C.O.W. #138 Cannibal Mother and Child -- WIPs posting thread

[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


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round #138

Topic:
Cannibal Mother and Child!

Creature Description: Cannibal Mother and child. Design a new creature that eats its own. Your task is to show at least one adult female consuming one of her young from the same species. The reason is up to you, but obviously, eating one's own young can be considered Darwinian natural selection at its most savage.


Deadline:
Friday, 3 April 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 ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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?t=154068)

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

[skullbeast]

"Killer topic"! so many ideas!

[Michael Jaecks]

Thanks. I decided to keep this one as open ended as possible within the limits of the theme. It really could be anything you come up with so long as mom is eating (and I mean eating literally, not, placing her babies in her mouth to hide or protect them) one of her own young.

[rushwolf]

No... rainbow butterflies this week?

[LORD M]

Whoa! This is so damn odd! I just read about this in a chapter in my animal behaviour book (studying to become a biologist lol). If anyone is intrested, I can describe this infanticidal behaviour a bit more thourough so it makes more sense for those who think it's so cold hearted and doesn't make sense at all. :)

[Tyrus]

This is an initial sketch. What does everyone think?

There is a reason there are 3 creatures on there that will be explained later.

[rushwolf]

LORD M - A brief overview might be cool. I wiki'd around for a bit but I didn't find much. I guess the logical thing would be weeding out the weak or, if there's a food shortage, killing one so the other[s] have a better chance.

[gatling]

I would like a snippet of your knowledge too LORD M That would be awesome. Some recipes would be sweet too. :B

[Faernen]

First sketch, the mother is too fat to move, so her sons sacrifice themselves to allow her to live

[LORD M]

Hehe, sure guys. Ok, here it goes, I take some from the book aswell to make it more accurate.


Certain extreme conditions can lead to parent-offspring conflicts which can take form in filial infanticide by the parent(in this case maternal because of the topic). Imagine a female gets pregnant at a time when resources, like food for example, is plentifull. But as the pregnancy develops the resources in the environments degenerate and is very poor when the female gives birth.

In this resource-lacking scenario the mother have to share the few resources available with the young, which will try and get as many resources as possible from its mother in order to secure its own survival.

The female will have many more reproductive oppurtunities in the future if she survives this lack of resources and she is said to have a high "residual reproductive value". Some of these offspring can be born in times when resources are more pentiful, and the mother must now weight the future value of such offspring against spending a great deal of energy to provide resources for the current offspring in this poor environment.

When the costs and benefits to the future offspring weight more then the costs and benefits of the current offspring, then infanticide (that is cannibalism in this case) is favoured by natural selection. She both regain energy and increase her fitness by devouring her offspring and secure her future offsprings fitness.

This phenomenom is more common in younger mothers which have many more future reproductive chanses then an older mother.

In some animals like fish, maternal infanticide can occur when the mother guards and flaps oxygenized water on the eggs and get's very hungry while guarding them - and then might eat some.


Some nice links:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=693

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-4VVW4TR-2&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F18%2F2009&_alid=891834811&_rdoc=12&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_cdi=6693&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=1369&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=c399852a6ebf2454a8b7ce659380756b

I recomend this search I did on sciencedirect.com: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleListURL&_method=list&_ArticleListID=891834811&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=acfda0a44bf135dd1c0aa02964439c98





I hope this helps, and if anyone have any kind of questions about anything involving biology then don't hesitate to PM me. I will try and answer questions the best I can with what I already know or by the piles of books that lies on my floor. :) And it's also good practise for me! :D

And sorry, I have no recepies because I dislike the taste of my own children.

[rushwolf]

International Mother's Day Special!
Everyday Children Discount!

糖醋婴孩
赤ん坊の刺身
Bebés con Arroz
Confit de Bébés
ബബി കൊകൊനുറ്റ് കുരൃയ്
σάντουιτς εγκεφάλου μωρών
Baby's Back Ribs
De Soep van de Babybol
Kindfleischwurst



I... am too easily amused.

[zimfin]

This is a great topic. I missed a few lately so have to get in this time!

[Michael Jaecks]

:) Yes, I think weeding out the weak is probably the easiest answer to cannibal mother and child. Perhaps the birthing process is harsh and some get injured. Remember that many animals have large litters... infant mortality is pretty common in the animal kingdom and maybe its just a way of disposing of the body and not leaving a scent.

I think some dinosaurs were thought to do this... didn't dimetrodons eat their own young? I seem to think I remember that from the Walking with Monsters DVD or something...

