DSG 423: Creature: Unique Frog/salamanders/etc

[dsg bot]

Today's topic is: Creature: Unique Frog/salamanders/etc

[nephilim]

http://www.onfinite.three10.com/libraries/display.php?lid=5346&d=6b51a5b172dbd8828184ddf805e5d93f

its not really unique, but it is 5 in ht emorning. tell me what you think!

[Engine Man]

Nephilim, that's not unique?! It's a hell of a lot more unique than mine!:)

http://home.comcast.net/~paranormalbob/froggy.JPG

One hour 4 minutes in PS. I think I need to brush up on my amphibian anatomy.

[nephilim]

hey engine man
i like the hat
yours is a frog
mine is just a person with a long tongue
maybe i should put a hat on her

[WoodenWorkhorse]

http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~cflanaga/Down/concept/dsg%20unique%20salamander.jpg

[Engine Man]

I like the long tongue, Nephilim. We gotta give that tongue a hat and get this party started. :D

[xbiten]

here's mine ninjamander :boring: . Not unique.
Toke me around an hour.
http://members.lycos.co.uk/xbiten/2D/dsg's/dsg423.jpg

[Gumdrop]

A serenading frog. Reference used.
http://pookabin.com/images/DSG/DSG423_PoisonedWarblerFrog.jpg

The Poisoned Warbler Frog (also known as the serenading scrotum frog :D ) is able to enchant female frogs with it's exquisite warbling. The large sack under it's chin traps air while the smaller sacks can be filled to change pitch. The thick poisonous spines that cover the sacks can be shaken to create tremolo effects.

nephilim - Great tongue and angle.

Engine Man - Cute as hell. Nice style.

WoodenWorkhorse - Nice idea. A geko snake?

xbiten - Real vibrant colours. I love the spots.

[JABAJAWOOLU]

gumdrop that rocks man. love the background info. helps to really "get" the character.

xbitten... one word.. NINJAMANDER! thats great man.i love the huge eyes.

woodenworkhorse... be fun to see that guy get around. very cartoony. cool stuff. the vibrant colours bring him to the front of the page.

engine man... thats kool. the style of the colours kinda reminds me of the artwork from padington bear. cept i figure a 5-eyed frog would scare the crap outta kids.

nephilim... gonna send you a PM to see if we cant figure out what's going on here. awesome pic tho. love the angle of the character and the way the tongue is thicker at the end really brings out the forshadowing.

great work so far all.

[Osmus]

i feel better about color this time. i appreciate any and all judgements to help me improve.

This is the notorious Finger Eating Salamander. This species is equipped with a pair of fangs to ward off pesky photographers and tourists.

http://img7.photobucket.com/albums/v18/osmus/fangedsalamander.jpg

[DV8]

quick one- I am going to spend the day outside!



http://www.mikephillips.ca/dsg/dsg_423_unique_salamander copy.jpg

[Seraph]

Fly, my pretty, FLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

ahem, nice work guys, here's mine:

http://img12.photobucket.com/albums/v30/funkymunky/blah.jpg

[Narya]

weee first DSG :D
not very original though, every idea on salamanders i had somehow turned into dragons... :rolleyes:

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6113/lizard2.jpg

Nephilim - wow, nice dynamics :)
Gumdrop - insane skill

The rest are also great, these just caught my eye a bit more :)

[ArtoriusRex]

http://home.comcast.net/~andrew.l/images/DSG423.jpg

he's a lazy eyed killa. Not ot be confused with the lazy-eyed gila of Arizona and New Mexico.

[beeglebug]

This was going to be some kind of lava dwelling lizard, but I got 20 minutes into it and i've got to go out, so you can have it as is, just a plain old orange lizard.

If I get back before midnight i'll do another half hour, if not it stays like this, sorry!

edit: forgot to say, I used a ref pic. Now I really must run!

http://www.updownleftright.net/DSG/DSG423.jpg

[ninjataotao]

Bullfrogs distant cousin; goatfrog...

pencils, graphite sticks and ps 7

http://koti.mbnet.fi/pjg/IMG/Art/frog.jpg


Good stuff everyone!

[lpetty]

http://www.leepetty.com/forum/dsg_frog.jpg
I did some sketches of somewhat sentient frog-like creatures. About 30 minutes of work total, just pencil on photocopy paper.

[S.C. Watson]

http://img9.photobucket.com/albums/v25/Oregano/Sketchbook/ice-ageFrog.jpg

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[Virg]

hehe ^^
http://www.geocities.com/whitec100/frog.txt

[Engine Man]

All hail goatfrog. Awesome.:)


Gumdrop-NICE. Love the color scheme and the mottled legs. Heh. Scrotch frog. Heh. :D

Seraph-That's cool. That frog needs an 8-bit game to itself.

Oregano-Kudos! Good tactile quality to the fur coat. Always like your stuff.

