C.O.W.#148 -- NEWBORN Special TWO week round. "Extraterrestrial Gestation Cycle"!

[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 #148 NEWBORN Special TWO week round

Topic:
Extraterrestrial Gestation Cycle

Creature Description: Extraterrestrial Gestation Cycle-- As announced in the WIPs thread for the last round, we are doing a special edition COW for the next two weeks tied into the Massive Black/Wacom contest: "Newborn." Our topic this week is "Extraterrestrial Gestation Cycle."

Your task this week is to design a new alien creature at the beginning of its existence. You entry must consist of no less than THREE panels: Embryo, Fetus and Newborn. You may, with your entry, show more than three stages of its development if you like, but every entry must consist of at least three images (joined into ONE entry, not three seperate posts.) You need to show the creature's development over time, which is why we're doing a minimum of three panels. Embryo means early development. Fetus means its anatomy is formed and visible, but the creature is still in utero/egg/host. Newborn means the creature is sufficiently developed to survive outside it's mother's womb, egg, or gestational host (rather like Giger's Alien Chestburster.)

Think about the possibilities. There are ENDLESS awesome directions to develop your new creature.

You have two weeks to develop and execute your design. That's a lot of time, which is why a little more is being expected of everyone this week. Think about your creatures design, biology, anatomy and physiology. It could have a very brief gestational cycle. It could have a very long one. Humans gestate for a little less than 300 days. Elephants develop over 600 days. What sort of creature would need 1000 days? (That's nearly 3 years) ... or longer? If your creature has an unusual color of blood... what would it's embryo and fetal development look like? Probably pretty different from pictures you've seen of human fetuses or baby chicks inside an egg.

Really push yourself into new designs, even for the embryonic stage. Whereas an embryo might consist of a few cells, for a complicated organism, those cells could be very unusual, detailed and complex. The uterus inside which it forms might be quite unusual.

The Newborn should be a fully designed, interesting creature. Many animals are born into a great deal of self-sufficiency. Some are up and walking within a few minutes of being born. Not every newborn infant is helpless.

The same COW rules apply as always. No humanoids. No characters. No creatures that lack form, design, anatomy.



Deadline:
EXTENDED DEADLINE: Friday July 10th!.

Finals go here: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=161364

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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[tonynokills]

Awesome. This'll be fun.

[churapsoy]

Hhahaha, very unique topic! but 3? hmmm, i might bite off more than I can chew but it's fairly early on,. Wonderful idea sir!:yayca:

[Michael Jaecks]

You think three is a lot? Hmmm.

For COW #100 we had to do 100... that's ONE HUNDRED 150px by 150px thumbnail creatures in a month. We picked ten topics and did ten creatures for each. The turnout for this round was crazy. Students and professionals alike stepped up for it. Obviously each one wasn't as well rendered and detailed as a single COW entry, but people took it pretty darn seriously....

This dorky artist came no where near close to getting anywhere in the poll, but even he did pretty good on some of his designs :D

http://www.michaeljaecks.com/cow100.html

Just you wait till we get to COW 200. Just you wait. ;P

[Blitz]

What resolution did you paint those 150 x 150s at?

[Michael Jaecks]

Um... I forget. Probably 500 or 600px square then shrunk them down. I do some work simillar to that sort of thing for a couple clients... browser rpgs, buttons for websites, playing pieces for casual games, all between 40px square and 100px square. There's no sense in making your eyes bug out when you do it. Work at 500px then reduce.

[acb]

wow....thats a really good theme for this one ^_^ i think we can do more of" the stages of development of a creature" theme and concerning the newborn thatll be a great oportunity to explore the creature im making for it :D mj .....thats cool @_@ *pointing this thread*

[Michael Jaecks]

Thanks acb.

I think a smart way to do this would be to start with the fully designed, matured and birthed 'Newborn' and then sort of devolve it in form a bit for 'fetus' while modifying texture, color, whatnot for its look 'in utero' and then sort of devolve the form further for the embyronic stage. You can modify its surroundings as well, be it, egg or placenta or womb as the creature changes over time. I wouldn't mind seeing folks use the idea that the alien gestates inside a host, though different from the Giger 'Chestburster' idea.

I havent participated in a COW since taking over the mod responsibilities, but I am giving some thought to trying this one.

