C.O.W. #149 -- Just Chillin' -- Posting WIPs 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


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Round #149 Just Chillin'.

Topic:
Just Chillin'

Creature Description: Just Chillin' -- Today I am thinking about strategies for keeping cool in these warm summer months... but first, a (counter)point of reference...

Are you familliar with a classic fantasy creature called the Remorhaz? Check out these two links first. The first link includes a MOST EXCELLENT illustration of the creature by ConceptArt.org member (and all around fantasy art master) Ralph Horsley , the second links to Wiki, which has a longer verbal description:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20090427

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remorhaz

Does the basic idea make sense? The Remorhaz is like a giant, segmented, finned centipede that can survive harsh, arctic environments because of its extremely hot internal body temperature. The Remorhaz's internal temperature is so extremely hot, parts of its body (despite its pale blue and white segments) glow red. Got it? It's environment is inhospitably cold and its ability to thrive in that environment is visible in its design.

All right, good. Now on to your challenge. I want you to flip this idea, essentially, and design a new creature, a new species that naturally refrigerates itself to thrive in inhospitably HOT environments. It's ability to do so should be visible in your design. It should not resemble the Remorhaz. The links above are simply a counterpoint of conceptual reference, not a point of visual reference. Design a completely new creature (fantasy or alien is fine) that survives extremely hot environments by refrigerating itself. It's ability to do so should be visible in your design.

First, give some idea to your environment. How hot is hot? Something that lives in the desert? Something equatorial? Something that lives in a volcano?Something that lives on Venus?? (Something that lives in an equatorial desert volcano on the surface of Venus?!!?)

Then think about how the creature will keep itself cool/cold/freezing to survive/thrive in said environment and how that would look visually. Then incorporate those ideas into your new creature design.

Deadline:
Tuesday July 21th

Finals go here: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=163097

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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[OTTA]

Nice topic! It's sound fun :)

[Labrynthine]

When you say refrigerate, do you mean the refrigeration process similar to the mechanical devices in which we keep our food cool, or in this is refrigeration a broad term for keeping themselves cool? I have an idea for a creature that circulates air through it to cool off, like extreme panting, but is that "refrigerating" itself?

[tandy1000]

This is my first COW, hello :).

http://i30.tinypic.com/8wljjk.jpg

[retter]

First sketch of my creature;
My creature's main way of maintaining a cool body temperature is with the thousands of plates on its back and shoulder area which reflect the sunlight off its body. It's huge ears have a large surface area-volume ratio which also helps with heat regulation.
I'm tossing up the idea of making its tail fan-like but I probably won't go with it.
It's supposed to live in a desert similar to the ones we have in Australia, when I thought of a hot place it was the first thing which came to my head so I went for it :)

[bluez3023]

I' thinking a reptilian looking creature who extends cold spires out of its back to capture moisture in the air

[acb]

cool topic MJ ^_^

[Rabies]

Allso going for a froglike creature. It uses a reversed form of respiration to convert CO2 Water and heat into coal and oxygen which it blows out trough the to "vents" on its back. The coal and oxygen ignites and creates a collum of fire. Since the proces is reversed as soon as the coal and oxygen exits the body, the only thing it does is moving the heat away from the creature.

Havent named it yet : /

*edit*
I usually make B&Ws that i color, so this is kinda new to me :D
heres a update

[Blitz]

I' thinking a reptilian looking creature who extends cold spires out of its back to capture moisture in the air

First thing I thought of when reading the new topic was the Frogs that freeze themselves to hibernate.

[darkly]

I so enjoyed last round that I figured I might as well participate in this round. Here's the WIP of The Fantail Dewback

724381

[Michael Jaecks]

When you say refrigerate, do you mean the refrigeration process similar to the mechanical devices in which we keep our food cool, or in this is refrigeration a broad term for keeping themselves cool? I have an idea for a creature that circulates air through it to cool off, like extreme panting, but is that "refrigerating" itself?

I mean refrigerate, not just temperature management. Air circulation could be a part of that mechanism.