WhiteC- I like it. What that frog doesn't know is that he grows another spike for every pack he smokes. Poor, ignorant frogbastard... :)

[eygji]

This is the story of the lonely frogbeast...
High atop a mountain cliff, the frogbeast sat,
and wished for someone to come up the mountain
so that he could talk to them.
He did not dare go down into the village below
becasue the villagers would shun him and attack him.
So there he sat and waited,
never to meet another soul.
Becuase the cliff he sat atop was unreachable,
except by him and his enormous powerful legs.

(the picture reminded me of a fairy tale illustration, so i made one up! :cool: )

http://home.comcast.net/~c.longfellow/frogbeast.JPG

[Engine Man]

Thanks for all the kind words! Good stuff today, guys!

[vital-k]

http://img50.photobucket.com/albums/v154/Vital-K/frog.jpg
i should have read the title closer or looked at some of the posts before i drew it. it's just a frog.:( but check out the sick a$$ sculpts i used as reference. Tim Cotterill - "the Frogman" (http://www.ferndaleblacksmith.com/frogman.html)

[Helzer]

http://www.blitzdesign.net/dsg/unique_frog.jpg

[Railboy]

Quick & unimaginative today.
http://www.atomicagedog.com/art/dailysketch/salamander.jpg

@Gumdrop - Really nice... your style is perfect for this one.

[shadoman]

The African Glass Frog. It's translucency helps cloak itself from predators since its body is very fragile. The frog's bones are very frail so it stays clear (no pun intended) of danger. Only in direct sunlight does its appear visible due to reflection.

Got carried away with this one at about 2.25 hours in Painter 8.
http://www.shawnadomanis.com/dsg/dsg423.jpg

Gumdrop - That is insane!!! This gave me the inspiration that I needed to do mine today. Thanks...
Narya - Very nice colors and scale. I like the design. Welcome...
ninjataotao - Hahha. Very funny. Good one.
lpetty - Oh man those are very nice sketches. I really like the one in the top right.
Oregano - Wow. Very nice. The fur gives that thing a whole different look than I could have imagined.
WhiteC - Good to see you back in. Nice brush strokes and it made me chuckle too...
Helzer - Damn!!! The colors and textures are really nice, not to mention the detail you got in such small strokes. Are you using any special brushes in your app? Painter or Photoshop?
Railboy - Quick and unimaginative, but it still made me laugh...

[Gumdrop]

Originally posted by Railboy
...your style is perfect for this one. Thanks. And yeah... those feather oils are so sweet for doing reptilian/amphibian skin. I see you are experimenting a little. Nice strong, simple style.

Osmus - The snake style head is really nice. I like the mix of brown in there, but overall it could do with a little more colour variation IMHO... maybe changing the sky will bring it out?

DV8 - Wish you would come back in out of the sun and colour this. It's a nice clean design but I need to know what is unique about it. maybe those infamous colours will tell it all?

Seraph - haah... love the look of this. the tongue is great. Looks like that LSoH's Audery plant with legs. I would like to see more subtle variation in colour though - not just shades of green.

Narya - The hand looks well sweet, and the dragon is nice, but I don't think the colour goes with the hand IMHO.

ArtoriusRex - Love the tongue licking up those ants. Good idea. A liitle more shading/lighting would give it more depth.

ninjataotao - This is cool. Realy like the design and the style... particularly the eyes and the teeth. I'd like to see a stronger light source... particularly as you've added a nice background.

beeglebug - I like the mottled browns and the overall stance, but the white lines throw me a little. Hope you find time to come back to it.

lpetty - A great collection of sketches. Love the individual look of these. I beg of you to colour them.

Oregano - Real nice mood. The colours work well. I like the knife work on the background and the fur, but the darkness around the figure seperates the two somewhat. i've learned this myself not long ago.

WhiteC - There must be some subliminal connection between frogs and cigarettes - maybe the big wide mouths or something, but I was thinking of doing a cigar chomping frog myself. I like the spikes on his back, the feet and the wet look.

eygji - I like the pose and the expression. You should try to experiment with more depth by adding shadow and texture - either with your colours or at sketch level. Good start though.

vital-k - Haha... looks like he's cocking his leg for a wizz. The background makes him look like he's floating ontop of it (I'm guilty of this myself today) but that might be what you intended. I like the black balls for toes.

Helzer - This is great. The limited palette works a treat and along with the textues give the piece a gorgeous dirty look. the details of the rider and head armour are swet, but I think the back legs are a little too big and detract from the piece IMHO.

Shadowman - Insane? My dear chap yours is insane! Uber cool idea. I wish I had the guts to try transparency FX. You've captured it very well. I would like to see a little vein detail but that's just me. For some reason your sig' fits perfectly with the piece.

