dead" from a fight or inner gas explosion or something like this)


theory for that insect:
directly after hatching one larva sucks itself on another larva. Their bodies are separated but one of the two begins to grow enormously and uses all it's energy to grow a big sized body with legs and claws, while the other partner stays small and saves it's energy. The big partner dies after two weeks of exhaustion from growing.
Attached to the corpse the other, living partner tries to connect it's inner organs, it's blood stream and it's nerves to the dead body, the chance of success is about 30%.
When they are grown together, the corpse can be commanded like a marionette. The bad thing is that the body of the partner now begins to decay, too (does this make it officially dead?). The life span will be about a half year until the decay gets so strong that the animal is unable to move (legs and other parts fall off, the creature can still move until it completely rots).
Good thing on this system is that the creature can be fertilized by the other partner and lay a mass of eggs - the creatures aren't social but they meet in groups to lay their eggs in one place so that there is also an exchange in the genes (an larva from one creature can get ahold of the baby of another creature).
(I just got this idea during writing, maybe I could change one picture to illustrate this event)

blablabla, will anybody complain if I post a picture in the critique section?

[Wixxi]

here's another update...lol i'm updating to much, i should do more homework...crap

http://s5.tinypic.com/2j0kuh0.jpg

this is so addictiiiiing....help?

[yoitisi]

Played around a bit with the topic, and also playing around a bit with my usual painting process, so I figured I might as well post what I've got so far :)

608113

Needs a body, legs and some more undead clues (like...torn open guts..duh), but I think I'll finish this one.

608114

[kosmo975]

Hi every one. I thoght that i maybe pass this week... i don't really like to draw 2 headed things...but what hell i'd give it go...at the end it's better when it's challenging and it's hard to resist to the appeal of undead creatures

here some ideas

[lkjhgfdsa]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/2headundeadd.jpg

[Jack's Freak Show]

well here's my very first WIP ever , and my question is is it looking too humanoid?


http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=608177&stc=1&d=1236037005

[yoyomon]

Nice sketch Verehin. Judging from your avatar, this is right down your alley.

[luness]

hey guys!
I got the idea of an undead giant fantasy bird, with chapped beaks, a bit of rotten muscle tissue hanging from the bones, stinky warts and ulcers, broken feathers, etc.; so I started sketching some of that to have an idea of how the different details would look.

Some really good ideas around!

Cheers!

[Trashy]

Nice sketches Luness.

yoitisi that is looking great. Can't wait to see what the beast looks like with it's legs.

Joey-b I like the idea of the two heads fighting over the food. Keep that idea maybe but keep working on the creature design a little more.

I had a idea also for a birdlike undead critter, something smaller though that would have dripping entrails. Still gotta tweak it and add features to it and also get the anatomy fixed in the next sketch. Just jumping in there with a start of a idea.

[Verehin]

Wixxi- I think it will be better in a static pose.
Joey-b- nice start...but for now poorly similar with undead creature
Kiera- great idea
yoitisi- looks cool!
kosmo975- first one the best..for me ofcourse
lkjhgfdsa- nice work...Body of the top creature is too human like..
Jack's Freak Show-yeah man..is too humanoid
luness- niceee...I like your ''study'' process
Trashy- sweet..keep pushing

[Nether]

This weeks COW seems to be well underway. I love drawing the undead so big points for the topic.

lkjhgfdsa Your design is looking wicked already. Loving the design.

On to my drawing board then.

[Lege1]

So far so good, just loungin on this one.

MJ: Congrats on being the big chief now =] It's been awhile...

[Nether]

Some first sketches, just to get me going.

608673

[Ironhead]

This time I hope I will have more sparetime.
Southern I like the creatures compact bodyform. It looks very strong.

[KevinR]

This is my first go at a COW challenge. Seems like a lot of fun.

Here's my first sketch idea. More to follow of course, and hopefully you'll be able to make more sense of it.

Some great designs on here so far.

Kev

[Evil_Sloth]

Block in for mine.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7609/cowsketch.jpg

[Michael Jaecks]

Jack's freak show Yes, burying humanoid legs in a mass of tentacles is still pretty humanoid. A lot of what defines 'too humanoid' is not only the anatomy, but also a creatures center of gravity. This is what I mean by the whole 'a gorilla is a creature but a guy in a gorilla suit is a humanoid/creature' example.

[Nether]

Evil_Sloth I like your idea of the condor plugging out the eye of the creature. I'd bite back if I was it.

Southern Nice looking sketches. Your creature of choice looks very tough, even though bits of it are falling off.

Benu Loving the guts falling out.

Here's some more sketches. Did a couple of animal skulls until a thought occurred to me that no-one seems to have done an undead aquatic creature yet, so I sketched out some fishy ideas(oops no pun intended).

608769

Started on the final picture as well:

608811

[Mr. P Show.]

Mmm. This sounds fun. Great topic guys:).

[Lege1]

Yoitsi: Those pig heads are out of control man. Glad to see you gettin down on some COW =]

Lkjhgfdsa: Really likin your entree. Your creature seems to be parasitic and using the bull as it's host.

Luness: I like your sketching around and studies. You remind me that I need to do more of this before jumping 4 feet into an illustration.

Verehin: Sick entry...literally. Seems like you've volunteered on a couple of autopsys.

Nether: Love the lots of concepts and studies that you put together, and that fish is simply kickass =]

[benu]

Nether- Looking good. Loving the creepy fishheads.
kjhgfdsa- I like how you implemented the two heads in your design.
verehin- wicked design with all the little arms, the head is great too.


My scanner always screws up pencils...

608875

[Bralt Hannicart]

http://www.bralt.be/undead2head.jpg

This is my sketch. The movie 'Evolution' (crappy comedy but with some cool creatures) and the weird translucent fish thing revealed last week on the interwebs (Youtube link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoygy-8PTtU)) formed the inspiration for this one.

The general idea is that all newborns are siamese twins with two heads, two pairs of legs and each a third, stabbing and grabbing limb underneath the belly and chins. They are joined at the abdominal region.

After hatching, they quickly develop a preference for the "right" or "left" side of the creature which eventualy dominates the other twin for the rest of it's life. The subjected twin looses it's awareness over a few months and it's limbs atrophy but remain forever hanging on the dominant twin. The vision, however remains, giving the dominant twin an advantage as it can see behind it's back.

As for the undead part, I wanted to create a species...not a magical creature that has it's guts hanging out and still survives. This creature has a translucent head and intestine sack giving it the appearance of a half eaten carcass. The reason why it has a translucent skin is to fool predators that hunt it. Lying still in grassfields and emitting a rotten flesh smell, they evade an attack from a predator.

I hope this somewhat creative approach to the theme is allowed.

[MoHog]

Had to post something, so here's the start of my paint...

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q429/LouAy/un-dead.jpg

Thumb-nailed some more original positionings of the heads but they didnt quite work. Going with the concept that these creatures are genetically bonded with a type of cancer that kills the body but reproduces vital cells, thus creating the undead feel. Of course in true undead tradition they can transfer this via a bite, and the most effective way to kill one is a headshot :P obviously a lot more difficult when the beastie has two heads

Verehin: i just works so well
Evil_sloth: at the moment too much like a dog with two heads, but the idea of it being eaten by vulture is great
Wixxi: You are braver than me with the design, looks like its working well though. Know what you mean about the homework situation

[luness]

Good stuff everyone!!

Althael – your creature seems to be one head/torso with a big eye and two mouths instead of having two heads. Just give a bit more of significance to the heads and you’ll be doing great.

SOUTHERN – great work with the muscles!

benu – great design!

Verehin – I love it!!!

yoitisi – I enjoy your sketching technique and your idea looks quite promising!

Trashy – thank you! Keep working on your idea, there’s a lot of things you can do with it

Lege1 – thank you! Well, the studies help you to have a better idea of every element included on the final design. I tend to do that in my head but this way is much fun and it lets you end up with different approaches for the same subject

Bralt Hannicart – fantastic!!!