[rushwolf]

:D Wip #1

BBC's Life in the Under World
With David Attenborough

This week David takes us on a majestic journey through some of the most charming parts of Hell. David was very pleased to find the Kanabulli, a minor demon, sorting through its offspring to find a treat.

"The Kanabulli", David explains, "have a very interesting way of weeding out the weak. The mother Kanabulli, often referred to as a Momabulli, carefully inspects each offspring, trying to find the ones with the spiciest brain. A spicy aroma coming from the gray matter in newborn's head is often a sign of the feared holyiocopic faithopilis complex. The Momabulli also just love spicy treats. I often bring Tabasco sauce on these trips, as a sign of trust with these charming creatures."

[TimM]

Nice one, Rushwolf. Really clever. :D

[skullbeast]

tree slugg, and one with no arms, dogseal, byrd.

[rushwolf]

I demand more wips and participation!

[skullbeast]

grue, and sealdog/ looking like the freaking phantom of the opera concept. My head is just loaded with these ones for some reason, I have been painting nearly since 7:00 yesterday with just a few hours of rest. this one is fun!!!

[rushwolf]

ahh i see some nice potential in that last one.

[tompiswobblez]

Here i come, here i cooome! Awesome activity.

[skullbeast]

Grue update. does this qualify as too human? or humanoid.

[Pierropod]

It's very nice but it's kinda human like creature. I don't know if we're gonna have an exception for this topic. If yes, I have an idea too.

[Faernen]

Some progress...

[Chuck,mate.]

632133


still wip


P.

[Korovyov]

first thing that popped into my head... lol

Saturn Devouring his Son by Francisco Goya

[zimfin]

Nice work guys. My image is very basic at the moment and will no doubt change, (looks too much like a spider or tick to me) but the idea behind it is that the creature is of a species that floats above a hostile land. When the young, (eggs) sticking below the mother grow, if there are too many, the Mother gains weight and begins to lose altitude. She then needs to eat one or more of her young in order to lose weight and remove herself and her remaining young from danger.

[Michael Jaecks]

Yes, please let's try to avoid the overtly humanoid.

I really cannot repeat this notion enough, so I will keep repeating it for the rest of my days modding COW... there is NOTHING wrong with a creature that walks on two legs with it's head held upright. That's a perfectly acceptable design motif and I welcome them here in every round of COW...

However, there is a HUGE difference between a gorilla and a guy in a gorilla suit. Your creature can have breasts to signify motherhood without looking like it's a person.

I've also said this before, but it bears repeating... a lot of times what makes something too humanoid is not simply that its a biped... it's proportion and center of gravity. There are plenty of ways to design a creature that walks on two legs without making it look like it hangs out at the Star Wars Cantina circa 1977.

So, skullbeast, yes I think it is too humanoid. There are ways though you can augment your design by reading what I have stated above. Also, here in COW we try to show the entire creature design for the most part, not a 3/4 shot from the legs up. That's allowed over in CHoW... character of the week.

Thanks guys...

[skullbeast]

Michael Jaecks - thanks when we do monsters at the studio we are forced to use the human form since it is a guy in a suit. Im trying to break free from the "box " way of thinking. here is another one.

Potauto

[Michael Jaecks]

Ah, sure. I see where you're coming from. Well, it's early yet and it looks like you're already started on something that works. Very cool.

[rushwolf]

Ended up getting a bit more serious on the hell creature. Trying to adopt the design style of Wayne Barlowe. First attempt i did, not liking it at. Looks too much like an individual demon rather than hell fauna. Just thought I'd share.

Beginning to work in Painter, learning the program as I paint. I think I likes it a lot. I'll be out of town for a while. Mah sketchbook will tag along, hopefully I can create some cool designs for when I get back.

[skullbeast]

potaut2

Michael Jaecks - thanks!

rushwolf - cool beastie! what painter are you using. I picked up 11 a bit ago. it's cool. I still bounce to and fro ps4 to p11. are you using any vector software.

[Tantrom Frenzy]

I ran out of time on the EoW, so going to try and give the CoW a try. Let me know what ya think of the concept. I'm new at this so hang in there with me.:sungod:

[Tantrom Frenzy]

Still peckin away at it but here's a quick peek at the progress.

[Lege1]

Oh snap!lol I see we already got some jiggy entrys goin in here...This is a super sick topic and I am hoping I can def get down on this one.

[Asettimi]

This will be my first C.O.W entry. Ive posted in a couple DSG's, but decided to participate in other activities. I might tweak it some, but am afraid of overworking it so we will see.

http://www.emagimotion.com/artwork/CannibalCreature.jpg

Population of this species is low, due to the fact the mother devours its young upon hatching. If days have gone by since last hatching, the mother moves on leaving the unhatched eggs to survive alone. Because of the carnivorous nature of this species, it is known for them to stumble into other nests in search of an easy meal, if nest is unattended, the female will seize nest and wait for unhatched eggs to hatch. However, if a maternal female returns to her nest while a squatter is there, she will fight to the death to protect her offspring, and food.

