C.O.W. - #021: Freestyle - VOTING!!!

[Fozzybar]

ROUND #021 VOTING

Topic: Freestyle

Deadline for the voting: Wednesday, 21 September 2005

Posting thread (closed):
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51414[/url]






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Craig Houghton:
concept: The Twig-Tailed Beetle-Snatcher
Here we see the voracious snatcher downing a snack while spearing his next helping using his well-adapted digitations. A member of aves, the snatcher shares similar morphology. His bushy twig-like tail is comprised of modified feathers, and his spear-like fingers are simply elongations of a birds usual semi-vestigial digits. Using it's unique cover, this flightless bird waits in ambush for its prey. Then, a swift stab from a finger insures an accurate snare.
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8615/twigtailedbeetlesnatcher21uk.jpg
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MIKECORRIERO:
concept: Night Lamp
Given its name based on the glowing gold feathers that light its way at night. Thier purposes are somewhat of a mystery since they are only seen on rare occassions, often when a soul is lost. The day a soul dies, that night one of these creatures are seen walking in the darkest of nights, where the only light is that which shines from thier glowing head. It has been said to have been seen by some that above this glow, lay a halo circled atop the Night Lamps head. Some say they are the links to the afterlife and represent the lost souls who roam the lands. It is believed by science though that somehow the mystery to thier glowing feathers its what leaves them to appear invisible in bright day light, unseen to the naked eye.
http://pratt.edu/~mcorrier/Projects/freestyle-revised-web.jpg
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davi:
concept: The Goatheaded Tentacattle with sausage warming leg sacs
http://davivsjapan.com/02/cow9-1.jpg
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nightfend:
concept: The Eyewalker makes it's home on the alien world of Setis-6. The creature is drawn to bright colors, and makes it's home in the glowing jelly-moss that grow on the surface of the planet. It is this moss that also serves as the Eyewalker's food source. It uses it's pointed tail spine to pierce the jellies and then feed on them. The massive eye is constantly bathed in a clear ichor substance that serves to lubricate and protect.
http://www.icondream.com/images/cow/freestyle-eyewalker01.jpg
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possessed:
concept: Corrosaur
A war wages on the distant planet of Abrasia. Powerfull mages from the different elemental brotherhoods are fighting each other over supremacy of the world. The brotherhood called The Acidulious control the elemental power of acid. This particular powerfull group is known to enslave the beasts native to Abrasia to pit them against the other brotherhoods.
One such beast is the Corrosaur. This agressive being acts as a guard dog for The Acidulious. Equipped with poison-tipped needle sharp nails and armored plating, this beast is a force to be reckoned with. It's ferocity is enhanced further by the infusion of elemental powers. The tip of it's tail is a liquid corrosive which the beast uses to keep enemies at bay. With a swing of it's tail it rains down acid over it's enemies. It's final line of defence lies in it's armor plating. Nothing is impenetrable so even the hard plating of this monstrosity can be shattered. However, by shattering the plating of the Corrosaur, it's enemies get more then they bargained for. Stored inside the plating is a venomous miasma which is released when the armor is broken, causing the enemy to choke in the vaporous gas.
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/2306/duzz9mw.jpg
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Dusty:
concept: The Eater of the Damned
The souleaters of Hell have no affiliation with with the ruler or its army, however they play an important role. Hell is not infinite, and despite what is read, not all of the damned remain there for eternity. After eons of suffering, a buildup of excess souls needs to be dealt with, and it is then that the souleaters devour the eldest of the damned. When the time comes, the souls who are to be devoured are lined up and fed to the near immobile souleaters. They feed until the "soulsack" beneath their mouth is full...and it is there that the souls feel the most agonizing pain of their time in Hell....one last time.
http://home.comcast.net/~turbutter5/souleater.jpg
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Mattinian:
concept: The Toronan Kakadu inhabits the gas giant Torona3. It is a very playfull bird and it`s curiosity being the cause of a couple of incidents (mid air crashes) with weather balloons and low atmosphere satelites. Not much time has been devoted on Kakadu research in the early stages of Torona3`s exploration but it`s diet and overall physiology draws interest mainly because of the near total absence of other animal species on the planet.(and because it`s late and i`m too sleepy to ponder over concept descriptions)
http://www.mattinian.com/Pics/Kakadu.jpg
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llothcat:
concept: fishmonkey with porcupine quills
http://www.llothcat.com/COW1.jpg
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young paddy1:
concept: The hermaphrodite Fear Feeder's ultimate aim is to make you drop an adrenaline laced turd on which it feeds. The creature lives on the dark forest continent of Perris 3 a land inhabited by many tree dwelling animals and humanoid timber merchants. The general form of attack is to sneak up behind it's victim on it's hands and rear feet and scream at it flailing and flashing its red eyes, if you don't shit yourself immediatly it will go to plan B and kick seven shades out of you instead.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/youngpaddy1/sid.jpg
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panda:
concept: Mountain Eater
The mountain eaters of amun-teketh are nomadic, as their food source is produced very rarely. They eat the large quantities of iron ore in the mountains produced by colliding fault lines, eating one mountain once every thousand or so years.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/viapanda/mountaineater.jpg
