C.O.W. #190_Heterogenous Heads_Wips Thread

[Si_Swe]

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

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


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Round #190 Heterogenous Heads

Topic:
Round #190 Heterogenous Heads

With the beginning of (lark and I’s new positions as the COW mods, we’re going to take a look at duality. The round will focus on a creature which has evolved (or perhaps mutated) in such a way that it has developed two separate heads. Think about the implications of a two-headed creature. Do they think with one mind? What caused them to evolve in such a way? Think about the relationship the heads have with each other. As an added restriction, the heads must differ from each other. Whether the difference is cosmetic or functional is up to you. Let's get this started!


Deadline:
Wednesday October 13th, 2010. 9:00 PST (GMT -8 )

Finals go here: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2887701#post2887701

[porcupine]

Oh that reminds me of one of my favourite stories as a kid, about a dragon that keep growing more and more heads! :)

Here is my first sketch, the big head constantly eating and don't have to stop to look around for enemies since the small one is taking care of that.

Hopefully I have time to participate this week, last week was so busy.

Edit: some tweaks.

[lancer_idenoure]

done!
1077779
heehee sorry, i had to :)

[Kir Nuyts]

lol Lancer! :D
I think this is a great topic!!!! Thanks

[Devilfruit]

Wow Nature can be so cruel, soo many diff two headed RL animals, now I just feel kinda sick lol, gonna have to do some research on this one, tough subject this week nice start guys :-)

So my Creature is a guardian / Watcher... Created by Magic to Guard Day & Night, I got the idea from the other forums of last weeks brief, basicly a creature that is Created to Guard at Day and at Night, so can effectively guard 24hr's a day. Im thinking a night creature head has night vision etc.. and the Day creatures head has diff skills.

[Duman]

Cool topic. I'm going to try to do this one, I swear.
Time to dust off the old inspiration machine.

On a semi related note, what is going on with the Mod change? Scorge was only here for a few months. Maybe I'm really out of the loop.
Anyway, long live the new Mods! May their reign be as prosperous as it is creative.

[ARefrigerator]

I haven't tried one of these for half a year now I think so I will join in too. I was going to try an idea where one head acts as a shell and protects the inner head, which consumes and smells.

[tigovt3]

done!
1077779
heehee sorry, i had to :)


man that looks like a pokemon lool.

ps: i'm going to do one too. i'm going to try and base myself in a term of evolution of a sea creature that was carnivore and became herbivore, so one head is carnivore and the other is herbivore, i'll try my best ;)
hope to see your final ones guys.

[shockowaffel]

man that looks like a pokemon lool.
I guess that's because it IS one. ^^
(If Im not mistaken.)

[Devilfruit]

So my guy is a Twilight Drake,, with double jointed limbs that twist round when dawn arrives for either day or night, making him a 24 hr guardian, I will do a proper renderd sketch for him, but this is my base concept, lots to work out with Anatomy etc... but could be cool........oh and his name is Shadai = Shadow + Day....

note: the double claws when limbs twist over.... :-)

[Si_Swe]

Duman - With regard to the Mod change, you can find some details about it in scorge's post in the Glass Rings Wip thread. He handed the reins over to (lark and me this week and we'll be taking it in turn to choose topics etc (though that doesn't mean that we're working autonomously from one another). Because we're around a lot you can expect tighter deadlines than there have been in the recent past.

Porcupine - I love the design of the eating head and I like your concept. Right now the the perceiving head come off a little too suddenly from the back. Try adjusting the back's curves so that the transition from back structure to long neck is smoother and more organic. Muscles have a very flowing form, so try and get that across as much as you can when parts of the body merge.

potbelly - Very cool. It will be a challenge to make it look like all the limbs are double-jointed or could reorient themselves easily. Try and also make it so that the flow from one heads elements into the next is fairly organic. Looking forward to more.

Here's just a 15 minute doodle I did. I'd like the differences in mine to be fairly minor aesthetically. Where the major differences lie are going to be in personality, functioning as a strange bipolar creature, with a more reserved social head and a total asshole of a hunting head.

