C.O.W. - #002: Don't touch that!

[Fozzybar]

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


Round #002

Topic:
Don't touch that!


Deadline:
10.02.2005



- for any questions or help go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37512

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 ;)

Post your creature for this week!

[Form]

heh this will need some clever thinking to avoid the cliche :D

question... is the emphasis specifically on the creatures design? I know your rules say feel free to add a background, but what if the piece is an illustration with the creature and the scene or other creatures/people in equal importance? Should it be creature with a background 'extra' or can it be a creature set in an illustration? I hope you take my meaning.

[arteric]

OK, I am in illustrator paradise! You mean we get to do this weekly? Every week? AND Judging and comments on each others work....Oh, creature of the WEEK.... I get it....

(Ok, enough joking around.) Honestly, this is going to be a blast! I can't wait to get my new computer and the newest version of Painter AND a drawing tablet.... then I can REALLY get moving on these things. As it is, I will submit to this one in my old fashioned way, drawing with sticks in the mud.

Don't touch that! Hmmmm? So many possibilities.... so many....

Already anticipating others work....

Eric

[Digisaur]

Hahaha Sweeet! :wip:

[Scarn]

Alright First one done! This slimey creature can usually be found around swamps and bogs and is usually about the size of a frog. The creature feeds by "rolling" its large vascular cell around its prey, much like how an amoeba does. The clear gelatin is produced inside the existing gelatin by rearranging the molecules of its prey by processing it through the "head", and the creature grows. The tentacles on the top of the organism is its air intake and release - but don't try to clog them, or you'll be pulled in!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Scarn/Slime.jpg
Sigh... not as good as I had seen it in my head... the skeleton turned out really good... but the creature surrounding it kinda took attention away from it.
I'm still learning.

[Fozzybar]

is the emphasis specifically on the creatures design? I know your rules say feel free to add a background, but what if the piece is an illustration with the creature and the scene or other creatures/people in equal importance? Should it be creature with a background 'extra' or can it be a creature set in an illustration?

I know what you mean...and i say, the creature is the main focus!!! form 'n focus, you know, haha :rolleyes: :perv: :dead: .....er...whatever...the viewer must be able to see why you shouldn't touch this creature, usually without any extra-artwork like scared people or fire around the creature...the design and concept speaks for itself! But as i said, you're free to add a background or different things if you think it will push your concept...just like Scarn did...in this case it's important to have the skeleton to describe how the creature "works"...hmmm let me give two examples:

example 1 (good): Your creature lives around a volcano crater...he is hot, glowing, burning and you can see this by the creatures design - Don't touch that!

example 2 (bad): Your creature lives around a volcano crater...he is small, dull and looks like a naked cihuahua...

For both examples you can add a volcanic, hot background with lava and all the stuff to describe the environment and living of the creature...but when you leave out the background, example 1 will be a good entry anyway, example 2 not...so much blabla and bad english...:) i hope you understand what i mean...

arteric:
Shut up and Draw! :perv: ;)

Scarn:
Good to see this kind of post as a start...good example for the next ones:

1. creature with concept!
2. concept written down
3. necessary extra drawings like the skeleton push the understanding of the concept

:madchef: These are the right ingredients!

[Baaaah!]

http://www.jamessinton.plus.com/paul_sinton_work_page/images/speed_painting/creature_02.jpg

Edit:

Updated image from the initial concept. Seems to be having a conversation with another critter :}

Forest dwelling, prickly critter, that scampers around in the undergrowth. It's covered in a heavy layer of quills. When antagonised it runs at it's target, jumps and rolls itself into a ball of spikes as it fly's onwards. Needless to say, touching or poking it will get it very angry.

Might try and add some colour if a get time, or some more shading.

Concept sketch:
http://www.jamessinton.plus.com/paul_sinton_work_page/images/speed_painting/creature_01.jpg

[Scarn]

lol! That looks very similiar to one of my rough sketches, spines, except mine was more of a sea urchin. nice stuff ( I think a flying ball of quills would be freakin hilarious).

[Baaaah!]

Scarn - yeah, I like the flying ball of quills idea as well :^^: just hope I can do it justice. I've been reading The Goblin Companion by Brain Froud - excellent book, cool illustrations - I think some of it may have rubbed off.

[Thestral]

Woot! Got finished early this round!

DollyWog also known as the Dolly Doxie (chewofftus digitus)

This carnivorous animal is usually found nesting in medium to high grass and also floating on the surface of ponds and small lakes. Its unique back markings make it particularly dangerous to small young children who, thinking it is a doll, gleefully advance to pick it up. The Dollywog does not look kindly upon being picked up and will commence to ferociously sting and tear into the young child’s hands shredding them with razor sharp teeth. The Dollywog is an endangered species and it is illegal to harm them. They are commonly kept as pets in Australia where they are deemed less dangerous than 90% of the other creatures living on that continent.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/fundesign/dollywog02.jpg

No offense to my mates down under! :wink:

**Incorporated changes that arteric pointed out in his crit. Hope that's not cheating. I agreed 100% with him and it's still before the deadline. Iz okay Fozzy? :bashful:

[Form]

hahaha i found that immensely funny thank you :D cool critter.

fozzy: thanks for the tip dood, makes sense. had to change my concept for the piece a bit but my creature is still the same so its allll good.

