C.O.W. - #013: Cloud Dweller - VOTING!!!

[Fozzybar]

ROUND #013 VOTING

Topic: Cloud Dweller

Deadline for the voting: Thursday, 19 May 2005

Posting thread (closed):
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43754






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Phuzion:
concept: In the distant future, when the mega-fauna have again evolved from the lesser creatures, you will no longer be worried about the seagulls' droppings on your head.
The Titan Caelum Balaena absorbs hydrogen gas from the air around it and stores the gas in several large, external glands on its back and in its throat, allowing it to keep afloat. It feeds on flocks of birds, and maybe the occassional unlucky skydiver. Their only real enemy is a lightning storm, as the lightning bolts could ignite the hydrogen gas, and then you have charbroiled TCB for a year.
http://www.artdl.com/Posts/TCB02.jpg
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Rusty:
concept: These titanic lifeforms are in fact plants that grow to mammoth size and can live for thousands of years.After 100 years firmly planted to the earth they detach and float to a height of 3000 metres and higher.By this age its hydrogen producing sack-like body measures 6-9 metres diameter,the long sinewy tendrils it slowly develops only after it has detached.The main body reaches full size after 300 years and can measure 30-40 metres diameter,and its tendrils fully grown can measure up to 150-220 metres long!.Feeds on both sunlight and anything unfortunate enough to fly into its mass of tendrils which acts like a huge net.Rather than drawing food to its huge mouth it digests its victim where they lay entangled by excreting an highly acidic liquid through small openings and breaking down the creature on the spot,absorbing the liquifying remains.They illuminate brilliant bright colors in the night sky,some accounts of groups of tens of thousands lighting up the night have been reported.
http://www.akujin.net//WIP/2005page-57.jpg
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leckronium:
concept: Irredescent Sky Tarpon
These playful creatures are found mostly in the upper atmosphere where they spend their days chasing airplanes and punching holes in clouds. Less than an inch thick when deflated and light as a feather, the sky tarpins can fly through the air using large feathers that catch updrafts while deflating and inflating to control speed. They have a 360 degree view since their head structure has eyes that stick out on the top and bottom of the head. Flying in the sun can prove to be dangerous since the tarpon needs a moist environment to stay alive. At the end of a hard day of playing, these creatures love to park their long ribbon-like bodies on the edges of clouds and soak up the setting sun. This, in turn, gives us ground creatures a special view when the edges of the clouds appear to glow during sunset. This is the light reflecting off of their silvery irredescent bodies which gives us the phrase every cloud has it's silver lining.
http://home.comcast.net/~leckronium/onlinestorage/clouddweller2.jpg
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bluefooted:
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/bluefooted/images/cloudweller.jpg
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nightfend:
concept: WIND LEVIATHAN
On the low gravity world of Aelis-6, the Wind Leviathan commands the skies. The Wind Leviathan is a massive creature with a windspan of over 2km in length. But for all of it's size, the Leviathan feeds off of only the smallest and slowest creatures in the sky, which it pulls into it's great maw, where its electrically charged feeding hairs can stun and digest the prey. The Leviathan stays aloft with two hydrogen filled bladders near the back of it's throat. When it needs to descend, it releases some of it's hydrogen and uses it's wing-like fins to glide through the sky. Because of its vast size, many smaller predators fly alongside the massive giant, gliding on the air turbulence it creates.
http://www.icondream.com/images/cow/cloud_dweller01.jpg
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Rosco:
concept: Blomper (A.K.A. Rainbow Chaser)
The Blomper, a highly endangered aerial creature, is an outcast of the evolutionary ladder. With no known purpose, this creature spends its days chasing rainbows. The Aztecs believed this creature was the bringer of great wealth and prosperity. With a cloud-like appearance, the Blomper was lost to civilization for hundreds of years until recently rediscovered in the 20th century by the advent of the airplane. The Blomper is composes of a central brain with a nervous system sprawling outward. The cloud-like exterior is used solely as camouflage yet this creature has no known predators. For movement the Blomper has a simplistic air flow system. It has the ability to suck air in and use its tentacles to direct the flow and movement. As of now, there are only 16 of these creatures known to exist.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/rosco44/cloudsross1.jpg
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Helzon:
concept: Helingen Harpoon
Shown here in a complex braking maneuver. The Helingen Harpoon opens it's maw to inflate flexible bladders within it's dorsal appendage to create greater surface area and thus produce drag and slow it's forward speed.
Nature quite inevitably makes mistakes. But it is everwise and calculating to create devices by which it may nudge those mistakes off of the stage of life. Thus, the Helingen Harpoon.
Once merely the height and length of a horse, these predators have grown in size in direct proportion to the rise of (nimbo, strato)- cephalopods and cetaceans. Nearly sightless the Harpoon must rely on a "phantom" system of location. Cruising high above its prey, a single Harpoon will release an odorless, colorless gas stored in twin bulbous bladders along it's side. The fine aerosol like particulates descend slowly through the cloud layers to settle across the flesh and hide of it's victims. The electro chemical discharge of the prey excites the particles of gas which radiate back to any Harpoon in the area in shimmering waves. The hunters merely follow the pulse of the creature back to the source and the frenzy begins.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/Helzon/HHfinal1.jpg
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young paddy1:
concept: Stealthed skin and a top speed of over mach 2 allow the Eastern Autocratic Government's 'sky prowler' to take the vast majority of fighter jets out of the sky with consumate ease. The jet engines are modified gills with directional squid like jets internally coated with carbon based lobster like carapace. The fuel is made by ingesting large amounts of water vapour with its ram scoop mouth and using electricity (generated by electric eel muscle cells) to split the water into Hydrogen and Oxygen which are burnt together to give propulsion. The carbon for it's skin coating and heat shielding comes from jet fuel and smog.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/youngpaddy1/fishycow.jpg
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Oregano:
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115507669.jpg
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115508789.jpg
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Carnifex:
concept: Is a microscopic insect,about the size of a water flea,that lives in the waterdrops of which clouds consists. Because it only has a lifespan of about one hour,it reproduces incredibly fast (every 5 minutes). No male specimen is needed for this. Clouds full of them will become more concrete over time and are often referred to as "fluffy cotton balls of death".
http://www.renderosity.com/photos/ArtistArticle11736.jpg
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possessed:
concept: Name: Heavens guile
Size: ranges from 40 cm to 3 m
Habitat: upper atmosphere, always found in or near a cloud
Notice: we haven't been able to capture one of these creatures.
These strange creatures come in a variety of shapes and sizes but there is one aspect they all seem to share. All guilers have a set of limbs evolved specifically to create a cumulus. The bulbs on these limbs are semi-permeable and covered in hundreds of small openings. From these bulbs they spray a liquid which upon contact with the air forms an instant cloud around the creature. It is still unknown if guilers need to feed but the real mystery is how these creatures can stay aloft.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/70a7343e25.jpg
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kyliegirl:
concept: Pygmy Rhumarh
size- 5-15cm
habitat- Planet Nethius inside cumulonimbus clouds, young Rhumarh can be found inside stratus and stratocumulus clouds.
The Rhumarh is one of the smallest known dragon species found on Nethius, not being discovered until 30 years after humans settled on the planet, the creature never touches the ground. Little is known about the Rhumarh, but seems to be a food source for the gauntus, a giant whale like species which dominates the skies. The Rhumarh live in large masses of colonies numbering from 1000 to 15,000 in each, living in the skies with clouds for their cover. Their size, unique colouring and ability to hide is why they were not discovered so soon.
Their breeding season is unique, with no solid ground to support their eggs, they drop the eggs from the sky inside a strange mucus type stick in the shape of a bullet, as the bullet type sack drops at a fast speed, the outside dries and frail white hairs from the bullet shaped sack part and spread out like an umbrella, causing the egg to float down gently for the last thousand meters. The eggs at this stage now look like the seeds of dandelions so their prescence is unnoticed. The young Rhumarh which hatch from these eggs are no bigger than 1cm and make their journey up to the skies for cloud coverage.
It is guessed the Rhumarh feed on the water which is formed in the clouds, and also feed on the pollen which raises into the sky.
Adult Rhumarh live over 56,000 feet above land inside cumulonimbus clouds. The young when born make their way 8000 feet towards stratus and stratuscumulus clouds where it is more gentle for their frail form. Their wings shaped like a butterflies wings, but are tougher than a grasshopers. Making them ideal to fly to higher altitudes as they grow.
http://kylielangton.com/concepts/rhumarh.jpg
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Crow:
concept: this is a Caelum Floater, found in the upper troposphere (from about 2km to 17km above the surface of the earth). Essentially a large bladder filled with a mix of methane, hellium and hydrogen, it floats among the clouds and rides air currents. Below its sack body is a web that terminates in individual tentacles. It uses the web as a net to catch birds, and the webs markings are used with identification. For reproduction, the new floater grows out of it's asexual parent. One floater will spawn about 5-7 new floaters in it's lifetime. The one pictured here has two young floaters still attached to it's upperbody.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/52808e219a.jpg
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OLSEN:
concept: The one eyed Octoturtle, also known as the "cloud dweller" due to the cloud like exo-baleen it appears to float upon, was first spotted in the waters north of japan in 2045. Some claim it to be of alien origin, but the only known facts about it is that it's huge, fairly friendly, and tastes like chicken.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/ksm_olsen/CloudDweller.jpg
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[Fozzybar]