[(lark]

si swe:hahaha we have kinda a similar idea.

my creature is based on the 2 heads serving different survival functions.
the top aggressive head is for hunting, intimidation of predators, etc. and the lower head is more of a problem solver, builder of a den, higher brain function kind of thought. the thinking head is mostly in control (being that only one head can control the body at a time), and the aggressive head takes control when it is in danger, or is hunting.

i tried to make the posture of the creature different when each head is in control. but this is still a really early sketch, i didnt get a chance to start until today. so this will probably change a lot.

1078786

be back for crits a bit later.

[porcupine]

Potbelly - Great idea, I think that has the potential to be amazing aslong as you manage to pull it off, you have to be careful to make it beliavable!

Si Swe - Looks like a good start, theres room for alot of personality and dynamics between the heads, I really like the look on the left one.

(lark - That too looks like good potential and very clever idea. I think the biggest concern there is to make some good mechanisim for where the inactive head is is doing while not in use. I got a soft spot for that type of hindleg and bulky creature, I think it can turn out really nice.

Heres an update before bed:

[Si_Swe]

(lark - Wow! I like your idea a whole lot more than mine. That's clever and makes WAY more sense than my creature. I really like its structure and the movement in the second frame looks great. You've definitely got the two personalities functioning as you described. Lookin' forward to more.

Porcupine - It looks better in terms of the flow from the perception head to the back, but I'm not so sure the thinner neck works as well for the eating head. Still, though, it's looking nice and it has a load of potential.

Did a different take on the same thing. Basically the same heads, but more of a dinosaur-y anatomy. I think it works a lot better.

[ARefrigerator]

The top head eats, smells while both see. The bottom head thrusts at prey and can even
lift it's tusks to shield the weaker head up top. I'm thinking of maybe changing the legs to
greater show it has charging capabilities but oh well at least I got something for now.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr316/ARefrigerator/02copycopy.jpg

edit:

What I think I will work on, trying to make it feel more alien.
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr316/ARefrigerator/03-2.jpg

[porcupine]

Si Swe - You're right. I had other issues with the general shape but it's very obvious that thinning the neck ruins both the flow and the general feel of eating-machine. I'll rework it. Thanks! ^^

ARefrigerator - Nice idea. I think the head part is great but yea I'd change the legs too if you are going for a charging animal, what you got right now looks more like something awkwardly jumping around.

Edit: updated pic

[Bralt Hannicart]

This brings me back to the 'undead with two heads' COW from a few years back!

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=610582&stc=1&d=1236251382

Might do something similar again this time, without the hint of undead. Congrats for the new COW moderators, btw! I've been browsing back here from time to time and am excited to make a COW again.

[lkjhgfdsa]

@ Bralt- tis what I was thinking also!

[Avesy]

great stuff everyone!
lark: love the creature's shape and how cohesive the switch from one head to the other is- really like how you illustrated that "switch" and explained the functions of both. seems like a plausible design.

arefigerator: nice development between the first and second. it looks much more alien- especially how you did the globular tusked head and the predatory one. should be interesting to see it more completed.

potbelly: those twisted limbs sound tricky but i really like how you've drawn them so far-especially the doubleclaws and the fantastical yellowed paper+alien take on a dragon/griffin vibe. love the little details too.

porcupine: great blend of whimsical and grotesque both in the heads (the dinky eye-blotted one and the giant munching one) and in your painting style. the texture and colour use is great too.

i've never been part of COW before really or anything on this site (everyone here is kinda intimidating) but i was inspired by this topic.

just sketched something up lol i don't know what its back legs are doing either. still looks a little plain.
http://i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu173/imAvesyandwhatnot/ConceptART/cow2.jpg
some tl;dr:
for my creature i thought of this sturdy part-predator part-aggressive herbivore. the predatory head contains sharp teeth, a tongue on the roof of the mouth, and a strong sense of smell (also originating from the roof of its mouth). it's kinda like a bearbadgerwarthogthing, very bulky but not necessarily slow.
the herbivorous bottom head has tusks for digging and fighting. in the dry season it is mostly used in competitions of resources and for finding root tubers. the bottom part also has a strong sense of smell.
during the dry season the predatory head loses most functions and sorta "hibernates" and is under complete control of the bottom. the opposite is true during the wet season.
might add a tail similar to that of a horeshoe crab but stronger and inverted towards the tip for defense. for eyes i was thinking some compound eye stalks but make them form a flat rectangular thing rather than a blob.