[Fozzybar]

Cool...guys, i really appreciate that you write down your concepts...i think this makes the whole thing more professional...more..er...conceptart, hehe... <3

Form, great! There are people who understand what i am trying to say with my messy english... :perv:

[Matt Dixon]

http://www.vortex.plus.com/COW02.jpg

The 'Fisherman Blob' has a soft, boneless body which allows it to squeeze into confined spaces where it lies in wait for it's prey. With it's body mass hidden from view, the creature dangles out it's long tongue which ends in a mass of complex glands and muscles which can be flexed in order to 'sculpt' an appropriate lure for passing food. When touched, the sticky saliva that coats the tongue adheres to the prey and a reflex action causes the tongue to retract back into the mouth. Gulp.

Here we see a Fisherman practising the 'dancing kitten' lure. Don't touch that!

( Just a quick one this time, while I wait for my hangover to go away. :dead: )

[Scarn]

Thestral, Matt - great stuff! they both made me laugh. Wish I had thought of that.

[Banned_User]

Matt- That description definately lends the imagination to realize there is a lot more to a drawing than just the pen and paint. Nice job.

[Banned_User]

http://pratt.edu/~mcorrier/sketch/acidattack1.jpg

One day a biologist was walking through an alien jungle on the planet Bebop and rocksteady and came across an interesting little critter that had these big liquid filled balls on its back - he thought for a second but couldn't resist, so he grabed the little fellar to take back to his labs. Only problem is, as soon as he touched it, the bubbles burst in an atomic manner spraying hot acid all over. - guess he learned his lesson. "Don't touch that!"

Later they named the creature " DTT!"

[simmi]

http://www.simnet.is/simmi/cow/cow2.jpg
The "Apple of death" creature lures its prey into position using a special muscle shaped like a apple. That muscle generates a smell wich drives all mammals in the area crazy for the apple. The creature senses motion in the ground and once the prey is in position, it will open its body/mouth, engulfing the prey. It will then digest everything execpt metal wich it defecate into the surroundings.
The creature can turn around its axis using spikes on its hyde and also move slowly to other places. The creature can reproduce without mating. The offspring will start as a small spiked ball, then it burrows itself into the ground and sets up its "apple".At early age the offspring can eat a cat or a dog. A fullgrown creature can engulf horse or a cow.

Hope i didnt misspell... :bashful:

[Craig D]

Poison arrow frog girl (Dendrobates hominidus)

While on a class field trip, Sheila was gummed by a radioactive frog.
She soon began secreting toxic mucous through her skin and killed all the grabby boys in her school :nohope: . Seems that unlike animals, people cannot figure out that bright colours mean "Don't touch that."

http://www.clubwebcanada.ca/cdaniels/frog girly.jpg

[Bretton]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/bretton/donttouchthat.jpg

heres mine :]

[Scarn]

Oooh! pret-ty... what is it?

[conundrum]

great one matt, id love to be able to get that sort of textured feel.

http://img96.exs.cx/img96/1865/squog6wa.jpg

The Squog spends much of the year in a petrified state, attempting to turn into another creature of its choice. As a result they must store highly condensed globules of food suring these periods. If they are disturbed during a transformation the globules are speedily released, resulting in an unpleasant experience for both the Squog and any creatures within a mile of the event.

[OLSEN]

Good stuff so far. :)

Heres mine:

Project "Smart Vävnad", or "Smart Tissue" for you non swedish speakers out there, started in the late 60's in Malmö, Sweden. The goal was to create the first self reproducing carbon based artificial intelligence. Using top notch equipment supplied by the underground russian maffia, project leader Rudolf Knegarbrud and his team of left wing geniuses managed to produce the first working AI in 1975. It was capable of performing numerous "tricks", too numerous to mention here, they were however, truly numerous. :perv:

Going through many prototypes, it took Knegarbrud six more years to produce the first truly intelligent Smart Tissue Artificial Intelligence (STAI). This STAI was even capable of communicating with the team through a simple device using morse code as the language. Its first, and last words were "DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!".

The project was canceled in 1983, as Rudolf Knegarbrud and his entire team died in a freak piano related accident.

This here is the only remaining photo of the working STAI.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/ksm_olsen/donttouchthat.jpg

[akhad]

Hi,
Only just joined CA.org, hello to you all, as an introduction I thought I'd make my first post a c.o.w, here's hoping I get the link right :wink:

This is Fango, he is for sale and was one of a litter of 5 "fango`s" that are only found on the small orbiting moons of recently discovered planet Splot. He makes a great guard dog and is partly house-trained. He has a good appetite, prefers his meat un-cooked and is especially fond of children !

akhad.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ladyhawkk/images/Fango!.jpg

[Scarn]

lol, " especially fond of children".

[TheMuffinKing]

Scissorfist is very busy, what with all the disembowling thats needs to be done. I guess now is the time for a P.D.A. Oh and it's bi@#& when he needs to pick his nose, leading to the unseen label "don't touch this" at the base of his left "hand".

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/TheMuffinKing/redf021.jpg


Eh I should have read the topic instead of just visually scanning through it... :^^:

[Fozzybar]

No offense to you MuffinKing, but actually i am not keen on pasting your pic in the voting-thread:

1. It's not a creature...yeah, i know humans are creatures also etc :blahblah:...but i think we all know what we are thinking of when we mean creature...