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Oblio:
concept: 2 oceans child bird
Brought from a distant universe by "The group of extreme water surfers of the galaxy", this creature delivered the 2nd apocalipse on earth, starting the underwater area.
For 400 years as the bird (pictured here as a child) lived on earth, terestrial polulation was reduced to very few surviviors.
I was one of them...
http://www.conceptart.org/gallery/files/7/3/COW3_tsunami999.JPG
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WARHEAD:
concept: Metalised Cockroach
The metalised cockroach is a secret government program to create covert surveillance via controlling bugs, in this case a cockroach to provide intelligence.
Cryogenically frozen then coated in a non magnetic, non radiating metal they are almost cyborg cockroaches, being controlled by simple neural impulses. They have built in cameras instead of eyes, microphones and other equipment are located in their knees and antennae. They are controlled by remote controlled and can live for years without any maintenance.....
http://www.war-studio.com/HostedImages/COWbug.jpg
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redehlert:
concept: The Humpfry Bumblefuk
Small critter only yeh high. Feeds on the waste of other creatures using its retractable snouts. This male has a deep baritone voice to call out to fellow bumblefuks and likes to mate as often as possible. Looks dense, but is actually very light weight allowing it to fly from one poop pile to the next.
http://www.cognitionstudio.com/conceptart/redlrt_cow21.jpg
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Gloklund:
concept: The Crawling Klee-Chay inhabits the dwindling but once fruitful land of Imajan Ascion. Feeding off of the post pubescent minds of the species known as the Seeyay Orgers. The creature’s appearance is so loathsome and revolting that the poor Orgers caught in its gaze are inflicted with an almost incomprehensible repetitious pattern of thought. This repetition of thought is just the beginning, as this psionic manipulation by the Klee-Chay's is in fact its complex digestive process in which the helpless victim's mind is devoured over several days, until nothing is left but a mindless Xombii.
http://rhinohidestudios.com/images/The-Crawling-Cliche.jpg
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0kelvin:
concept: The Shoal is perhaps the most unique creature we’ve ever discovered. It isn’t even a conventional life-form at all. At least not as we know them. Whereas all the lifeforms we are familiar with are made up of cells, the Shoal is made up of trillions of slug-like multi-cellular organisms. These organisms come together to form a massive amorphous blob capable of living in the vacuum of space. Astoundingly, although each individual organism has barely the brain capacity of an infant leech, the creature as a whole seems to be entirely sentient, if not intelligent.
We’ve managed to recover three species of the slugs. We think the Shoal probably consists of thousands of different species. These three range anywhere from half an inch to a foot long. Species 1 doesn’t seem to have a specific purpose, but it makes up the majority of the creature’s body mass. Species 2 is mildly photosensitive and by gathering millions of these slugs together and having them all sharing information, the creature is able to form an eye of amazing resolution. Species 3 has a beak that can be used to break down whatever the creature absorbs into its body into food, which is then distributed throughout the body. Very few of these live on the outer surface of the creature, but we think that there are likely millions of them inside. By our calculations, it could "digest" this ship and everything in it in a matter of seconds. Luckily for us, so far he seems friendly enough.
http://www.whereismyeyeball.com/images/CA/COW/COW21.jpg
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Xpose:
concept: The Blue Sira lives on a planet where the mist is so thick that visibility is very slim. It has to depend on it's ears, which are extremely sensitive an can pick up the slightest sound. It feeds on beetle like insects that live on the floor of the vast planet. Known for it’s beautiful feathers and odd mating call which sounds sort of like “KaWKa WANG DONG DONG“. How could a female resist that?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/xpose/bluesira.jpg
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princeofhappiness:
concept: The Shaghghlee: this alien breed of carnivourous plant buries itself deep into the soils of the the planet Makheelidoncare. Common in soils where beavers, rabbits, and such burrowing mammals inhabit, the Shaghghlee has a mouth on its lower body which is buried underground, serving as a trap for the mammals. While its lower body is carnivorous, however, its upper body, consisting of a stalk, a bud and several flowers, all of which are above gorund, trapping light from the sun for photosynthesis, which in turn produces the Shaghghlee's main energy and food source. The main bud which rests upon its stalk contains millions and trillions of pollens, which in time are let loose to travel by wind accross other areas of the fertile planet.
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/6634/alieniocopy0ht.jpg
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t e m p i s t ~:
concept: Tyres & Sygor
-the two headed beast that guards Palaious’ temple.
The good wizard, Palaious, cast a spell on his pet that turned Tyres’ one horn & Sygor’s two horns, into the three enchanted keys.
As the ancient scrolls say; the chosen one is the only one who can defeat the creature and gather all three keys- which must be placed at the temple’s alter to allow safe passage to the Stelar Staff (the wizrad's magical staff that holds the power to control the world).
The creature is yet to be defeated…but never can be. No warrior of either good or evil can match its strength.
Tyres & Sygor are meant to willingly give their life to the hero they await for, the one who will change and save the world.
knowing already who it is...
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a70/sweetdreams_4_u_/TEMPIST_COW.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!