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BlkCelebration:
concept: Guamuchil
These huge creatures spend their life travelling accross the skies in search for the perfect cloud to....die on. When the Guamuchil finds its spot, it rests there until its time comes. As seen in the image above this fellow is on his last days. The once mighty trees on top of its back that served as a habitat for several species are all but withered away. The giant flower on its tail is loosing its petals one by one. The dark coloration on its body will slowly cover the body of the creature, when this happens the Guamuchil has perished.
These docile giants don't die in vain however...
Once a Guamuchil has perished, Its massive body turns into rain. It will continue to rain for eight days and seven nights. It is said that once a Guamuchil dies the drought ends.
http://9doublebass.homestead.com/files/newart/nuve.jpg
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redehlert:
concept: The Welkin Short Horn
The passive-aggressive nature of the immense Welkin Short Horn is akin to that of a heffer post tipping. If you've done this before, you know what I mean. Their intake air ports around the orifice allow constant intake of nutrients and necessary gases to keep it aloft and in momentum. Momentum is achieved by the pair of propulsion ducts and various 'sails' situated around the body. The pair of weighted udders act as ballast for the helium-filled Welkin. These udders are filled with half-n-half (half condensed water and half 'milk') which is released in order to gain altitude. When released, this liquid descends like manna from heaven to nourish the triple tall heavy-foam latte consumers of the planet Starbucks.
http://www.cognitionstudio.com/conceptart/redehlert_cow13.jpg
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MIKECORRIERO:
concept: Para-Tis
"Hypoxia", or a reduction in the oxygen level of either the air or water an animal breathes, is one environmental stress that has important effects on bodily functions. Hypoxia is the main stress that all animals, including humans, encounter at high altitudes...In general, animals respond to hypoxic stress either by reducing their metabolism, and thereby reducing their oxygen demand, or by improving the body's ability to transport oxygen to increase oxygen supply." -Genotypic and Phenotypic Strategies to Chronic Hypoxia
Para- Tis have evolved from cold blooded animals, relatives include reptiles, as well as certain species of bird. The Para-Tis is capable of living at extreme high altitudes by means of increasing its ability to intake Oxygen in a rather low oxygen environment through ways of evolved organs. It's large nostril cavity and cranial cavity assist in this intake of oxygen. Its cold blooded ancestry allows it to take the harsh cold of the high altitudes in which it lives.
Para-Tis are capable of gliding through the clouded regions in which it lives by a mixture of gases to create "hydrogen" in sack filled organs below its neck, chest and pelvis regions. These creatures can be found living among the Snowy Leaf sky trees, given their name due to their leaves being pure white and during the fall..it appears to be snowing white leaves from the sky.
http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1115876365.jpg
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0kelvin:
concept: Living high above the clouds in the branches of Er Tiego, the Western Pillar Tree, most Totems live their entire lives without seeing the ground up close (and those unfortunate ones that do usually only see it for the brief second before they hit it). They are born in the tree and die in the tree. The Totems spend much of their time sitting and enjoying the view, as the low oxygen at such an altitude prevents any strenuous physical activity. They are excellent climbers, and have an extra set of small arms to perform tasks such as feeding or foraging while their climbing arms hold onto a branch. Long, fine hairs cover their prehensile tail that the Totem will let dangle into passing clouds. The hair on the tail absorbs condensation from the cloud and the Totem is able to sustain themselves solely on the moisture from sucking on their own wet tail.
One of the Totem's oddest behaviours is occasionally one will fashion a crude fishing pole and sit on a branch for hours, as if waiting for a fish to bite. Scientists haven't been able to explain this quirk, as even a simple minded creature like the Totem should be able to realise fish can't fly.
http://www.whereismyeyeball.com/images/CA/COW/Cow13.jpg
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Sapphire:
concept: The “Jiao”, as it has been called during sightings in East Asia, has remained an unexplained phenomenon for countless years. Sightings have been reported worldwide of this creature, which has mistakenly been identified as a strange object called “ball lightning”:
"Not many people get to see ball lightning, but those who do never forget it. Imagine a glowing orb suddenly materializing in front of you, possibly sizzling or exuding a bluish mist and an acrid smell. The globe may be larger than a beach ball and dart through the air, perhaps hovering occasionally as if considering its next move. The ball may also roll or bounce along the ground, climb utility poles, and skitter along power lines. As it travels, the fiery sphere may destroy electrical equipment, ignite fires, and even singe animals or people."
The Jiao’s anatomy is constructed of organic materials transformed by the energy of lightning into airborne, polymer filaments. This fusion of organic material and excited electrons then coils up (much in the same way that DNA condenses prior to cell division), packing a large amount of expendable energy in a relatively small space. A thin membrane forms the skin of the creature, which coagulates around the base material during the first moments of conception. This organic material has insulating properties, which allow the Jiao to collect, store and build up a vast amount of energy used for motion and procreation during its short lifespan. During the course of a storm or any other heightened electrical activity in the atmosphere, the Jiao grows and lengthens through the sky, collecting the released energy given off by lightning bolts. It uses this to propel itself from one collection of clouds to the next, and can even be seen making contact with the ground at times, as pent-up energy is released from its body.
A Jiao normally reproduces asexually, but if by a rare occurrence there is another individual in a neighboring cloud, the collision is usually followed with an enormous clap of thunder as genetic material is violently exchanged. Both individuals “die” during this moment, but from the residual energy and material left over, a new Jiao is formed in the womb of the clouds and the cycle begins again. The duration of an average individual’s life is usually no longer than 20 minutes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/Sapphire8400/StormDweller2.jpg
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shadoman:
concept: Tarroquel
This ancient creature lives high up in the earth's atmosphere. To keep them constantly hovering they have pockets of helium in the shells on their back. But to keep the flow of helium in their bodies, they must eat constantly. The helium-filled sacks glow blue when they are full. They eat small birds that fly up through the clouds.
Since the Tarroquel can hover without moving, it has to use its fins and tentacles to maneuver throughout the skies in search of food. In a few thrusts from its large tentacles can push it through the clouds at speeds up to 104MPH. But it makes them very tired. To rest they find a thick rain cloud and nest themselves within.
http://www.shawnadomanis.com/images/cow/COW13_CloudDweller.jpg
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Fozzybar:
concept: This creature is gliding through the clouds looking for some flying prey crossing his way...it is not picky about its food...birds, other flying creatures or even small planes sometimes.
It uses its arms as giant whips, lashing with them on its prey or using them as tentacles to grab bigger victims. When a prey is hit it falls down, the creature follows it nosediving to catch it in the air...
The creature never goes down to land. It has windsleeves (?) on its back and on the breast, which can be filled with air and heaten up by the creatures organism, so they can float when sleeping or resting. You can see a few of them floating with airfilled bags in the distance...
http://www.kidomatix.com/ca/cow/cow_013_clouddweller_fozzybar.jpg
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vaughany boy:
concept: Sky Hermit
This species is now believed to have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years in peace, undiscovered by makind. Only now, as the sky above us is thouroughly being filled by craft have sightings of these creatures become common at all. With lifespans of unknown length, Sky Hermits spend their entire lives in the air, never coming to the surface of the planet until they die. It seems improbable that this animal could go unknown for so long, without a single documented corpse or living animal until now but such is the rarity of the species. They can totally control their altitude and movement using a very complex respiratory system. Holes in the muscular tissue along the bones that make up the tent like structure of the animals, are used to inhale and exhale air. This has two functions, movement, using the holes like powerful jets, and respiration. Respiration in the species is quite different to other animals encountered. The air is inhaled and in the fleshy centre of the creature, the small amounts of less dense gases in the air, such as Hydrogen, are extracted and blown out from the large organ hanging under the main body. Oxygen is then used for normal respiration to take place and the unwanted gases and carbon dioxide pumped out of the bone limbs to control movement. The light gases then form a cloud underneath the cone like shape of the creature, creating a cushion that the creature sits on its entire life. By continually controlling the gases in the cushion, the animal can totally control upward or downward movement. The animal's brain is found in the cone shaped mound of tissue on top of the centre of the hermit's body.
The animals do not seem to eat for energy like normal creatures, but occasionally enter a storm cloud. In a spectacular process, not dis-similar to photosynthesis in plants, the creature absorbes an entire bolt of lightning. Somehow, this immense blast of energy does not kill the creature but infact provides it enough energy to live for a hugely long time, not having to find another storm to recharge for weeks or even months.
http://img39.echo.cx/img39/7636/clouddwellerfinished2pu.jpg
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[Fozzybar]