2. As you said, there is not much relation to the topic...

So i would suggest to work on another entry...as i said it's nothing against you, it's more a try to keep this activity on the right track! ;)

Edit: For this round i will take your entry to the poll...it was my fault not declaring it in advance...

[Ostrander]

http://rhinohidestudios.com/images/yas.jpg
Be ever mindful of the Yattering Skinch, it loves to lure those with a sympathetic ear with its mournful '"cry" a sound that wont be easily forgotten as one picks up the creature in distress. A favored delicacy of the Skinch is the eyes of its hapless victim.

[Scarn]

Aaaww huh-hawwww.... Isso cute! Here little skinchy-winchy, pass my eye back... that's it....yyaaaaaAAAHHHHHOHMAGAAA-GET IT OOOFF!!!.... *yitter*. ... lol awesome stuff gloklund, Awesome stuff.

[Ostrander]

hehe thanks man :)

[Scarn]

Two more days *fidgets in anticipation*... I got that first one done too quickly, the next one I plan to use at least half the week before calling it in.

[bracomadar]

http://bracomadar.0catch.com/art/cow2.jpg
The Mistact, which translates from Latin to “bad touch”, is a rabbit sized creature that lives deep within the Amazon. Don’t let its size fool you though; this is a very deadly and skilled predator.

It was discovered in early 2004 by a Brazilian logging company stumbled upon a group of the animals feasting on a carcass. Five men lost their lives to the creatures before help could arrive. Two survivors remain hospitalized to this day due to their injuries. Since then scientist have flocked to the area to study these mysterious animals. Very little is known about them, but research has began to shed light on their strange lives.

These creatures will lay in wait for days for their next meal. Venom sacks on the side of its head pump venom to its front two spurs located at the end of its arms. When prey is in reach it will lash out with its forearms and inject its deadly package. Its poison eats away the flesh around the wound. A puncture the width of a pencil can widen to six inches within minutes. It also causes the blood to thin and prevents clotting. Its prey will usually end up bleeding to death after running a short distance. The mistact will then track down the victim using its keen sense of smell. Once found it will continue to spur the corpse to soften it up for consumption. For larger prey like capybaras, or tapirs it will chirp loudly, sometimes hours, for other mistacts nearby to feast upon the carcass with it. Mistacts will fiercely defend their meal against scavengers. They only allow other mistacts to eat alongside them.

During the wet season when the Amazon floods, the mistacts will take to the water. They are able to breath both out of land and in the water. It is thought they could be a close relative of the first animals to take to land billions of years ago. Their web feet allow them to travel quickly through the water and chase after small fish. During this time they will mate and burry their eggs in the water covered forest floor, usually in a fortress of tangle of roots for added security. After the eggs are buried, the two parents will feast on fish and patrol the area to defend their young against predators. Only when the waters recede back during the dry season will the eggs hatch. A few days after hatching, the parents will go their separate ways and leave their babies to fend for themselves. Young mistacts actually have more potent venom than the adults. This probably helps them defend against predators better since its at this time they are most vulnerable. They will eat small rodents, insects, and frogs until they reach adulthood about 7 months later. These rare creatures have little research done on them, so there are even more that is not known about their life.

Only a few people who have had the unfortunate luck to be spurred by a mistact has lived to tell about it. It does not seem to prefer the taste of human flesh and would rather avoid them along with other large predatory animals. However, if it feels threatened it will lash out. Some scientists believe a larger cousin of the mistact might be the cause of the rumors of the now famous chupacabra in Latin America. Only time will tell if this creature turns out to be another animal currently hidden to science. There are still large amounts of the Amazon that are left unexplored and many species that have yet to be discovered.

[Jull]

http://www.photobucket.com/albums/v162/zafio/forum/cow/jull_cow_002.jpg

There was once an alien in the most extreme boredom... he had nothing to do, so he started reading about the human kind, he was specially interested in the greed of the pirates (it was time of pirates) So he decided to make an experiment to see how greed could annul the natural distrust of the pirates.
He created a venomous-hermit-squid thing with a gold exo-skeleton. After this he did put a coffer fulfilled with those creatures in a small cave at a small isle, after this, he did spread maps with the "treasure" location. He wrote "it could be very dangerous to look for this treasure, you are warned!" in the map, so only the greediest (and stupidest) ones could look for the "treasure".

Nowadays, this alien has the greatest collection of dissected pirates of all the universe. :skull:

Sorry for the bad grammar.

[Fozzybar]

To MuffinKing and the rest
I decided to take human-like drawings into the poll...another member sent me a pm asking if he could post his drawing (looked like a human also)...actually i don't want any human-like drawings in this activity, but it seems that i didn't mention this clear enough...my bad...so for this round it's ok... I will add this to the rules for the next rounds...

[Fozzybar]

http://www.kidomatix.com/ca/cow/cow_002_donttouchthat_fozzybar.jpg

Deep in the forests of pataguanamaya there lives a creature nearly as huge as an elephant...it looks so sweet, so cute, so friendly, so harmless...BUT IT'S THE DEADLIEST OF THEM ALL!!!

Its skin is totally covered with a sticky mass produced by its organism...the creatures surface is stickier than every super glue - it's deadly sticky...everything once got stuck on the surface never will get away...unless the creature wants so. It can control the stickyness of areas on its skin to get rid of inorganic objects or predators, also to avoid getting stuck on trees or whatever...