Anyways, this will be the final pose, showing a bit of line weight to remind me what's closer and what's further. I will add the description on the final post, but so far it's a fantasy undead bird inspired in the extincted Dodo, but about the size of an ostrich, a favorite guard pet among wizards and black magic practitioners. My mind exploded with that description. I should practice my English skills more often.

See you guys later, time to render the canary.

[Michael Jaecks]

Just a general comment for everyone: I'm already more impressed with the WIPs this Tuesday than I am with last weeks, and I was pretty damn impressed with the participation in the Hell WIPs thread. Keep bringing us your best game, and thanks!

[Keeviin]

Southern - *sings* teenage mutant ninja turt... uhm never mind, carry on

Kiera -looks really alien. Giger would be jealous

Fylth - I also don't feel comfortable with my tablet yet - a possibility would be to draw with pencil, scan and color it.

benu - heh, I would never have thought of that

Verehin - now that's just disgusting... eew sick (=friggin awesome!)

kosmo957 - Follow the 2-headed rabbit... seriously, I'd go for this one.



Also my first C.O.W. - input appreciated, not sure how to make it more undead-ish.

609084

[benu]

startted coloring!

609085

[Wixxi]

Damn i thin i'll have to drop this one. to much homework. so sad, i love this subject :(

[CCThrom]

Aw man, luness that is absolutely amazing! Love it!

[yoitisi]

Update...needs a few tweaks and gonna play with the colour a bit more, then move on to some sideviews I think. The body is too much hidden to really show well in this view, so I guess that's a necessity ;)

Going to try and give some comments and crits later on..

609115

[David79]

yoitsi: really like how ur palete go, and yes is gona be cool to see moar of this body!

my entry.

[dashinvaine]

I was inspired to draw a two-headed undead/mutant thing by this thread, though it may be too human to strictly qualify. It's certainly monstrous.

[Evil_Sloth]

Update

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/9359/cowsketch2.jpg

[Michael Jaecks]

dashinvaine: Although I adore the way you hung the second head off his crotch, yes it is way too humanoid to go to the poll.

Quickie comments:
Southern: I love the oversized hands on the turtle. He almost looks like a knuckle walker.... Ah, now I see you made a more literal knuckle walker. Interesting.
Benu: Love the entrails and frayed wings.
WiXXi: I think you're already off to a better start than last round, but the limbs are still a little cartoony. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but have you been looking at any reference as you draw? It helps.
Berehin: Love the spindly arms and the wide pelvis.
Joey-B: Fighting over the bit of food between the heads is a cool narrative. for this.
F-O-X: Interesting Spore critter! You already know we can't do 3D, but maybe you can do your thumbs in Spore and then bring us something illustrated to the poll.
yoitisi: looks great. This is what "painterly" looks like when it works, folks.
kosmo975: I love the vulture headed 'snake-taur'... you've basically combined two of my favorite creatures into one.
lkjhgfdsa: Gor. Gee. Us.
Jack's Freak Show: Already talked about this one, but you've still got plenty of time to bring an entry that fits the rules...
luness: Hot diggity dog that's a nice pencil rendering. It's just plain wonderful to look at as is and I am really looking forward to your finish.
Trashy: Birds are always a good place to start in COW. They never get enough attention here IMHO.
Lege1! My ole buddy! You're really improving. You've got much more control over your greyscale than the last time I saw your work I think. You might want to give yourself a little more canvas rather than cutting off Fido's paws at the bottom.
Nether: Nice thumbs process. So glad to see people take that part of the process seriously. Love the idea that you went aquatic with this. Deep sea fishies are total freaks. They probably are the closest thing our planet has to real undead.
Bralt Hannicart: You must seriously be channeling some old 1920s Surrealist's spirit. You've got their sense of 'perversity' if that can be made into a compliment, which is how its intended. Love the feet.
MoHog: I can tell you're already taking this round much more seriously than last. Thanks for that!
Keeviin: I must say, I like the quality of the paint, but this is too rough yet for me to understand where its going.
David79: Very nice drawing. The wide bulldog stance is very believable.
KevinR: Interesting sketch. Very fluid lines.
Evil Sloth: Interesting values, good depth of field in the background. Love the paint quality.
Fylth: As is, that's too rough and too humanoid really to go to poll.
Kiera: I really like they way you are thinking in the complete opposite direction of humanoid or even mammal.
Althael: Very surrealist.
Tim M: love the whale inspired one. The smaller Fetus In Fetu style head was a design choice I hadn't really anticipated, but I like it.

Somehow my comments are a little out of order from editing, but I hope I hit everyone who's posted a WIP so far.

Keep 'em coming!

[dashinvaine]

Fair enough. The lower one actually considers the upper one to be in his crotch, which just happens to be the wrong way up.

[dwinbotp]

whoa! lots of cool undead going around! I like em! hahaha <<<<sick F@3k
Hopefully I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here yet. Mine just looks like a species that went through the chamber in the "Fly" poor thing...
First concept, might add a few more along the week:)

[Bralt Hannicart]

Thx for the comments so far! I'll add some of my own tomorrow...for now, here is an update of my creature:

http://www.bralt.be/undead2headcolor.jpg

Now, time for sleep. Tomorrow I'll finish this baby. Hoozaah

[dashinvaine]

As my last submission was quite rightly disallowed, I hope I might offer the followign. Actually a Two-Headed Undead Black Beast of the Chiltern Ridge. Each head has one eye, and the brain is only partially divided.

These creatures are quite pesky in the wild, known to devour the odd calf, sheep and bairn. They are the sort of thing a young squire might earn his spurs by slaying, but no match for a fully fledged knight. They can, however, be domesticated, and make quite good pets. They also deter burglars.

[KevinR]

Here's more of my pic.

Kev

[.s.]

well, here's my sketch. it's the first idea that popped up after reading the topic. hope it meets the requirements, so i can proceed with painting :)

[Tyrus]

I have an idea, hopefully it will work out in time.:D

[.s.]

an update

[Wacky Wackowski]

here's the sketch i'm workin' on

[darkly]

Joey-b: reminds me of that two headed dragon off of Willow.

lkjhgfdsa: Nice name! Oh and those values are looking good!

luness: I really like what you've got so far! can't wait to see the finished piece.

benu: Really nice! I think I like your first 3/4 view more, but if you're sticking with the current wip you may want to check the perspective of that creature's front left leg. But again, looking really good, especially those undead feathers!.

yoitisi: Frickin rad! I kind of like the heads of the creature in your very first wip. Me thinks they're less piggyesque. Though that doesn't do anything to diminish my jealousy in the slightest :harbl: .

david79: Real cool!

Bralt: Man, you've got that no-eyed, bubble-headed alien thing down :assspank: ! Lookin' great, as usual! I especially enjoy the transparent gut sack. It makes me happy.

darkly: Dude, you gonna' let everyone show you up again? Hey and what's up with typing to yourself? It's already bad enough you're talkin' to yourself, right now.


Well better get busy. No more typey till I do drawy!

[Fractalbot]

Everyone's is looking great! Especially love the colours in Evil Sloth's.

Here's my entry WIP: I call it the 2-headed Night Mare... an undead mount.
(Skeleton will be holding reigns in final)

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/mount1prog.JPG

[Wacky Wackowski]

update:

[darkly]

So I lie.

Wacky: That's great! I just now stopped laughing. Those gut filled cheeks...m.m..wah...ha..ha

[.s.]

i thought i'd just sketch it today, but it's almost done (if i stick to this). here goes

[lkjhgfdsa]

thanks for the critiques!
progress I hope... going for some kind of romantism look...

[psantha]

Wow, very nice creatures!
Ok this is what I did, I know it's a little bit like human like maybe heh... but I had great time to paint it. Have mercy! :nohope:

[David-david]

There goes mine, I'll post it with description to the final section later.

Great work everybody!

[Ghostbrush]

could not resist this one!