NEW: 3. Your names will be shown under the option you voted for!



note:

I didn't have time for this round...neither for making an entry nor for looking through the concepts...so there MAY some work which actually breaks one or two rules...let's say it's the bonus of the freestyle round ;)

[Fozzybar]

oh....next round is on btw :)

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=588388

[hayeske]

Voted for Tempist because I thought it was the most dynamic image for this topic. No other reason.

[Matt Dixon]

Mike gets my vote. I just love the mood of that image, and the concept is good. Classic Corriero. :wink:

I really like Davi and Craig Houghton's entries too. A very interesting round overall, I thought.

[Xpose]

I voted for Tempist. As soon as I saw it blew me away, then I read the description and loved it even more. Great choice of color and lighting. I was really tempted to vote for some of the others though (Goklund and nightfiend)

[Craig Houghton]

Craig H. - We're us.

Mike - Awesome. Those little electric squigglies sold me on this. It's a very different sort of composition, and for that reason I had to look a bit longer to appreciate it, but the longer I looked, the more I liked. The only crit I have is that the different elements of the body (the back-end, the head, the forelimbs) look more like they were pieced together. There isn't as strong a sense of unity in the creature design as I would have liked to see. btw. My vote goes your way Mike. This is a very engaging image once you spend some time with it.

Davi - IRC is a dangerous muse. Once I realized those were warmers, I was a good deal less unsettled ;) The painting is really solid -- if you squint a bit it looks disturbingly real. I'm wondering though, what's up with the slashes on the wrist?

nightfend - This is well done, but I wanted to see a bit more of a dynamic scene. I like the description of this feeding quite a bit. Also, it looks like there's just three legs, but my eye keeps expecting a fourth. Great job on making the eye sack look wet and lube-ish.

possessed - I like that you worked up a bit of a story to go along with this, and I liked the miasma idea. The image is too disembodied -- I think I needed to see a background or at least a shadow.

dusty - I like the beady eyes and the soul-sack. Also, it's hellish looking, but I didn't really like the limited pallette choice.

Mattinian - I like the bony look of the body, but I'm not such a fan of those wings. They look unnaturally stiff to me. Also, you mentioned that it crashes into stuff, but I'm left wondering how big the creature is since there's no size reference.

llothcat - Something looks a bit fishy about the way the head is turned. There's not enough value contrast there so it's tough to make it out. I like the expression though.

young paddy1 - The first line of your descrip is way too memorable :) It's hard though to tell if the creature is standing or sitting or kneeling back against the hands. There's something about the pose that doesn't ring true to me. Beyond that, the figure doesn't seem to gel in the right way with the background. Interesting texture in the bg btw.

panda - That expression does say mountain-eater to me -- it's a sort of guilty smile like I'd have if I just ate a landform. The different elements of the illustration do not seem fit together properly -- look for shadows and reflected light between the mountain and the creature.

Oblio - Took me a bit to realize the size of the creature. Once I saw those little trees down there then I understood the description. After looking at it a bit longer, is that bg a photo manip? If so, the bridge structure doesn't gel with the rest of it.

WARHEAD - I love the little muscle/tendon-like strings on the legs -- very cool. Watch for overly-diffusing the shadow. A sharper cast show would have worked well here. Also, a few more highlights would have been a plus. I like the little guy.

redehlert - The name alone should get an honorary mention. The illustration is solid and I like the feeders. The colors work great as well. My only crit is that there's a lack of that certain eye-catching something.

Gloklund - The inky style works great. "an almost incomprehensible repetitious pattern of thought" Been there. This should be added to the microsoft clip-art gallery.

0kelvin - This is just plain.. pretty. Also, the idea of this being a mass of 'slugs' -- awesome. The sun glow looks a bit funky since it's a bit too uniform.

Xpose - The anatomy doesn't seem to be in perspective, and in general things look a bit flattened. I do however really like the beak and the colors used on the head.

princeofhappiness - That black base along with the ultra high chroma color scheme distract from the creature. Also, if the mouth is buried, how does it get the prey in there without swallowing a load of dirt?

tempist - I wish you had painted all the cast shadows and colors against the ground. The creature looks great (especially the heads), but that lack keeps the overall image from really hitting home for me.

