C.O.W. - #004: Venomous Bird

[Fozzybar]

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


Round #004

Topic:
Venomous Bird


Deadline:
26.02.2005




- 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!

[S.C. Watson]

You know, it just struck me that it really looks like Matt's Mad C.O.W. decapited the Jull-Llama and posted it up at the top >:|

On the plus side though, the paint brush points almost directly to the J-LLa head :dur:

Okay, I'll shut up now.

[Fozzybar]

What are you talking about??? :perv: :nohope: :dead: :dur: :confident

btw i want to say that this topic sounds boring but i think "birds" as a subject are very rarely done in conceptart...it will be very interesting to see the approaches of our members for this topic...it's a hard one and that's the challenge...

[S.C. Watson]

Pasta.

I was talking about pasta. Yeah.

Any-hooo, yeah. Birds. Venomous boids. Got it. Venomous boids are good. Especially when fixed with a little Oregano...


Wait...

k... never mind...

[bracomadar]

Birds are scary, they keep running into my window (trying to get inside so they can KILL ME!!! :skull: ) :$

[Bretton]

Name: Benno Bathurst

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/bretton/poisonbird002.jpg

Benno Bathurst is named after a mad scientist by the same name who spent his life in his home laboratory creating homicidal creatures who rampaged the surrounding villages. The animals were eventually tracked back to the scientists cottage where he was found guilty of being the cause of deaths numbering in the hundreds. Benno's bird has been killing people with no reason since Benno's death. With a hollow beak he poisons his victims with a vicious peck. Venom is secreted through a small hole in the point of his beak from a large venom-filled gland which rests under his beak, giving him a striking resemblance to the man whom he is superstitiously feared to be the ghost of.

[davi]

Helping ideas from davi:

1) in Colombia, there are 6 types of birds which secrete poison onto their wings, they get the poison by eatting poison filled beetles.

2) Vultures have an acid which is called, uric acid. They urinate on their legs so that when they step in their rotten meals it doesn't infect them. Go go pee acid!

[S.C. Watson]

Thanks davi. Well, that pretty well blows *my* idea. I was going to do some sort of avian critter that secreted it's poison on its body. But, looks like Mother Nature beat me to it >:{

~S

[Matt Dixon]

http://www.vortex.plus.com/COW04.jpg

The venom of the flightless 'Loogee Bird' is actually a potent flesh-eating bacteria, cultured in thin chambers in the creature's throat and mixed with a heavy mucus which allows it to be carried into the beak. This sticky, evil-smelling poison forms a kind of acid, which liquifies most biological matter at an alarming rate and forms the first stage of the bird's digestive system. Usual practise is for the creature to roughly chop it's prey using it's strong serrated beak, liberally depositing the venom as it does so, before licking up the partially-digested broth that remains once the bacteria has done it's work.

These 8 foot tall predators, which can run at speeds in excess of 90mph, easily dominate the food chain on their home planet of Loogee 4, perhaps due in part to their sophisticted and very efficient hunting method. The birds have a duct in their tongue which allows them to project a jet of venom over short distances - they sprint within range, then spit poison onto the body of their prey, usually favouring the legs or head. The acidic mucus slowly disables the effected animal which the 'Loogee Bird' is now able to track at a gentle pace, conserving energy. Once it's prey is sufficiently weakened, the bird is able to approach and devour it's meal with minimum effort. Yummy.

[cthomp]

this is my kinda creature. i plan to submit one later this week. good job dixon.

[arteric]

Great work Matt, those brush strokes are killer. Looks like we all gotta put in some over time to make ours compete in this one.

Mine will be here soon.

-Eric

Wait a minute, did I just say we have to compete above? But doesn't my tag line say we DON'T compete against each other?? Does... not.... compute...... system... error...........

[davi]

http://www.davivsjapan.com/ichor/Faminer02.jpg

The Gravelheart Bird was spends most of it's time hunting and tracking large bears. It's throat contains an acid which is used to spit into the eyes, mouth or any open sours of it's prey that will slowly decay and infect the body. It hunts by poisioning it's prey and then tracking it until it dies. The Gravelheart then will strike the prey when it's near final breathe, and hopefully the prey will have lead the Gravel heart straight to it's nest-- Where it can get an easy meal off baby creatures or unhatched eggs.

[0kelvin]

Awesome entries so far!


http://www.whereismyeyeball.com/images/CA/COW/VenomousBird.jpg
Vomiting Penguin

Although not part of the penguin family, this bird shares many of the penguin's traits and was believed to be a relative by early scientists. It is a flightless bird that has evolved into an excellent swimmer, living exclusively in the southern hemisphere. Its diet consists mainly of extremely poisonous blowfish. The Vomiting Penguin's digestive system seperates the poisonous sections of the fish before they reach the stomach and stores them in a protective sac. At any time, the Vomiting Penguin can regurgitate this violently noxious brew. A teaspoon of the substance absorbed through the skin is enough to kill an adult human. The vomit is usually used as a defense mechanism or to mark territory; however, the birds have been known to lay grass and flowers over the puddles of vomit in order to trick victims into unknowingly coming into contact with it. They do not eat the victims, so it is unknown why they lay these traps. Perhaps they are just mean.



0kelvin

[fungi]

South American Sneezing Crane
the south american sneezing crane, given its name because of its ability to "sneeze" poison from its nose, is famous for its brightly coloured feathers and ruthless hunting methods. the poison is stored in a sack within the back of the birds skull and is discharged, with deadly accuracy and range, through a second set of nostrals on the creatures beak. the poison isnt "too" harmful to humans but is somewhat deadly to the birds prey, which is mainly other small birds and land mammels. first the poison is sprayed into the eyes of another creature causing instant blindness and eventual paralysis, which is commonly done mid air against smaller birds. the sneezing crane waits for the poisoned prey to fall from the sky where it will find the corpse and feed. in some occasions the bird has been known to also hunt small tree monkeys and wild boars.

http://www.misterfungi.com/sketches/sneezingcrane.jpg

[Ostrander]

http://rhinohidestudios.com/images/barbed%20night%20minstrel.jpg
Common Name (preferred): Imperial Barbed Night Minstrel
Scientific Name: Imperatorius Perpcacis Nocturnus Orphei
Size (length, wingspan, & weight) Length—4.25" from tip of tail to tip of beak. Wingspan— 5.25" Weight—3.5 grams
Habitat: From marshy coastal waters to lush farmland areas.
Diet: Small insects, some flowering plants.