[acb]

I havent participated in a COW since taking over the mod responsibilities
damn @_@ being so close and incharge of a very cool think and not being able to participate ....its annoying (at least i know i would get annoyed out of it ~_~...well hopefully the longer timeframe will let you join too :D

[Blitz]

Um... I forget. Probably 500 or 600px square then shrunk them down. I do some work simillar to that sort of thing for a couple clients... browser rpgs, buttons for websites, playing pieces for casual games, all between 40px square and 100px square. There's no sense in making your eyes bug out when you do it. Work at 500px then reduce.

Thanks, was just curious. I worked on a project a few years ago with a group of guys creating a game. I did a lot of the User Interface and icons for the game.

Oh, and did I miss a link to maybe an Archive of all the other COWs ? Id love to look through some of the older entries.

[Michael Jaecks]

We have a gallery of winners up until last October. I took over in Feb and havent been able to update the gallery with the standard PSD. I will probably start a new gallery of winners while we work on the two week project going back as far as I can find winning entries.

You can see more past threads by going down to the bottom of the forum and changing how far back you want to see threads in those drop down menus at the bottom. You should be able to go pretty far back to see old threads...

EDIT: Yeah, I just checked. You can go all the way back to round number one. You may not be able to see every entry. Today we have people upload entries right to ConceptArt.org. Way back when, everyone had to host their entries on a remote site like Photobucket and whether or not people still host those works on those sites will determine whether or not you can still see them.

[chriskot]

Sounds excellent. Participating in C.O.W.#103 was one of the first things I did after joining CA and I haven't finished one since. This seems like an excellent opportunity to try and get back into it. Hopefully I can actually get something put together before the deadline this time.

[M!CK]

actually sounds quite had this one. I may just give it a crack tho =)

[rushwolf]

I think i should come out of hibernation for this. Wacom 4.... mmmm

[Michael Morisse]

Great topic!! hope I have time to participate. lost the last round to deadlines.

[Labrynthine]

I'm gonna try this one as well! "Shadow and Flame" was a blast, but it left me pretty drained for the week afterward. Now I'm refreshed and ready to try another one.

[Droid]

This might help somebody by showing some gooey bug development.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Cicada_molting_animated.gif

Probably won't enter this time round, I'm trying to sort out my future career, since I've decided staying on at school this year was a bad choice.

Good luck guys.

;)

[Marsch]

Will do apex predator that comes from a sessile plant like creature.

Question: Can we do the other life stages too (plus the required)?

[MasterStryke]

sounds awesome.

[infinitemonkey]

I couldn't finish Demon Devourer in time, but with 2 weeks on this I should just squeak in under the deadline. I hope.

[lkjhgfdsa]

gonna do an embryo/egg-larvae-crystalis-critter... too much h.r.geiger in my head...

[Cam Sykes]

Probably going to do something Marsupial, since I'm australian. They ahve a very interesting way they bring up their young. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial

I also thought of this, which is a dragonfly's life cycle. the video is worth a look. Because the Larvae stage of a dragonfly is really self-sufficient, and pretty badass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezq_JWd1Sd8

[lkjhgfdsa]

@camsyko the larval stage of the dragon fly is also where geiger was inspired for his Alien series of concepts and models (for tha movies which I recon are great).
But you prob. know that... ;P

[Cam Sykes]

ah no, i didn't. thanks for the info mate.

[Arcko]

I keep being thrown off by the no plants rule of this challenge. Would something like the plant out of Little Shop of Horrors not be an acceptable species for exploitation for this contest?

[domo arigato]

hmm...this one sounds interesting. Gotta do some research on this but I think I'm in.

[Bralt Hannicart]

Here are some useful videos that explore lifecycles of several species:

pupation of caterpillars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3jbzq-_7bU

Zombifying wasp larvae living inside caterpillars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMG-LWyNcAs

Sandtigershark's womb with cannibalistic offspring:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrqgPjZ07Ts

Honey Bee life cycle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSk_ev1eZec

[tonynokills]

Couple of sketches, not sure where I'm going with it yet though.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/thompso7/wip-newborn2.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g245/thompso7/wip-newborn.jpg

[MoHog]

hmmmmm may try to do this alongside the special they're running at chow
thanks for those finding resources already :P

[churapsoy]

You think three is a lot? Hmmm.