Great work everyone!

-Craig

[possessed]

Craig thnx for the crits, I'm definately adding a bg for the next round. I voted for yours since I really appreciate the effort that (at least it looks like that) was put into it. It has really great details and I love this coloring style (different from the others). Your signature is a little distracting though.

Mike must..stop..staring..at..that...eye.
The colors are so frickin gorgeous in this and I like all the little scrubly thingies going on in the background. However, I feel the left side takes away all attention (there's almost nothing there on the right side).

Davi good rendering but this isn't really my cup of tea, far too humanoid (both in physique as in behaviour) It's basically just a mishmash of earthly beings and... food.

Nightfend nice choice of colors and I really like how you did the eye dripping and the little puddle. The concept is slightly odd in the way that it would have to really manouvre about in order to get that stinger into the jellies. ( it's difficult to crouch for a tripod)

Dusty now this is my cuppa tea, a hellborn beasty. I love how you've made the skin so glistening. I would have liked to see this in a slightly less sketchy nature.

Mattinian nice colors and I'm really feeling the design of this creature. I also find the wings a tad stiff and so is the tail.

More crits coming soon...

[Oblio]

Mike got my vote - beautifull creature, and the death around me made me soft on the ddescription too.

Craig - Thanks for the crit. I really appreciate it. Your entry seemed to me beautifull but sort of limited on the crazy side - i feel like i can see that creature tomorrow on Discovery :)

Davi - loved your concept - looks freaky enought for me :) On the color side it had a Davi feel to it - that cold light is almost as saturated as your warm shadows... i would have loved to see something different - not that i don;t like it though.

Night fend - Love the colors. His sape seems a bit old school though imo.

possessed - umm.. i would have loved more detail and cleaner shapes. Hell it's mudier them my pieces and i'm a mess... also the whole look is... not atractive to say it so :)

Dusty - nice one. it took a while until i obsedved the details of the head. I think your color scheme (warm light - warm shadow) and the use of black kept me away a bit. Also i don;t understand why soul eaters are so fleshy :) :)

... hell i gotta go - hope to be able to comment the resto of entries.

[redehlert]

Big MikeC gets my vote (yet again)! Ultimately the most believable creature and one that I know there are many more of, as opposed to being a unique creature untue itself. Beautiful colors and mood. Story is superb.

Thanks for the crits Craig...I'll be working on that 'grab' aspect in the next round. :yayca:

To all - great round! I'll try to get to crits today since so many have been very kind in giving me thoughts in this and previous rounds.

Cheers,
D

[Floris Didden]

Defenatly an interesting round. The great diversity of the creatures and styles make it hard to compare pieces.
MikeC got my vote. The mood and colour scheme is great and there's more going on in the picture the longer you look. I'm not sure if the halo was needed though and Craig already voiced my other crit: The only crit I have is that the different elements of the body (the back-end, the head, the forelimbs) look more like they were pieced together. There isn't as strong a sense of unity in the creature design as I would have liked to see.

[strych9ine]

Mike got my vote... very believeable and nicely rendered creature. Great texture work in there too...

[JeffZNY]

I voted for Gloklund 'cause I love tits. I also loved the unique style he used, which set it apart from the other entries. To be honest though, I was in love with Mike Corriero's entry when I first saw it and I'm not quite sure why it didn't get my vote...I think the tits distracted me. Can I have two votes? Or maybe .5 for each :)

[brokk]

It was pretty hard deciding between Gloklund and t e m p i s t ~ for me, but in the end I voted for Glokund because the description was hilarious. The creature is consistent in design but the meaning behind the story is what did it for me : P

[nightfend]

I voted for Tempist. I really like the quality rendering done on this creature. I also like the mix of cool and warm colors. I think this works really well. It's a first-rate illustration. :bow:

My second choice would be for Gloklund. I always liked this style of woodcut/ink illustration. Nice job on this piece Gloklund.

[Miau]

i voted for Mike. mood, colors and creature rock. - defenitely the best :)

[Carnifex]

tempist,because it's just awesome. i'm especially fond of the heads.

[magicgoo]

Although tempist's dragon thing is gorgeous on all levels, I feel like I have to say "boring" as far as concepts go. I don't mean to be mean. I just think it's not captivating enough of an idea. I thought in a freeform COW, there would be the weirdest creatures of all. But, I saw a lot of bird shapes and familiar mammal-based ideas, none of which I would like to fight or encounter in a game setting.

I liked 0kelvin's concept, but I think it still should have had more interesting form to it. I like its sense of scale a lot, though.