The creature feeds upon every organic that gets stuck on its body...under the skin there are billions of little proboscis which exhaust the poor victims...after the consumption (this can take up to several days depending on the victims size) it "deactivates" the stickyness on the certain area and drops the remains...

Mostly the creature is covered with little birds which got stuck on the body, not to speak of thousands of flies, bugs and tiny insects (which are acting as lure for bigger prey)...

In rare cases uncareful explorers are getting stuck ("so cute - i wanna stroke it")...the only chance to survive is having a weapon or at least a mobile phone, to call the zoological institue of the local area, where the only answer to the description of the seen creature is always: "DON'T TOUCH THAT!"...

[Ostrander]

lol thats awesome fozzy!! I love it!

[Johann de Venecia]

Awesome critters, guys. I want to keep some for my pet! Fozzy's is too big to take home with me. It reminds me of gummy bears, that skin texture is so believable. Jull's is pocketsized but I imagine it to be grimy. I think Gloklund's fit the bill quite nicely. Looks like my cat! :$

[Scarn]

Whoo! Awesome stuff guys! Fozzy, that creature is wicked! though I noticed you didn't name it? How about " Hippostickonass"? lol.

[arteric]

OK, so I was like a number of others. I took the simple three word description to mean we could play with the boundaries of the image subject... etc. After seeing the posts and critiques I realize that I have stepped too far "outside of the box" with this one. My bad. Future creatures will be non-humanoid and much more along the topic. But I put a lot of time into the image so I figured I am going to post it anyway.

So many people were working with creatures with barbs, spines, poisonous skins, lures and the like, I thought I would go in another direction. My concept was a simple twist. What if "Don't Touch That!" wasn't being said about the creature... what if it was the creature who was saying it? And that brings us to....

Img: http://tinypic.com/1ovnv5

"The townspeople have finally trapped the horrible ogre who had brought them so many nights of fear and dread; nights where they counted the minutes until sun rise. The good people have decided to display their prize catch in the town square and make it suffer before it is destroyed. However, someone with a twisted sense of dark, sick humor has played a little joke on the monster, and with a bit of strategically placed candy they have initiated the creatures demise by using, ironically, the most innocent among them.... the children. The ogre stuggles against it's chains to break free, and in a gutteral, vocal-chord twisting voice it attempts to make the closest semblance of human speech it can, screeming at the child with incredible desperation... DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

-Eric

[Johann de Venecia]

My creature is much too humanoid as well. Where does it say 'Creature' in C.O.W. again??? Common sense escaped me. My bad :^^;: . I'll comply to the rules for the next round. But for now, here's what I came up with:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/deceptant/roach.jpg

MAN-eater, a -insekta with a taste for man-flesh. Always ready to snack on boys who can't keep their hands to themselves. As a hunting mechanism, this roach has force-evolved itself into a charming (?) lass, snaring unsuspecting, libido-driven victims.

The MAN-eater makes it's kill by participating in various titillating foreplay to exite the male prey and induce erection. Foreplay know-how is instinctive, as this human practice was a spectacle constantly viewed day in and day out by the MAN-eater's ancestors who lived and died in the dark corners of seedy motel rooms. With the aroused male falling for the trap, he will then proceed to insert his hardened penis into the creature's primary mouth disguised as a woman's vagina. Once penetration has occured, layered flaps of sinuous tissue that make up the lip of the orifice wrap around the male genitalia in a deathly grip. The varmint's serrated arms and legs aggressively latch on to the victim's body keeping it steady while multiple retractable teeth emerge down the length of its primary mouth to clamp on the penis shaft. Venomous drool is then secreted from the salivary glands that line the feeding hole which seeps into the punctured flesh of the penis as well as the penis hole itself. The salivary enzymes immediately attack the victim's nervous system causing massive seizures followed by temporary paralysis. Once incapacited, the MAN-eater proceeds to slowly swallow the body. It accomplishes this by shifting and adjusting the bones and cartilage in its own pelvic region and allowing the layered flaps of skin around its mouth to unfold and expand to accomodate the huge hunk of meat it is about to ingest. On the way in, strong muscles in the inner orifice crush the prey's skeletal system to further speed up the feeding process. An average 165 pound body is usually consumed within a couple of hours.

Why a house pest would want to munch on the male genitalia, I have no idea. But it sure gives a whole new meaning to the word Cockroach. <insert punchline drums here> In the words of the famous Hall and Oates, " Oh-oh, here she comes, watch out, boy, she'll chew you up. Oh-oh, here she comes, she's a man eater..." Ah, yes, for the heterosexual male, vagina is good, but in this case, DON'T TOUCH IT (that!)