For COW #100 we had to do 100... that's ONE HUNDRED 150px by 150px thumbnail creatures in a month. We picked ten topics and did ten creatures for each. The turnout for this round was crazy. Students and professionals alike stepped up for it. Obviously each one wasn't as well rendered and detailed as a single COW entry, but people took it pretty darn seriously....

This dorky artist came no where near close to getting anywhere in the poll, but even he did pretty good on some of his designs :D



Hehehe, for a newbie like me sir, 3 creatures fuly rendered is a lot of work, I couldn't imagine how you got to fit 100 -.-"

[Blitz]

Hehehe, for a newbie like me sir, 3 creatures fuly rendered is a lot of work, I couldn't imagine how you got to fit 100 -.-"

Steroids :muscle:

[MoHog]

got a brainwave this morning and wanted to run the idea past mister Jaecks and the C.O.W community to check if it is suitable for the brief

706305

basically 'seed' lava are dispersed like dandelion seeds, in flight the lava develop a raindrop-like fluid sack that accumulates carbon particles in the atmosphere to build the body by utilizing it as building blocks. Once fully matured the insect drops to the ground in adult form

I stress the image is just so the idea could not slip away it is not an attempt to paint and I will be more original in design than a dandelion with a bug on the end :p

cheers

(third stage in progress)

[Michael Jaecks]

Steroids :muscle:

Heh heh. Naw. Coffee.

COW 100 was pretty hardcore, but it really encouraged you to work quickly. They're really just sketches; you can only spend so much time on each one. Even if you spent only 20 minutes on each, that's still 33.33333... hours of work. Believe it or not I managed to do COW 100 and quite a bit of client work that month. In fact, I used a couple of my thumbnails from COW 100 for that client's job at the time. Working every day keeps your momentum up. That was probably one of the bigger lessons from COW 100. Work every day and you will benefit from it.

MoHog: It's an interesting idea certainly. Conveying it visually will be a challenge though. The point of this round is to show a creatures biological development visually. Three different stages, but obviously the same creature in each. Giving the creature an interesting 'delivery method' into the world is cool, but I am also interested in seeing interesting looking creatures from near conception to birth.

[Marsch]

Here are doodles . I now i am getting a little away from the theme but im creating a backbone for more refinement latter.

please give feedback and crits.

[volscalkur]

Heh heh. Naw. Coffee.

LOL Lots and lots of coffee!! That's pretty incredible that you were able to complete that as well as client work! You have some really great creatures on there too!
I'd love to attempt something like that someday... but for now I'm having enough trouble completing one decent drawing in a week! :S
Guess I need much more practice... and a lot more coffee! :)

Thanks for the gooey bug development animation Touchstone and the cool video links Bralt Hannicart
that is some intense stuff! Who'da thought we have such craziness all around us in the world and most of us didn't even realize it! :D

Looking good Marsch! I like the one in the center best so far, and the life cycle is very interesting! Is that it's cocoon that grows up out of the ground like a plant, or does it attach it's self to an actual plant? Cool ideas!

I had a pretty good idea of where I was heading with this creature, unfortunately my idea is somewhat similar (but only in the delivery method) to MoHog's super sweet idea-So I thought I better run it by you guys before I get to far along! I do really like the carbon absorbing rain drop idea! Very unique approach! I'm excited to see what you come up with! Maybe part of it's life cycle could have something to do with ice since at high altitude raindrops turn to hail or snow? -just an idea. :)


My idea is a parasitic creature that releases thousands of tiny young which float through the air using bladders filled with warm gas captured from the decomposing corpse of their host. Using these bladders they to travel to a new host which they land on and infest by burrowing into it's flesh and weaving a cocoon close to a major artery or blood vessel which they will tap into and use to supply nutrients as they transform into their next phase.

Once the transformation is complete and the parasites emerge from their cocoons it is a race to see which parasite can move through the host’s blood stream fastest and reach the brain first. It is survival of the fittest as the tiny parasites attack and kill each other as they all work their way to the host’s brain, causing the host no small amount of discomfort.