[Halix]

Two examples I can think of.

Crocodiles (or one of the similar reptiles) will eat their own young if they find them after they hatch, they cant distinguish between their own and other crocs offspring. I think they even sometimes forget which eggs are their own and eat those as well.

In walking with dinosaurs I think there was a mammal ancestor that lived in an underground burrow. If the burrow was discovered by the raptors, the mammals would move on, eating the young rather than letting the dinosaurs have them.

[zimfin]

Redid mine.

[Pierropod]

I'm not sure if I'm gonna stick to that but here is my idea on this thumbnail.
632963

[zimfin]

Started blocking in some colour and figuring out how I want this thing to look. I realize it has similarities to a previous COW of mine. Guess I like floating creatures.

[MoHog]

Here's some wipage from me

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q429/LouAy/BEAST.jpg

a bit rusty from such a long break - crits and comments would be v. helpful

basic idea - a creature that uses the spines on its back to photosynthesize sunlight for the energy it requires to move its sinewy form. Of course the planet it lives on is subject to monthly eclipses lasting several days, in order to substitute the energy it looses from a lack of sunlight it will consume the young that travel with it during infancy.

[Ink-Ronin]

Sorry,Jacks, if this is too similar an inquiry, but will a Medusa type of creature be considered too humanoid?

[Ironhead]

Hi my first sketch of the mother. It will eat the little Children that come out of her. The mother is too fat and slow to eat other things.

[Tyrus]

I have changed by idea completely by this point and here is the sketch.

Critiques and criticism and all that would be greatly appreciated.

[skullbeast]

update!

[scorge]

Did somebody say participation is demanded? Okay, you twisted my arm.

Skullbeast: looking good. Very good. Definite improvement showing here. Just alien enough to convince us that they're cannibalistic. Values look great.
Tyrus: Isn't skewering one of the greatest inventions of the early 14th century? (Don't quote me on that time frame though, no reference used.) Anyway, my crits would include the lack of space in the image, she needs some breathing room especially if she's going to have some young ones around for lunch. Second would be the shape and position of the head. Looks kind of stapled on there right now.
Ironhead: Cool name by the way, and I'm diggin' the multiple mouths and breasts. Especially the breasts. I'm kidding! Maybe.
Mohog: Damn that's a lot of mouth! Actually looks pretty good. The legs don't quite make up for that stance. Wouldn't have very good balance. You might need a really long tail to do that.
Zimfin: Ah, another floater eh? Heh-Heh I love the textures on the balloon sack.
Pierropod: Feels like it should either go more vertical, or lengthen the body a bit.. I do enjoy the "back-turned-I'm-doing-something-very-wrong-guilty-as-all-hell" body language.
Asettimi: I think if you turned down the saturation a little and cropped it you'd have a badass entry.
Tantrom Frenzy: Hanging in there. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Rushwolf: Fn' crazy update. How's it going with the Painter? Looks neato.
ChuckMate: Hmmmm. How do I put this? Sweet Jesus that's great? Yeah that sounds good. She makes that baby look delicious.

Aaaaaaaand here's my crappy cannibalistic mutant kitty cat.

[Asettimi]

Thanks Scourge,
Ill check out the saturation. Doesn't look intense on my screen, I wonder if my display needs a little calibrating. BTW your Titan creature entry is kick ass as well.

[zimfin]

scorge: Cheers!

I messed up and somehow saved my previous wip after flattening all my layers. Well, this makes it more challenging to maintain that texture on the balloon whilst achieving the transparent look I want. Damn.
Anyway, this is what I have so far. Not loving this one though so I could very well change the whole thing.

[Ironhead]

So, here is a big update!

[MoHog]

cheers scourge, definitely need to look at that stance...
Liking the way yours is going - will some up with an insightful crit later

I'm diggin' the multiple mouths and breasts. Especially the breasts. I'm kidding! Maybe.

that made my day, lol

[Crowsrock]

First sketch!

[Korovyov]

here's mine so far.
it looks a little flat at the moment.
the back leg was definitely thrown on pretty quickly and is going to undergo a lot of refinement.

[Nexus]

Moooother, tell your children not to walk my way.....ahem. Just kidding, couldn't help myself. Cool topic this week. Some potentially neat designs already.