So my vote goes to Dusty's creature. I think it's an unconventional shape, and I like the color scheme. I think it artistically needs some work still, like more detail and more depth should be added too. It's a bit muddied, so maybe some good values would work better to show off the creature's strange anatomy. But, the concept grabbed me.

[Books]

I voted for Gloklund. I like the way it presents itself, and the tits, well they don't hurt either. I like the fact that it digests your mind in repetitious thought, that's awesome.

Houghton's is really cool. It feels like something out of a Discovery channel special.

Mike's reminds me of something out of a Miyazaki film; it's very magical in that way.

Davi's IS very real if you squint just a bit. I'd just like to see some different brush sizes used because in parts it seems to lose itself.

Tempist, holy shiat, that's freaking crazy. I feel like the background kind of messed with it a little bit, they don't seem like they're sitting too well on the background to me. Other than that, freaking amazing.

nightfends is really nice, I like the rendering of it very much and the rocks below I like as well. Maybe just a few too many colors for my taste.

Dusty, I like where you put the head of your creature and how the skin feels pulled over it. Some of the paintings is counter to your line work and they don't match. I'd like to see the coloring be more opaque in those parts (like the legs) or have the line art match the coloring.

Mattinian - I think when it comes to flying creatures I look for symmetry and it's a little off in that department. Something about the wings don't seem to match each other. The body is superb, it's reminds me a lot of a seahorse.

llothcat - I wants just a few more darks to make the lights pop. Darken the body around the fins may help to make it really stand out. It's just a little too normal for my taste though.

panda - I think that the mountain needed a little more attention and that the monster's mouth should be larger. The monster didn't feel heavy enough for a mountain eater IMHO.

Possessed - The addition of a ground plane really would have helped this piece. Maybe something little and unimportant like what Gloklund's monster sits on would help worlds.

redehlert - I need your creature to some over to my house and help clean up. I can never seem to find the toilet in time...

0kelvin - I love massive monsters like this. I'm also currently playing Homeworld 2 so space is my flavor of the month. I just wish the spaceship seemed a little less 'melty'. Plus I think it needs some bounce lighting from the creature itself to really set it into the picture well.

young paddy1 - Hah, a purple daemon. I'd probably laugh at it upon my arrival to hell which would guarantee a lifetime of sodomy from the thing I imagine. Poor me.

Xpose - There's a few little anatomical issues that get me. I personally think the eyes should be more glossy and avian instead of human. The human eyes seem strange to me. I'd also get a little messier with the blood, I think he's playing with his food now.

priceofhappiness - probably the same crit of have for nightfend (naturally this is all to please me!), lose some of the colors. It's so colorful right now I have a hard time taking the fangs and phallic symbols seriously.

I'm out. Next time I'll do one so you guys can rag on me =]

[griff]

I voted for Mike's. I just love the mood and style, and it's nice to see a creature that doesn't look like it's out to kill you. :)

[redehlert]

Constructive crits based on MikeC’s layout from COW 19 (sorry, I'm not bolding anything...takes me too long):

Craig Houghton:
Story and illustration were nicely executed - great example of blending in with the envirionment to survive. Would have liked to have seen a longer legged version - like a king fisher so that the ‘fingers’ didn’t get in the way of walking, yet still be long enough to stab its prey.
Rendering with color washes is also very appealing although a bit muddied in certain areas. Even though an environment isn’t necessary, yours is definitely refreshing and a bonus to the story.
I’d be curious if your creature’s feathers/leaves would change in abundance and color with the seasons.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 8
Rendering ability: 7
Color Scheme: 6
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 7
Total: 34 out of a possible 50


Mike Corriero:
Even though you whipped this out quickly, your entry still has an incredible completeness and freshness to it. Constantly upping the bar with your colors and creatures. Textures are very appealing. The tail confuses me....is it vibrating or wagging? Kind of a static pose...would have loved the head to be a 3/4 view or looking at the viewer as if its soul is next. Follow me there?

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 8
Rendering ability: 8
Color Scheme: 7
Interest/plausibility of concept: 7
Story/description/presentation: 8
Total: 38 out of a possible 50


Davi:
Gorgeously rendered with a pose and color scheme that work oh so well together. Phallic as all get out (extra points there!) and a complete crack up. Would have loved a more descriptive story and what the hell is up with the red gashes in the forearms? I hope to one day render as completely and organically as you. Thank you for submitting your entry!

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 8
Rendering ability: 8
Color Scheme: 8
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 34 out of a possible 50


Nightfend:
Fun story and creature with a beautifully done iris – those aren’t easy to do! Would have been slick to see it feeding rather than making the focus on the protective tear potential to keep the lens moist. A bit of odd perspective going on with the back leg…looks like it is bending to the side, but perhaps it is just my interpretation. Color rendering is a bit contrasty, but I dig it none the less!