Once all other contenders have been eaten the final remaining parasite attaches its selves to the host’s brain where it will undergo a final metamorphosis as it takes over the host’s brain completely- rendering the host a walking corpse with only basic primitive thought processes and motor functions. As the parasite siphons all of the host body’s nutrients from its blood stream to support the thousands of young that it will eventually give birth to, the host gradually begins to decompose and looses mobility. The parasite’s days are numbered as it increases dramatically in size and bursts out through the host’s skull or brain cavity in one final desperate measure before it gives birth to thousands of tiny young and dies. The tiny newborns will feed on the now immobile corpse of the host as well as that of their parent until the food supply runs out and they are forced to inflate their tiny gas bladders and float away on the breeze in search of new hosts to infect… >:D

I've identified about 5 different stages I would need to show- if you think this fits the brief close enough I'll continue working on it. If not I'll come up with something else! :)

This is going to be a sweet round! Can't wait to see what everyone else has cooking! :)

Good luck everyone!

[volscalkur]

So after reading the brief again (something I really should have done in the first place:dur: instead of going off all half-cocked and posting my half-baked idea) I realized that my parasite idea is pretty far off from the brief which clearly states to show the creature in stages of development rather then across it's entire life cycle... a fact I over looked in my over zealous attempt to over think the topic!

While I may be able to incorporate some of my ideas from the parasite creature into my design of an Embryo, a Fetus and a Newborn. I won't be doing it's entire life cycle. :)

Hope to get some WIPs up soon!

[Pixelestial]

I dunno, volscalkur, everyone seems to be doing a metamorphosis/life cycle so far, rather than stages of development. The two ideas are pretty closely related, so you might be alright. MJ, what say you?

Here's a handy development chart for a number of different vertebrates. The embryonic stage is fairly similar for all of them, but that doesn't mean that our creatures have to be!

[OTTA]

Nice Round! I think I got something in my mind :)

[MoHog]

ok, thankee very much for the feedback MJ tis a good point
I think soulweaver is right too, definitely a pitfall to avoid

I must say this week is gonna be a test of the imagination. here's another idea; mammalian monkey-tree beastie that 'lays' its young in an external womb sac thing I will post thumbs for development + the final stage seen here with more refined anatomy

707191

[pahavasa]

Thinking of something that will crawl it's way to human uterus and grow there.

707481

[Psychotrope]

So..I'm feeling I should try and get in on this. It has so much potential. >.>;

[Michael Morisse]

My idea is a parasitic creature that is inserted into a host. The embryo attaches itself to the heart, enveloping it as it grows. Steals it because it can't develop this kind of organ tissue on its own. It keeps the host in a state of coma, and they both live of the hosts fat reserve. Then when the parasite it is ready, it cuts of the hosts remaining heart connections and crawls out of its "womb". I have tried to design an alien creature that is both "alien" and newborn.
A fine line between: alien-cool-cute.
Not sure if it should have a mouth or not.
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/michaelmorisse/NBpost1.jpg

[Marsch]

More sketches.
please give feedback for improvement.
Very inspired by jellyfish lyfe cicle.+mushrooms. Now have to focus in the "inside egg" development (the main theme)

[scorge]

No way in hell I could sit this one out. Thanks to JM and MJ for puttin' it together. We definitely don't have enough of these badass contests around these parts.

Michael Morrise: Some beautiful sketches there. Very nice to look at.
Marsch: Not much to crit at this point. If anything, once you have your initial ideation down, get going on the refinements to make it as believable as possible. I like the guy on the bottom BTW. All I've got.

WIP

[MasterStryke]

yeah michael morisse: your sketches are very awesome

[Michael Morisse]

Here is a more refined early embryo starting its enveloping of the host hart
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/michaelmorisse/fetuspost.jpg

[Doomsquid]

Michael Morisse- Creepy-- I like how gelatinous it looks.

scorge- Nice colors! I especially like the way the upper regions are looking, nice and smooth~

Marsch- The sketches at the bottom there are looking interesting, I'm looking forward to more

pahavasa- The colors are very embryonic-looking-- Nice job!

MoHog- I dig the creature design and the eternal womb-sac thing-- very cool!

tonynokills- I prefer the top sketch, intriguing body layout and head shape.

Here's my go at the embryo so far-- this is the first time I've tried a more painterly approach; does anyone have some suggestions for starting to refine the details and such, when I get there? Thanks!

[Psychotrope]

So i've got a pretty good idea of how I want this to work out...the one 'final' sketch before I begin to start colors and painting.