Here is a small wip so far, its a gross glutton type animal whose stomach has spilt due to its intense weight, living for eternity this two headed creature is doomed to spend its life in agonizing pain.
This particular species is born dead, "living" by amalgamating itself with a living species, it uses them as a host for its greedy behaviour, eating till they burst! gross! gonna work on this for a few more hours and see what happens! c and c welcome!

cheers

Alex

[Wixxi]

David that is wicked! You sure have the right idea. But i think it needs lot more finishing up. Some parts seem a bit to quickly done, i'd invest more time and really make a NICE piece out of this!

gj everyone else also :)

[Wixxi]

Thx for the info MJ

I looked at some anatomy and lion stuff. and i think i got the body right now.
It needs some fixes and some tweaking, but i think this might become the pose and beast.
Hopfully i can squeeze some extra spare time >.>

http://s5.tinypic.com/dpyge8.jpg

comments and suggestions very much welcome :)

update:

I think i got my undead beast... this is about as close as i had in mind!
http://s5.tinypic.com/24v8js7.jpg

[Ghostbrush]

WIP.

just messing around with this, dunno how its gonna end up yet, thinking it needs more atmosphere and some flies and maggots etc!

[Bralt Hannicart]

Okay I've taken the time to write some comments (not in chronological order).

Ghostbrush:
Very good idea. I like the parasitic aspect of the concept. Hooray for bursted guts. Be sure to lay the focus on the parasite itself, not it's victim.

David-david:
That looks cute! I like those feet and the little chunks of red fur.

psantha:
Cool stylish piece, psantha. I'm afraid it's a bit too humanoid, but that's not up to me to decide. Still, I like the colors and the scratchy texture.

lkjhgfdsa (I nearly choked on my tongue trying to pronounce your name):
Very dynamic and good values. I like the slit in the bull it's neck. The trail of...entrails is a nice touch. What could increase the dynamics perhaps is tilting te horizon a bit and work with some nice blurs.

.s:
Original take on the placement of the heads! I like it. Nice sketchy style too.

Wacky Wackowski:
Sort of sick and disturbing so...thumbs up!

Fractalbot:
Strong piece, very cool style. However, one of the rules was not to put an extra head on an existing animal (in this case a horse). But, given the quality of your piece, I'd make an exception (though that's not up to me ofcourse).

KevinR:
Toads with teeth! They have really cool expressions. I like their cannibalistic nature!

dashinvaine:
What medium did you use to draw this? It looks like ballpoint pen or was it done digitally? I'm not seeing the undead aspect of your creature yet, but I'm sure you'll get there with a next update?

dwinbotp:
Oooh we like mutated ugly things without eyes. Nor ears. Nice man, I await an update of yours!

Evil Sloth:
Disgusting and I mean that in a good way!

David79:
Nice doggy! They look like hellhounds.

Yoitisi:
Nice colors, texture and design. Warthog and dogs and cows, delicious.

Benu:
This looks really promising! And haunting.

Keeviin:
Not too sure where you are taking this. I see a big ribcage and two elephant heads on snake like necks. I'll wait further comments until you have worked on this for a bit longer so keep posting.

Luness:
Very very nice lines & concept. Anxious to see the colors.

MoHog:
Those heads look really nice. I see you use a static pose for your creature too, glad to see I'm not alone.

Nether:
You make goldfish look evil and for that, I like you. Seriously, cool design man.

Lege1:
Hellhounds! I like the pose. Not too sure about the perspective of the background compared to the creature but I'm sure you will fix it in the end. Nice work.

Verehin:
mm flesh and bones showing, check. Mutated limbs and parasitic twin, check. Cool factor? Check.

Trashy:
Nice idea to try something with birds. I like the tiny eyes/eyeholes.

Jack's Freak Show:
Be sure to keep sketching, I'm sure you will find a better design that doesn't look too humanoid.

Kosmo975:
I really like the ribcage things. Neat thumbnails.

Wixxi:
The placement of the heads is really original. Try to add the texture in the end, when the basic shapes and values are laid down. The scribbly lines tend to distract a lot in this early stage.

Kiera:
The concept is really good, I'm looking forward to seeing the final piece. I like the sketches so far. Nice use of that sick yellow/green. The newspaper background is a really nice touch too!

FOX:
Nice model but a bit too cartoony and symmetric for my taste.

You are Joey-B:
Really nice thumbnails man, I like the baby bird thumb fighting over a piece of dinner :p

Southern:
Go for the tortoise-like design but mask it so it doesn't look like a tortoise! The turtleshell paves way for a zillion cool designs! Beautiful thumbnails!

TimM:
An airborn gas-filled whale with huge entrials dragging along the floor would be awesome, just a tip ;)

Althael:
Your design is an original take on the subject. It tries to search for the border of what defines a head as a head. When removing certain senses like sight, smell... from a head, is it still defined as a head? Reminds me of Quake 3 Arena. Ah the days...

Fylth:
Perhaps you should be more comfortable working in greyscales first and worry about color later? When working in greyscales, you can quickly build up your confidence without having to worry about colors. Just get starting with a white and black brush on opacity 30%. Make the background a not too dark nor bright grey and work on a second layer when painting shapes and drawing.


So far my little comments.
And here is my latest wip (though it could be final, not sure yet, have to let it sink in a bit):

http://www.bralt.be/undead2head_web.jpg

Ischiopagus are all born as conjoined twins. They share a heart but each have a pair of legs, a stabbing arm, a one-eyed head and a digestion system. After hatching, they quickly develop a preference for the "right" or "left" side of the creature which eventualy dominates the other twin for the rest of it's life. The subjected twin looses it's awareness over a few months and it's limbs atrophy but remain forever hanging on the dominant twin. The vision, however remains, giving the dominant twin an advantage as it can see behind it's back.

The eyes are set on a sort of stilt inside a transparant but rock-hard glass-like skull. Special concave and convex curves on the skull allow the animal to see for miles in any direction.

When in danger, the Ischiopagus acts like a dead rotten animal. It lays still on the ground making it's skin and even muscle tissue transparant thus giving off the impression of a carcass. Special glands emit the smell of decayed and rotten flesh. When predators or scavengers do decide to investigate and try to take a bite, the Ischiopagus can quickly thrust it's stabbing limb forward in a final attempt to save it's life. Sudden movements like that tend to frighten most predators. With this clever diversion, the Ischiopagus can quickly dash towards safety.

I wanted to create a species...not a magical creature that has it's guts hanging out and still survives. comments would be appreciated, thx for looking.

[SOUTHERN]

Decided to go with the knuckle dragger and save the turtle for another painting session.

http://southerngfx.co.uk/galleries/concept_creature/images/img055.jpg

[Nether]

Slight update. Sudden workrush has prevented me from progressing faster.

609732

[Wixxi]

@ Bralt Hannicart: tx for tip, but about wich head design are you talking, first design or hawk-like head..?

[grey]

another great weekly concept, I'm gettin' to like this MJ guy . . .

some crits before I clean up my sketch and post:

luness I love that initial sketch, good linework
verehin awesome, take this one all the way
evil sloth disgusting
fractalbot lot of style in that one, looking forward to seeing the finish
wacky sick! In a Tex Avery kind of way
david david I dig that creature, man! Clever solution, two-heads-in-one
psantha may not be right for this weekly, but you've got a slick illustrative style
lkjhgfdsa great creature concept, toro!
.s really like the way this is developing, great ribcage esp
ghostbrush that promises to be nice and gory
bralt nice job on that fluid filled gut sack
southern I loved that first turtle sketch best
nether I thought about fish bones too, nice handling of the skulls

if I skipped you it's from lack of cleverness on my part, great entries all around

[Pierropod]

Here is my blue sketch
609757

[xabian]

why are so many people just adding two heads to fish, rats, horses, whales, bulls, hogs and dogs and then just making them undead, sure some are painted pretty well, but i don't see why that should really change the fact that its not sticking to the brief which clearly states
I don't want to see blatant undead two headed rhinos, cows, etc. Think of it as something alien if you have to. Undead with two heads.

sorry for the rant just i see similar things happening in most CoW's. Like i know that most likely this isn't going to change a thing but it just had to be said.