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 6
Color Scheme: 6
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 7
Total: 32 out of a possible 50


Possessed:
You get points for successful use of the word ‘miasma’! At any rate, I know this creature is supposed to be a bit atmospheric, but I really want to see more of it, ya know? The pose is a bit static, but bravo for taking on a slightly ¾ view of the head. Quite honestly, your creature just doesn’t scare me probably due to the pose (ie that left paw is saying ‘look at my nails’ rather than ‘fear me!’). Feels a bit flat and 2 dimensional as well. Last but not least, what’s up with the circle in the upper left corner?

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 5
Rendering ability: 4
Color Scheme: 4
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 25 out of a possible 50


More to come this evening.
Cheers!
Dave

[Wishes]

I voted for Oblio, because his creature appealed the most to me. Very interesting design :)!

[Dusty]

Craig Houghton: Cool design and idea, though I start to get a little confused as to what is actually going on in some parts. Especially with the lower right quandrant of the piece.

MIKECORRIERO: I voted for Mike's just because I thought the painting had a good level of polish to it and the creature was fairly interesting. I normally prefer creepier creatures myself (obviously), but this one just had a very nice unique feel to it without being too overly complicated. Nice palette, too.

davi Excellent rendering! Though to be honest the randomness (quirkiness?) of the subject itself does nothing for me. If I were voting on the painting itself, you would have been in my top three....but conceptually, I didn't much care for it.

nightfend Nice rendering as well and great colors and values. The eye is really draw to the...well...EYE! :D Design wise, I get a very 50's sci-fi feel to it, which is sort of a "comfort food" for the eyes for me, but also doesn't give me much "WOW!" factor.

possessed The painting itself feels kind of fuzzy to me. Try to sharpen up the edges a bit so you can define the parts better. Interesting story, though.

Mattinian I love the sky and the head/torso/tail of your creature, but the wings don't seem right to me. Is this a biomechanical creature? They seem almost like they were manufactured in same way and do not seem like they could really flap. There isn't any bone structure at the top of the wings so this is why I am a little confused. It also seems like the right wing is a little higher than it should be.

llothcat I dunno why but that face creeps me out. I think if you would have done a bit more with the body so it wasn't just a straight up lion fish, it would have been much better. Just add some variation to the fins and add some parts that aren't on Lion fishes, to help make this look like something natural and not just as if someone sewed a monkey head on a lion fish.

young paddy1 Are those feet covering up like the biggest vag ever? Hahaha. I really like your concept at its heart, but the colors need some work. I also don't think the background design works well with the center figure at all.

panda Cute creature! Interesting concept, too. I'd like to see this finished up a lot more. The creature could use a lot more work as far as details and shading, and the background seem very rushed.

Oblio Awesome concept! I like the scale you've added. The only thing I could say is that its so alien to the point where I can't quite figure out what I am looking at. To some that would be great, but to me I like to have a couple things in there grounding it to something recognizable. That's just my opinion though.

WARHEAD Good rendering, not too enthused about the concept as a creature, though. Its basically just a cockroach that you have metallicized, so not something I am particularly attracted to.

redehlert When it was just pencils I thought this would probably be the one I voted on for the look and design, but I think I built it up in my head too much as to how far you were going to take the colors. I am guilty of this myself for not bringining something to completion as far as it should. One of the top designs! (not too fond of the name, though)

Gloklund This is my favorite *drawing* of the bunch, but not really my favorite concept. Seems to me like you are just adding random sex organs to make it more shocking, which I can respect in some ways (obviously my creature has something resembling a giant vagina on it), but its done on yours a little recklessly. No point or meaning....just...tits on head. I actually would have rather seen the face complete with penis-face as is, if you had done something..ANYTHING else with the head. Probably would have gotten my vote, actually, because I think it would be interesting if a creature's sex organs were on its face, but the tits on the head seem a little too whimiscal to be taken seriously. And if that was your intent, then you succeeded. Just not my cut of tea, though.

0kelvin Very interesting concept. I always like large sci-fi creatures. Nice details with the second pic, too. Artwise, seems pretty good, Space scenery looks great, too!

Xpose I would definitely suggest checking out some bird watcher books, as it seems to be missing a lot of crucial details to make it where it should be. Bird watcher books (along with any animal referece) are great for seeing how animals anatomy works, and photographs are great for showing how they stand idle so you can see what you are doing wrong. It will also help you with how you positioned the feathers. Overall the face and concept aren't too bad, but there are fundamentals of the way birds are drawn that you are missing here.

princeofhappiness Very bright! Hahaha. Interesting design, though. I always love carnivorous plants! Definitely needs backgrounds...even if its just a flat color. That always makes pieces more interesting than just on white. I did just the white background a lot in my younger days, but someone suggested to me once that no matter what...just do SOMETHING to the background and it will make it more interesting, and I never looked back. Unless its literally just a pencil sketch, bring it one step further on the BG.

t e m p i s t
Nice dragon! The painting is good itself...and I like the head designs. But the body is pretty standard fair for a dragon. Would have liked to see some more interesting stuff happening there. Also your trees/grass don't seem to feel like they are meshing well with the figure itself. Overall very striking piece, though.