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cakeypigdog:
concept: These delightful fellows are called squigels. They are magical creatures that live a meditative existence basking in the sunshine atop the clouds. They only rarely venture to earth and even when they do its often under the cover of darkness. Over the years various cultures have mistaken glimpses of these creatures for things as diverse as dragons, angels and even as one mr 'big foot'.
http://cakeypigdog.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/clouddweller.jpg
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I.was.ink:
concept: Cloud Creator
Just as a shepard watches over his sheep, Cloud Creators watch over the skies in an effort to create clouds when they begin to vanish and become scarce. These Creators glide along the skies in search of clouds that need repair. Whenever the clouds become to big to handle and are broken, the Cloud creators rush over and attempt to repair them by thrashing their long tentacles in a very majestic and beautiful performance; thus making thunderous noises that scare many of the inhabitants of the planet.
There has been many occasions when groups of Cloud Creators gather and work at a very rapid speed to restore their precious cloudscapes. When this occurs they become aggressive and over flow the skies with thousands of clouds that build up and create tornados. These violent tornados whip around causing massive havoc to the planet and destroy numerous amounts of clouds.
Once the tornados have died off, they go back to work and begin to restore their creations once again.
http://www.visiblesurface.com/iwasink/Digital/cloud-creator.jpg
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fungi:
concept: Aeraepod
The Aeraepod live among the thick sulphur and methane rich clouds of the gas giant planet Terythus VI. The Aeraepod's main food source are the jellyfish like creatures which rise from the oceons of liquid hydrogen to feed upon microscopic creatures at high altitudes. Little is known about the Aeraepod as the planet's strong magnetic energy kills probes as they descend to the oceans below. They are also easy targets for the Aeraepod and are commonly mistaken for prey.
http://www.misterfungi.com/sketches/skywhaledone.jpg
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Craig Houghton:
concept: The Buffafloat
A descendant of the long-extinct bison that feeds upon the lilipad-like hydrop plant. The buffafloat, bobbing along since birth, has adapted to store the hydrogen from the hydrop plants in gas bladders under it's hide. Although it can use it's modified split-hoof fins to do some minor navigation, the buffafloat is a gentle creature, and it drifts along with the hydrop pastures. It's adapted a beard particuarly suited to the entanglement of hydrops. It feeds off the trapped plants in it's beard throughout the day.
http://img198.echo.cx/img198/8896/buffafloatcowhoughton4yg.jpg
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prehistoric:
concept: The Cloud Sculpting Guild was formed years ago by the union of a group of artist and a group of scientists. Their mission was to literally paint the sky. The artists work months in advance to determine the location, size, and shape of their aerial artforms. Then the scientists genetically engineer these tiny creatures, embedding the pertinent information into their simple dna strands, to be released in the air to perform the task of Cloud Sculpting. The tiny Sculptors have two main parts: first the hollow sac which both creates bouyancy and propulsion, and second the tip which sculpts the clouds through an exchange of heat and moisture. The exact methods of the making of these creatures are the Guild's closest guarded secret.
https://home.comcast.net/~zackrubin/cloud_dweller.jpg
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[Fozzybar]

OK - before voting/posting read this!!!

1. Please give c&c or a reason why you voted for the image!

2. Feel free to comment on any or all entries, the artists will appreciate it!

[Fozzybar]

New round started:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=477998

[possessed]

my vote goes to I.was.ink. Reason and critique on entries coming later.
as in... right now!>>>

Phuzion:
Very nice. I like the sense of scale in this image. more great things are color choice (fits so well and looks very dreamy) , and just general design of the creature, it looks so bloated. One thing I would have liked to see more was a rupture in the clouds or atleast some more movement caused by this behemoth.