[ARefrigerator]

Progress! A few things changed.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr316/ARefrigerator/04.jpg?t=1286675599

[lkjhgfdsa]

lkjhgfdsa
yeah, so... it's tongue evolved into a second head as most of its prey started to hide where it couldn't get it's big ol head into...

[porcupine]

Avesy - Good idea there, the part with the head thats not needed for the season hibernates could be very sweet if you manage to show it in a good way and I also like the way your heads are similar yet different. Try look at pictures of animals with same general structure and shape as what you are going for and kinda build with shapes for a less flat feeling. Oh and welcome to COW!

Arefrigerator - Nice shape! I really like that. Perhaps the lower head need just tiny bit longer/flexibler neck to make the lift head part beliavable?

lkjhgfdsa - As always it looks stunning! Just be careful it not turn out to be too Alien-like.

[retter]

Hey guys, there's some great entries in here, ARefridgerator especially - I love that design, can't wait to see it fleshed out some more.

Here's my current WIP, simple concept: one head eats the ground slimes and one eats the flying things, they work in tandem to attain a satisfied belly :).

[OHI]

Quick sketch.

[J-Sun]

Awesome stuff so far guys!

wanted to get a WIP up:

[OHI]

Small update. When i remove the sketch and only show the color it´s all just a big blob.

[JanJager]

Great work everybody

OHI
That's a nice animal. Looking friendly. Keep on rendering it out and why don't show the whole body.
J-Sun
Good way of solving the anatomy. at this point its a bit hard to read if the four legs is resting on the ground or if he stands on the blacklegs.
retter
Logic for a tow headed creature.
lkjhgfdsa
Cold be a very scaring creature. After seeing your previous work I'm sure it going to bee great.
ARefrigerator
Elegant sketch.
Avesy
Good start. Nice idea to have heads for different seasons.
Bralt
Awesome picture.
porcupine
Very good use of tow heads. What I like with the first sketch is that you can see the pupils in the eyes of the upper. I think it gives a better picture of guarding and spying.
Si_Swe
Nice. Looks to me like some kind of mystic creature someone ho gives you a question and treats you according to your answer.
(lark
Very clever. Solid base for a great piece. The two pictures shows the character of the heads very clearly. One curious and friendly head and one aggressive. I like that the hair raises on the back when the mean head takes over.
Potbelly
Nice sketch. Great idea to have a day and night creature. Perhaps have them in different colours.
lancer_idenoure
Cute little creature.

Interesting topic. Tried to brainstorm some idea thumbs.

[OHI]

Trying to get away from the line sketch.

[Duman]

The idea I got was the Id/Ego dragon/whatever.
It has a good head and an evil head. I might do more sketching, but I like that it has two heads on opposite sides of the body, which I don't think we have yet.
I kind of wanted to keep it simple this round, both idea wise and painting wise, as I don't have a lot of time.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/Duman123/COW12.jpg

[Mandavar]

Excellent work everyone ^^

Hi guys i always wanted to be part of this community of artist and for the longest time ive been intimidated but i finally made an account and i would like to introduce myself (i dont know if this is the place to do it) and participate in this weeks C.O.W ^^

WIP

My creature is a blind deep cave type of creature and the way that this creature manages to survive is by his 2 heads that work together to find its prey. One of the heads evolved in a way that allows to hear/feel the sound waves that are created in the caves and the other head evolved its sense of smell to an incredible level.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/luisgdeadeye/2heads.jpg

[Devilfruit]

Welcome Mandavar, I have only been here for a few weeks now, the guys here are very very helpfull and friendly, taking the first step into the unknown means your sooner getting to your destiny, have fun and enjoy the journey :-)

[Mandavar]

Thank you Potbelly, yes ive seen that the people here are really helpful and friendly. Again thank you for the warm welcome and believe me i will have lots of fun!

[NickTrip]

This one looks so cool! I wish I had time to participate....