[Michael Morisse]

Marsch Nice sketches, I am not sure if the "new dude" comes out of the mushroom Phase, but you're on the right track, setting up a story to illustrate.
and as Michael Jaecks suggested it is good to see where you want to end up, and then work backwards.
Don't rush but spend time figuring out the why and where and the design will come a lot easier and it will be much stronger.
About your creature : I like the eye on the bottom jaw but right now it looks like it is twisting it's head. You need to design it so it looks like the eye is definitely located on the bottom jaw.

scorge great design! and great color!, want to see all the stages of development.

Doomsquid Right now your painting is very soft, to refine you need some crisper details in some places otherwise it will look to "soft"

[Razorleaf]

I have a question MJ .....

When creating the panels for embyro, fetus and newborn can there be more than three?

I mean I have used a single panel for the embryo but I would like to use two for the fetus. It this possible or are we restricted to just the three?

[scorge]

So what's with the small turnout? Something tells me we're going to have a big turnaround at the end.

Thanks for the comments guys.

Stage two almost completed.

WIP2

[Razorleaf]

I like your approach scorge. You give the end-result first by depicting your character and the embryo, then include stage two - the fetus. I thought for a long time on how to create the evolution of mine and I'm still working on it.

Your colors are stunning! But if I may make a comment ... I believe you could increase the amount of contrast in your images. For example, in the folds of skin and limbs there is little definition. By increasing the shadows in those areas you can really make your characters pop of the canvas. :)

I too noticed the weak turn-out thus far and expect it to really pick up by the first of the week.

[dwinbotp]

Michael Morrise Great pencil sketches man, freaky nice:)
scourge loving the color combination. Hoping to see them separate the mix to define upper and lower bodies. but very smooth stuff do far! :D

I'm going to simplify my brain this round,here's what i'll do if time permits. c&c like always are appreciated with big kisses!

[lkjhgfdsa]

an egg...
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/Speedpaint/lkjhgfdsa_wip_egg.jpg

[volscalkur]

Awesome stuff people! We've got some pretty sweet and twisted ideas going on here! :)

Thanks Soulweaver!
That development chart is great!
I think I'm going to save the entire life cycle of my creature for the Newborn contest, and concentrate on the embryo to newly hatched progression for this COW. :)

MoHog Looking great! The external womb sac idea is very cool, and the creature is looking very interesting.

pahavasa Wow, a creature that crawls into a human uterus is a very unique idea! Somewhat twisted, but genius! It's progressing very well.

Michael Morisse Awesome idea! An organ snatcher! I like it! I think a mouth would add to the design, but leaving it mouthless would make it appear more alien... perhaps multiple mouths or a mouth in an odd place would work? just ideas? looking cool! :)

Marsch Coming along nicely man! The mushroom idea is very cool. If you would like your creature to appear more baby-like (from your notes on the drawing) making it's head and eyes larger, and softening up the sharp angles of its body could help.

scorge Freaking awesome! Love the design and colors so far!

Doomsquid Looking good! Liking the painterly approach, you've got the forms and shape down, I think tightening up the details with smaller hard-edged brushes is where I'd go from here, but I'm still learnin! :)

Psychotrope creature made up of organs is sweet idea! Can't wait to see how it progresses!

dwinbotp Glad to see your throwin down this round! Can't wait to see what awesomeness you come up with! :) So far it's lookin pretty sweet!

Here's what I've got so far, some sketches of my creature in it's newly hatched "dispersion" stage. As it develops inside it's egg it's gas bladder gradually inflates and eventuality bursts the shell allowing the creature to hatch. The bladder continues to inflate until the newly hatched creature simply floats away to find a host of it's own, once it find a host it chews off the gas bladder and begins to burrow inside the host's flesh.

I'm trying out different designs for the head, I think I like the "snail eyed" version best so far. The creature is roughly the size of a dust mite at this stage.
Comments and crits much appreciated! :)

[pahavasa]

Progress, messing around with the design.
710217

Update, getting close to the final version:
710486

[Rabies]

Pahavasa
Did you make that brush yourself or?...

[pahavasa]

Rabies, for the white spores? It's a custom brush just to show you guys where the spores are supposed to come from in the final picture. I don't prefer custom brushes in general, say what you may, but I kinda think using them is cheating.
Anyhow, elsewhere there are basic brushes only.

And yes, the "newborn" in my species is just a shell for the spores to spread wider with, it's not a baby as we see it.