General Biology: A relatively recent species of bird, the Imperial Barbed Night Minstrel is commonly mistaken for some species of hummingbird as well as some of the larger species of moth. The Night Minstrel is a mostly nocturnal bird, feeding off of mosquitoes and other small nightime insects. It derives its name from its barbed feathers at the end of its tail and wingtips as well as its distinctive choir-like song. Known to be a venomous bird, of which only less than a half-dozen species are known to exist. It was once thought that it’s anal glands were the source of the toxin, however after recent findings have discovered that all species of this bird have an anal parasite which is in fact the source of the venom. The Malerondia Analicthys or Anal Fish Noodler, shares this symbiotic relationship with the Night Minstrel for the better of both species. The Night Minstrels “bodyguard” provides the protection while its host provides food and shelter. The venom secreted from the parasite weeps through the posterior of the bird from which the bird would rub the toxin with its beak down the length of its tail and wingtips. Being armed in flight now with the toxic venom at each extremity of its body the Night Minstrel can feed without the fear of being eaten by hungry predators. Any creature which ingests the venom will suffer severe neurotoxic shock and death.

[Fozzybar]

HAHAHA - crazy shit Gloklund...incredible idea to mix your anal parasite concept into this one! <3 <3 <3

I am surprised by the quality of the entries, not that they were bad lately, but i didn't expect this, since the topic is really not easy...

:hatsoff: :muscle: :bow:

Keep 'em coming, yeah!

[Hanuka]

Yummy guys! This is absolutely superb work by everyone so far. I am intimidated not only by excellent execution, but great, original ideas ;) I hope you guys like my take on this anyway, If I find the time, i'll work a little more on this malicious pal, but as I'm kept busy by work and school, i heavily doubt it. :/ His "in action" image looks more like a bat :S
c&c greatly appreciated, as usual.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/hanuka/cow_4_1.jpg

The Malicious 'Dump Buzzard'

This hell-spawn hunter lives in the deep forests of Humpwood and the great mountains beyond. He nourishes from small animals, like hamstas and baby fozzybears, but also from infants. He aims for his prey from high above and secretes a paralyzing, toxic dung. His targeted precision is unrivaled. You better beware the next time you take your children out for a walk in the woods - they might be his next victims.

OMG WTF!!11 LOOK ABOVE!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/hanuka/cow_4_2.jpg

[Ostrander]

Thanks Fozzy! I wanted to do something a little different, something that could be believable. It was fun how the two ideas just kinda came together. So i went with it.

[Fozzybar]

Hehe, Hanuka...

here's mine:

The colibri "poison sparkle"


http://www.kidomatix.com/ca/cow/cow_004_venomousbird_fozzybar.jpg


Actually this colibri is not venomous at all...even its plumage is all over black actually...the thing is, that this little colibri feeds from the nectar of the White Drizzle Orchid, which grows in the colibris habitat...

The orchids blossom has two "ports", one contains the nectar, the other one is a few inches above...on each side of the blossom there is a gland, containing seminal fluid...

The orchid sprays the poison only when both "ports" are evoked simultaneously, this is the "sign" for the orchid that a "poison sparkle"-colibri is in front, because this colibri automatically introduces its horn on the top of the head when licking the nectar from the nectar-port beneath...the double-penetration provokes the orchid spraying the seminal fluid from its glands onto the little bird...

The "poison sparkle" produces a biochemical substance, which covers its plumage all the time, even right after hatching...the conjunction of both substances (the orchids seminal fluid + the colibris plumage substance) causes a chemical reaction - the result is a highly venomous substance...also the reaction effects in a beautiful pattern on the plumage which signals "i am venomous - don't eat me" to potential predators...

This is again a wonderful example of a symbiosis between a plant and an animal...the benefit for the bird is the venomous cover protecting it against predators, the orchid "binds" the colibri species to itself, so that the colibri always will visit this kind of orchid to spread their seminal fluid by flattering with their wings incredibly fast - in doing so some seeds will fling to other orchids and pollinate them...

damn long description...all because of my poor english...

[Tully]

Hoatzilcoatl: Assassin of the Amazon
8' wingspan, approx. 40lbs

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/tully/Paintings/hoatzilcoatl.jpg

The world will be more glad to know that there is only one of these creatures in existance. Hoatzilcoatl is the unfortunate younger brother of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. His unusually foul odour (described once as "It was as if a hundred skunks all pissed on a mound of dung.") made him the subject of ridicule by the Aztec people who eventually drove him from Tenochtitlan.

A surprisingly sensitive fellow, Hoatzilcoatl was terribly hurt. Centuries of flying alone in the deepest reaches of the Amazon have made him one of the bitterest creatures of which you're ever likely to hear.

Every year in the wet season (the dampness partly masks his odour), he flies close to human cities waiting for any hapless traveller to blunder by. He then swoops down and balls his talons into a fist and punches them hard in the chest or head, invenomating them with the necrotizing poison from his retractable spurs.

The venom works quickly, killing all the tissue it comes into contact with. A maximum of two hours after the attack the victim will be dead unless an antivenin is administered, but the venom does not stop working. It takes only five hours for a 200 lb human to be reduced to a blackened husk.