[TimM]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Timmah_45/cannibalisitccopy.jpg

This is what I got so far. She's all decked with color because shes the female of her species. They eat one of their young per litter in order to assert dominance over the remainder of their spawn. Some have been known to accidentally ignore this (perhaps genetic) tradition, and have been killed by their own rogue litters.

[luness]

I sketched this ugly mom last night while thinking on what to do for the IDW, and even though now I have a solid idea, it is hard to put it on paper, because I have to take care of some technical stuff, etc; so I decided to spend some time cleaning up this lady a bit and then keep doing the industrial stuff.
I'm experimenting a bit this time, with a sort of cartoony approach. I wanted a much longer snout but since there was little space left on the sketchbook I just made it short, with a very similar silhouette to the one of my undead creature, oval shaped, I mean. I think it's kinda cruel to add a tiny one with its guts all over the place, so I might add just a head (with a "oh, no"! expression) or a leg popping out the egg she's eating.
Anyways, I hope I finish at least one of the entries I want to submit this week, the COW and/or the IDW.

One thing I would like to say about what I've seen so far, to nobody in particular. From a personal point of view, I see that it’s very common to rush into the coloring process, leaving little space for rough’s improvement. That’s what I get, not only here but in many sketchbook threads as well. It's a personal choice but I rather have a solid, well done rough (I'm not saying that all my roughs are like that), erasing, gesturing again, checking anatomy (if necessary), and then some clean up; than a colored piece with evident and clear flaws, just for the sake of having a colored piece. I constantly ask myself if there's no more room for improvement. I do take some time when necessary. If it’s not ready yet, it’s not ready, and I keep working on it. That "speedy" trend makes me sick sometimes, I confess. Speed will come with practice and study, since you solve problems faster, don't rely that much on constant revisions, and so on. Not too long ago, I would spend from two to three days on a sketch. Now it's usually a day, or a few hrs, or even about 45min or so.
Again, it's a personal point of view, I'm not a pro, a mentor, or anything like that. We are in charge of our own learning process, and we take or leave what we think matters to us and let us grow as artists, and that's great.

Alright, time to sketch, see you guys!:yayca:

[Tetrodotoxin]

I thought of taking a more realistic approach on this, since Cannibalism does really exist in nature. I thought of some egg hatching bird-creature. The mother has to stay near the nest all the time, because there are many predators, that would eat those eggs, if she left. So the male partner has to hunt for food and feed it to her by trophallaxis.
In some cases, the male partners don't do that (maybe they get killed or they cheat on their wifes with another hot bird) and the females have nothing to eat. So in order to be able to have at least a few offsprings, they crack open some of the eggs.
I think, that's how it could really be in nature... So I decided to paint something, that really could exist. I hope it doesn't. If anybody has seen a creature like this, please tell me :^^;:


So now I'm asking if my creature is breaking any COW rules, so that I'm not wasting any more time on it.

Has it a chance on going to poll? If not, what should I do to make it go to poll? I'll definately redo the egg (it's just a placeholder) and add some eggs under her body and if theres more time I'll add a simple background...


634316

[Aesomatica]

This is my first post ever. Long time lurker, first time I've felt I could post. Just a WIP, won't be Finaling, just looking for technique tips/critiques. I like harsh reviews, as I am very hard on myself. A curt and to-the-point reprimand will send me back to my furious drawing board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/LonginusEx/CreatofWeek138Aesom.jpg

This is essentially a rock monster cutting her child's hair and eating the leftovers.

[Pierropod]

Once again there're a lot of good WIP. I can't wait to see the final of this COW. Here is my second WIP. I hope I'm going in the right way.
634505

[Korovyov]

did some more work on the front leg, but cant decide how I feel about the desaturated look.
color scheme suggestions?
also thinking about what sort of environment this lives in.

[skullbeast]

scorge cool start!
luness the small arms are very groovy.

[chirpingbee]

Hey all... here is a very rough WIP of my entry... constructive criticism and feedback are much appreciated... :)

Concept: A sudden lack of food sources + a drive to survive causes this mother creature to devour the weakest of her "pups" in order to provide sustinence to herself and her favored offspring; they join in by sipping on the blood of their sibling that drips down their mother's body.

[lkjhgfdsa]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/lkjhgfdsa_canibalmu1m.jpg

[Ironhead]

Dear luness, i think your right with that speedy thing. TAKE TIME for the sketches. For me i can get a better feel for the creature. I have tried to
sketch with colours and then to build up the sketch. But it was the last time i tried that. LONG LIVE THE PENCIL! Next time i try to overpaint the sketch with a black Prisma-Colour pencil (like Carlos Huante). Then i make a scan and colour that. Let´s see how that works for me.