[Wixxi]

why are so many people just adding two heads to fish, rats, horses, whales, bulls, hogs and dogs and then just making them undead, sure some are painted pretty well, but i don't see why that should really change the fact that its not sticking to the brief which clearly states


sorry for the rant just i see similar things happening in most CoW's. Like i know that most likely this isn't going to change a thing but it just had to be said.

i dunno wich animal my beast would represent in that case oO

[xabian]

yeah i didn't mean everybody was doing it, some of you have come up with some pretty original designs =]

[Ghostbrush]

so i just lost the image :( my fault, did not save it regularly enough and now i just lost a few hours work.

No worries tho, prob for the best as i think i was going in circles anyway, sticking with the same idea, just gonna be better!

Alex

[yoitisi]

Xabian: I disagree there, I'm afraid. First of all, in my opinion trying to stick as many tentacles or arm or whatever limb and detail to a blob might be seen as original, but it's the same as hammering a spoiler and 22" rims under a car in my opinion. Some people might like it, but it's definitely not designing.

To design a creature is not to just come up with a nice blob and/or silhouette or whatever, it's also thinking of how it should move, anatomy, muscles, food it eats and way it lives. Suddenly, a solid grounding for the creature from animals people know seem a very good point to start, so you can convey all this and add some feasibility to your design.

Then again, sticking too much to known animals might be boring to some people, but I think finding a nice way through the middle is where it's at. Look at the concept art for Guild Wars is my suggestion, most of them have quite literally taken the shape of existing animals, yet most of them read as something original too. As for my own design (yes I know that remark was aimed at me too, I only half agree - I've been slightly lazy on the design), cows, hogs and dogs look quite completely different if you'd done your homework (plus, ever seen a two headed version of either of those?), so please tell me how this is not original at all. The reference to either of those animals is totally deliberate though, since I think they kind of fit with this topic.

Anyway, that's just my opinion :P

Edit: Also, yes sometimes something totally out of the blue can be awesome too, just not if it's not executed properly - and for that, animal reference is still pretty much a necessity.

[grey]

here's my sketch so far -- a revenant for every bird that ever died neglected in a cage . . . (that's a two-headed corpse parrot in the driver's seat)

[Bralt Hannicart]

I think that is completely beside the point, Yoitisi. I'm pretty sure Xabian has nothing against drawing creatures based on real animals but he was pointing out that one of the rules in this brief for this particulary COW strictly forbid doing so. And yet so many people broke that crucial rule.

I'm not the one to judge here eventualy but I don't mind people not following the brief exactly.

Oh and Grey: Awesome lines man, add some color!

[yoitisi]

...sorry for the rant just i see similar things happening in most CoW's. Like i know that most likely this isn't going to change a thing but it just had to be said.

That's what I read, Bralt Hannicart...but yeh I know that's in the topic. It does not actually forbid it as such, just warns people not to just stick another head to something existing.

[xabian]

I guess that this aint really going to get settled. I really do have nothing against your piece as a concept, but it doesn't follow the brief set. You are right, it is hard to create a totally original creature, and taking reference form the real world is good, but imo, it really should stick to the brief.

I understand that not everybody is going to agree with this, but this is my opinion is all.

no hard feelings =]

Edit: I really do have to agree, the best piece I've done is a land squid XD

[luness]

I'm in a rush but I wanted to share what I've done so far.

CCThrom, Michael Jaecks, darkly, Bralt Hannicart, and grey - thanks so much for the kind words!!!
I started to add some color last night. There’s still lots to do and I still have a few ideas of what I could try with color and textures, so this is a WIP in its early stage, sort of.
Running errands today, so see you guys soon!

[scorge]

:[ Oh man.....I've missed out on one of the best COWS ever because the main page says we're still on Canopy Grazer. That's what I get for not paying attention I guess. Stupid, dumb, dumb, dumb.....
Oh well, time to get my rear in gear and get on this one quick. Double time.
So MJ, you're running this show now? What has the world come to? We're doomed! Kidding of course. Congrats and I'm sure you'll do a bang up job of filling Foz's big furry shoes.

Now, to get to work.

[yoitisi]

Xabian: Again I'm afraid I have to disagree, in my opinion my creature fits within this brief. Granted, it's somewhere along the edges maybe, but the brief -the way I read it- does not state that it has to be as outrageous as possible, it merely states that taking a rhino and copy-pasting a second head and neck onto it and saying that's the new design is not allowed. Show me where exactly I did that, and I'll rest my case.

Sorry to keep blabbing, I'll try and post some comments soon :P

[F-O-X]

If I had more time, i would draw my creatures, but i haven't )))=
... to much homework, besides I have to learn a lot of things for the school )x

Sry...

[xabian]

http://i42.tinypic.com/2dhhe79.png

Ok you have changed a few things, i guess we just agree to disagree =P

I'll be posting my wip in a bit too.

[yoitisi]

Luness: It’s a bit…2D yet. So far I can only spot 2 legs at odd angles, it’s rather unbalanced this way, and hard to make sense of the parts inbetween his heads (which are cool btw). I like the colours so far, though you might want to vary saturation and warm/cold a bit more.

Grey: Liking the lines in yours, but the different elements of your design don’t really seem to connect with each other. Like, you used a human ribcage but added multiple limbs to it, plus it seems bone and muscles are a bit interchangeable in there. Also, it seems to be held up by a pile of brains/intestines, which isn’t exactly strong enough to hold up it’s body…still, would be cool to see how you handle the colour on it :)

Pierropod: You might want to look at some head reference and how the jaw muscles connect. Especially on the left head, where they are more visible, they’re a bit too regular/straight down. Also, the ribcage ends rather abrupt, it seems his back end has fallen off. Not sure that goes well with the species rule here, since it’d make him more of a character maybe (depends on your background story too).

Nether: I’m finding it kind of hard to read the area with the front fins. They seem to have some similar shapes going on as the lower jaws, making them mash together in my head and read as one. Could be just me though. Also, the head at the back looks a bit pasted on rather than integrated, as the actual connection with the spine is totally hidden and it’s in sideview. Cool start though.

Southern: Cool concept, though here also the connection of the second head with the spine seems to be conveniently hidden, while the chest doesn’t look wide enough to fit it in. Not sure it’s teeth would extend that far to the back of its jaws actually, but it kind of works. The muscles on the arm might need some reference though.

Bralt Hannicart: Yep it’s original alright :P I like it actually, but the whole undead part doesn’t really read from the image I’m afraid. I get it from reading the description, but I think it’d be stronger if you could implement it in someway that you don’t really need the description anymore. You might want to play around with some more texture for the body too.

Ghostbrush: I don’t know but it looks a bit like a blob to me I’m afraid. It might help if you showed more at the bottom, since I can’t really tell what’s going on there at the moment. You’re hiding part of your creature, also on the arms/tentacles at the top, making it harder to read properly. The random placed eyes and body parts also confuse a bit, but might work if you show more of the creature.

Xabian: Sigh...messing around with a brush for 2 seconds and I can make it look like a dog, a rat, a..a..zomg it looks like a creature! Guess we disagree there. I must admit it's not my most original COW to date, but still :(

[Studio Colrouphobia]

Yoitisi ftw!
Luness also has a really nice entry.

[Wixxi]

Nice works in progress guys! this will be sweet.

Here is another update on mine.

http://s5.tinypic.com/5o8mpv.jpg

[benu]

thanks for commenting!

Update, not sure about the background.

609961

[David79]

Michael Jaecks,darkly: thx for the kind words ^^
Bralt Hannicart: thx mate! ur creatur are very cool, but too clean to be a zombie ^^ the the translucide skin in the front is just gold !
luness: i really like how the detail u have done about the flesh and the decay on ur creature.
Wixxi: attention about the spin look is note is not going for the 2scnd head, keep up mate!
benu:nice creature, yeah teh background look strange perapse doo only the sky is ok!

update, drop some colors!