[Thestral]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/fundesign/margi_gras_medusa.jpg
The Mardi Gras Medusa is considered one of the rarest and most beautiful venomous birds on earth. It’s also one of the most cunning. It makes it’s home in the metro area of New Orleans. It feeds only once a year, during the Mardi Gras celebration where, despite its very colorful plumage, the annual event offers effective camouflage while the bird hunts its prey. The diet of the Mardi Gras Medusa consists solely of alcoholic beverages. The venom contained in its bite, although not deadly, causes temporary stupefying paralysis, which causes the victim to involuntarily drop their newly filled container of beer onto the street. The Mardi Gras Medusa then feasts on the spilt contents. It is not unusual for this bird to consume ten times its weight in liquor during this single annual feeding period. It then spends the rest of the year hung over in hibernation.

Damn, Damn, Damn! I promised myself that I was going to be serious this time around. :nohope:

[Scarn]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Scarn/venomcondor.jpg
The venomous Condor is a desert dwelling bird with the ability to inject a dose of venom into its prey, allowing the bird to bring it's meal home to its nest to feast in private, all in a single "swoop". Upon finding a prime target, the venomous condor dives down and lodges its two front talons into the fleeing prey, while the single back talon stabs the prey from behind injecting the vemon, rendering it unconscious and easy to carry home.

[Pawntidious ii.3]

Wow scarn! you really captured the ambigious lump in the center of your forehead really well in this picture!! I can definatly see the resemblance... heh... Great job, on the picture that is...... I was joking about the resemblance..

<for those of you who don't know, I'm Scarn's brother, he keeps rambling on and on about this place so I thought I would check it out for myself. Great concepts you guys! vomiting penguin rules!... I mean ... uh... second to yours scarn....... :perv: >

[Scarn]

Bah! Go home :P

[strych9ine]

Easily startled and bitch to clean up after, the Mucousa Vulture has only been captured by the most skilled of handlers. The Mucousa has an almost continual and involuntary flow of deadly venom erupting from it's nostrils, forever coating it's environment in a poison known to boil skin within seconds of contact. Just how they are able to produce such a mass volume of deadly serum remains a mystery, mostly because no one has been able to get near the damn thing for any significant period of time.

http://www.codytilson.com/9ine/9ine-COW4.jpg

[Fozzybar]

SnowLeopard:
Is your entry finished???

[MoP]

http://www.spearmint.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/turkey.jpg

The Anti-Christmas Freedom Turkey is an evolutionary hiccup - it is physically indistinguishable from a common Turkey, and as such has been able to infiltrate and destroy a number of highly-regarded Turkey-farming establishments.
Smuggling large quantities of an unknown bacterial agent into Turkey farms, the Freedom Turkey informs all of the regular Turkeys of an impending mass escape, then proceeds to inject deadly doses of toxin into the nearest human being. After disabling the human overseers, it proceeds to unlatch any barriers between the Turkeys and the nearest exit. Then they are never seen again.

According to the world's media, most Turkey farmers must be (and I quote) "Fucking blind" to allow such an obvious instrument of death into their farms. The syringe itself is made of glass and highly polished surgical steel, so it's not exactly inconspicuous, especially when badly-hidden under half a Turkey's wing.

How the Freedom Turkey operates these complex syringe arrangements with their stubby, laughable wings remains a mystery.

Yes, it's real, and yes, it's coming for you.

MoP

(P.S. If this entry gets disqualified, I'm blaming Tully! Naah, I love ya really :) )

[vigostar]

strych9ine, fozzy, tully, and fungi.. Wow, those are great birds, but, my fav's so far have to be fozzy, for his great colors, and strych9ine for the most creative, too bad you didnt complete the body... hopefully, i'll have time to work on this one as well...

[Hanuka]

sheer badass-ery so far :D this contest really raises my motivation


bretton - I'm aware of your passion for batman and this piece shows. i immediatly thought of the penguin in tim burtons movie. just... better :D this is so sick and twisted that i actually _am_ scared of this fellow. the likeliness to the mad scientist is terrifying. keep up your unique style - but maybe give pure digital painting a try.

matt dixon - neat color-scheme and professional execution - as usual ;) can't really find any crits :)

davi - good work on your creature-anatomy. youre taking this to a professional level. i feel a little overwhelmed by the composition, though. his left wing should seperate a little more from the background. and... is he supposed to fly with these wings? ;)

0kelvin - "Perhaps they are just mean." - LOL. Yeah, perhaps. Twisted little beast you created there. Cool concept and good, clean execution. Could be more dynamic, though.

fungi - i dig your stuff. it's unique how you handle colors and textures and this piece just shows massive skills. my favorite alongside with scarn's. I can touch this thing, it's so real and close.

Gloklund - simply put, this is a great concept. your illustration feels a little flat (warm/cold colors would help) but is overall very well executed. good idea to combine your concepts.

fozzybar - slick and precise - but his feathers just don't feel right.

Tully - interesting colors on this piece. i like the head design. tought of something skull-like, too, at first. looks like some legendary creature. good work. his claws look a little too big, though.

Thestral - LOL... thats so dumb, its cool again. cool stuff, just a little "noisy" feathers... needs a little more focus - maybe by less detail and less 'little strokes' in his feathering. hope, you understand what i mean.

scarn - i'm utterly impressed how you captured motion and flight of your condor by his shape. beautiful brushwork on the head close-up.

strych9ine - this fellow needs a body. cool texture-work, but i think you overdid it a little ;)

MoP - you cracked me up. i can imagine everything depicted by your neat illustration. a little too rough / blurry in parts, to me. but very lively and well executed.