[BIG BRUTICUS]

In the year 2385 the settlers of I8U10 happened across the Native Snugglebumfkin who's battle cry of I wuv U! (translated to Die alien Scum!) was mistaken for an invitation to pick these creatures up and hug them. Unaware to the settlers that these creatures secrete a liquid, when contacts human skin creates a corrosive acid that dissovles flesh and bone almost instantaneously. Sadly these cute but deadly natives were hunted to extinction when the settlers found out the Snugglebumfkin tastes delicious.

http://tinypic.com/1ox7vm

[Pantmonger]

http://www.pantmonger.com/concept/impaler_crab.jpg

Impaler Crab

Burying itself in moist beach sands is the method this patient carnivore uses to hunt. Waiting quietly, it exudes a smell of suger syrip though the hole on its dorsal ridge, the only part of its body above the ground. When prey approaches and makes contact with this heat sensitive dorsal ridge the crab launches itself forward at frightening speed hooking its prey with the barbs of its foreclaws, then with a powerful pulling motion the crab propels its sharp, bony head into its prey. If this thrust successfully delivers a mortal blow the crab remains lodged in its prey and starts secreting an enzyme filled saliva from its sphincter mouth on the underside of the head plate. After the liquid does its work the crab slurps up its feast and moves on to lie in wait for another victim.
So if you see a blue coral like growth in the sand and smell some syrupy goodness in the air make sure you DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

Pantmonger

[guterrez]

man I really love this thread, its like we`re all childs in the kindergarten, sitting next to each other and and looking curious what the neighbor is drawing...
anyway I`ve chosen my favorites so far as there are Fozzys creep ( not only cause your brave enough to make a pink creature ), Gloklunds skinch and last but absolutley not least lukavis man eater, great look man ;)
think I`ll do something next round too...

[arteric]

Hello All,

Seeing as how Fozzy was nice enough to critique each and every entry last time, I thought I might return the favor to everyone and give some critiques of my own regarding all of the entries I have seen posted so far for Creature of the Week #2 "Don't Touch That." I know mine entry, like many, missed the point this time, so even if I critique your image on that, realize I DO KNOW I am guilty of it myself. If you are like me (8 feet tall, eye patch and a hook for a hand) and I know you are, you love getting critiques and hearing what others have to say about your work, so in an effort to leave no one out...

Pantmonger: Great crustacean creature. I think my favorite part of the image is the color scheme. The deep reds along the ligaments, the dark blue secondary shell and the pale tan outer casing. The color scheme makes this image for me. The lighting is good and the sense "3D"ness to the shape is great. And it does look nasty. You conveyed a good sense of malevolence without having many recognizable features to go by. On the downside, apart from that malevolence, (and some sharp pincers) it is not abundantly clear why you shouldn't touch it other than a bad temper.

Big Bruticus: An interesting creation. I like the texture you achieved. The color scheme is great, innocence is overflowing before you even see the face. It is a nice mix of creature features. The face is great. It looks like you just want to hug the heck out of the thing, take it home and give it to little Jimmy as a pet. But without the description, you really can't SEE why your shouldn't touch it. I think the point of Concept Art is the Concept, but it is ALSO the art. The biggest downside you your image is that without the descriptive text, we wouldn't know anything about it, and it wouldn't work with the "Don't Touch That" theme. It could have been draw for almost any reason and then added to this contest merely due to the description. I think the art needs to connect with the idea a little more in a visual sense.

Lukavi: Great image. Disturbing, gross, fascinating and VERY WELL RENDERED. You have an obvious understanding of anatomy. Your use of dark areas (the hair to frame the face, the dark nylon bands to frame the crotch-mouth) shows a good sense of balance and design. And I really appreciate the subdued color scheme. It feels dirty and dank just by the color alone. The bug arms help tell the insect story, and I think it is obvious to all why you shouldn't touch this. On the downside (and this is just personal preference) it may be a bit to shockingly straightforward for many people to appreciate what it is telling. (Again, this is just opinion.) Your audience is limited by the explicit nature of the image. Something you may want to think about is could you have told this visual story with as much power, but in a less graphic, more suggestive manner. (What the mind can picture is always worse than what the artist can draw.... well, almost always.)

Fozzybar: What can I say, you nailed it. (Of course, it was your subject. We should all default to fozzybar on this one as the template. You can easily tell just by looking at it why you should NOT touch it. Touching it is what the image is all about. Without one word of description you can see the whole story. It's environment, it's look, it's unique body structure are all clear without one word being said. The skin is amazing, the gelatinous nature is clear instantly (a very hard image to accomplish) and it's skin almost shines with stickiness. The small bugs and birds are a fantastic touch. The only downsides I have are with the rendering of the guy stuck to it’s backside and the ground itself. The guy looks less finished to me that the rest of the piece. His skin blends a bit to much with the creature, and I think darker shadow areas defining the sunken curve where he is embedded would have helped in this area. As for the ground, it distracts me. I want to see grass and dirt, but it looks like astro-turf. Unnatural compared to the organic nature of the background and the rest of the picture.

Jull: I really like the idea, even without the long drawn out alien story. The cave lighting is fantastic, the water looks so refreshing I want to jump in. And I love the above source lighting, as if there was an opening just out of sight. The pirate is a very cool character, his color scheme works great and makes him appear to be a sinister sailor without seeing much detail about him. I like the visual tension created by placing him across the water from his goal. The creature itself is a nice design. The inward curving teeth and dark maw are great. (I would like to have seen his legs resemble strings of pearls, just a thought.) On the downside, it took three images to tell the visual story even before we got to the text. I guess the biggest thing for me here is to wonder can the same "treasure-monster" idea have been conveyed in one image? Could we have seen the pirate bending over the chest, but the pieces closest to us are overturned, revealing the mouth and teeth to the viewer but not the pirate? That might have made it work even better.

bracomadar: The jungle setting is a very stylized and interesting image. I like the seedling/plant in the foreground. The creature is cool, it almost resembles bark or wood, and it's coloring would give it countless places to hide in this lush setting. Those clawed front arms look nasty, and the small droplets of blood hint at bad events taking place without ever seeing a carcass. The small drops say WORLDS more that a fly covered husk might have said, and it is a great example of saying more with less. The downside is that it, like many others, doesn't convey the Don't Touch That theme as clearly as it could have. Sure, it might be mean (but that is something that is hard to see without the added text). The poison idea is in the text only, and nothing shows it to us in the image. It would have been nice to see those poison sacks you mentioned. The creature itself doesn't seem to be "engineered" or bio-mechanically figured out as much as it could have. We don't see how dangerous it is except for those small drops of blood. The creature also seems overshadowed by it's surroundings, and I think more focus on the creature would have worked better.