[scorge]

Finished stage 2....Thanks for the advice Razorleaf and Dwinbotp.

Beginning to think I don't have a life. Anyway, here's the latest.

lkjhgfdsa: Looking sick buddy.

[Featherwurm]

Just starting to noodle around with some loose ideas, both of which seem to generic for my tastes so far, so I'm going to have to push myself further I think. (This is my first time participating and I'm still rather new here, so I hope I'm doing things right). For the first, I found a stick insect today, which, I guess put me in the mood to draw insect legs, I started with the adult to work backward to a grub and hatchling. (Also... does the design seem too humanoid? I think it may look too humanoid...) For the second, I thought maybe some sort of mammalian-type thing might be interesting, but most mammalian development cycles look very similar, and the adult just dosen't hold my interest.

I'm definitely going to be playing around more with ideas here. This is complex, but fun.

[lkjhgfdsa]

Egg born nudibranch-ish critter at feed point... next- the coocoon/crystalis.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/lkjhgfdsa_wip_nudi.jpg

[Razorleaf]

Scorge - the definition of your characters is really coming into play, nicely done! :)

[Michael Morisse]

The birth of the hart stealer.
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt179/michaelmorisse/Finalstage4WIP.jpg

[Icecold]

Wohoo scorge you've set this competition to a high lvl, looks great buddy.

[Razorleaf]

Gawd .... I can't get into the evil monster ET kind of imagry. My ideas are so bloody passive. :)

Still, I experimented with a few ideas, styles and brushes and this is what I came up with so far.

I've got the delivery method down but the evil alien newborn is just out of my reach.

So my idea is this...
1. A chrysalis created by the adult blows in the wind. With each gust a drop of liquid containing a single spore is released into the air.
2. The spore requires an incubator and so seeks out heat in a recent deposit of animal feces.
3. Once lodged inside the incubation period begins. The emergence of the newborn takes place in about 24 hours.

I went with a quadropod with insect, bird and reptilian characteristics. The newborn is underdeveloped and will exhibit stronger characteristics as it matures.

[Pixelestial]

Scorge: Wow, your skills have really improved since I first saw you enter COW. But how does a newborn that big come out of an egg that small? Or are you adding an "adult" stage to the mix here?

Razorleaf: The fetus is my favorite panel. :)
For the newborn, you may want to make sure we can see more of the creature's anatomy. At the moment, there's not much to set it apart from a regular baby bird.

Featherwurm: First of all, welcome. Second of all, I personally find the mantis creature more interesting than the mammal. I don't think it's remotely too humanoid, so you should be safe there. The little hatchling is so cute, in an creepy, wormy kind of way. :)

pahavasa: Ugh, it makes me uneasy just thinking of that thing growing inside me (which I'm sure was your goal ^_^). It's like the female version of the testicle lurker (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105775).
The second stage is looking a bit too similar to a human fetus to me.

volscalkur: I agree that the snail-eyed one is the best head design so far. Those things under its mouth aren't reading very well right now, though.
I'd like to see a little more tension on the strands attaching the gas bladder to the creature. They don't appear to be carrying any weight.

lkjhgfdsa: It reminds me of a shark's egg case. Is all that awesome texture drawn by hand?

dwinbotp: Sometimes simplification is a good thing. I can't wait to see where this goes.

Michael Morrisse: Probably the most "extraterrestrial"-looking of the bunch so far. I like the slime effects.

Psychotrope: I hope to see how the brain/eye connections work in the fetus stage! It'll be tough to illustrate, but I'm sure you can pull it off.

Doomsquid: A good start. I agree with Michael Morrisse's comment about it being too soft, but it's still at an early stage (pun not intended). Use some harder-edged brushes when you start to refine it.

Marsch: I'm enjoying the sketches of the creature's head. At the moment, I can't see the connection between the mushroom stage and the quadruped stage. Make sure you address that for the final.

MoHog: I'm really liking the design for the adult. Like a monkey/bat/rodent.

tonynokills: I prefer the hammerhead crab/turtle design. It'll make for an interesting embryo.

[lkjhgfdsa]

@Soulweaver- Yep, handdrawn as I get bored sometimes and listen to fast music- helps draw faster to a beat- at least for me...