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

I definitely appreciate the comments regarding my entry, btw. I basically agree on all accounts (except for the "Why does a soul eater need to be fleshy", to which I respond "Why not? Most demonic creatures are usually portrayed as somewhat fleshy at least"). I definitely slacked on dialing it up...and gave up on the piece well before it was finished. I actually like the pencils for it a lot more, and I don't feel the coloring helped it as much as it should have. I'm grateful for the feedback (and I even got a couple of votes, despite the fact that I do not think this is a winning entry myself, so yay!). I'm just happy I was able to get something done. I finished this pretty early last week, so with this next entry I do....I'll keep it a bit longer before I post it so maybe I can bring it up to par a bit better. Thanks again guys!

-Dusty

[Xpose]

Thanks everyone for the comments. It really didn't come out the way I wanted it to. Next entry will be better, I promise.

[princeofhappiness]

Yaay, thx for the crits guys. Admiration for all of you guys's work.
Mike and Tempist's creatures are big fat candies for my eyes. Very very nice. Hope to learn much from all of you. :)

[Lake]

my vote goes to Mikecorriero... but it was a close contest between his and t e m p i s t's. I think that Mike's anthropomorphizes his creature more (in my eyes) and that lends itself to a feeling of familiarity. The eyes seem to have more feeling, even if they're less defined.

edit: and oh, quite right, all. I was extremely rushed between the background and hw on saturday/sunday, and I really didn't get to spend as much time on this as I would have liked. I'll be working a lot harder on the next one (if I can finish the font for my illustrator class in time)

[BrainBug]

No three-way voting yet? (concept->design->rendering)

oh well, i voted for Dusty...just liked it most

Didn't like this round though, i like how in other COW's (or IDM/DSG for that matter) there's always a central line. Giving artwork that can be completely different while presenting the same thing.
For this topic, well,... you can just as well open 20 sketchbooks from people here vote on random images from them and see who wins.

[redehlert]

Still not bolding anything. My apologies to anyone offended by any comments I have made...just being honest and open.

Dusty:
Sweet concept that I can really see fleshed out a bit more to give more detail. Would have loved to have seen ghost-like souls floating all around and in front of the Eater with some being stabbed like olives on spears to be devoured one by one. That would give some sense to the limbs at least. The colors are smooth and the beginning textures are looking great, just wish it wasn’t as dark as it is right now. I don’t mean dark in an ‘evil’ way, mind you.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 5
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 6
Total: 29 out of a possible 50

Mattinian:
I really like the main torso and head of your Kakadu. Excellent shape and skeletal structure is realistic to me. The wings bug me because they look almost like corrugated steel with sharp edges, or like a chiseled lid off of a can of tomato soup. Placement of the wings also seems a bit odd. Sky and lighting is sweet too. Story is a good start, but I see you got sleepy and never had a chance to expound on your idea.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 6
Color Scheme: 5
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 28 out of a possible 50

Ilothcat:
Now that’s something you don’t see every day. Wish there was a story to go along with it because I can’t tell if it’s in space or water or what it’s all about, essentially. Pose is interesting and the face definitely holds my attention as I study the details. The tail of your fishmonkey could be pushed back depth-wise so as to let the pectoral fins come forward more.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 6
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 5
Interest/plausibility of concept: 4
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 25 out of a possible 50

Young Paddy1:
Um. Well, if you’re going to convey a hermaphrodite, I’d show some breasts and get the full effect in groinville going. Felt like you wanted to show a penis and vagina (yes…I said it…relax, already) but then you felt naughty. Very, very naughty. Hah! The story was interesting enough though. The background is pretty competitive with your creature. Anatomy (based on your description of how it attacks) is a bit odd….just don’t see why it doesn’t just up and walk around on the hooves and not the hands too. What it all boils down to is more questions than answers. Am I making sense?