I realize a creature that chills itself is a little unscientific, but I think there's some interesting potential for conveying the idea of cold, visually. I'm not so concerned with scientific explanations or rationale. So much of the entertainment world, to which we apsire to working for, is based in magic or the supernatural.

[Droid]

Wow, cool topic man.

;)

[Labrynthine]

Good, so I can dabble with the magic again if inspiration leads me so! *scraps and salvages idea and tries again*

[IIKII]

A snail-like creature. When things get too hot, the water bubble on itself will burst and cooling itself.

The environment will be in a cave near the core of the planet.

[bluez3023]

Blitz: heh I didn't even know they existed, I just picked a toad because I just got a Pacman Frog.

well started putting color and such, and as far as location I was thinking someplace with lava, underground/volcano etc.

update added background plus case colors, went with alternate planet with a surplus of lava and fire

[sepu]

Here is worm (again, thanks to recent watching dreamcatcher :) ) that lives in the center of the earth. swarms of these creatures are regulating earth core temperature, by conducting strange chemical reactions, impossible from human knowledge view, which are turning magma straight into nitrogen ice crystals. creature itself needs to use some of the cold it produce, and to distribute it uses system of "ribs".
anyway :P

[Divine Oblivion]

Mind if I cram in?

If a bit late. First COW. :D

Still a rough noodling sketch. I decided to try from grayscale to overlay painting with it. What, are you all afraid of insectoids? This one has potential for giant bugs. With frozen insides.

EDIT 1: The grayscale is a bit sloppy, but I've started with the overlay color anyway. I'll probably, once I have the solid color scheme over the grayscale, merge the layers and continue to paint in color. The perspective of it's abdomen is wrong - I need to fix that.

[ReganArt]

I figured I've been lurking here long enough now, time to overcome my fear and start joining in! :)

First W.I.P of...

Lava Baby
Without need for sunlight, food or even water, the lava baby lives in volcanos and under the earth's crust, absorbing the energy it needs for anabolic processes directly from the blazing heat around it, cooling the air in the process.

The lava baby gets its name from the fact that in order to keep their young safe, the mother will cocoon the embryonic young in a cooled magma shell, hidden from the view of predators until they can break free for themselves and go off into the world.

[theFoust]

Been a long time since my last cow, or anything at all actually, here.
Might not make the deadline but this is definitely a good place to come for ideas for something to start on at the least. :)

You can see here how I have to write myself to an idea. Odd.

[tandy1000]

I could only get it to value stage so I'll just place it in the WIP thread for this weeks. This was my first week of COW and I really enjoyed doing it, learned alot :). The hump on his back is similar to camels hump.

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ue1nk9.jpg

[lkjhgfdsa]

Deep sea vents etc etc...
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/lkjhgfdsa_wip_chillin1.jpg

[bluez3023]

still kinda working on it

[Alexjholt]

My first post here in this challenge, so bear with me...

A desert beetle, I did start one with a background earlier, but the strange head on angle I picked meant you couldn't see it's shape well.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k4/Alexjh/Game%20Art%20Stuff/refridgerator2.jpg

[sepu]

more playing than painting done..
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2215/robal166464.jpg

[theFoust]

I updated the design so its not as...dumbo with a cpu heatsink...as it was before.
It's more of a creature now than a character (even though the last cow to win was on the virge of character), and the rendering overall is (slightly) better.
Now I gotta decide whether to leave it as a standalone and keep working on it or to put it in an environment (which almost seems like an unofficial requirement).

Hmm. Maybe I should put some sense of movement of air up and through the "heatsink"? Blurry flecks of dust/dirt?

lol man there's definitely no way I'm completing a decent design by Tuesday. Oh well, I'll keep starting them every week anyway I've decided.

[lkjhgfdsa]

more fish n critters to keep em company!
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a134/jonoy/Illustrations/lkjhgfdsa_149_chillin.jpg

[ErikStorstein]

I was thinking of having a creature that found lakes under the desert, drank the water which in return would fill the shell with water. It would then freeze quickly and seeing as ice takes up more space than water these crystal-like shapes would form on its back. (I'm probably not making sense).
It would then re-surface and form a lake, attract wildlife and strike. I tried to illustrate it super quickly in the image below.