[Hamsta]

This newly found relative of the Kiwi, is limited to a small island near New Zealand. Much like it's more common relative it is a shy bird, which eats insects. When this bird is intimidated it has one extra weapon at it's disposal - it's enzymes are deadly toxins and it's brightly painted beak interior warns of this threat.
Naming of this species is currently a heated debate among ornithologists.
http://img211.exs.cx/img211/8572/cow0046dk.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

[stormeffex]

http://stu.aii.edu/~th361/venomousbird.jpg

Tristis Parra

Because of it's bright plumage, other species are drawn to it. When curious observers get too close, the Tristis Parra (aka the farting bird) releases a toxic odor that can kill you in a matter of minutes. Upon death this little bird will feast upon your rotting skin, goring itself for days on end, depending on the size of the prey. During the feeding period it is quite safe from other predators because the lingering smell deters everyone in a 50 yard radius, leaving it safe to enjoy its meal.

2

[Johann de Venecia]

Great stuff from everyone! Here's what I found in my backyard...

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


Bakulaw

The Bakulaw ( bah-koo-lao) is probably the laziest bird in existence, always having a desire to eat but never wanting to hunt for food. Also known as the Malignant Marsh-lounger, this bird does nothing but sleep, eat and languish in its own oils. The lack of any physical activity coupled with its voracious diet of fish, beavers and snakes makes it one of the most obese birds ever. This doesn't come as a shock what with the immense amount of cellulite and blubber it has.

The feature of the Bakulaw that categorizes it as a Venomous Bird, are the sacs of toxic oil build-ups found just under its chin that dangle down the length of its throat. It has hyper-active oil glands that countinously pump out excess fat, pollutants and waste from its body through its oversized pores. Similar to a gigantic whitehead, one oil sac build-up is a fatal cocktail of bacteria and toxicant substances. Since it never wants to work for a meal, this bird uses these sacs to its advantage to catch food. When it is ready to feed, it merely walks to its favourite marsh hunting ground and wait for one of the noxious oil sacs to ripen and fall off the stem (it's so lazy it wouldn't even assist in this process). It can wait for hours upon hours for a sac to ripen. Once one plops into the water, it quickly dissolves and the immediate vicinity is rendered unsafe. Fish caught in this festering cloud of stink are killed almost instantly. Once the dead fish float up to the surface, the Bakulaw starts to feed.

Left on its own (which is usually the case), this obese swine of a bird can live to almost 200 years of age! Sadly, most of them only reach 60 because of heart failure.

[MoP]

Agh, you almost made me physically sick there, lukavi. Great illustration and very original (and gruesome!) description... fantastic work! :)

[Arri.]

http://img147.exs.cx/img147/4662/vernomousbird6kp.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

...also known as the bird of the three heads who announces the dead.
it is said that if you see them the dead, will arrive to you no matter where you are. :S

[vigostar]

wow, this topic is turning out some great work...!!! Im gonna work on mine now!!!

[Hanuka]

o lord... you guys are killing me. sooo much quality! everyone does his best to keep this on a high level - it's like a weekly TD. I'll try to put some more work into mine, trying to keep up with you guys. <3 <3 <3

[S.C. Watson]

http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1109181325.jpg


Ferdinand's Fairly Foul Fowl, also known as the "Venenum Fowl", "Foul Fowl", "F-Bird", or commonly as "that fucking bird".

This wretched creature’s natural habitat is found in suburban towns, usually located around the entrances to bars and pubs, and has developed a startling capacity for language retention and imitation. However, the unfortunate downside to this development is its favor of more “choice” terms and phrases. Combined with it love of foul language, this fowl also has a foul disposition which does not endear it to other denizens of its habitat. While not physically imposing, or violent, this bird will unleash a venomous stream of colorful insults and descriptions at unsuspecting passersby in a startlingly versatile vocal range, switching quickly from gravel bass to high pitched warble.

Furthering this creatures less than admirable traits, many seem to be codependent and will follow random pedestrians for miles, often to their place of residence at which point the F-Bird will take up roost outside a convenient window to better direct their unending stream of verbally venomous sewage. Once they select a “host”, they rarely leave, but occasionally can be driven off by playing Neil Diamond, Kenny G, Yanni, Julio Iglasias or similar loudly and consistently for no less than 36 hours (less will only drive the Foul Fowl into a vocal frenzy of further insults).

Legally shot at primary and elementary schools and across the bible-belt and Vatican City, their numbers are in a sad, steady, decline throughout the northern latitudes. Attempts to save Ferdinand’s Fowl have all ended in disaster, with PETA, Green Peace and Animal Rights workers usually strangling the thing after weathering unending descriptive dialogs on the marital relations of the workers’ grandparents and kitchen appliances.

So, today throughout the world, this unique creature is singing its swan song into oblivion, and none too soon.

[Ostrander]

Oregano thats hysterical!

[oomgawa]

Oregano: tears! I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.

[fundesign]

I have to say that I think it's terrific that artists like 0kelvin, MoP, Thestral and Oregano are creative enough not just to do great renderings but also add quarky humor and cool names to their concepts. It's not an easy thing to go that one step further, especially with subjects that easily lend themselves to ordinarily being grotesque and serious. Great work guys! :bow:

[Dougbot]

http://www.dougbot.com/forum/COW04.jpg

This is a Turnorock. They live at the edge of Limbo in the afterlife. They sit high above the ground on tall thin perches, waiting for souls trying to escape. When one is spotted they swoop down and pierce them with their beak. Then the body of the soul becomes hard and concrete, petrified and unable to move. This landscape is miles of concrete souls, twisted in shapes of fear and pain.

This is actually the true escape from Limbo though. Being frozen in time one reflects on the meaning of all, and once enlightened can escape the physical embodiment trapped on the plains of Limbo.

[strych9ine]

There is some top notch work being pumped put here! Damn! DAMN! GODDAMN! Dougbot, Lukavi, Arri, love your pieces. This is going to be a tough round.

[arteric]

WOW Dougbot, Arri and Lukavi! You guys suck, you know that??? Now I don't even want to illustrate the image I have been mulling over in my head all week. Bugger!

Fantastic work guys... killer!