[lkjhgfdsa]

lkjhgfdsa

[J-Sun]

Heterogeneous heads:

[retter]

Here's my second WIP, I hope I have time to finish this one.

[Edward B]

I'm thinking a separate head for land/water.

[Si_Swe]

Edward B - Killer design. Looks great so far, particularly with the blues and intense orange palette.
lkkjhgfdsa - Sweet action shot. I like the Alien take on the two heads aspect. I wonder what food tastes like when your tongue is covered in scales... and your tongue has a tongue. I would cool down some of the shadows to really boost the sense of form on the creature if you can.
Retter - I hope you can finish too. You have a nice design here. Really try and push the textures of your creature as much as you can, when you get there. I can imagine this creature with any number of skin-types, so I'd like some definition there.
J-Sun - Cool design. I'm looking forward to seeing it refined like I know you can. That back leg is coming forward way too far, though, try and push it back into the space.
OHI - Right now you are not showing enough of the creature. I need at least 75% to include it in the poll. At the moment we aren't getting the back end at all, even the legs. Try and crisp up your edges as much as you can, they're looking a little wobbly. I would really hate to have to cut anything from the poll my first round as moderator.

Here's a progress report on mine. I've been sick with a cold for the last few days so lying in bed, drinking tea has been taking precedence over most things, so I'm making pretty slow progress.

[Rist]

my try

[Abels]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33722925@N07/507http://www.flickr.com/photos/33722925@N07/5073377744/3377744/

The heads take turns eating and pooping. every few years the creature's digestive tract switches direction. the reason for this is that while a head is in buttmode, a chemical reaction is taking place. when that head becomes active again, it will be refilled with a potent chemical which it can spit at predators

[Fractalbot]

Hi everyone, here's mine... came into this one a bit late so hope I can finish it!

Called the Bicranial Piper, it lives on water-slicked rocks of the seashore, feeding on algae. Its lower head has small tentacles to help grip the slippery rocks, and to feed. Its other head is used to draw in air into the large pipe-like structure on its back. The sound created is used to attract a potential mate.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_mwwdJzJcltU/TLOP7II6DsI/AAAAAAAAAvw/SpPApXgUpAo/WIP_Post_1.jpg

[Mandavar]

Awesome updates guys! im trying some shadowing with mine i hope it works out heres my wip

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/luisgdeadeye/2headc.jpg

[Devilfruit]

Could use some help with colour if anyone could spare some crit :-) cheers

Was thinking a silver that in day time will be more white and then more black at night??

[retter]

Ugh, wish I had more time but I'm leaving in 30 minutes to catch a plane.
Good luck everyone!
Here's my (un)finished piece.

[ARefrigerator]

I took Porcupine's advice and extended the neck

I really love the colours and muscle forms you used, Edward B.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr316/ARefrigerator/07.jpg

[(lark]

update!!!!!

sorry no crits right now, I've been fuckin insanely busy at work. I'll try and do some tomorrow.

I'm keeping this guy in just a concept image, no background or scene, because I'm trying to concentrate on design more then illustration right now. anyway. here it is.

WIP.

1080689

everybody's lookin good!

[DefiledVisions]

woaa! a lot of things sure have happened since last time :O (lark, Si_Swe congrats to you! just have to join in on this one to celebrate your new responsibilities :P

Shoutout to Scorge who did a great job! hope to see you around man! :sungod:

[tigovt3]

WOW in just a few days all u guys have amazing images. i think the best is Potbelly's one.

unfortunately my pc was formated recently and i dont have a program to edit mine, also i have no internet to download it :s, so i cant go beyond the a actual sketch, ill have to take a pick of it to show it at least :P .
good luck to you all

[Si_Swe]

Hey everyone, two things:

Firstly: I've sorted out some administrative business today, closing poll threads and awarding stars to those who have earned them for the last 3 complete rounds (Simple Slimy, Murderous Intent and 8th Wonder). So congrats to lkjhfdsa for his Wonder, Vaejoun for his assassin and Homerid and Edward_B who tied for their slimers! You've all definitely earned your stars and I'm sorry it's taken so long for you to get those.