[Kiera]

Wixxi, the new version of the creature is really stronger than your fist one
http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=feetkl.jpg
sorry, I just loooove to crit you ;)
cool progress Benu, lovley details and nice colors, for my taste the feathers that are attached to the bones look a bit too regular, dunno if it wouldn't be cooler if some could clog together with blood
david79 the expression on the front head is fantastic
luness, I'm looking foreward to see this finished, I love the pussbubbles under the loose feathers
grey I'm curious what you will do out of this
pierropod, I'm sure I can smell that thing
Nether, maaaan, your rendering skills..
Southern - yeah! not much more to say
Bralt Hannicart - this is my fav design and concept of the thread, the most exotic and original one. The peabrain is a cool idea, so are the semi-transparent parts. Crits would be that you could use more interesting and subtle values in the leg/arm part, even just making a slight gradient towards a darker color could spice this up a lot. Or some dried dust around the legs.. or some more pinkish or darkish parts on the joints like on a human ellbow.
ghostbrush - nice unusual design, thumbs up for the fat part.. does the picture show enough of the creature?
David-david very creative and well done, also one of my favs
psantha - a good illustration (dunno, are we allowed to show only parts of creatures?
lkjhgfdsa (ugh, I'm sure I wrote that wrong) anyways, looks fantastic so far!
.S. cool!
Wacky Wackowski - I love the creatures where you can see emotion, good idea
Fractalbot - I love the shapes on the neck, also a nice design

I've got my thread over there in the critique centre, here (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151900), I couldn't find a rule against that, hopefully that's not considered cheating - if so, just tell me and I will remove it :>
I want to make a scene, I guess I'll go with the sketch below and refine the creature design as I paint

[Keeviin]

Thanks for the feedback so far... slooowly getting somewhere. Maybe it would be easier to think before painting

610060

[Wixxi]

Tx for the comments guys!
Kiera thx for color-over, looks cool, ur basicly suggestion to let the feet do something motional? correct me if i'm wrong.

I'm comming real close now.. any suggestion on what can be better? I mean small and changeable stuff. Haven't got much time, so major changes will ask to much time. I think i'm going the right way, still needs some cleaning up, background sharpening and finishing up the details.

http://s5.tinypic.com/30wukcx.jpg

[Kiera]

ur basicly suggestion to let the feet do something motional
it doesn't have to be motion, just some rotation to give us some more information how the feet are built.
look how each paw looks slightly different on a standing animal (http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/IMAGES/Pennsylvania/Great_Dane2-200.jpg)

[KevinR]

Here's more of mine.

Kev

[xabian]

http://i39.tinypic.com/2v8iur4.png

this is what i got so far, personally i don't like it, and the style just aint working for me, i tried to do it like the land squid (see avatar) but for some reason i just aint been able to do it again =/
Any feedback would be very helpful =]

[Tyrus]

After playing around with a few ideas in my head I came up with this. What do you all think?

[Fractalbot]

Cheers guys for the nice comments, and I really like everyone's WIP's so far!
About the horse... there've been some changes as I didn't catch the bit about it not looking like an animal... so here's my revised one. Still horse-like, but with scarier legs so it should fit the brief now. (Still WIP though!)

http://fractalbot.com/conceptartorg/mount1prog2.JPG

[dwinbotp]

Bralt Thanks for the comments dude, much appreciated, I'm still tweaking with the no eyes thingy, hope I can get it done on time.
ghostbrushI love the extended armature things, really like the mood you set for this.
greyLoving the parrots man!, great concept! I'd worry about the species though but really nice take on a revenant for dead birds!
David79 LOL, nice doggie:)

[darkly]

Well I figured I'd better throw somethin' up here since everyone's being so generous with their crits.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/5108/twoheadedundead4.jpg

[scorge]

Okay, getting something done.
Dwinbotp: Looking good so far, right up my alley. It’s been a pleasure to see your participation these past few rounds.
Wixxi: Like the colors, the heads look good as well. I’d say watch the relationship between the front legs and the head. Also think about how the backbone would extend to both heads . Other than that keep up the good work.
David79: What can I say, mean and semi green. Lovin’ it!
Benu: Your progress has been a thing of beauty to watch. This is no exception.
Very cool.
Luness: Your work has always inspired me. This just takes the cake. There is a lot of confusion in the posture though. Pretty hard to read.
Bralt: I enjoy the cleanliness of your stuff and 3 dimensional aspect you so easily portray. You also have a way with alien looking creatures.
Ghostbrush: Great mood and atmosphere. Would like to see the whole creature.
Lkjhgfdsa: Pretty simple name you’ve got there once you get the hang of it. Very ethereal piece of work. Lunacy at its best. Good job.
.s.: One of my favorites. Colors and design are sweet.
Wacky Wackowski: Hilarious!
Yoitisi: Another fav. I just noticed you’re doing the guts falling from the body as well. Might have to change mine up a bit.
Mohog: Looks like you’re improving quite a bit since since you started on the cows. Looking forward to the final.
Nether: Great line work so far!
Lege1: Coming along. Right head looks a little out of place.
Verehin: Pretty meaty. Going to be an awesome final.

[Gentrifier]

I haven't named it yet and will rework it a bit once I get it into photoshop.
It's basically a creature that dies, except for it's eel-like heads which begin to devour it's own dead flesh. As it eats the dead flesh, a translucent sack to the rear of it's body begins to glow with an unnatural energy. Once the entire body is devoid of flesh and the energy level is at it's greatest, the whale reanimates fully -- skeleton and sac -- to harmlessly patrol the depths of the ocean until it's undead energy source diminishes to an extent at which it can no longer propel the skeleton and the undead "whale" descends to become part another part of the ocean strata.

I have a bunch of ideas that aren't in the picture now. I'll tighten up the pencil work and take another picture of it when it's better detailed, just prior to taking it into Photoshop (if I can find my Wacom stylus -- 2-year old daughter absconded with it while I was at work)

That's it for now...more later tonight or tomorrow morning.

http://www.community3d.com/stuff/zombieThing.jpg

Thanks,

Alec

[SOUTHERN]

Oh.. I want to write a huge post but time is against me and driving/posting just isn't a good thing.

why are so many people just adding two heads to fish, rats, horses, whales, bulls, hogs and dogs and then just making them undead, sure some are painted pretty well, but i don't see why that should really change the fact that its not sticking to the brief which clearly states
Quote:
I don't want to see blatant undead two headed rhinos, cows, etc. Think of it as something alien if you have to. Undead with two heads.
sorry for the rant just i see similar things happening in most CoW's. Like i know that most likely this isn't going to change a thing but it just had to be said.

After some thought and reading of the other posts I think I agree!! I looked at my entry and then my re-entry and both should fail to meet the poll if one follows the brief to the letter. I think it it crucial to get ourselves trained to adhere to the brief and MJ needs to be brutal where we fail to meet it. There are some great entries where the brief could be said to have been met. Best examples for me would be Luness, Bralt, Ghostbrush and few more if I had time. Alot of the others, mine include are simple two headed bastardizations of existing species.

I absolutley would not want to stop anyone of any skill level from joining. That would be against the spirit of the forum. I think that final entries should be judged on how close they are to the brief as much as they are for sticking to the other rules (species, quality, non-character etc)

Good call Xabian.

http://southerngfx.co.uk/galleries/concept_creature/images/img056.jpg

[skullbeast]

here's my first shot at this. an hour so far in painter 11.


feeder... Eons ago these beasts were usually summoned forth to clean battlefields of death and decay. Now they roam the lands with a prodigious hunger in search of their long dead masters feeding on living and dead alike.

[riotorange]

Southern-- this is a two headed turtle. i do not think you're drawing is a failure.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj260/riotorange/1-1047.jpg

[Azathoth]

AHHHAA!!! COW! ...nice entry's... people. Probably don't have time to get in on this one. Hope to dive in for the next one. Still no Fozzy? Hope he is well and busy in a good way.

[skullbeast]

little update.

[Evil_Sloth]

update:

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7803/cowsketch4.jpg

[Bralt Hannicart]

Thx for the comments. Worked on it some more before submitting it to the finals thread.

And I'll add that there are many nice updates and new entries. Will comment on them soon.

[Mr. P Show.]

Bralt Hannicart - That is sick! That pouch thingy with the intestines and liquid stuff. I like. And so many other great ones I will mention later.