Hope I'm not way off, my first time trying to do a C.O.W.
727668

[acb]

great ideas everyone ^_^
well heres mine and hopefully ill be able to finish it T_T :

http://i30.tinypic.com/991m61.jpg


this creature lives in a planet very close to the sun and cuz of that fact anything unproected is simply being burned alive. it lives inside a coccun like suit and it has this gas balloon on top of it which is sort of its stomach and it stores gasses.on top of there are bone plates .

the refrigiration process:
*the bone plates gets heated and with a series of a very clever underground veins distribute the heat to the upper orange sacks of gasses which then trigger a combustion procedure and it produces smoke.

*the the remaining gases of the combustion process are turning into steam which then goes down to the white sacks and is flowing out of them which is keeping the creature in constant levitation but not able to fly T_T. (the steam will be shown in later wips ^_^)

*now due to the smoke,which is very thick due to the gasses type that are involved in its creation and the powerfull sun light cant get threw, the creatures inviroment is quite cool already and so the rest of the gasses left in his gas baloon are being cooled to a very low temp and it cools the veins all around the creature which leaves him ice cold inside its cool coccun

[Marsch]

thinking of a creature that to refrigerate itself, continuously liberates the heat energy in a perpetual beam.

[gunnarsson]

good stuff so far!:)

trying some designs

[gunnarsson]

marsh, i dig the silhuette, the boneyness and the hairyness. i dig those legs and the big flat chest/neck is cool!

acb, your illustration needs more visible, sharper edges between different things, and perhaps you should try blocking in more refined shadows... maybe you already have looked in to this, since its a wip but yeh..:)

alexjholt, its a nice beetle! but i think you could push yourself further in the designing booth. experiment a bit!:grandpa:

wip:

[Mr. P Show.]

Started late, but I'm gettin' this baby done:

[ErikStorstein]

update :) Cool stuff guys!
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[Mr. P Show.]

Update:

[Michael Jaecks]

Lets get those finals in! Poll should go up tomorrow, noonish, central USA time...

[acb]

damn! i cleaned my registry and now i have a photoshop error and i cant get in to finish the pic.....thats soooo annoying cuz i only need a few layers of rendering to finish it up to a descent level >_<

[Mr. P Show.]

Just need to attach that diagram so this thing makes sense.

[gunnarsson]

haha mr p show, i love how its on toilet paper in the first wip! i do think that the colors are better in the first of the two colored ones, it needs a bit o that blue i think... made it more alive, now its to orangy red in my opinion. you could try and lessen the red on the levels, (image, adjustments, color balance) to see if ya like it better, or maybe test some brush, with the color setting on it, upon parts of the creature. or maybe i'm wrong:)


ok, almost there!:D

[Mr. P Show.]

gunnarsson: lol yeah, I've been drawing on paper towel for a while now. I agree the first one had a balance to it. But then as I started adjusting the colors a bit through "color balance", that's what I settled upon. Because I thought the red/orange look reflected the heat of the day. But now I'm having second thoughts since you mentioned it. having that balance of blue like the prior one makes sense though; like hot and cold like the creatures cooling process vs the sun.:)

[njoo]

Heya, just made it~ I haven't had time to drop by COW for a while, this week I had some free time to pop over, been playing around with a new semi-cell style :) Great to see everyone's entries!!

Artist: nJoo

Concept: Deflector


From the sky it just looks like a big eye-blinding area of light, it's often the cause of what was once thought of as mysterious plane crashes. Deflector through time has evolved to survive in the harsh heat of its environment. It maintain a cool temperature by deflecting 90% of all of sunlight with its unique and extremely reflective shell. It is often found nearby area with water source, in which it stores water in various water pocket found at the underbelly of the creature's body. It acts as a source for further temperature cooling and effective against dryness and thrist.

http://www.weewung.com/poo/cow149_just_chillin_ahou.jpg

[scorge]

Just had to say it's awesome to see Njoo, Pat, and Gunnarson back in the action! Glad I sat this one out. Awesome stuff guys!