[Pixelestial]

My little brain baby:

[pahavasa]

Soulweaver, thanks! I figured it'd have to resemble human fetus in order to pass ultra sound somehow.

Finished version of my newborn pumpkin baby.
712062

[Michael Jaecks]

scorge:

That's fabulous.

Razorleaf: yes, more than three panels is fine. Three is the minimum.

[Kohakuro]

wip- what ive got so far is the fetus stage of my alien of whom i still dont have a name for x3 i need to learn how to paint better ; ; http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r75/krazykoha/arts/nimphbabycontest.png

[Baron Impossible]

Sounds good. Never done a C%OW before so I think I'll have a go. Couldn't see anything in the rules about displaying WIPs so I'll assume it's optional unless someone says otherwise :)

[scorge]

Oh......... crap.........Simon Dominic?
Congrats on your Yerka piece man. One of my favorite paintings ever. Go easy on us okay?

Thanks MJ, Icecold and especially Soulweaver for the question of the day. I was going to include only the Adult version of this guy but I guess it's a good time to ask if we have to show the actual birth. Not a problem, but a damn good question.

[Marsch]

Here is all in one pannel Wip.
Thanks all people, for the critics they really help me. Hope i distwisted the head.

lkjhgfdsa: Loving the egg(looks evil!)
Scorge: they are twins? "Twins sometimes are better"(lol) looking forward.
Michael Morrisse: Love parasites
Pahavasa: awesome idea (now I know from were my brother came from)

Please comment/feedback-me for improvement and best of luck for you all.

[meeshoo]

Here is my sketch on this. The only problem is there are huge chances I won't have time to finish it in time (there is a newborn in our house too now, two weeks old, eats all of our time :) ).

Anyway, my little newborn here is called Swampslider and on the planet where it's born, the animal and plant reigns have merged. The creatures are all males and their female counterparts are plants that hold and feed the eggs until the babies are complete, after that they die and the little baby sliders are hatching.

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[sepu]

Hi guys!
I'm new here, but I hope that is not a problem :) most of you seem friendly enough..
Will post some quick wip soon, as Im good with starting work just before deadlines ;)

For now I have one questiion - most of you are going for verbetae, is there some obligation? I started with insect-like-alien, but insects dont have gestation per se.. or do they?

[Michael Jaecks]

Oh......... crap.........Simon Dominic?
Congrats on your Yerka piece man. One of my favorite paintings ever. Go easy on us okay?

Thanks MJ, Icecold and especially Soulweaver for the question of the day. I was going to include only the Adult version of this guy but I guess it's a good time to ask if we have to show the actual birth. Not a problem, but a damn good question.

Per the brief for the round, your entry should include at a minimum three panels: embryo, fetus and newborn. Any other part of the life cycle you want to include is completely acceptable so long as you are sure to include those three.

[Michael Jaecks]

Well, let's see. We've got two days till the deadline. That would mean a Thursday morning poll, and so far just one entry in the finals thread. I'm not trying to insinutae anyone should submit work before they are ready to of course... Usually, we'd have a few more early birds by now though. Was the holiday weekend super busy for everyone? I know I didn't get much done (besides the usual watching things getting blown up and eating too much...) I'm considering letting the deadline go until Friday (meaning a Sat. morning poll.)

Thoughts? Concerns? If no one shouts out that they would like more time to finish, I will simply set up the poll at the originally scheduled time....

[volscalkur]

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! :)
Thanks MJ!
I myself would appreciate the extra time since I was out of town and off line since late last week, but if everyone else is doing fine on the Thursday deadline then I'll finish up mine by then as well.
I was able to work while out of town using markers and colored pencil, but I'm not very happy with the results and would like to give it another go with digital painting.

Here is the marker&colored pencil version of the newborn stage of my creature. It's definitely one of the better marker/colored pencil pieces I've done but still could use a lot of improvement!
I think I have muddied it up by using to many colors, and the gas bladder doesn't show volume like I would like it to.
C&C greatly appreciated!

Anyone else like more time?
If I'm the only one whining by all means keep the present deadline. :}

[PSych]

Not too much time, but i'm in.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/PavelSych/A_Potwory/creatureconcept_04.jpg

[JEFFERSON]

Here is what I've been up to. This weekend was a very big one for me so I don't know if I will be done by the deadline or not, but we will see.