Gloklund: Great image. I love those large eyes. The extra-toothy mouth is a great touch. The emaciated body gives the creature a lean, hungry look. The rendering style is also very cool, and it almost looks like an image one might find in some textbook of a first-hand illustration from an explorer that came across it. The mottled coloring scheme works well, and the orange is a great shock of color that draws you to the face. The creatures hands and feet might have been better off being a bit more clawlike. As it is, I have trouble seeing how it can get those nubby fingers to pull an eye out. The proportions seem a little funny to me somehow, as if the head is a bit too big, or the waist just a hair too thin. Also, take away the eye on the ground and close it's mouth, and it looses the Don't Touch That theme entirely. I think the idea of Don't Touch That had to be imbedded into the image a bit more for it to work. Perhaps focusing our attention on the mouth more, exaggerating the creature so that the mouth WAS it's major appendage might have improved it for me.

TheMuffingKing: There isn't much I can say about the image. It is very simple, and the linework is nice. I like the touch of placing a skull on the left shoulder. The blade hand is a wicked looking instrument and conveys a sharp and deadly appearance nicely. You were correct, you should read more closely for next time. I think your big focus needs to be centering in more accurately on the theme and thinking it through more. Also, study up on anatomy. The character is pretty flat and the proportions are off. Draw from life more and your images will take on that rounded, 3D quality with practice.

akhad: The mouth and teeth on Fango are great. Those gums almost bleed with realism, and the stylistic teeth curve in with great effect. The shading and lighting in this area works really well. (Are you a fan of Ben Templesmith... I think that is how you spell it... who draws "20 Days of Night?) The dark mood of the overall image adds to the sense of fear and danger. The wrinkled skin is a nice touch. The bulbous head shines smoothly and the skin texture is excellent. The character, overall, looks blurry to me. Once you get away from the mouth, everything else becomes less defined. The rending, when looked at as a whole, looks choppy to me, almost as if there are fighting artistic styles taking place. The image also draws obvious inspiration from the Alien (long hammer-like head, no eyes, spiny back) and I would like to see you try something a bit more original. It looks mean, but again, apart from that what is the reason we shouldn't touch it. Working the sense of touch into the REASON for your creature needs to be thought out a little more.

OLSEN: Wild drawing. I love the way it hints at many things but hides so much in shadows. The tendrils spilling out from all over its body are great. And the sense of being in some dark, muddled underwater environment lit only by the creature bio-luminescence is fantastically done. I like the coloring on the arm-like structures, and the water-ripple-light effect scattered across the lower half of the creatures structure. The colors are wonderful, and the small eyes are piercing. Downside: It doesn't work a whole lot with the theme without the text. It is pretty abstract as well, and the image alone doesn't convey what it is all that clearly. Clarity of idea being conveyed in the image is very important, and at first glance I thought this was an abstract image. (There is still much that is hard for me to make out.) This could have been something drawn for any reason, and then a story added just to fit with the "Don't Touch That" theme. I would really like to see something more defined on the next theme.

conundrum: Intense color scheme. The face on the creature is full of straining emotion and tension. The spurting fluids at the top of the head do an excellent job of showing us frenetic motion in a still picture. I must admit though, I am STILL not entirely sure why you shouldn't touch this creature. Apart from exploding like a zit and hitting you (which is only clear in the text) the image doesn't show you why this is a dangerous being. Seeing the act of a globule flying out instead of this more static moment in the creatures life cycle might have worked better. The color scheme is a bit too monotone for me. I would like to have seen some varying of color and texture to help lead my eye through the image. The rending on the face could use work. I would like to see more detail in the anatomical structures, something that shows me more of what you had in mind, and a more finished illustration overall.

TO BE CONTINUED....

[arteric]

Hello All,

Seeing as how Fozzy was nice enough to critique each and every entry last time, I thought I might return the favor to everyone and give some critiques of my own regarding all of the entries I have seen posted so far for Creature of the Week #2 "Don't Touch That." I know my entry, like many, missed the point this time, so even if I critique your image on that, realize I DO KNOW I am guilty of it myself. If you are like me (8 feet tall, eye patch and a hook for a hand) and I know you are, you love getting critiques and hearing what others have to say about your work, so in an effort to leave no one out...

Bretton: It is certainly the stuff of nightmares. A dark, almost shapeless form where one can just vaguely make out the horrendous mouth that is about to feast on you. The subtlety in the image is good, the mouth is suggested without being thrown at you. And I appreciate your fearlessness when it comes to dark areas. I have trouble committing to solid blacks in my images, and yours had a weight to it that works well. On the downside, it is really hard to see what it is man. The art of this piece could be more clearly conveyed. One of the best things about concept art is you get to create things and show people things that they have never seen or imagined before, and show them to the people in a way that makes them believe in the image as a real creature. You image goes too far into the abstract for me to believe in it, and therefor fear it, so it ultimately loses the power it could have had.