-Eric

[Sinix]

Wow.. there are alot of great entries in here. I'm not really into creatures, but Davi made me do one. This actually didn't take very long, got what I wanted fairly fast.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/sinix2/COW04a.jpg

The description says something like.. With a bulbous acid producing gland located on it's neck, the "venom crow" covers it's beak in a thick acidic venom to both kill and dissolve prey.

edit: I guess reading thru the descriptions, it seems pretty similar to matt's. Oh well.

[al-x]

ahh crap!

I'm doing a venomous crow too

doh!

http://www.alextornberg.com/art/concepts/corvus_venenum.jpg

As the consumtion continued to raise through out the 21st Century the dumps grew larger and larger. Feasting at these dumps were the crows. Generation after generation of crows lived off of garbage. After a while evolution stepped in , the crows developed glands to protect them from all the bacteria. These glands collected the bacteria and gave the crow a venemous bite. Using their venom the crows now started hunting giant rats. They would bite the rat, the wound would become infected with bacteria and the crow just had to wait until the rat died of the infection (much like the commodo dragon of today). Soon the crows gathered in larger packs and started hunting larger animals. The pets of man could not be kept outside safe anymore. As cats and dogs became the crows favourite food. Rumour has even told about large packs of crows attacking men.

[cthomp]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/cthomp/colorbirds.jpg
Venomous Tounge. I went with the idea that the bird would through poision slavia with its toungue. Tough compition.

[Thestral]

Holy Faawk.... :jawdrop: Some really top-notch work being done this round! This really just keeps getting better and better!

Arri - just an amazing rendering as usual!
Fozzy -I love the Stealth-look and clean execution of your bird along with the very possible non-fiction-like storyline!
Oregano - The expression on your birds face along with the comedic story is just priceless! PRICELESS!!

...and there's still time for how many more entries? Yeeehaw!!

[REEF]

man this time around voting is gonan b too f*in hard

[Xpose]

lol everyone is seriously trying to win now.... it's all in good fun though. I've got mine done. I'll try to post it tommarow after my doctors appointment.

[Fozzybar]

Initially C.O.W. should have a high quality level...i hoped we would reach this after a long period of defining the standards, playing with the rules etc....

I must admit we totally.....REACHED THIS GOAL AFTER ONLY 3 ROUNDS!!!

I thank you all, that you really take time on your entries, so that it's a pleasure to read the concepts and look at the beautiful images... <3 <3 <3

Still 3 days to go...wow...

[cthomp]

yea, this is easyily the best of the three rounds so far.

[vigostar]

GEEEEEEEZE LOUIZE GUYS... I dont even know if I even want to submit mine now!!! Holy kawasaki... really great stuff... Gotta keep this thread ALIVE!!!!!!! I think, I'll be done with mine today....

[Xpose]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/xpose/drawings/lylanddesertbirdfixed.jpg

The Lylan Desert Bird produces a poison of special enzymes from a gland below the beak. It secrets the poison into the beak and wipes it on it's sharp talons. When stalking prey it goes through this procedure and quickly attacks... Within seconds the poison attack the nervous system of the small prey and they become paralyzed. Although this bird can fly it rarely chooses to do more than flutter. AKA the lazy bird.

[leckronium]

http://home.comcast.net/~leckronium/onlinestorage/venomousbird2.jpg
Ramfastos Poisonatus
This bird is a very close relative to the typical toucan you may see in pet stores. However, this version is a rare and newly evolved species and has earned its name by the venomous secretions on the end of its beak. It has developed this ability over many generations of eating poisonous berries. Used mainly for self defense, this bird will ram into you from the trees above if it feels threatened. The poison enters the victims bloodstream when the barbs on the end of the beak puncture the skin. The venom is highly poisonous and instantly attacks the nervous system, rendering the victim immobile and unable to cause any further harm to the bird or the nest it may be protecting. Toucans are not good flyers and get around mostly by hopping from tree to tree. But not to worry most toucans stick to their nesting areas and are only aggressive when threatened so keep your distance. :rendered:

[wayfarer]

Hi there. Great pics, like all the different styles. Favourite ones so far: Matt Dixon, Arri, lukavi and the ones i forgot to name.

Mine is not a real attempt to topic, the idea just flushed my mind and I wanted to go without artistic motivation.
My bird has nothing to do with poison or stuff. He´s always there when somebody failes or makes a mistake. Then he enters the stage, says "Fit fit fit" (you can guess, if you dont know but it doesnt mean much) and puts on his venomous smile. Oh yeah.. he´s mean :nohope:

http://www.bleistiftblume.de/speed101.jpg

[Fozzybar]

wayfarer:
I have no clue why you posted this... :nohope:

[fungi]

kinda wish i had done mine differantly :/

[vigostar]

Hey, Fungi. Your entry and arri's entries are my favorites.. Your colors are great... You did a great job man!

[Dougbot]

Fungi, yours is amazing. One of my favs on here, so don't sweat it ;)

[cthomp]

kinda wish i had done mine differantly :/
Fungi i liked your idea. It looked like an exotic alien bird, plus it had an original idea.

[Xpose]

kinda wish i had done mine differantly :/

Yours came out beautiful! Stop bitch'n lol

[fungi]

lol ok :)

[Form]

nah, i agree you shoulda done it different. it had no genitalistic visual puns whatsoever, and an image without genitalistic visual puns is nothing. An extraordinary failure. Next time - try harder. :S

[klinesmoker]

If this was invite only, then erase me now! But if not, it's my first attempt ever at a color pic via comp! Laughing allowed, of course!
http://img128.exs.cx/img128/2209/venombird1qv.jpg
fel fellis ales alitis Venom Bird!

The tail on the rear is used to swoop in and disable larger prey, while the probe tongue is meant for smaller game! The dual capabilities of this bird create one of the most dangerous raptors in the world, especially to frogs!