[Jerik]

hmm... should be starting with the lower leagues i guess... but this subject made a rather interesting idea for me....

this hopefully will be done by friday... but i really don't know...

...also not to sure if the attachment is gna work :/

[TemperedSteele]

It's too bad about this one, I may have to wait until the next one to give this a shot. Since all I can think of is babies eating their mothers. :)

[Faernen]

I think it will be the last iteration for this one :

[Korovyov]

I doodled this during my biology class...
I did a study of the skull and how all the crazy teeth would be formed.
eventually I decided that the creature had a beak with teeth on the outside that function like a cat's retractable claws or fingers. this would allow the creature to hold its prey (or eggs) in place in between bites without lips.
definitely looking forward to developing this more.

[chirpingbee]

I came across this quote the other day that I found to be quite appropriate for this topic. Though it may not describe the subject matter in its exact context, it's close - just kinda opposite. I like it. Wanted to share...

"The most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her child."

[David79]

err kind a late here XD and some trouble posting on the forum :/ maintenance perapse?!
lkjhgfdsa:nice wip :D

femal worm cannibal!
nature can be very cruel :/

[skullbeast]

lkjhgfdsa - looking cool!

david79 - great start and values!

[zimfin]

Man, there are some really cool creatures cropping up in this one!

I stopped all work on the creature, (apart from changing it's crappy left hand) so I could change the background. I figured, having her in more pressing danger was necessary before she would eat her young. Plus I love painting lava! :-) I just started on it so it is not finished. I need to add depth, steam and so on. The sky might become more evening like since I can use the strong lava-light to show transparency and contrast instead of the sky/sun like I planned.

These are the hassles you get when you don't plan enough in advance and when you save your flattened layers by mistake. Lol.

[lkjhgfdsa]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/lkjhgfdsa_canibalmu2m.jpg

[Verehin]

:medusachow:

[Pierropod]

635717

[zimfin]

lkjhgfdsa: Yours looks great. I know it is still in the wip stage but be careful to show she is eating her child/young because at the moment it just looks like she is holding its corpse. If you don't, it might be held against you at the poll if they are strict.

Loving it though. good job!

[Jerik]

real 'pretty' works cropping up here!

evidently a good concept... lotsa results!!

well here is my current WIP.... hopefully will be done by tomorow ^^

[Michael Jaecks]

Someone asked one page back about a 'medusa-type' creature being too humanoid and I don't think it got answered. I'm also sorry I am forgetting the name of the person who asked. Yes, I think medusa would probably be a pretty humanoid place to start. It depends on how you handle it of course. Just remember my gorilla/guy-in-a-gorilla-suit anaology for what makes something a creature and something else too humanoid or a 'character.' You want to stick in the realm of creatures to go to the poll.

It's Thursday. Tomorrow is the deadline, which of course means I will try to set up the poll (barring any SNAFUs, and I don't think there will be, because our internets has been behaving good all week) Saturday Morning at 10am-ish (-5 GMT, I think)... entries are accepted in the finals thread up until I close it to set up the poll.

[zimfin]

Michael: I wish my internet was behaving like yours!! Been a complete pain in the ass all day today. Well this is my last wip before bed and the second time writing this message since the net crashed before I could post the last time!

[scorge]

Verehin and Jerik: I like!

Changed my whole thing as usual. Not sure if I'll get it done.

[chirpingbee]

Changed mine a bit, same concept though. Still in rough stages, blah... really gonna try to finish this tonight!! :oneye:
Update: Yeah, it didn't happen. Into the sketchbook you go...

[skullbeast]

scorge -That's awesome!!!

[Jerik]

Scorge: thanks... yours turned out pretty beastly... nice work!

[pepps]

final maybe?
critics welcome!

[ninety9]

nice entries so far, scorge and pepps are really outstanding, awe-fucking-some.

[Nexus]

No time for a final unfortunately. Which is truly disappointing because I liked this design for once. I'll finish it regardless just for practice.

Basically the idea was that the salamander children hatch from the nursery growths on the back. They then scuttle towards the mothers head following a special call that she makes. The mother salamander produces hundreds of children but eats most of them. The only children to survive are those intelligent enough to quickly dodge out of the way of her tongue and crawl through the holes in her face scoop. The holes also serve to reduce water resistance for quicker submersion in the water but most importantly they weed out the children with the weakest survival instincts.

[CAReece]

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7282/18997131.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=18997131.jpg)

coming to this one a little late but easter hols mite allow me to finish it

[Lege1]

Scorge / SkullBeast: Awesome entrys so far guys!

[Michael Jaecks]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=154068

Poll is now up.