Rusty:
reminds a bit of Greg Staples art. While painted gorgeously I find the image a tad dull but how exciting can floating plant baloons be? :p

leckronium:
ah, the rosswel rod. Clearly you were inspired by this (?)
nice color tones and the creature has a dynamic view. Portions of the clouds could have been a little bit more blurry or erm.. cloudy/hazy.

bluefooted:
Would have loved to see this colored and flying in a cloudy background. The illustration as is does not scream cloud dweller to me but I like the little details and the fluid pose of the creature.

nightfend:
woa! very nice, the mountains in the background are stunning and I love the tones of yellow in the piece. but there is my problem.. i like the background more then I like the creature. I do like how you can see so far inside it's mouth :)

Rosco:
Nice style. Nothing wrong with cartoony creatures. I am a little confused about the eye which seems to be a slimey sub-creature. (?)

Helzon:
It looks like a mummy fish from hell! I love the skin texture but would have liked to see a more 3d-ish pose. Like it could be coming straight for the viewer. I like the almost cosmic looking background.

young paddy1:
Fun concept but the creatures are all a little fighting for attention. Maybe you could have spread them a bit more around the piece. I like all the little details on the creatures skin.

Oregano:
mmm...too...good...can't crit...
While this isn't my favorite piece I do find it so extremely well done. The colors are so vibrant and the image so pleasantly crips and clear. I love the balloon for scale and how the sun is blocked behind the tentacle(?) that reaches highest.

Carnifex:
Original concept amongst so many leviathan beasts but could be worked on a bit more. The top halve of the piece doesn't really serve a function.

possessed:
oh wait, thats me.. I should have gone for a more dynamic pose and next time I want to add little data visuals for important body parts and stuff. The cloud spraying came out okay on the bottom but not so good at the top.

kyliegirl:
ooooh pretty, nice clouds you got there. The sky is so clear it almost hurts my eyes :) The creature is very elegant butwould have liked to see a bit more of a dynamic pose.

Crow:
hmm with a little more time invested in this this could have been cooler. I see too many cut lines and large pixels which distracts from the concept.

OLSEN:
zoinks.. too pretty.. while i do think this is pushing the cloud dweller concept.. it is painted so marvelous, darnit! I feel a bit sorry for the creature that it has to look like this though ! haha ..err... My favorite part is the neck(?) area with all the red spots. one more crit, I don't really get an underwater feeling from the environment. Wouldn't the light from above cause reflections on it's back? Like those in many whale pictures.

BlkCelebration:
Allready said I loved the concept and the creature itself has great colors. i would have liked to see a bit more detail on the beasty.

redehlert:
I love this style, and all those bio-date visuals that accompany the pic. My onluy crit would be that the horns on the front (?) especially the left one (viewer) looks a little off perspective.

MIKECORRIERO:
stop...being...so...good!!
only crit is that I find the cloudy parts a bit too orange in hue. It clashes a little with the (3)whitest trees.

0kelvin:
Such a cute creaure but it looks like it's about to fall off it's branch. I love the little stone looking mohawk he has along with those fleshy little arms.
Some slightly more detailing in the lower level of the world would have made the piece even better imho.

Sapphire:
great concept but the piece doesn't really do it for me. It seems a bit muddy and .. I dunno.. maybe it could have been resized a little.

shadoman:
cool critter but I would have lost those black tentacles, it doesn't need them I think. I like those splashes it creates where it's limbs break through the clouds. And it's gray-brownish skin has some very nice details in it.

Fozzybar:
Cool creature, great colors. I like that strong bluish outline you used. great details on the sacks as well, it almost looks like it's sweating. The only thing I miss is a mouth, since you specified it feeds on critters. and maybe you could have taken the transparency a step further. We can see the flap of the bladder behind it through the skin but where are the veins and brain connected to it's eye or maybe the digestive system..

vaughany boy:
Original concept to have an umbrella like creature amongst all the sacks and bladders. I really dig the rain pouring down just like how it would look on a real umbrella. bold choice, if somewhat awkward for a cloud creature (?) of colors.

cakeypigdog:
aww.. how cute, cloud dwelling furries. very illustrative and I love how you handled the fur. crit would be: the piece looks a tad flat, maybe some additional shading in the creature behind the first and in the clouds would have made it a little less flat.

I.was.ink:
This is what I voted for. I like concepts to be a tad on the vague side and imaginative...leaving something to fantasize about for the viewer. This piece did just that for me. I love the colors and the sense of chaotic movement in this.

fungi:
the sheer level of skill, colors, crispness and monstrocity awards you the gas-monster of the week award. This would have gotten my second vote if i had one but I don't just look at painting skill when deciding what to vote. and eh.... I see womanly parts in it's kin tihihihi.

Craig Houghton:
Something that could evolve if nature went a little crazy, I love the hooves and how the airbladder thing protrudes from it's body. Those ufo like plants are a great touch as well. There is just something about buffalo's that doesn't scream exciting for me :p

prehistoric:
hmmm It's a little too simple for my taste. the clouds don't have too much dimension. they all seem the same distance sway for the viewer and the creatures are flying in line. too .. organised and clean for my taste

disclaimer: all opinions are purely based on what I like and everyone has the right to wholeheartedly disagree.
my fingers hurt..

[redehlert]

I love it when I see so many entries - very humbling!
My top pick went to Fungi - took my breath away with the color, texture, color, mood, color, atmosphere, color, motion - did i mention color yet? yeah....
I'll try to do crits later on today.
Cheers,
D

[wassermelone]

Oregano's piece garnered my vote.

I think his creature is believable and original in design. Perhaps the background is optional in the rules, but I think on this one it added especially. Along with his description... it makes a believable world instead of just one creature design.

Or maybe thats just me :confident

-toasty

[Fozzybar]

nightfend, OLSEN, fungi

These 3 were my top aspirants...finally nightfend got my vote...it looks like a photo snapshot from this creature as it's floating in the sky...

OLSEN
Love the design and your always present morbid atmosphere :)

fungi
Superb rendering as always...you can't get rid of this fungi-shaps can't you ;)

[redehlert]

honestly....and please, be honest....who in God's cloud dwelling stratosphere voted for my punk ass when there are SO MANY AWESOME pieces to choose from?? i didn't deserve the vote, but i will share this with you - my inspiration came from a sprouting baby red potato and the name of my creature translates to "sky cow".
peace and thanks again - i honestly didn't deserve it.
d

p.s. Craig Houghton - thanks for your comment about my piece from type to rain blur and liking the style of the illustration. I'll keep your comments in my cap so I can avoid similar mistakes in future concepts!

"redehlert - I like the image better than the descrip. The style of illustration is great. I love it, really. However, the mixed fonts don't really seem to gel, and the blur on the rain looks like such a departure from a natural-medium look, that it distracts."

[Half Calf]

Hilarious! The entries are increadible but the Welkin Short Horn cracked me up. Very creative concept and to think the inspiration sprouted from a spud. I love the entire unit, the illustration, type and layout. The craft paper sketch lends a fear of unknown mystery. Fill in the blanks Red and post the color version you worked up so beautifully. Finished or not.

[Elpidio]

Hi everybody,

I haven't post anything yet in these forums, although this is for sure one of the pages I HAVE TO see everyday several times. You are all great in talent and skills.