Here's my wip:

[grey]

thanks all for the comments
yoitsi - yep, that sounds about right: ribcage, multiple limbs, mounted on a stack of viscera . . . think of some of the horrors of HP Lovecraft if that helps

update, still much to sort out but I should get done in time for the poll, have to balance the time with a busy freelance week:

[Troubadour]

lol grey, all i could think of was monty pythons "this parrot has CEASED to BE"

nice design too.

[Wixxi]

it doesn't have to be motion, just some rotation to give us some more information how the feet are built.
look how each paw looks slightly different on a standing animal (http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/IMAGES/Pennsylvania/Great_Dane2-200.jpg)

Ok now i see. thx for that :)

[riotorange]

grey..the birdie heads should be eating their intestines!!!
.....and am i wrong if this makes me want chicken and sausage? i blame it on being lunchtime.

[Michael Jaecks]

This is seriously one of my favorite rounds of COW yet.

On the subject of a blatant (rhino) vs. inspired (rhino) and whether or not I will pull something from the poll... I have no problem with folks deriving inspiration from the animal kingdom. Many great creature designs are simply morphed real world animals. The thing I was trying to avoid was having people simply submit a skeletal two headed horse or something.

Have you ever heard of the 70-30% formula for designing new creatures? Take direct reference and inspiration from life for 70% of your design and invent 30% so the whole thing looks credible, but new. Some artists think about concept art a lot in those terms and I think it's a very valid approach.

If and when I pull things from the next poll, I will have to make a bit of an instinctive judgement call. Some of the entries as WIPs gave me pause at the outset, but overall I think people are pushing away from their inspiration-animals enough. I think Southern's two-headed turtle qualifies as pushing away from the original inspiration of the design.
Scorge and grey: those are really great starts
Bralt very nice final.

more later

[Michael Jaecks]

This is seriously one of my favorite rounds of COW yet.

On the subject of a blatant (rhino) vs. inspired (rhino) and whether or not I will pull something from the poll... I have no problem with folks deriving inspiration from the animal kingdom. Many great creature designs are simply morphed real world animals. The thing I was trying to avoid was having people simply submit a skeletal two headed horse or something.

Have you ever heard of the 70-30% formula for designing new creatures? Take direct reference and inspiration from life for 70% of your design and invent 30% so the whole thing looks credible, but new. Some artists think about concept art a lot in those terms and I think it's a very valid approach.

If and when I pull things from the next poll, I will have to make a bit of an instinctive judgement call. Some of the entries as WIPs gave me pause at the outset, but overall I think people are pushing away from their inspiration-animals enough. I think Southern's two-headed turtle qualifies as pushing away from the original inspiration of the design.
Scorge and grey: those are really great starts
Bralt very nice final.

more later

[TMG]

I won't be submitting this but would absolutely love some critiques. I had a really hard time with it.

http://www.tgarbarini.com/dump/cow-undead2headssmall.jpg

[MoHog]

wooooooo, awesome creations coming out here. It's going slowly due to the essay on 'truth' I have to write but here's an updated wip

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q429/LouAy/un-dead-1.jpg

cheers for all have commented

Evil_sloth: great stuff, its everything i as hoping it would be :P

Southern: I just can't get enough of your drawings, the turtle is great - especially all the details such as the veins. Prefer this one to your rotting one

Wixxi: damn your fast, sketchbook stuff definitely shows through. Only critique would be to beef up the feet.

[Wixxi]

Hi all this cow is going nuts on nice creatures! well done everyone! :o

I think i came to an end here.

http://i39.tinypic.com/ojjrew.jpg

not posting in finished thread yet, so critics and other suggestion still welcome.

ps to MJ: How can i insert my image WITHOUT it getting scaled down? cuz i lose detail this way, it gets blurry, wich is stupid.

[Soulweaver]

Work in progress

[benu]

Evil Sloth- I love the color palette you used and the fact that the creature gets eaten by the vultures. The perspective of the body and the anatomy of the shoulders and legs doesn't seem right.

MoHog- nice start, i like the heads.

grey- that's a cool concept. guts and bones are nicely rendered.

skullbeast- very nice wip.

scorge- wow, the right head is awesome. very promising wip, and thanks.

[Mr--Jack]

Mmm, some really great stuff coming out this round, I must say, and I'm gonna be pissed if I don't get off my ass and join in but I've got a couple of days yet;
Soulweaver, really liking the style and mood in that but I have to ask; why does it have a pelvis?! If you're going to keep it I'd at least move it down to the split in the tails...
A lot of really good entries, hopefully I'll comment more when I post some wips :D

[Arthur 'Two Sheds']

Hey people. Some great stuff in here. Gotta start work soon so no description yet - just wanted to show you what I'm up to. Crits most welcome :)

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk198/Arthur_Two_Sheds/undead.jpg

[grey]

alrighty I think I'm done . . . need to step back and look at it for awhile before putting it in finals

[Michael Jaecks]

You guys are still tearing it up over here.

WiXXi: already much improved from the last round. As far as image size, I don't think you should have a problem posting that size you have there with the attachment manager. People have certainly submitted larger.

[darkly]

Well I figured I'd better throw somethin' up here since everyone's being so generous with their crits.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/5108/twoheadedundead4.jpg

You guys are making me a lire here. I guess you have to post your images above 700pxX600px before anyone will say anything about them. :upset: :S :zzz:

[Lanista]

KevinR- I love the gnawing on his own second head. It's fantastic.

Fractalbot- I like your drawing style alot. Creature is cool, and as you said, a bit too much horse, my suggestion is adding another set of legs so it becomes a Starship Troopers-esque bug. Also you generally dont see COW's have that many 'Ornaments' unless it is needed for the topic. Makes it look a bit like a character instead.

Darkly- Like the line art, should look great painted. Try to keep in mind its a species, and not just an anomoly of one.

Scorge- great as usual, love the head ring things... they look like the inner ear.

Southern- great points you made, and your creature is awesome, it looked great without the shell too.

skullbeast- nice start. be sure to sharpen up eventually, so it doesnt end up blurry looking.

evil sloth- very stylish stuff there. like a book cover or something.

grey- awesome, its like if hellraiser met pet store.

MoHog- sweet looking creat... i wish i could paint like that, i always get lost when painting top to bottom like that.

Wixxi- doesnt look that blurry to me, maybe slightly, but how big could it possibly be an fit on the screen.

soulweaver- refreshingly different idea to everyone elses. nice job.

arthur 2 sheds- thats got online card/minature game written all over it. Poxnora.com, warstorm.com anything like that.

And then there is mine, I got about 4 other sketchs i did digitally, and I once again doubt i will get very far on this topic, but I want to stay in B/W until i get my skethcing skills more refined i think.
Concept is a bird that metamorphs into a parasite from his brain out... the worm is part of the brain, and controls the rest of the body once it has matured, killing the bird head. I didnt realize how complicated that was going to sound when i thought of it.
Ugh, i have to go fix those feet.

[scorge]

Updation. This cow is coming to afterlife.
Arthur two Sheds: Nice!
Darkly: There it is! I can see it! Looks pretty good. Might need a little more push in the dead direction but over all off to a great start.

[grey]

scorge - those skulls are beautiful, nice work

[Soulweaver]

Mr--Jack -- It started off without a pelvis, but it didn't look quite right. The vertebrae didn't look strong enough to support the ribcage, if that makes any sense.

Besides, there are some primitive snakes that have a pelvic girdle, so I have a scientific precedent. :P


Update:

[Jack's Freak Show]

Well Before anything, just stopping by, for a moment I am a little behind, but still running, I would like to thank everybody for the great critiques, really there's no better way to learn than with good practice & critique, great creatures from everybody so far, and here's my sketch I had to commit to this one in order to finish by deadline, it needs a lot of work, so as always please post your comments.

Again Thank You All.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=611131&stc=1&d=1236307416

[skullbeast]

Thanks! WIP

[darkly]

Oh there's the love! :hugsmile:

Lanista: Thank you for the comment. If I may; I think your piece would look better if you scaled down the main head (the skull-ish one). It seems a bit heavy for that body. But good job!

scorge: Thank you sir. I am glad you are able to see it. Sorry if it hurt your eyes a bit. Not all of us can be as rad as you. BTW, great values!