[BIG BRUTICUS]

The Snow Wasp (hymenoptera arctica)

The Snow Wasp secreates venom which is produced in a sack at their forehead and delivered through a specially developed barb on the top of the beak.

These little guys are pretty much harmless by themselves, but when their community is threatened by a predator they swarm on it delivering multiple stings, which more often than not proves to be fatal. Flocks of these birds have been know kill polar bears in mere minutes. Beware!

http://tinypic.com/1ttpnr

[Fozzybar]

kinda wish i had done mine differantly :/

Every entry can be changed until the deadline...no prob if you want do this, fungi!

klinesmoker:
No inviting here, this is not the Buckinghampalace - all of us are queens! :perv:

[vigostar]

Funny fozzy...
Form are you serious???
Fungi change it.... You'll be happier after you did...

[Form]

of course not :D im fungi's #1 fan

[Xpose]

hahah you couldn't sense the Sarcasm!

[Form]

me? ah...sorry...im wasted.

[Xpose]

nah I'm talking to Vigostar... Wasted at this time of day? Where do you live form lol?

[wayfarer]

@Fozzybar:

Don´t know how your comment is really meant, but i posted, because i think my idea was kinda original, but still fiting the topic. Sorry if I may be wrong to post it here.

[vigostar]

Ha, you got me on that one....! You funny guys....... :dur:

[Jull]

Imperial Vastado Fisher

This BIG bird eats fishes like salmons or any fish from fresh water with a high level of proteins and poly-unsaturated fats, but it is a bit slow and has a poor vision for fishing. For this reason, in its jowl/neck cavity it cultivates a venomous fungi which spreaded over the river causes the death of all fishes X radius around in some minutes.

I wish I have more time for this one, for polishing, other poses, etc... but time is very limited for me these days :(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v162/zafio/forum/cow/jull_cow_004.jpg

[Snowball]

done more work on the pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/Snowball/venemousbird2.jpg

Decided to give this a shot. I call it the "Hunter". Its main course of action when taking down its prey is its tail. While perched or swooping toward its prey the hunter can release an array of projectile poisen tipped needles from its tail that incapacitates the vic with a high dosage of poisen leaving an easy meal for "THE HUNTER". This is my Venemous Bird. Hope you like.

[Fozzybar]

@Fozzybar:

Don´t know how your comment is really meant, but i posted, because i think my idea was kinda original, but still fiting the topic. Sorry if I may be wrong to post it here.

quote from you: "Mine is not a real attempt to topic, the idea just flushed my mind and I wanted to go without artistic motivation."

You already mentioned yourself why your post wasn't necessary...besides i can see that you didn't invest enough time into your piece...it's not because your drawing is bad, it's just a sloppy piece done in a very short time, which lowers the quality of this activity.

Just put more effort in your entries, that's all what i want...you, me and the community will benefit from this... ;)

[Nike]

Hi everyone - beautiful entries, I think this is my favourite round of C.O.W. so far ...
here's my attempt to this week's topic, I'm sorry about the long and complicate description and my english (it was a tough fight, lol), I hope it's not too abstruse all together :bashful:

http://geekhost.info/~artofnike/artofnike/venombirdie.jpg

Paradisea venenosa Steindachneri
(vulgo: Steindachner's paradise bird)
Paradisea venenosa spec. Steindachneri is a subspecias of Paradisea minor (so called paradise bird) discovered by Steindachner 1989 in the Kongo delta.
The bird is living in a symbiosis with a venenous tree (Kalodendron toxicos), that is providing an almost sterile environment for it's few inhabitants (Paradisea venenosa spec. Steindachneri and a beetle it seems to feed on), that are, as it seems, not only immune against it's toxious resin, but even seem to have absorbed the poison into their circulation.
Paradisea venenosa spec. Steindachneri is strictly monogam and usually one couple inhabitats one tree. Once every three years (the age these birds can reech is still under discussion, but it seems they can get at least 23 years old) the female bird (see bottom right corner) is laying one egg. The nest is in a hole of the tree, that is usually highly enriched with the toxic and quite fluid resin of the tree. The poison is finding a way into the egg through the shell and is becoming part of the bird's circulation.
In an age of approximatley 2 years the juvenile birds are leaving their parent's tree and are seraching for a new tree and a partner, a very difficult challenge as both the tree and the bird are very rare species, and highly affected by pollution and diminishment of rain forest areas.
In the time the bird is without the Kalodendron toxicos, it is usually weak because of the higher bacterial count in the new environment and would consequently make an easy prey for bigger birds and apes. But when touched, the bird can spread poison that is stored in it's feathers. The poison is leaving painful open wounds on the aggressor, that aren't healing for a long while. Most animals are avoiding to cross a Paradisea venenosa spec. Steindachneri's way, human beings on the other hand couldn't resist capturing them in order to keep the beautiful birds in cages.
This has not only caused some accidents (they are fatal only in rare cases, but still uncomfortable), but also the bird is not surviving very long in captivity. This has been explained by the absence of the Kalodendron toxicos tree so far.

[Helzon]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/Helzon/SplitBillfinal.jpg
Jarensten's Viper Headed Hornbill:
The breed was posthumously named after the ornithologist who's final and most lethal discovery bears his monicker. Most if not all the current information about the species was derived post vivisection. A live specimen was deemed far too costly to procure and having no antivenin on hand would have proved just as costly in human life.
What can be surmised by the mechanics of the head:
During a fight or flight response the beak bifurcates along the posterior axis
where markings along the webbed cranial connective membrane become a warning to any adversaries. The eyes are forced slightly down and away, giving the hornbill a wider field of vision.
Secondarily, the poison sack at the back of the head is stimulated where an amplified toxin is channeled down two anterior ridges along the inside of the beak.
The toxin itself is an amplified version of a common microbial digestive agent found in the intestines of wood bores and what can only be assumed as a large component of the Viper Heads diet.
The digestive agent is collected at the back of the head where a secondary culture like substance feeds and mutates the normally inoccuous microbes into a most potent and lethal poison.
Sadly nothing is known of mating rituals, nesting behavior, or migration patterns. :bashful:

[Johann de Venecia]

Good work, Helzon. Unique bird design. Your concept is original and you can tell from the description that you've thought about this thoroughly. Props on the effort.