CraigD: Very good idea. Combining the poisonous nature of tree frog skin with a human is fantastic. The colors work well and I know what you were going for pretty quick. Those intense red eyes are great and really catch your attention. The one splayed frog hand is a nice touch. The image itself could use work. You need to work on anatomy more. The proportions seem off (this creature gets really wide at the bottom and the face is very simple with almost no roundedness to it). Also, the image is more of an outline. The only thing that defines the creature outside of its outline is a few splotches of color. You need to practice more with texture and shading to make the creature come alive. The skin is flat (look at the lighting and the intense white spots on Fozzybar's creature and your see what I mean about creating a skin texture.) In the concept department, if you don't know about poisonous-skinned tree frogs the image doesn't work. You might want to think if there was someway you could show the poison effect in a visual manner.

simmi: A nice idea. A good take on the trap/lure plants we are all familiar with. Engineering wise this is very well thought out. The nature of how the creature works is very clear. I like the marker-like coloring scheme, and the bright colors really work with the heavy black lines... I think more subdued colors wouldn't have worked here and that you made the right choice. I like the small details, the gun/knife/cell-phone? in the ground being excreted. I don't even think the three small side images were needed for clarity, and if anything, they detract from the power the single image could have had. The rending style is a bit to quick and sketchy for me. Even though the simplicity works, I would like to see more detail in the creature. What does that trap door really look like, what does the texture feel like? How do the spikes and hide of the creature work, what are the mechanics of it's form? I am all for cartooning styles (I cartoon myself) but I think this image might have been better served with a bit more detail to the over-all image.

MIKECORRIERO: The creature is very cool and really works well as a non-humanoid form. I love the extra arm-appendages under its body, they hint at unknown movement possibilities and biological uses that make the creature seem more alive. The skin is excellent, conveying the splotchy, hide-like surface very well. I like the head shape with the offset eyes. The lighting is good here as well, and I like the subtle back lighting the darker side gets with your use of blues more in the skin tone. I have the same critique I have with most of the images this time around, the theme isn't conveyed clearly. We don't know why we shouldn't touch it just by looking at it, and the acid nature of the pollups only becomes apparent in the text. Is that something that could have been shown in some way? The creature doesn't appear vicious, or sharp, or dangerous, so it doesn't appear that you Shouldn't Touch It. The theme is what is missing here, the connection to the idea could be more fleshed out.

matt Dixon: Man, I love your illustration style. This looks like something Bill Watterson (of Calvin and Hobbes) would have drawn. The painting is excellent, the skin tones work great, the coloring is good and the lighting works too. As far as the drawing goes it is pretty solid in my opinion. I love the multi-eyed face and how there are several layers of teeth in the mouth. I like how you can see the tongue connect to the inside, and I like how color almost seems to be oozing from it's skin onto the ground. I think the lure is what works least for me. Although a humorous image, the lure seems to be very different from the rest of the creature. Too cute in some way. I would almost have liked to see some other lure better. (I don't know what, but something more organic, less "teddy-bear" looking) I think the lure is where the image breaks down for me. Funny, but somehow off the mark in my opinion.

Thestral: Great Idea. I love how the legs of the doll are actually the wings (I am assuming here) on the back of the creature. The monster itself is formidably vicious looking. The teeth are razor sharp, the legs are hairy/spindly/spider-like creepy. The skin is coarse looking and scaly. And the sting is perfect in both placement and look. The rendering is a bit troublesome. Some of the image looks super crisp and detailed to me )the creatures mouth) and some looks TOO blurry (the grass, on purpose I know, but also some of the creatures skin and the look of the Doll overall as well.) It almost looks like water got spilled on the image and made some of it run to me. The back side of the creatures lower jaw is off perspective-wise, the creatures mouth would be tilted at an almost impossible downward angle to look like that. From this high of an angle we would see more into it's lower jaw I think. And the Doll, although definitely funny, is almost OVERLY cute. (Cross eyed? Was that necessary?) It's colors are just a little too bright compared to the rest of the creature. Although a lure, it might have looked a tad more realistic and been more effective if the colors were notched back a few steps.

Baaaah! : I hope you finish the image, as I post this it is still just a pencil sketch and has much potential. The creature is neat, I like the oversized back legs, the black marble-like eyes, the bumpy misshapen nose and the fact that it is not only covered in spines, but all of it's fingers and toes are almost impossibly pointed as well. (Could you have taken this a step further and made it's knees, elbows and even NOSE defensive spires as well?) The drawing is hard to judge because it is unfinished. I would like to see more shading on this image. Something to really give it that "I can grab it feel." And the spines on the back and top are almost over-done. If there are TOO many, it loses it's impact to the viewer because there is no where for the eye to focus. Maybe giving the creature a few oversized barbs to break up the sizing might have helped here. Color it, please!