I voted this week for Rusty, because I like the fantastic control of lights and shadows, the textured details in the main body of the creatures, the translucent/glowing bodies and the long tendrils. It is a sober and dramatic piece

The sense of space and deepness is, in my opinion, greatly emphasized by the emptiness of the bottom area of the image and the contrast of scale between each creature.

I wish we could vote twice though, because fungi's piece is such a beautiful piece too. The use of colors, the transition from cold colors to warm colors in the creature, the richness of textures. It is just a masterpiece.

I will find soon the courage to post something here. In the meantime...Great job everybody.
Peace,
Elpidio

[bwkeough]

i had a hard time choosing between rusty and fungi's designs. both were very well rendered and unlike anything living on earth today. I eventually chose rusty's because the scene was more dramatic and I could more easily sense the scale of the creature.

lots of great work in this group, encouraging me to participate in #14!

[vaughany_boy]

I voted Fungi. Just look at it! <3 The colours are great and I really like the anatomy of the creature. The fins are well placed and suitable and the way the mouth seems to move with all those teeth is awsome.

I was really close to voting for Oregano though, still love that piece.

[Carnifex]

my vote went to oregano this week -i just can't get enough of that dramatic composition and colours.the concept works quite good aswell-although not that believable and despite some spelling errors;)
other favourites:
phuzion -tight rendering and good sense of mass.
rusty -incredible rendering and wonderfull lightning.hope you'll participate more often.
0kelvin -you know the reasons.although i agree he looks abit like he might fall off the branch any moment.
blkcelebration -i've said why before.:)
craigh houghton -i love the textures.it feels very real,gritty,unwashed-though concept-wise pretty unbelievable.
fungi -redehlert has summed it up already.the only thing that didn't make it for me is just the lack of background.it doesn't look like it's really airbourne.oh and although you sometimes have a "holier than thou" attitude,you're a good artist of course.

honourable mentions:
sapphire -original concept and dramatic piece.
olsen -most original take of them all.to actually have a cloud dweller not live amongst clouds but underwater.
nightfend -cool pic,but as said by others the background is better than the actual creature.his colours aren't too interesting also.
mikecorriero -also very cool pic,but it doesn't look like they're high up in the sky because of the trees.the colours of the clouds also rather suggest a muddy earth bottom with slight fog over it.

thanx for any crits on my piece and a good week.

[Sapphire]

fungi wins my vote. It's a stunning piece, with amazing color and a fun concept. I love the structure of its mouth and the way you draw attention to areas with hot color.

posessed thanks for your crit. I felt the same way about your piece though... very muddy, I can't tell really what's going on, and there's an almost too-crisp outline around the central figure, which looks blobby, so somehow it doesn't sync up.

nightfend Wow. The scenery is breathtaking. It almost looks like something you'd see in Star Wars. Those mountains are probably my favorite part of the whole piece, great colors.

leckronium Nice silvered look to the creature! I can really feel that it's skin is shiny and reflective of the surrounding sky colors. Only thing is that the eyes almost look off center, like the eye on the right isn't far enough to the side to match the other one, but it might just be the angle.

BkCelebration I like the idea of your creature, and that misty feel the piece has. however, some of the creature looks pretty flat, and I'm not sure if that's due to making so many clouds/mist or if that's just the style you chose. It's like a floating rhino. :)

redehlert Man, you make me want to find some brown paper and go nuts with a pen and white paint or marker. :) Those illustrative drawings look so cool done that way, and the half n' half is hilarious.

OLSEN Beautiful baleen! I enjoy the unique way you twisted the topic. I also love the translucency of its skin, especially in the legs.

MIKECORRIERO I don't even have to say anything, you already know you rock. :) It was such a tough decision to choose between this piece and fungi, and I think his color scheme in the end won me over. I love the almost avian/draconic look to your creatures, I'm such a sucker for unique reptilian stuff, and the whole environment feels so light and airy.

0kelvin I like the tree even better than your creature. I can see you're starting to loosen up on your strokes a bit, and that gives a more organic, rough look to the bark on that tree, wheras normally you seem to make your textures almost plasticy and too smooth. The creature's an interesting mammalian design, but it almost looks like it's not resting its weight on the tree. Somehow the pose looks too static, and like the shadows don't match up somehow. Maybe add some more shadow onto the branch he's sitting on. I'm liking the perspective, too.

shadoman it reminds me a lot of Rusty's creature, only swimming along instead of floating. There seem to be a lot of jellyfish-like creatures this time around. I like those blue globes.

Fozzybar your style is so cool, I love it. youhave this very shiny, crisp, digital quality to all of your entries thus far, including this one. I love the ray-like wings and their transparency. There's something about the shadows that bothers me, though... maybe that there's not enough of them falling on the creature's side from that overhanging pink organ, or maybe just the evenness of the lighting.

vaughany boy I like the concept of an umbrella creature, and it sort of reminds me of the top of Oregano's beastie. I think though that maybe it could be cleaned up a little, and it could benefit from some reflective color from the sky so that it isn't such a violent contrast between the red, earthy, fleshy colors of the creature and the airy light blue of the sky.


I may do more crits later, but now, I am going to take a nap!

[redehlert]

redehlert Man, you make me want to find some brown paper and go nuts with a pen and white paint or marker. :) Those illustrative drawings look so cool done that way, and the half n' half is hilarious.

Hey Sapphire - thanks for the thoughts...as for the paper - I love using this as my 'middle ground' - you can get the sketchbooks pretty cheap at the UW bookstore. As for pens - I use tech pens and sakura brush pens (black) and the sakura extra fine .7mm and fine 1mm (also at the UW bookstore). I put down tone with pencil (HB) and add the white -> when wet, I blend with my finger or a stump. As for the half-n-half - well, seattlites were on my mind for that. Thanks again!
D

[fungi]

i voted for rusty, lovely lighting and colours.

[0kelvin]

I voted for Oregano this round. I love the impressive sense of scale (which several entries had this round), the unique explorer's log presentation of the concept, and a damned cool design. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a creature without a face.

My other tops were BlkCelebration, I love the stylised atmosphere and great concept, and MikeCorriero's, who's still got dragons on the brain. Craig Houghton's made me laugh, and Sapphire came up with a great concept. fungi's was rendered beautifully with great colours, but reminded me an awful lot of his Lava Eater. Oh yeah, and I loved Rusty's lighting.

I'll definitely work on getting my creature to sit on that branch properly before it goes into my portfolio. Thanks for pointing it out, people who pointed it out!



0kelvin

[Danilo]

My 2 favorites are Fozzybar and Oregano. Oregano have retro style, wich I like, and painting is realy good, but I decided to vot for fozzy (even he is moderator ;) ) because his idea is almost like poetry :^^: Way to go, Fozzy!

[S.C. Watson]

foz slaps oregano
OW! :[

I voted for Phuzion, because, well, I giggle every time I look at his pic :bashful:

I may go back and do crits on everyone later, but we've gotten some great crits thus far. Thanks to you who have offered their observations and suggestions.