I also like how you also incorporated the 'venomous' topic into your creature's look. It does look poisonous. Eeep!

:^^:

So many great stuff from everyone! Arri, Fozzy, mop, fungi, Mr. Dixon, strychnine, Oregano are only some of the names I can remember. Excuse me while I scroll up some more...


[edit: spelled oregano's name wrong]

[Sapphire]

Is the deadline tomorrow at midnight? I'm partway done with a submission, and I just want to make sure it's not the midnight that just passed by a half hour ago. :)

EDIT: Oh...crap. I hadn't even read davi's little suggestion in the beginning of the thread and my bird ended up being strikingly similar, in fact, nearly identical to a real bird in South America! I came up with the idea while walking back from class. Heck, I didn't even know these birds existed, so in thinking about it in the most realistic way possible I think I shot myself in the foot. :/ Should I still enter my submission?

[0kelvin]

Yeah, I think it was the midnight that just passed. It's usually not for closed for a couple hours, though. Hurry up!

Don't worry about your idea not being entirely original. You'll never out-imagine nature. There's way too many messed up animals out there. I'm sure almost all of these ideas are already being used by some obscure animal out there.



0kelvin

[Steph Laberis]

Aw crud, I thought the deadline was midnight tonight too! I don't know if this will count or not, but I have the lineart to show:

http://flyingclam.com/bigpics/venomous_sketch_ca.jpg

The Spined Camel Vulture: This bohemoth of the Saharah varies greatly from its vulture cousins. While the Spined Camel Vulture would never pass up a meal of carrion, this unique species is known to agressively hunt down large prey, such as camels, for which it is named. This vulture possesses "spines", or modified feather shafts along the ridges and tips of its wings which contain venom ducts. The vulture will swoop down upon its prey, usually in the daylight hours and grasp the animal in its strong talons while thrashing the animal's back with its powerful wings. This causes the venomous spines to penetrate the animal's back and inject a strong neurotoxin, which can paralyze an adult antelope in minutes. The vulture will then circle its wounded victim until it falls, when feast upon its innards while it is still alive. Flocks of Spined Camel Vultures have been known to take down entire herds of cattle in a matter of hours and attacks on humans have also been on the rise as man encroaches on its natural habitat. Unconfirmed sightings of Spined Camel Vultures have been reported further south in the Ngorongoro Crater, where it appears to have taken a liking to giraffe, lion and elephant meat.

....I wanna color this. I really, really do.

[S.C. Watson]

Damn. I don't check the thread for a couple of days and come back and WHAMMO! Very nice entries people. I really like what's being done here.







Voting's gonna be a bitch, tho. :dur:

[MoP]

I know how to make the voting easier - just vote for me! >:D

On a more realistic note... yes, there's so much cool stuff to choose from, I still don't know how I'd choose any one over others...

[Steph Laberis]

Voting is gonna be hella tough, are the entries to the C.O.W. usually this good? [/newbie]

I do have a couple of faves though, one of which is that bifurcating hornbill. Someone needs to engineer a bird that can split its own bill.

[Sapphire]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/Sapphire8400/venemousbird3.jpg

Scientific name: corvus luna cristata
Common name: Poison moon jay

This species derives its name from the lunar-like, glowing eyespots on the underside of each wing. It has evolved in close link with the lantern frog, a toxic species that resides in deep forests and can often be found in the mouths of certain caves. Nobody is entirely sure where the lantern frog derives its noxious venom, but scientists believe it has to do with the food it ingests; a particular species of blue firefly, which it attracts with a lure that can flash and mimic the mating signals of these insects. The moon jay does not seem to eat the frogs for its diet, but instead attracts them and then pounces on them, clasping the frog in its feet. It then performs a bizarre ritual, pecking a little at the frog so that it releases a potentially lethal neurotoxin from its skin. The jay wipes its beak over the frog's back and then preens itself, leaving a thin oil on its feathers as a defense mechanism to its predators. If the immediate bitter stinging sensation doesn't put the predator off, the jay goes into a defensive stance, lowering its head and raising its tail feathers, which have evolved to look extremely like one another and confuse the animal into biting the less important end. The eyespots are also meant to confuse and startle.

[Steph Laberis]

Yay, Sapphire made it! I love the luminousity on the toad and on your moon jay - way to make use of that cyan. I also really like the gestures of the more sketchy drawings - did you sketch directly on the tablet?

[Sapphire]

Yeah, all of it was directly done with my tablet in one day. Thanks!

[0kelvin]

Awesome entries, Willow and Sapphire! Glad to see you made it on time.

Who knew C.O.W. was going to take off so fast? This week's had the best entries yet! And I thought Venomous Bird was going to be a relatively dull topic. You guys sure showed me.



0kelvin

[Form]

Hey guys what an incredible bunch of images. COW is turning out great!! Some of you guys have the l337 skills for sure....

This one is not my usual style... I had to do some experiments for college and they needed to include some self-made typography and a coupla other things... so this is a bit of a mish-mash of what i needed to do and tried to make it as illustrative as i was allowed in the brief.

Its all about coss-tasking for maximum efficiency!!