[TimM]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Timmah_45/2headedUndeadSketches2copy.jpg

I'm havin' a tough time with this one, I definitely want to go for the whale, but it's proving challenging for my brain to come up with any way to make it NOT such a WHALE. How do you guys come up with these intricate, crazy designs so quick? Any suggestions on how to make this 'out there'?

[Pierropod]

Here is mine. I'm almost done with it.
611207

[skullbeast]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Timmah_45/2headedUndeadSketches2copy.jpg

I'm havin' a tough time with this one, I definitely want to go for the whale, but it's proving challenging for my brain to come up with any way to make it NOT such a WHALE. How do you guys come up with these intricate, crazy designs so quick? Any suggestions on how to make this 'out there'?

To loose the whale, I think you have to break up the silhouette. maybe loose the pectoral fins (or all fins) and replace them with 2 bug legs on each side, or something of that effect. I'm liking what you have.

[lkjhgfdsa]

last wip... I'm wondering if there is enough creature visible?

[Wixxi]

lkjhgfdsa: That looks very nice. But why grayscale? i have no problems with it, but i think the piece would have more power with a nice color palette, anyhow nice job!

MJ: My picture is actually 1000x800 pix. But when i post it here (also using attach manager) the size shrinks down to something like 900x750
I'd like to post it full size to get it as sharp as possible. :)

everyone else: Keep up the good work folks, nice wips!

[Nether]

Final stage before coloring. Tweaked on some of the problem parts two, mainly just the joining part of the two heads. Tried to make it look more like the head in front is growing out of the side of the head in the back by continuing the forward dorsal fin to the head in the back and giving the head in front only some stunted spikes where the fin should begin.

611341

and here's a color wip. Just blocked out some basic colors and started on the scale coloring. No way are these colors final. Except maybe for the background.

611454

I've been hearing a lot of bitching about people not following the brief and taking the easy route in designing their creatures. Seeing as I am clearly one of the people these comments were directed at, I feel like explaining some of my actions behind my current COW entry.

First off, I wanted a creature resembling a deep sea fish since they simply look damn creepy. Second, I basically used the deep sea fish reference on the head part only and made it look more like a generic fish thingie than a particular fish.

Third part of explanation: The creature itself is supposed to be a freak of nature from a time when evolution was still trying to figure out how to move from sea dwelling creatures to air breathing land lubbers with four feet. Hence the pectoral and pelvic fins have started to resemble mammal like limbs.
This particular individual is a mutation resulting from a sudden leap forward in it's evolutionary chain. In some fight with a larger predator the creature has sustained enough damage to become practically dead. The only thing keeping it going are instinctual neural signals from it's two stubborn brains, that make it mimic it's basic survival funtions even though the creature itself has died a long time ago.

Whew! Hope this clears out the point of my dead mutant fish.

[ramtam]

Hello :)
Please give crits.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3858/progressr.jpg (http://img26.imageshack.us/my.php?image=progressr.jpg)

[gatling]

Scorge: You level up like a beast. The sinew is insanely creepy.
Nether: Your pencils are gorgeous and so clean. I almost don't want to see the paint on it.
Southern: Really sweet concept. His left arm confused me in the color version for a few seconds. Needs more contrast with his leg?
Evil Sloth: Nice! Blocking in technique is to be admired.
Grey: Definitely the unique one and well executed, though I am a bit confused as to how its remaining upright eviscerated. Are the bone like cloak appendages supporting him? The feathery textures surrounding the cage is a nice touch as well.
Ghostbrush: That color is fantastic.
Bralt: Reminds me of newborn birds. Amazing texture on this one.
Luness: I think my fav of the bunch.
Benu, Wixxi, S, David David are also very nice! Sorry for those I missed. Been lurking a while again.

[CCThrom]

Lots of great stuff this week too! I have very little time this week, otherwise I'd comment on a whole bunch of these... there's so many terrific entries. Anyway, darnit... this time I am GOING to get something to poll. Actually it's already done, I laid color into it Wednesday night, and scanned the final this morning.

This is a little different approach for me, instead of expanding into techniques I don't know yet, I decided to refine a technique I'm already comfortable with... something I knew I could complete.

Now it just remains to be seen if I can explain my way past the brief... heh, I have a particular idea here and I'll just leave it up to Mr. J to decide if my backstory satisfies the brief. Should'a done the same for last week's "Colossus" - posted what I had Saturday night and let him decide if it was finished or not. I'll be tweaking up and posting the color version by end of day today.

Anyhoo, here 'tis, I'm going with a technological, "mad science" kind of undead...

[Michael Jaecks]

lkjhgfdsa: I'd lighten and lower the contrast of the background, pushing it further back. It's competing with the very well rendered creature in the front too much. I, too, would like to see color, but its not a requirement.

wiXXi: Is the image you are trying to post too big in terms of MB? I don't think 1000x800 would ever be too big, considering how big the files were for COW100. Otherwise, you could try to resize and sharpen it in PS before posting. Not sure what its doing for you. On a side note, if it is still giving you problems, I believe one can still host things on Photobucket and post them with an IMG tag. It is not preferred that you do this though. CA.org would really prefer you have it hosted here.

[luness]

I’m so sleepy that I don’t know if the following lines will make any sense but anyways, here I go:

yoitisi – you were looking a wip, so I understand your critiques and recommendations. For this undead design I wanted to show some overall chaos, proper for a decomposed body of this kind, with rotten and mangled flesh, and a fractured skeleton, hence the strange pose and the odd angle for the legs. Before adding flesh and the rest of the details, I did sketch the bones following a dodo’s photo reference. Thanks a lot for pointing the other different things to work on though.
Studio Colrouphobia – thank you!
benu – I like the colors, specially the guts, although I find the lower part of the bg a bit distracting.
David79 – thanks so much man, it means a lot to me. I can’t wait to see your final piece!
Kiera – yes! puss bubbles! I guess you will add more contrast to the creatures on the foreground since the newspaper on the bg is taking a lot of attention from the subject. Good stuff!
Keeviin – if you still have the time for the final posting, you should work on structure and study some anatomy references first and then add the flesh, hair, etc. It helps you build a solid core to work from.
KevinR – your wip is looking goooood, but its legs are still hard to read. Some tonal change and also establishing a light source might help.
xabian – I love it! The fur/skin textures are a bit confusing, but I suppose you’re working on that
Tyrus – remember the brief. The heads should look similar. You still have time to make some significant changes, so keep it up!
Fractalbot – the horse heads look cartoony to me, in contrast with the well rendered body. I mean, the rest of the creature looks great but you should put some extra time on the heads.
dwinbotp – promising design, although the right head looks like a guy with big nose and red fat lips, at least for me ;)
darkly – the pose is stiff, yes, but I really, really like your sketch, specially the left head. Nice!
scorge – same reply for you as for yoitisi, but I hope you get it better in the final post. Thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate them. Your creature looks fantastic!!!
SOUTHERN – you’re doing great with your creature, but I would recommend to add more light and contrast on the creature’s left arm to get more depth.
Evil_Sloth – great idea and execution. Awaiting the final piece

I seriously need to take a nap. More comments later. Only few days left!

[Wixxi]

lkjhgfdsa: I'd lighten and lower the contrast of the background, pushing it further back. It's competing with the very well rendered creature in the front too much. I, too, would like to see color, but its not a requirement.

wiXXi: Is the image you are trying to post too big in terms of MB? I don't think 1000x800 would ever be too big, considering how big the files were for COW100. Otherwise, you could try to resize and sharpen it in PS before posting. Not sure what its doing for you. On a side note, if it is still giving you problems, I believe one can still host things on Photobucket and post them with an IMG tag. It is not preferred that you do this though. CA.org would really prefer you have it hosted here.

I have this problem with every single size of pictures. It always resizes my images to a smaller size. Like when i post 500x400 it will change to 400x300. Its so weird. Just right click my image and select view image. this will take you to the original host link, and once there you can see it full size. But never in the forum. How small my pictures may be, it always reduces size. I'd like to get this problem fixed. Is it because i use firefox?
tx for help!