Thanks as well to everyone who voted to mine! <3

Cheers,
~Shane

[brokk]

I voted for nightfend. This looks like it would work awesome as a Magic card. I really like the composition, how the one that is closer is near the center and the other one farther away is balancing the picture.
One thing I dont get is if those things on the side of the head are eyes. If they are, they look sorta like holes, they look kinda hollow, but maybe that was what you were going for.
I'm not all that crazy about the clouds on the bottom of the picture, they look a bit repetitive, but since the atention is not put on the clouds its not that big a deal.
A very beautiful image. Nice concept and nice representation.

Great entries guys.

others I really liked were the ones by oregano, fungi, and mikecorriero. Fungi you have such a cool and personal way of rendering its sick. Mikecorriero I know you intentionally wanted to portray something like sky forest or a forest in the clouds, but its very dificult (at least for me) to asociate these creatures as strictly cloud dwellers, mainly because of the trees that make me think of ground. The creatures themselves are beautiful and look great, and the image is very beautiful, especially with those white shards floating around. I think its dificult not to asociate this with ground because of the trees, they make me think of something firmly rooted (on ground). I dont know if this makes any sense or if I'm expressing it correctly... whatever its a really great image.

[leckronium]

possessed - I have no idea what the rosswel rod is but if you don't mind telling me? :teeth: .... Thanks for the crit. I struggled with trying to bring the whole pic into focus. They did start off a little more blurry though.

Sapphire - Thanks for the crit as well, I see now what you said about the eye. It was probably like that in the sketch too, I just didn't notice it.

Phuzion - Great start for the thread. It seems to set a standard for the rest of the entries. The "widescreen" works really well too.

Rusty - Good description and execution for the idea. The balloons in the background all seem to be different levels of execution though. I would have liked to seen the green one a little more polished. Right now it looks half done.

bluefooted - ah... I was hoping to see this painted. Nice drawing.

nightfend - Nice painting but I'm not too thrilled about your color choices. The yellow just doesn't do anything for me. Plus your creature doesn't look alive.

Rosco - Nothing wrong with entering with a cartoon style although I think the painterly look over the cartoon line doesn't work.

Helzon - You're making progress! The value structure is coming together and reading well. I think the value structure is the most imortant for you because your ideas and renderings are so foreign to the eye, we need to understand what we're looking at. Now if we can just slip a little color in there...

young paddy 1 - I think they look too much like flying whales.

Oregano - Excellent creature design. I like the sense of depth and scale the hot air balloon brings to the pic. I just don't like the clouds. They're dynamic, which is ok, but the technique doesn't make them read as clouds. They need to be a little softer. Plus, I'm not sure that storm clouds would have such bright highlights on them. Good job otherwise.

Carnifex - I think the focus needs to be more on the creature and not the clouds. Always make sure the creature is the picture and not a sub-illustration tucked in the corner. At least you avoided the fish cliche.

possessed - The idea is ok but I think the design of the creature could have been a little more interesting and not look just like an alien meatwad.

kyliegirl - I like the idea you have, especially, about dropping the eggs. The execution is elegant but I think the design (layout) could use a little work. The dragon should be entirely on the page and probably be shown at a slightly different angle. The way you tucked the scale picture in the upper corner creates a big empty spot to the left and makes it uncomfortable to the eye.

Crow - This turned out to be a popular design for the Coud Dweller which is why I ditched mine. I think if a lot of people want to use the same shape or look then it will end up being a battle of who can render it better to stand out the most. So far I think you could have pushed it a little more.

Olsen - This is a nice painting and creature but I think you stepped too far out the Cloud Dweller box. Linking it to the cloud aspect with the exo-baleen, to me, is tip-toeing around a difficult subject. If I was an art director and asked you for a cloud dweller, and you gave me an underwater creature that has a cloud looking stomach...

BlkCelebration - I'm liking this the more I look at it. It's an interesting picture that has a sadness to it. But for what the creature was I kinda want to see what it looked like alive.

redehlert - Your renderings are always nice to look at but I'd make sure you don't make it too much like a medical illustration. It takes away from the sense of it being a creature and not just another "organ". I would ease up on the amount of type and side illustrations and concentrate on combing it into one main picture using that same technique.

MIKECORRIERO - I like the mood and motion you captured in this illustration. The rendering is good but I'm having a hard time linking it to clouds conceptually. You mentioned clouded regions but is that actual clouds, or a floating world in the sky, or a mountaintop in the sky?

Okelvin - Well you win the award for the best "Oh shit, I'm falling!" feeling. Your executions have become so much better compared to previous C.O.W. entries. Keep up the good work! My only thought is that the creature looks like he's getting ready to fall off the branch. He looks off balance.

Sapphire - I already mentioned I like this one. It's a great take on the subject and a good idea based off a real-life phenomenon. I like the stormy feeling you gave the clouds and the little splash of color in the center.The only thing that bugs me is the consistancy of the body. Where it starts off really wide then shrinks really thin before going behind the cloud then widens after coming back out. It would have been interesting to actually show two of them colliding. Good job!

shadoman -Overall a well executed piece. It fits the popular shape and look of this round but you chose to go horizontal which was good.

Fozzybar - Another Fozzy classic! I like the colors and textures you used. The layout is good but the only thing that I would change is the eye. Why?, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's the expression on it that bugs me.

vaughany boy - An interesting creature. I think for a creature thats hardly been seen it's colors certainly stand out from sky colors. Maybe if it was camoflauged a little more.

cakeypigdog - This has a nice storybook feel to it. It helps with the fact that two big groundbased looking creatures are nestled in the clouds above. The creatures left leg in the foreground is becoming a little noodle-like. he doesn't look like he has a shin bone.

I.was.ink - Good take on the concept of a creature who creates and maintains clouds. The piece is very dynamic and energetic but I tend to lose a sense of what the creature actually looks like.

fungi - Very highly skilled rendering as with the case of your lava creature. The colors are excellent as with the texture. I like the fact the creature is going after one of the jellyfish. The only thing I can say is that I don't really get the impression this creature lives in clouds or can even float for that matter. It looks very dense and heavy.

Craig Houghton - This, to me, still looks like too much like a buffalo. It's rendered nicely though.

prehistoric - Nice job on taking a completely different appoach to this topic. The creatures don't look alive to me at all though.

I voted for Sapphire this round since I really liked the idea the most.

[Sapphire]

leckronium Wow!! Thanks so much for the vote, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You are TOTALLY right about it getting thick and thin in odd places... I realized that only after I'd finished, and I'll fix it after the voting and all that jazz, for sure. The fact that you spotted it reinforces the problem I saw in my own drawing, which is a good thing.

[OLSEN]

Hello,

thanks for the feedback to you that gave med feedback.

Perhaps I stepped out of the cloud topic a bit too far... My aim was to keep the entire visualisation of the cloud dweller within the actual creature design, perhaps I could have chosen a better way to do it, but the creature came naturally to me so I went for it..

Possesed, you're right about the reflections, would have been a nice touch.

Leckronicum, thanks, glad you think it's nice even though you think it's out of the box. But I guess we all have different sized boxes.

Fozzy, Carnifex, Sapphire, many thanks.

Btw, I haven't voted yet. Too much good stuff... :heart:

[Wishes]

I voted for MIKECORRIERO because It really looks like they are floating arround there. Love the story and it just looks good. Like the trees (+story)too btw. Gives the pic a more 'floating' mood hehe

They also look very cute with eachother, love it!