[FAST ART]

jeeehaa.. great stuff here.. i will enter

[JEFFERSON]

This is a little more of an organized layout.

[Pixelestial]

I hope "extradimensional" functions the same as "extraterrestrial" for the purposes of this COW...


Edit by Soulweaver: I'm pretty sure this next part is supposed to be Michael Jaecks' post, but it's embedded in my message for some reason. Just to clarify for everyone else, I'm not just making up a new deadline here. :)
Sure, I can handle that. :)

We've got one vote at least for an extended deadline, so I am going to go with that. There arent as many entries as I thought there would be by this point.

SO the new deadline is Friday, July 10th... which means I will be setting up the poll around noon Central, USA time on Saturday.

[JEFFERSON]

I was wondering if this is done enough to post in the finals or not?

[Psychotrope]

Just submitted my final- first time ever digitally painting and not using inked lines or contours in general. Oh, and with a mouse. But by the looks of some of these, I'll get thoroughly thrashed- I love all the views you have, Jefferson. And you have just a crazy unique creature in general, Sepu. Moisse, yours seems close to mine in spirit, the action shot in the one you posted of it "bursting" is just brilliant. Really, great job to everyone thusfar.

[JEFFERSON]

Added a size comparison and extended the embryo stage. Hoping to be done with it by tonight, but the extended deadline is nice. Maybe I will be able to squeeze in some birdseye view of the creature.

[PSych]

I'm not sure if dedline is realy July 10th but this contest is great fun for me :)

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/PavelSych/A_Potwory/creatureconcept_05.jpg

[darkly]

Lookin' good guys!

It's been a while so I thought I might as well join in. Here's some sketches.

718987

[JEFFERSON]

I was wondering if I could get any feedback on this? Before I prep it to post tonight.

[scorge]

Final's up.

Darkly: Nice to see you here playing....Awesome sketches. Gonna be a close round.

JEFFERSON: Great timeline you have going there, very interesting progression. Crit: Almost too much information. Maybe streamline your depictions of the stages to include only what is absolutely necessary to show how this thing develops. While the complex life cycle is very detailed and your hard work much appreciated, IMHO the design of the creature's stages gets to be somewhat stunted by the over-effort to demonstrate each step of a particular moment.

Fast Art: Beautiful final. Couldn't wait till the poll to tell you that.

[PSych]

Next update (probably final)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a179/PavelSych/A_Potwory/creatureconcept_05a.jpg

[darkly]

Final's up.

Darkly: Nice to see you here playing....Awesome sketches. Gonna be a close round.

JEFFERSON: Great timeline you have going there, very interesting progression. Crit: Almost too much information. Maybe streamline your depictions of the stages to include only what is absolutely necessary to show how this thing develops. While the complex life cycle is very detailed and your hard work much appreciated, IMHO the design of the creature's stages gets to be somewhat stunted by the over-effort to demonstrate each step of a particular moment.

Fast Art: Beautiful final. Couldn't wait till the poll to tell you that.

Scorge: Thanks man, I appreciate the warm welcome. Even if it's a welcome back. Checked out your final and you're right about the competition. Nice work! They've got a lot of character. I think I've seen a few of those around where I live.

Fast Art: Always cool!

Jefferson: I Agree with Scorge. You've got too much going on. It's distracting. Also it could be laid out a little better. I played with your WIP for an example of how you could lay it out more for the Layman to understand. Mind you, it's just an example and even then there's still a lot going on. But I hope it helps.

719898

[Michael Jaecks]

Hey guys,

Just checking in. Our deadline is today, poll goes up Saturday morning/noonish Central Time, USA. Let's get those finals in!

[FAST ART]

hey thank u for that nice words guys.. really great designs from everone of this thread.. cant wait to vote for someone ;)

[Michael Jaecks]

Just a really quick check in... something came up today and the poll will be just a little bit later. I'm looking to set up the poll Sunday afternoon, CST USA time. So those of you who would like to have a little more time to refine your entries, you have an extra day.

Also keep in mind that by participating in the special Newborn round, you've now got something started (or in some cases finished) that can be developed even further and entered into the larger Newborn contest which has a deadline of July 31st. Some really great prizes and opportunities for exposure are at stake, so take a look at the special contest forum Jason has set up and give some thought to entering your work!

Thanks for your efforts in this round. We'll be going back to the regular weekly format next round.