Secondly: I would like to remind everyone that the deadline is tomorrow at 9:00pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8 or, alternatively, midnight Eastern Standard Time). (lark will be setting up the new topic at around the same time, but there may be a little bit of overlap between when the voting goes up and when the new topic does, so bear with us, we may not have the dual coordination of these creatures.

Good Luck!

[Si_Swe]

And here's a WIP for the day...
Ha, (lark, we may have had similar concepts with very different execution... but (and I swear I did not do this on purpose) our colour schemes are scarily similar.

EDIT: Hey guys, looks like I'll have to drop out of this one. My computer has died and is not turning on at the moment. I'm using my roommate's laptop just to say I will likely not finish my creature by my deadline tomorrow. Nonetheless I will still be putting up the poll and all that tomorrow night. Cheers!

[Duman]

Man, these art history exams are murder. There is no way I'm going to finish by the deadline. I will however, know all about the artistic stylings of John Singleton Copley. I would prefer to work on my two headed dragon, but time is a fickle beast (pun).
I am certainly going to finish it, just not by tomorrow.
Crap.

[Mandavar]

heres another WIP guys im kinda happy with the overall piece but i want to add something else.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/luisgdeadeye/2headd.jpg

[Ivansz]

nice works o,o

[porcupine]

Some crits before school:

retter - Gorgeous colors and textures.

JanJager - Thanks! They are returning, they just dissapered in the coloringprocess. Your first, third and last thumbnail all looks great! I especially like the idea with a flying twoheaded!

OHI - I like that the heads are so different from eachother. Try use shadows and highlights to build shape and textures to make it look more alive.

Duman - Nice one, perhaps body needs bit more mass to be able to support two heads that large?

Mandavar - Thats really nice, I like it. Try avoid black in the shadows tho, it makes the image flat.

lkjhgfdsa - Awesome! I especially love the victim under its foot.

J-Sun - Ah thats cute, I like him.

Edward B - Thats so amazing, perhaps one of the most beautiful things I've seen in COW. If to critique anything, perhaps hindlegs varies little in shape, it doesnt matter tho, only if to make something wonderful even more perfect.

Rist - Haha funny, would be interesting to hear story behind that. I'd try establish a ground to stand on, right now it looks like its floating in air somehow.

Fractalbot - Great image with nice colors and lines. I think the only problem here is that its somewhat hard to read that its actually two heads.

Potbelly - Looks like its coming along nice, the silver variations sounds like a good idea. Right now its hard to see the double joint switching part.

Arefrigerator - Looks very promising! Love the colors.

(lark - Looks great. I especially like the front paws!

Si Swe - That too looks great, the personality difference in the heads are so nice and how the blue and red join at the spine is really nice too.


Now back to assignments and homeworks, sorry if I missed someone.

[sozo]

Some crits over the last page:

Si_Swe - Man I really dig the relationship between the two heads! Sorry about your PC :(

Mandavar - Unique design! Be careful about the over use of straight black shadows though.

lark - It's looking really nice so far! Hope you can finish it.

ARefrigerator - Pretty wicked beast. Looks like it could exist in the game Brutal Legend!

Potbelly - Cool design! Only advice I can give about color is to just experiment. Try a mix of complimentary colors until you find a combo you like. Great thing about digital is you can't screw you're image up by experimenting!

Rist - Right now the smaller head is reading more as a arm/hand then a head. Maybe try to work on the neck or increase the size of the head.

Edward B. - Awesome! My concept is inspired by the same idea so I guess i'm favoring your piece right now.

J-Sun - My only crit would be to maybe try and spend some more time cleaning up the stray marks in the image.

Ikjhgfdsa - A little alienesque but still an overall great design and render!

Fractalbot - As another poster mentioned, watch the readability of the second head. Right now it's getting a little lost. Other than that I dig the concept!

...and a quick sketch before bed. Working with the land/water concept as well.

[porcupine]

sozo - Oh i love the penguins on his head, thats adorable!

[zimfin]

Damn, sorry I missed out on this one. Way to late to start now! There are some awesome entries so far.
sozo: That is a cool sketch. Hope you finish it. Pretty sure those aren't penguins....right?