@ MIKECORRIERO: I didn't recognize it as yours at first, normally I do, well done!

My secondplace winner is cakeypigdog. Love them, they're cute :).

@ cakeypigdog: You aren't my winner because you didn't have a realy original background story IMO. Don't mean to be a %@#$, but just wanted to say it for a next time. I had to choose between you and Mike and that's what made me go for his. So that's my tip/comment/something for you :)

BUT! Really love yours too!

[nightfend]

Phuzion - Yours image is really great. Looks like it's a cell frame from an animation. The clouds are really, really good. Really like this piece.

Rusti - I watched this picture start out rough and then turn into an amazing finished piece. You really have that internal illumination nailed. Just a stunning illustration. My favorite.

Bluefooted - Your line art is really cool. I love the concept. If it had been colored, I'd probably have ended up voting for this one.

MikeCorriero - Wow, and I thought your last illustration was good. This one is even more amazing. My only comment is I didn't get the feeling that the creature was running through clouds as much as a foggy forest. It was only after reading the description that I realized they were trees that reached into the sky.

fungi - Another amazing piece. This is one of my favorites. The coloring is great and the creature just looks viscious and alien.

[Rusty]

Still deciding between fungi,Nightfend and Oregano.each has qualities that stand out 4 me..
Phuzion and Mike great entries too fellas..

..Jace

[I.was.ink]

I voted for nightfends piece. I love the design of the creature. There's something really calming about it. Beautiful job!:)


Also, thanks for the crits on my piece. The creature is sort of tough to make out, but oh well. I'll work that much harder on the next one.

Thx for the bote possessed.
-ink

[Prehistoric]

i'm voting for Oregano.

shane - that image just kicks ass! i love the clouds, the creature, and the concept. what can i say? you had me at "hello" :P

i'll try to post some crits this weekend when i have some time off.

for now i'll just say that i'm not really happy with my entry. the drawing looks a lot better on paper than on my monitor. oh well, better next time.

[brokk]

really just had the intention of creating this secluded region where these creatures live in a sky based location out of site from anyone on the ground. I had almost thought of including a seperate illustration from a ground perspective of the trees reaching far far up past the clouds.

Do it DO IT!!!!

um yeah if you want to : P

The idea is really cool the comments on that it was hard to read as clouds is only a comentary on how the piece reads, the concept itself of trees passing the clouds and the creatures living there has nothing to do with that and is very very cool as a concept! Plus the image looks lovely!

[Craig Houghton]

Thanks for the crits leck and carn!

Rusty I went with rusty. I spent a long while rereading and staring. It's just so beautiful, no matter how long I stare at it. Most importantly, the descrip left me imagining an entire sky of these all alight. THat's an image that will really stick with me.

On a side note. I've realized that I'm an idiot when it comes to concept art compositions. I guess I'm still used to just doing landscapes and studies etc. I'm an idiot for not making the buffafloat more prominent. I've since revised it here (http://img219.echo.cx/img219/3680/buffafloatrearranged4ab.jpg), but hopefully the next cow will be my breakthrough. ;)

-Craig

[Fozzybar]

I just realized who didnt submit.. is Matt Dixon sick..where is he?:shrug: check the sewers, pot holes, forests, search the lakes and alleys... he must be found at all costs :S

You scared him on the last entry :) I guess he didn't have enough time and didn't want to enter with a rushed artwork...history teaches :)

[Wishes]

fungi's was rendered beautifully with great colours, but reminded me an awful lot of his Lava Eater.

Yeahh I had that too, immediatly!

No offense to Fungi, but I was really wondering why the pic is getting so many votes, because it really looks a lot the same.. It's a nice piece, but the second I saw it, it reminded me of the lava COW.

[Helzon]

possessed, leckronium : Thank you both for the crit and comments. Like I told Craig Houghton, I will be working up something monochromatic, beside graytone for the next COW...but It will be hard not to go back to that...seeing as it's a Shadow Producer...(i don't know why I keep having a mental image of a balding middle age guy with a bad comb over and lots of cheezy gold jewelry sitting behind a desk with z-rate movie posters around him).
But I agree possessed....the pose could have been more dynamic and given a better sense of the overall volume of the creature...will work on that.
Thanks again.

[Matt Dixon]

I'm here, Mike, struggling out from under a pile of work to vote for your pic..!

Didn't have time to enter, don't have time for any worthwhile comments, but what a great turnout from all!

[vaughany_boy]

Thank you for the comments guys. I think you're right that the colours come across a little to bold and that the top image in particular wants to be a bit more tight. I'll keep it in mind for the future.

:)

[redehlert]

Half Calf - thanks for the vote and coming forward to admit it. Appreciate your thoughts behind my concept, albeit weak by comparison to others - at least I got a laugh vote. :^^:
Leckronium - thanks for your thoughts! I tried to steer away from my med illus side and then a group of the Washington peeps I sketch with said not to. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. My next concept will be typeless and hopefully all one view - I appreciate the challenge!
Peace!
D

[kyliegirl]

im gonna have to say i love everyones work, it takes alot to think of a good creature every week for these. I am impressed on how much imagination is put into alot of the work on these :)

[Sapphire]

As far as fungi's looking like his lava eater, to me it looks like they came from the same fictional "universe" maybe, or the same planet, however you want to define it, but they look different to me. (I voted for his lava eater, also!) I don't know, but his style just really impresses me, and his use of color.

Also, that jelly it's going after looks like it's going, "...!" which amuses me for some reason.

Btw, who gave me a second vote? :D

[0kelvin]

I think it's mostly that they're both giant red worm/whale-like creatures swimming around in something that isn't water. I mean, they look different, but the concept seems largely the same to me. Coming up with something new and unique, not only from everyone else but from my previous work as well, is something I strive for (and admittedly don't always succeed with) every week with the COW. I tend to notice faults in pictures that I'm aware of in my own work, and repetition of ideas is one of those. That's my crit and I'm sticking to it.

But in all fairness, it's a beautiful picture (I especially like the jellyfish) and I like the idea about the creatures living on a gas giant planet. And I voted for his Lava Eater too.



0kelvin

[redehlert]

I'm sorry guys, I want to crit all pieces but am so slammed with work that I'm only going to talk about my top pieces I was in deliberation over. This is pretty much ass pattin' praise, so take what you want from it:
Rusty Thanks for submitting your concept - the concept copy, composition and color were amazing. So visually appealing and moody.
Bluefooted Damn I love your inking technique. Concept copy and a touch of environment and you'd of sold me - I don't think this needs color, but if you ever do, let me know!
Olsen Thanks for submitting your concept too! The mood, concept copy and take on the subject was so damn smooth. I loved it.
BlkC That concept copy was so endearing - pulled on my heart strings. Your color is constantly wowing me - soft, subtle, appealing.
MikeC Sheer pleasure in your concept - you really activated the 'z' plane in this piece with the creatures coming at you in a believable fashion. Concept copy was a bit long, but you were explaining stuff, so I guess I'm okay with that. Color/textures are constantly wowing me.
Fungi Already commented on - and yes, I voted for the lava creature and I'd do it again. :er:
i.was.ink The in yer face motion really had me wrapped up in your concept. I don't need to see 'more' of the creature - that's left up to my imagination. I just really was diggin' this piece.
FozzyB Great color choices and atmosphere. I love the creature forms you've been creating as of late. Looking forward to seeing more and more.