Scarn: A good idea, the jellyfish like creature works well. The theme is carried nicely, and it is clear that one should stay away form this thing if they ever come across it. I think my favorite part is that you actually draw a nervous system and brain. We can see it is a live being and not just some ball of toxic sludge, you thought it thorough enough to show us it was alive. I also like the tentacle-pollups on it's surface. If those are are-intake valves, could you have shown that more with openings? This image suffers most from being rushed I think (yes, you were the first to post, but taking time with this might have made it truly great.) The skeleton is a nice touch, but could be more defined. It gets blurry to me, and I don't feel like it is because I am looking through some substance to see it, it feels more unfinished. The purple shredded jeans are distracting to my eye. I would like them to have looked more like a material or cloth, even though they are disintegrating. The liquid surface could have worked better as well. I like the reflections, but some of the white brush strokes are too defined (especially up around the skeleton's head) and are distracting. Take more time with your next one and I am sure it will be better of for having done so.

That's it. As always, return critiques are always appreciated (I know, I am way off subject like many of us.... don't kill me on that one.) Keep up the great work everyone, I can almost smell the fumes as our brains burn overtime to great new and interesting beings. Can't wait to see what we all come up with next.

Eric

[Ostrander]

Awesome critiques, truely above and beyond, thank you very much.

[Flip]

http://users.bigpond.net.au/laing/phil/cow/cow-dont_touch_that.jpg
This creature lives large networks of tunnels and caves. It is completely blind and lacks the form of hearing we are used to. It does however have highly sensitive feet which secrete a liquid that lines this creatures lair. The high viscosity of the liquid means that the creature can feel a disturbance from anywhere within its lair. The scent throughout the lair numbs the brain and compels the victim on, making them an easy target. It's not known whether this scent comes from the liquid or the animal itself, attempts to find out the source have generally ended in death.

[OLSEN]

Arteric, I agree with the crits you gave me. I had to rush this piece to be able to participate and well, i didn't give it as much thought as it deserved. I'll do better next week.

I must say it's really cool of you to take the time to write all that, I really appreciate it, and I'm sure all the others do to. That goes for Fozzy too for the last round and everyone else who has been nice enough to give critique. Thanks. :)

I'll start writing on my own crit list right now, I'll post it as soon as i've covered all pieces. (Wich may take some time, i'm a slow writer)

[Thestral]

Thestral: Great Idea. I love how the legs of the doll are actually the wings (I am assuming here) on the back of the creature. The monster itself is formidably vicious looking. The teeth are razor sharp, the legs are hairy/spindly/spider-like creepy. The skin is coarse looking and scaly. And the sting is perfect in both placement and look. The rendering is a bit troublesome. Some of the image looks super crisp and detailed to me )the creatures mouth) and some looks TOO blurry (the grass, on purpose I know, but also some of the creatures skin and the look of the Doll overall as well.) It almost looks like water got spilled on the image and made some of it run to me. The back side of the creatures lower jaw is off perspective-wise, the creatures mouth would be tilted at an almost impossible downward angle to look like that. From this high of an angle we would see more into it's lower jaw I think. And the Doll, although definitely funny, is almost OVERLY cute. (Cross eyed? Was that necessary?) It's colors are just a little too bright compared to the rest of the creature. Although a lure, it might have looked a tad more realistic and been more effective if the colors were notched back a few steps.

Eric

Thanks for the great crit! You know, funny thing is, I had everything in sharp focus and then started to blur because it looked too busy. And then I thought, hmm, the dolly markings don't look bright enough, and then I thought, maybe the doll isn't cute enough, and then.....

Goes to show you that I need someone to walk up behind me and snatch the drawing away before I start thinking. Anyway, I incorportated the things you brought up. As long as it's okay with Fozzybar, it will stay, otherwise I still have the original to post back up for the vote. Thank's again very much!!
-Frank

[Banned_User]

Arteric - I agree... but then again, I only spent about 20 min. total from thought process to finish. It was just rushed and a rather extreme quick sketch ;)
kinda busy with work..just wanted to contribute "something"

[Matt Dixon]

*takes hat off to Arteric*

Serious ( and insightful ) critiques there, man! You're like Father CRITmas..!

[Form]

hey guys ive spent this week trying to branch out and experiment with new materials. I kind of only ever use pencils or digital, never really paint or charcoal, so im trying to challenge myself a bit.

So this one is my first ever charcoal drawing :)

20 mins charcoal+10 mins digital value shifting.

The Visceros:

The visceros species inhabits the dense and as yet unexplored deep jungles of the amazon. Gigantic but lithe, this sinewy predator is a master of its own disguises. Its agile and flexible reptilian body allows it to easy navigate throught the rainforest canopy. While its body is snake-like, it also has two strong climbing arms to propel and lift its gargantuan weight. The visceros has a dark green coloration and is, therefore in combination with its canopy-dwelling nature, an avid camouflaged stalker.

The visceros captures its prey with its long 'beard'. The strands are thick and hard like jungle vines, and upon them breed various interdependant plants and fungi - giving them a very natural look. When prey is near, the visceros will remain still above the canopy of the jungle and hang its 'beard' down to the ground. Any creatures, such as these two intrepid trekkers, unfortunate or curious enough to touch the long tendrils will be immediately snapped up by them and strangled. The visceros then rolls its prey up to its mouth and eats it, beard and all. The creature needs to feed only once every 6 months, and can live off water most of its life, so by the time it needs to feed its 'beard' has grown back.

The recent global warming and droughts have reached even as far as the amazon, and are forcing the water-swilling species out of hiding and into more populated feeding zones.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/formsketch/visceros.jpg

[Fozzybar]

VOTING is on!!!

Go here to vote for your fav!

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=404388