I hope nobody is offended by my crit's. I have tried to weigh up the good and bad points as far as I see them. I have no formal art training so I'm just going by my own judgement, but I've seen a real explosion of participation and effort lately and I know I appreciate notes on what looks wrong etc... Keep it up folks.
:chug:

[YeeWu]

A little over an hour:

http://www.effloresce.com/sijun/april_24_2004.jpg

Awesome texures Gumdrop and Helzer!

[Helzer]

YeeWu, Gumdrop, and shadoman, thanks for your crits and compliments...much appreciated.

shadoman - I use Photoshop. And, yes, I use some custom brushes. Actually, I think my brush set is all custom with the exception of the regular brush tool and airbrush. Here's some other things I do that might be of interest:

1. I think composition first and drawing last.

2. I use the airbrush tool as a last resort. I mostly use it for atmospheric effects.

3. Form should have soft and hard edges. At times, I allow the lightest part of the form to dissolve into the surrounding light or enviroment.

4. I generally work with only four values: dark, middle, light, highlight.

I can go on, if you're interested. In any case, these are a few things I do.

[nBT]

http://www.mattijsart.com/dsg/dsg423oldestfrog.jpg
oldest frog ever
>2 hrs i think (less than 2x the verve album)
im getting the hang of light and shadow + i started without linesketch

[BRANDISH]

http://img36.photobucket.com/albums/v109/Brandish/frog.jpg
engine's and seraph's are my favourites.
I'm sorry that my comments are always
curt or non existant, but it alway takes me ages to figure out how i should put
it, for i suck at writing in english, as it's not my native language.

[DV8]

DV8 - Wish you would come back in out of the sun and colour this. It's a nice clean design but I need to know what is unique about it. maybe those infamous colours will tell it all?



IT HAS SIX LEGS! thats kinda unique isnt it? heheh I agree it could be alot more wild, but its a design for something I am working on at work- so it has a dual purpose. The day was great! I spent most of it outside on my motorcycle! It has been a long winter so I am enjoying the springtime as much as I can!

great work guys,

Mike

[SpiffyMadNotes]

Hi. I'm a lurker, and finally decided to join. Hope I'll be able to find the time to do the DSG each day. I'm new to posting, so if my pic doesn't show, I apologize. I'm still trying to get the hang of this. Anyway, here's my entry for today.
http://img26.photobucket.com/albums/v79/DwindleDoll/DSG/wngdsalamander.jpg

He's like a dragon/dragonfly/salamander. Can breathe fire (hence the smoke coming from his nostrils), and fly with his dragonfly-type wings. Hope you like.

[young paddy1]

http://img6.photobucket.com/albums/v19/youngpaddy1/hairy_frog.jpg

himilayan yak frog

[JSlayer]

whooaaa everyone... great frogs...

Here are mine - took 45 min :D
The frog puts a fake smile so that it looks friendly until the prey comes which is then killed by vicious sharp teeth under the big white square teeth. :)
aah its retarded!
http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v149/JSlayer/DSG423.jpg

Engine man - oooh so adorable :)
Nephilim - lol is it a man-frog? its very nice though
wooden - hahaha looks comical :D
xbiten - oooh lol ninja frogs r cool
gumdrop -- holy moo moo moo... the texture is great.. Teach me how u do textures! haha and ur great man, giving comments for everyone's works :)
Osmus - is that blood on the leaves? :p cute guy
DV8 - ur cartoons are nice :D
Seraph - OoOH MY favourite! Lol
Narya - nice and unique, i would love to keep one if they existed!
Artorius - lol i like its body shape :)
beeglebug - nice texture ! however, u should get rid of the white lines or make it look cleaner .
NinjaTaotao - ahhaha i love this one !
Ipetty - wow nice drawings are they supposed to represent the life cycle of the frog?
oregano - wow... i like the textures especially the fur... i suck at textures.. need some tutorials !
WhiteC - holy i like the colours and all... need to learn mORE!! Everyone's so good at textures..
Eygji - lol nice story :) ur picture suits the story - great for a book!
Vital-k - nice one :)
Helzer - whoa.. thats... very unique! i love the medievialness of it
Railboy - hey hey its a new style ! its.. very mutated, the frog
Shadoman - holy cow, i love the see thru effect! its amazing work
Yeewu - nice scene - i like everything in the the background as well as the frog :D
nBt - lol very nice, like the beard and the dumb look on its face :)
Brandish - nice colouring style!
spiffy - lol nice concept :)
Young paddy - haahah very nice idea :) very creative!

[Thrash]

http://www.chaingunstudios.com/ArtGallery/dsg/slides/DSG423ThrashSalamanderWeb.jpg

This was the first thing I've tried to paint on my laptop. Getting colors right on a laptop LCD is not easy...