That's all I have time for all. Like I said, ass pattin'....this was by far the most diff round to vote for cuz there were so many inspiring choices.
Cheers!
D

[Skuli]

wow this was hard
lots of incredible pictures here, those who stood out for me were nightfiend, mike, rusty, oregano and fungi, I voted for fungi because this pic is just so awesome, the colors and texture <3 and that mouth! I can picture it grapping that squid thingy and squishing with this massive mouth, awesome :)
Fungi: you'r style gives me an artgasm :P
awesome work fellas!

[Rusty]

Although fungis was easily the best painted i voted 4 nightfends in the end purely based on his concept..theres an air of belivability about the design and the content of it works as a whole.oregano,i felt the background contributed a little to much to the concept,but i can see where you where going with it..

welldone all who entered.

..Jace

[BlkCelebration]

Thanks to those who commented on mine, much appreciated. :)

This time I voted for MIKECORRIERO. His concept was great, (I like how it was set up). The creature itself looked great in its envorinment (loved the trees). One of the few entries that didnt have a huge creature (or huge underwater lookin' creature) and looked great to boot. Atmosphere was tops as well as the texture on the creatures.

Great job everyone

[Hanuka]

wow. great outcome :)

my vote goes to rusty, i think. beautiful & moody.

[S.C. Watson]

Where is the Mighty Crit Cow? Has she abandoned us for greener pasutre already?? :( :[ :nohope:

[Chahiro]

Fozzy- I have to say I was more partial to your design, mainly because it reminds me so much of Miyazaki's creatures and very close to what I would have imagined to be a sky dweller. Beautiful job!!

[Fozzybar]

thanks for the votes, you will all get your money soon...

Miyazaki, i watched a few movies of him, but don't know too much about him, but a friend who is a big Mayazaki-Fan told me, that Phuzion's entry reminded him of Laputa (is it Miyazaki at all?)...

[Uziel]

I've seen some great work but I can vote only once so i picked out fungis.
Great colors and design
Rusty comes 2nd

[Carnifex]

wow,i got a vote! who was that? :^^:

[Sapphire]

how on earth did I get four votes?? Thanks, whoever you are! You made my night...

[croovman]

: ( I didn't make the date. like last time I have done sketches and completed the concept but I didn't have enough time for the finished piece.
anyway, I voted leckronium. the concept is pretty originial and I can actually see this creature existing in real life, which is fantastic in my opinion. the illustration helps a lot of course. really well done. to bad the work is kinda underrated :\
I liked OLSEN's piece too, and Oregano's was really good too. concept wisely executed. it could've been awesome if he had more time to add more detail though, I really missed it.
Phuzion, Rusty, MIKECORRIERO, leckronium and fungi <-cool stuff too.

byebye
-stav

[glikster]

Holy effing 'ell that was a lot of entries to go through. Amazing amunt of really high quality work!! To start I'll say that I had a really hard decision between Rusty and Oregano. I ended up going with Oregano because of the freshness of the design and the sense of breadth in the pic, but it was a hair's-breadth difference.
Phuzion - gorgeous pic and colors, but I felt it slightly cliched. This is entirely my personal taste - flying fish don't excite me.
Bluefooted and Young Paddy- I felt the same sense of cliche as in Phuzion's but while Bluefooted's was a nice line-drawing of a catfish, Young Paddy's was slightly confusing and rough.
prehistoric, Craig Houghton, I.was.ink, cakeypigdog, vaughany boy, shadoman, Sapphire, 0kelvin, Crow, kyliegirl, possessed, Carnifex, Helzon, nightfend, leckronium- a whole lot of beautiful entries, but they failed to grab my interest enough.
Rosco - very original idea, but I would like to see it more polished.
OLSEN- another fave of mine this time, and hard to choose against, but I felt it was treading on cliche-ism.
BlkCelebration - brilliant concept, I love the feel of myth to the prose and the coloring, but you don't get to see the creature.
redehlert cute concept and nice creature sheet, but I would have preferred color.
MIKECORRIERO - beautiful and original, with amazing sense of fluid movement, but I felt the breadth of Rusty and Oregano's (and Phuzion and and Olsen's) pics more in tune with my idea of a cloud dweller.
Fozzybar - Tough call with this one also, but I would have preferred a more dynamic composition.
fungi Gorgeous. Absolutley beautiful and lovely muted colors. However, I decided in the end that it is too close to cliche-like for me.

[shadoman]

Some very nice entries this round. It was a very hard choice. I found that I was torn between four entries: Rusty, Oregano, MikeCorriero, and Fungi.

Rusty - I thought that this piece was very well executed. The lighting and textures on the creature were very nice and bold.
Oregano - Sorry I didn't comment sooner on this, but I was floored by this piece. It was on such a large scale and really stood out. The clouds and creature looked awesome. But the thing that did it for me was the balloon, because it gave such a sense of scale to your piece.
MikeCorriero - The entire piece was beautiful. It really felt like the creatures would be coming right at me in a moment. The lighting really captured the style you created in your concept.

But, at the end of the day, I voted for:
Fungi - The Aeraepod was just amazing. It was a kick ass concept, professionally executed with great lighting and textures. I loved the small dabs of highlights that give the wet, glossy-feel to the creature and it's food.


Thanks to anyone who commented on my piece. I was really out of practice and not happy with my entry by any means, so I didn't expect any results. There is always next time...

[bluefooted]

Too busy at work today to go into many details, but the 3 that stood out to me were:

Oregano: Beautiful rendering on the creature and hot-air balloon. The clouds were too sharp for my taste, but the colors were nice.

Redehlert: Looks like you really thought about your concept, nice details.

Fungi: Everything is wonderful on the creatures - colors, lighting, etc. I know background isn't a requirement, but it would have been nice to see more cloudiness behind the creatures.

My vote went to Fungi.

[redehlert]

Hey Blue - you're being too kind. But thanks! I spent time and I didn't spend time...there was a ton more that could have been done. Go into my sketchbook thread, last page, and you'll see that I was actually playing with color for this round and dropped it at the buzzer. Sigh....time was just not there for me.

Cheers!
Dave

[leckronium]

:
anyway, I voted leckronium. the concept is pretty originial and I can actually see this creature existing in real life, which is fantastic in my opinion. the illustration helps a lot of course. really well done. to bad the work is kinda underrated :\


Hey thanks for the vote. I looked up "roswell rod" like possessed suggested and found a phenomenon that looks remarkably similar to what I had. I had never heard of it before but it was interesting. Until I found a page where someone explained how to get or reproduce that effect then it kind of debunked the whole thing for me. :[

[Fozzybar]

fungi
congrats for the second llama-star under your title!!! This makes you and Matt Dixon the only ones who got 2 stars...but there are still many to gain...harharhar! :perv:

Oh btw, pick the topic for the next round, send it per pm to me!!! I will post the next round in about 24 hours...

[fungi]

woot, cheers fozzy and everyone who voted for me.