[Edward B]

Sozo, Very cool! Highfive on the theme.
So far a sketch but already very readable. Hope to see it finished!


Mandavar a bold perspective having us look down the back of the creature like that,
the very hard shadows makes the image a bit confusing value-wise. I'd recommend desaturating the image and check out the image from time to time to see how the image is holding up in black and white.



Si_Swe My condolences on the computer :[ I lost all of my old files and more importantly all my brushes/PS settings some while ago, hopefully you've got plenty of backups.
Great job on the creature I like the color coded heads with a great character scheme going. The blue head wants a bite :>

(larke I think its a great concept that you've communicated very well, the mohawk and expressive eyebrows works really well for the grumpy fighterface. A great contrast between the two heads


ARefridgerator I like the palette you've used. I can totally imagine that lower head flipping predators and other creatures over.

Retter Looking good! But I have to say there were several things about your second wip that I really liked that did not make it into the final piece, the lower head in particular and the overall colourscheme with the muted grays with the yellows. The addition of the groove for the upper head is a great idea, adds functionality for the creature.


Potbelly Another cool concept, I hope you get time to flesh out the whole Night/Day switch, looking forward to see where you take it!

Fractalbot Love those colours, I think you've done a great job making sense of the crustacean joints. Hope to see some more shadows on the shells of the creature to give it some more depth. The pipe on its back is a bit down the side leading me to believe there should be another pipe on the other side as well, would help alot with the depth I think. (Or I could just be confused by the sideview)

Rist I keep looking at it and I keep seeing the trollface :D Be careful not to get too far into detailing leaving the rest of the image unsolved, right now its alot of limbs sort of going every way.

J-Sun Another cool design I like the different expressions on the two heads. the front one reminds me of a bulldogs mopey face. Just like Si_swe mentioned though, watch that back leg, the spiky part going along its back recedes into space in a good way giving depth to the image but that leg sort of confuses the viewer as to how far back something really is.

lkjhgfdsa - Kickass. You've set a very good mood in this image with the sandy atmospheric background and fight going on. The detail in the creature is (as usual) great and in particular on the inside head, creating a great focal point. I realize you don't want the character intruding on the creature space but I'd make the foreground character in the middle quite a bit bigger and maybe only showing him from torso up, moving him alot closer to us to get even more depth in there.

Duman An interesting idea with the good and evil head, early in its stages I think you can go even more evil on the evil head! I believe its already been suggested to maybe add another pair of legs to help balance all that top-weight.

OHI The top head is really enjoying itself :] Be careful to show enough of the creature. If you feel the creature becomes to bloblike when you remove the lineart all together try to keep the lineart in there and simply paint on top of it, getting some darker shadows in there to help define the form.

JanJager Amazing amount of good ideas right there. my favorite is the bottom right, I like the idea of a creature co-operating with itself getting those shells up out of the water and cracking em open.

Avesy I enjoyed reading through the concept and it makes alot of sense.The creature sketch so far goes a bit confusing though, the predator head is easily recognizable with the sharp teeth, but the herbivore looks equally dangerous at the moment with its spiky horns. Witch I understand was all part of the plan but the herbivore part is hard to make out. Looking forward to see where you take it!

Porcupine Thanks alot for the very kind words and the crit! I've tried to make more sense of the hindlegs in my final, its not quite there yet but closer to the same species at least :> The Biburu has its very own disco ball! :rocker:Your concept is very strong with the lookout head and the grazer having to eat nonstop. I like that you left the eyes very subtle of the lower head giving the lookout very defined and plenty of eyes giving us a clear difference between the two. The design of the lower head is great, blissfully munching away whilst the paranoid eyes are scanning around.

[lkjhgfdsa]

Dragonfly Larvae and Viperfish are the two critters that H.R.Giger used as reference for his Alien creature.

I went with the chameleon for reference... just putting it out there...

[(lark]

lkjhgfdsa: hahaha you're awesome!

the new topic is up guys!

just wanted to also remind you that the "glass rings" round and the "heterogenous heads" round (when si swe puts it up) will both have active polls for a few days. so don't hesitate to go vote in the glass rings round if you haven't yet.