[S.C. Watson]

Hey Gang,

As some of you may recall, my six year old, Holden, likes to post his version of the DSG from time to time. Tonight, we are graced with his work again :D


http://img9.photobucket.com/albums/v25/Oregano/HoldensWork/amphibianDragon.jpg

Not *exactly* a frog or a salamander, but, hey, he's six! ;)

Cheers,

~Oreg.

[hjhornbeck]

Here's my first contribution, done in a scattered 45 minutes via pencil crayon sans references. I call 'er the Explosive Five-Point Deadly Kill Technique-er, Frog.

http://hjhornbeck.homelinux.org/dsg/frog_amphibians_large.jpg

Yeah...

[S.C. Watson]

btw, thanks for all the comments regarding the texture and what not on mine today.

JSlayer: regarding textures, texture (to me) is basically just shadow and light. For the fur on mine, (I don't know what program you are using, but I use painter) I just layered a lot of hatch marks over each other, all going essentially the same way. I started with a dark color and moved towards a highlight. You can inverse this (as I did on the far side of the frog) depending on your lighting. For what you did today, I wouldn't worry about using texture too much, as I don't think it would work with the piece (but you know this, I'm sure). But I would try experimenting and observing. Everything has a different texture, and reflects light differently because of it.

This may sound kind of whacked, but go around feeling things. I mean everything. The table, the computer, your paper, the walls, trees, dirt, hair, skin, CD's, clothing, whatever. Then try to commit the sensation to memory, but don't stop feeling things. Touch, to me, is as much about drawing as observing, but it engages a different sense. It helps when trying to recreate something in two dimensions to know what it *feels* like in three.

Hope that 1: Made sense, 2: it helps, and 3: ya'll don't think I'm too spun :D

Cheers,
~Oreg.

[JSlayer]

thanks alot oregano! :)
im gonna try and improve by your tips .

hopefully will get better by next picture

[Dr. Stevew]

love the yak frog, Young Paddy1.

http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~bpeters3/images/newt.jpg

Here's mine; a little bit quick, didn't have much time today.

[CoolkatCasey]

hey kids. ive been browsing through the site for quite some time now. ive done several images for the dsg back when it was like in the 2hundreds or something like that, but never got around to post. ive been busy at school and jazz. but now, summers here and i plan on doin this a few times a week!

i hope this works.
http://www.deviantart.com/view/6802971/

[EDIT: eh, does anyone have any suggestions for free webhosting? where do you guys all upload ur images. the img tag wont woth with devant art. oh well]
theres my frog monster. hmm. now that im thinking about it i should probably put a scale reference. if anyone cares, lemme know and ill do it up.

thanks

[Engine Man]

nBT-That's cute as heck.

YeeWu-Yours is gorgeous. Love the salamander skin: it's so luminous!

Helzer-WOW. That's amazing. Can't believe how much it looks like traditional media. Could have fooled me. Makes me want to crack open Photoshop again tonight*!

Railboy-Cool! Even if it was quick, you really captured something there! Loving the color scheme.

Shadoman-I am stunned into silence. Nice.

Brandish-Thank you! Like the dashes of pink and the speckles on the face. Believe me, you can type English better than half of the people I work with; speak up anytime!:)

JSlayer-Thanks! I will definitely know to avoid the frogs that smile at me from now on. :D

Young Paddy-Haha! Nice. I definitely seem to have a soft spot for all the hairy frogs. That's probably more than I ever needed to learn about myself. :D

Great work, everybody! Hope I was coherent enough here; I am Capital Drunk.

Goodnight!







*But I had too much Jaegermeister, and now I wish I was dead, so maybe around noon tomorrow I'll actually draw again. :D

[Narya]

CoolkatCasey, the best free hosting i found, that also allows all forms of linking, is Imageshack, http://imageshack.us/ .
It is what allows me to participate now, since i also don't have my own space :\ Try it out, simple as can be, large image size allowed, and completely free.

Also, big thanks to
Shadoman - love the glass idea, actually thought about making a glass chameleon combination, but gave up after figuring it would take me days to figure out how to draw glass ;) and thanks for the welcome
Gumdrop - nothing like a good crit!!
pssst, you're right, it doesnt match, i'm ashamed now, but i never drew a hand closeup like this, will keep practicing
JSlayer - i'd love one as a pet too :D

Oregano, that's some really great tips on observing things
Helzer - woooow, good enough to hang on a wall

[shadoman]

Thanks for the kind words.

Gumdrop, I was considering your comments about the veins, but I don't have the time today to do so, but good idea. Like showing a hint of the circulatory system.
Helzer, thanks for the insight. I'll keep those ideas in mind. I use Photoshop at work and seem to like the textured brushes more than that of Painters, but I like the fluidity of Painter much better.

--------------

YeeWu - Very nice work, but it seems that the salamander's reflection is missing.
Thrash - Very nice colors and textures, don't worry too much about the laptop, but yeah, the colors are a bit off on them.