About the birdie:

Quill is the literal translation of the Denaari word "Keleleqi", that the Denar people gave to this creature when they first noticed its shedding wings littering their villages. The keleleqi are a decrepit species of bird who feed upon succulent and sweet jungle fruits. The keleleqi bird has an insanely slow digestive system, and as a result the fruit it eats rots while still in its digestive system. The result is a high level of toxic bile produced and circulated throughout its body. This festering slime is partially digested, but the excess waste which the stomach cannot process is forced back and slowly regurgitated through a trickle in the underside of the birds beak. The result of this is that when the bird feeds, it carelessly spreads the sticky, poisonous ichor over the fruit plant. Being clear, the toxin quickly sticks to the fruits surface and becomes transparent. When tribesmen pick fruit for the village they are unknowingly bringing with it the deadly poison of the keleleqi. Many children and adults too have become deathly ill due to the potent and unwitting substance, and so too does it have a long-term effect on the bird - causing it to rapidly shed its feathers once the toxin seeps into its epidermal system - hence how it recieved its name from the fallen feathers littering the villages. While not killing the bird, it causes it to become an ever more decrepit and foul creature.

Keleleqi - The Fruit Poisoner (a modern scientific study)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47/formsketch/cow4.jpg


oh btw, a few people have asked me, this image hasnt used any photoshop filters or retouches (except for sizing and so on). Its actually 7 layers of tracing paper :D cant beat traditional...

[arteric]

Hey, I am finishing up my entry tonight, hurry hurry hurry! Am going to try to have it in before midnight Eastern Time.... please hold that door for me!

Eric

[vigostar]

Hey, guys and gals.. I was very happy to take place in this weeks C.O.W.! I really like the way mine actually came out (I never like my draqings). The original drawing is slightly larger but, my house scanner is not large enough to scan the whole image.. Only about an inch was cut off.. Here is my little friend!

The Darwinian Pelican

The Miniature Pelican or the Darwinian Pelican is a cousin of the larger Brown and White Pelican. Found only on the Galapagos Islands, this small bird is a true testament to Darwin's "Theory of Evolution".

This small bird averaging only four inches tall is too small to hunt other mamals or fish. It is thought that through "evolution" it has mutated it's sac from being a place to store food to a pre-digestive organ. Once the pelican places it's food (which is now instects, due to the pelican's size) in the sac, a acid or toxin is released decomposing the hard shells found on insects. After the insects become a puree, the pelican can safely swallow it's food.

Scientists have just recently started to study this magnificant bird to learn how it has evolved itself. We only know Darwin would have been very proud!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/vigostar/pelican2.jpg

[arteric]

OK, it is actually going to be about 2 AM when I post this image. Please let me get this in, I worked pretty hard on it. This week was a mad house. Finishing up the image in the next hour, then just need to type up the concept and upload.... 2 AM latest.... promise!

-Eric ;) >:| :confident :bashful:

[Form]

after all this waiting, i seriously hope you win ;)

[arteric]

In the waning years of World War II, Hitler’s desperation for world domination led him to give free reign to his scientists in an effort to create the ultimate weapon that could crush the Allied Forces. After a long trial-and-error process using various machines, guns and missiles, the scientists struck upon the idea of combining genetic engineering with their chemical weapons program. Their hope was that they would breed and organic delivery system that would send the deadly agents directly into the Allied front lines decimating as many soldiers as possible while, at the same time, spreading fear amongst them and demoralizing their leaders. Thus the “ Falke von Brennend Dea” (roughly translated into “Burning Death Falcon” was born.

The “Burning Death Falcon” (singularly named although it contained 22 bird species spliced together including Toucan, Owl and Vulture) was also bred to withstand being pumped to near bursting with many types of corrosive acids. It was unveiled to the German elite and set loose upon the world in a grand ceremony on January 18, 1944. The ceremony would turn into a slaughter when the birds immediately turned on and destroyed the viewing audience, killing over 300 scientists, officers and politicians. It was not until years later that the cause was determined... during the splicing process, German scientist accidently used too much homing pigeon DNA.

Below: The “Burning Death Falcon” see here with handler.

http://tinypic.com/1ya0kh

[Sinix]

Form, that is bitching.. 7 layers of tracing paper. I'm gonna have to try that one day.. PS filters in traditional. I guess the deadline is up.. so many amazing entries... I'm not even sure who to vote for yet. Great contest.

[Form]

yeh man, i started a new college recently and they ahve a real emphasis on doing design work traditionally instead of in photoshop/illustrator/indesign. So we have to design all our own fonts by hand, do all the cutting/pasting/laying out. It teaches you really good habits, and once you get into it its really fun too!!!

We got pads of tracing paper in our art kits at the start of the course.. i cannot stress how cool proper tracing paper is. Layered designs look so bitching!!! And you could do lineart, and then use tracing paper over top to colour it.... and try out different colours/patterns - just like layers. But hand drawn things look 100000 times better than digital things if you have the time.

If youve never seen times new roman hand lettered you should.... its quite beautiful....

Thanks for you praise of my piccy, it means heaps :D cheers :P

[Form]

arteric, that concept is freakin fresh man!!! that last line is truly hilarious, i love your humour!! keep it up :D

[Stitchface]

Lots of great work here!, can't wait for the next one.
Concept:
"Festering Tit Warbler"- Nastiness Titicus
This nasty little bird gets its name from the poisonous [air]sacs throughout its body by which it just breaths on its prey, then it is parallyzed and ready for eating or picked at for a snack. Actually it is a poisonous gas that is produced then the FTW breaths into a dead log an then waits for the gases to fumigate or flush out its prey. Which is composed of insects and smaller animals (mice,toads, etc.). It is mainly a nocturnal predator, which on a good night you can see the poisonous green breath eminating from its orafices.
This bird is also a world renown delicacy, if you can catch one[good luck!], which can only be prepared by very few chefs of the highest degree that know how to prepare it properly.[by removing the poisonous 'tit' sacs]. Hmmmm-Hmmmm-hmmm!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Stitchface/Sketchbook/SF_Cow_04.jpg

[Form]

hot rendering man, i love that eye... nice nice nice

[Fozzybar]

thread closed - Vote here for your fav entry:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39489

:)