EDIT:
I found the problem. The resize was just because my firefox browser was ctrl-scrolled down in size. This way everything, like text, headers, IMAGES and anything else i view in my browser gets scaled down...kinda stupid of me, but i don't like this feature, they should get rid of it...naughty microsoft :(

[CCThrom]

Wixxi - Definitely a weird problem, but it's probably not Firefox... that's what I use too.

[Anthis]

Great topic, and very nice so see so many original concepts.
Doubt I'll get something done, but you never know. Some sketches.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/sketches/2headsud.jpg

[Verehin]

luness great! I love your style

sweet ideas Anthis!

[benu]

I think this will be my final.
611593

[MoHog]

unfortunately time has forced me to choose between getting good A levels and free time...
Obviously free time lost so Im gonna have to leave it at this

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q429/LouAy/un-dead-2.jpg

cheers for the comments + inspiring artwork everyone, good luck to you
learnt a lot during this round, should be back in a couple of weeks to finally finish a round :P

[Verehin]

soo...this is pre-final version

good luck everyone guys!

[darkly]

Still have some more colours to put down and to do something with the background.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8383/twoheadedundead5.jpg

[Michael Jaecks]

wiXXi: I fyou are using the attachment manager, you just upload your image directly from your computer... it doesn't have to be hosted anywhere.

But it sounds like you figured out your browser was sizing them down. No biggie. Glad you figured it out.

[Anthis]

Crits for last few wips.

MoHog; Shame you're out of time. Still, crits may be helpful. Nice skin look - it looks soft, sort of just hanging there, decaying, dead. Markings on the back bones make you wonder - are humans involved? Tail looks inert, stiff, doesn't follow perspective. Just one element can affect the whole piece. I'd also go for a less monochromatic look. You could expect all kinds of purples, reds, greens in that flesh.
Verehin; Some extreme shapes in there. Nice going! You're not afraid of trying. I love the multiple eyes, I had exactly the same idea but dropped it in the end. Leg in the back is blending in with the background. Also, the intestines look so bright its almost candy. I like the part thats hanging there though - nasty. Make sure you give us a good focal point to look at, and bring it out.
darkly; Think you could take the concept further although you're already quite far in. Try and make your creature look more 'diverse' so to say. Great to see a more or less benign undead creature. I like that one leg in the back the most - looks like it could twitch any moment. Oddly enough, the legs he's standing on seem a little stiff, not very functional. I like the veins, nice colour. Nice skin.

Think I'll stick to a new concept. Not sure if I'll get it done but this topic is too good to pass up.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb12/Anthis_/sketches/2headud_wip.jpg

[skullbeast]

update..





feeder... Eons ago these beasts were usually summoned forth to clean battlefields of death and decay. Now they roam the lands with a prodigious hunger in search of their long dead masters feeding on living and dead alike.

[lkjhgfdsa]

now in colour!

[Lanista]

lkjhgfdsa- get the hell out of here... thats incredible. I dont really see why the matador guy needs to be there(i actually didnt see him this time because my browser wasnt full screen. I really liked the creature alone, but i see what you are "going for". Really top notch rendering!

[Michael Jaecks]

lkjhgfdsa: turned out very nice. I rather like the matador. It's a narrative I would never have expected out of this week's topic, but it works. Considering bullfighting is such a death-theater sort of sport, making it an undeath sport sort of turns it on its head in a nice way...

Everybody... keep them coming. Deadline is Sunday and the plan is to set up the new poll sometime Monday.

[HareTrinity]

I love zombie critters.

I know it's a bit late to be giving this input now, but reptiles in particular seem prone to growing 2 heads, especially snakes and some lizards are known for it (try google), though I see turtles have already been picked up on. Might help for those still choosing a skin pattern/texture anyway?

Though these are zombies, you might as well sew head #2 on!

[Verehin]

sooo...its final!

[skullbeast]

update

[darkly]

Thank you Lanista and scorge for the comments.

As far as the whole "undead" thing I wanted to take a slightly different route than most. It seemed to me like most were creating creatures that were scary and/or had their guts hanging out and were in more extreme stages of decomposition. I wanted to create a creature that it was very natural for it to be undead and that the viewer wasn't scared of it, but maybe even felt sorry for it. I was thinking that if this creature were part of an "undead" species that it should be normal to function so and not just be some zombified anomaly of a particular species, therefore making it separate from that species. My little description for my final should explain further.

Anthis: I hope you'll be able to finish something. I'm liking your sketches so far. "Great to see a more or less benign undead creature." Yes! That's what I was going for. Thanks!

Thank you also luness and Anthis for suggesting that the legs look stiff. So, short of blaming rigor mortis, I decided to attempt to fix them. I think this looks better. Also adding more atmosphere and background and texture and stuff. Still a lot left to do.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6505/twoheadedundead7.jpg

[Trashy]

It's really heating up here. Okay finally got time to push this guy and get the sketch finished. Think it's going to be a late one for me tonight:)

Nice work guys!

612888

[LORD M]

Awesome work, guys!


WIP, 2 hours so far. More to go. :)

Updated:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6291/2headedundeadt.jpg

[scorge]

One more update before tomorrow.
LordM: That's gonna be sick!

[David79]

dwinbotp: thx mate! eheh like the way u worked the skin of ur beast !!
Soulweaver:great job in the transparent flesh :D
luness: ur welcome ^^
great jobs guys !

my final !

[Soulweaver]

Thanks, david79!

This has been a great round. I'll try to write up some crits of my own in the voting thread. But until then, here's my final:

[dwinbotp]

I'm alone and high on sugar, also hungry...makes me wanna comment ridiculously by what I feel like eating after looking at each entry:D
yoitisi Love the rendering technique, makes me wanna eat corned beef
David david lovely idea of duality, never thought of it, very clever! Tuna!
Bralt Hannicart love the weirdness factor in your works, twisted, me likey! Make me wanna chew bubblegum:)
luness eww, pus on neck, great color! I think of salmon on rye!
CCThrom very nice description on your final, hahaha, nasty cows ftw! I think of marshmallows for some reason:)
grey nasty beast, would like it to be a game boss level type monster in some ff game! I feel like having hash browns, yum!
Wixxi nice creature, love the bone elements revealing, would like it to look more bone colored though, but nice overall, makes me drool for some Kabab.
PierropodI like this creature, slow looking but dangerous...makes me wanna have chips with avocado salsa.
Lkjhgfdsa with a nick like yours, thank god for ctrl+c lol, love the whole piece, wonderful job! I feel like having beef jerky!
veherin the creepy eyes always gets me! I want some fried chicken!
KevinR gross! me likey! Coleslaw!
skullbeast like the semi transparent feel of the creature, cool! Calamari!
soulweaver very nice design, love the colors used! makes me thirsty for some Gatorade:)
Scorge one of my faves, very nice creature overall, lol love them flies! I feel like roast beef!
Wacky Wachowski love the cute critters man, i prefer the former though:) makes me think cupcakes!
Edward B love the linework! Sushi with lots of wasabi springs to mind.
David79 love youe pet dude! good work man! meat and potatoes!:)
benu one of my faves too, love the wings and the suspended guts! I'm feeling sardines:)
darkly hehehe, very likable creature:) I'm wanting some chicken pops!

I'm not hungry anymore, great round guys! see ya all next round! :D

[Mr--Jack]

well I GOT IT DONE. Even if I only started 3 hours ago . . . nothing like last minute, hmm? Well it isn't especially inventive, after all that discussion about grabbing a creature, killing it and adding another head, but anyways, I had a lot of fun with it and am rather happy with my final :D

Some awesome entries this round, hopefully I'll get around to commenting more in the finals thread... but Congrats to everyone!

Thought I'd chuck the base drawing up here for interest, not that I'm changing anything now.

[Michael Jaecks]

Really good round ths time guys. Folks really tried to push themselves. Will be setting up the poll about 5 hours from now, so if there are any stragglers, now is the time to bring it.

[Michael Jaecks]

voting is on:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=151729