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 5
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 4
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 24 out of a possible 50

Panda:
Much like Young Paddy1, your background is getting more of my attention than your creature. Does the Eater float? Or is it in space? Guess more questions than answers again, much like Young Paddy1’s piece. The story is a great beginning, but it feels a bit unfinished much like your piece seems to be. I can see your creature devouring a mountain breaking it apart with hand and horn, can you? Color is a good start, but the lighting on the creature seems off kilter (eg on the left shoulder and a bit of the upper back.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 6
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 4
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 25 out of a possible 50

Oblio:
A most interesting story and you get the award for the most abstract piece and what looks like a bit of a paint over of a photograph. The colors are a good start, but the red seems out of place to me. I feel odd because I don’t know what to say or think of this piece….it is that abstract to me.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 6
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 4
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 25 out of a possible 50


Warhead:
Ever see the Fifth Element? There was a funny seen where Tricky was using a remote controlled cockroach to get close to the Mayor to see and hear what was going on. The cockroach had the camera and mic attached to its back and got squashed in the end. I don’t think your cockroach would get squashed, although the antennae at the mid thorax would be history. Essentially a good render although not very metallic looking yet. The idea isn’t completely original so points aren’t going to be awarded there.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 5
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 4
Interest/plausibility of concept: 5
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 24 out of a possible 50

More to come tomorrow.
Cheers!
Dave

[redehlert]

Flickering, Like a squirrel does only 20 times quicker .. in effect it was also partially abstract.

Got it! Thanks Mike.
D

[redehlert]

redehlert When it was just pencils I thought this would probably be the one I voted on for the look and design, but I think I built it up in my head too much as to how far you were going to take the colors. I am guilty of this myself for not bringining something to completion as far as it should. One of the top designs! (not too fond of the name, though)

Thanks Dusty! Yeah....coloring = bane of my existence. Definitely going to be allowing more time for color exploration in the future. Regarding the name - I was stumped the entire time and I said aloud, this is such a bumblefuck concept and well....it suck.
:yayca:

Cheers!
D

[redehlert]

redehlert - I need your creature to some over to my house and help clean up. I can never seem to find the toilet in time...

Ding dong! Humpfry Bumblefuk at your service. Can't see me? I'm only yeh high...look down. Damn...your house is a poop haven. Mind if my fellow bumblefuks join me?
:teeth:

[Ostrander]

Thanks for the votes and crits! This entry was my shallow attempt at sarcasm, with much tongue firmly in cheek. I'm really surprised to have gotten ANY votes at all actually. I tried to do a "kitchen sink" creature, ya know, throw in all the well known cliche's of creature design. Tits, teeth, tenticles, some sex organs for good measure, hell why not combine the two, kill 2 birds with 1 stone I say! So hence the vag with a pee-pee peeking out. Oh yeah, I didn't forget to add the requisite crab/insect limbs either. I'm sure I could have gotten away with adding some more schtuff to it but, I felt these were the big ones. (I would have fit a nutsack on it in honor of Fozzy but alas there was no room, sorry Foz.) I thought it turned out rather swimmingly for a 20 min doodle. Shhh... don't tell Fozzy

I was so tempted to vote right along side team ArenaNet for Tempists design but I just couldn't, just like the once great Admiral Ackbar once said... "It's a trap!"
So, my vote went to Craig's design, I loved the concept as well as the execution. MIKEC was right there too, I wanted to vote for you so bad but then I saw the tiny hind legs and I thought, poor guy, he must feel like he's always walking up hill. Seriously though, I loved the rendering but the coin toss didnt go your way. Not that you need my help with the votes. :P

Special note to Possessed, whatever it is you did with the execution of the brain stealer topic, keep painting like that! I found it was your strongest work in COW to date in my opinion. When I saw this weeks I was sad. I think you were really on to something with your rendering on that one.

Anywho, good show everyone, you do ze Fozmeister proud!

peace
:yayca:

[possessed]

Thnx all for the critique, I always find it highly usefull. I kinda like how mine came out considering I started out with a really awfull sketch. The original even had a reallly long torso and I reduced that only at the end. The armpose -'look at my pretty nails'- unfortunately I do that a lot, I need to stray away from that asap.
And Gloklund, cool! I will use the same technique for the evil supply creature.

[Fozzybar]

(I would have fit a nutsack on it in honor of Fozzy but alas there was no room, sorry Foz.)how the hell i deserve this image... :nohope:


I thought it turned out rather swimmingly for a 20 min doodle. Shhh... don't tell FozzyFoz hectically looks for the ban button...


Anywho, good show everyone, you do ze Fozmeister proud!Indeed...especially the c&c was exemplary this round...

:muscle: :swepimp: :muscle: yo, my bodyguards and me leaving the room...

[MarkHarchar]

Even though I was was really blown away by tempests two headed dragon thingy and how well it was done, oblio's water "bird" kept grabbing my head and slamming it against the monitor saying "check this out!!!". The fluid form of the animal gave it such a good flow. It also seemed familiar in an unfamiliar way to me. That in addition to the cool (as opposed to hot, rather than, like cool dude) colors chosen and the living water type concept, I had to choose it.

[verao]

voted for craighs tree bird creature, because I think it was the most original idea, others were beautifulll to, like the two headed dragon but, where have I seen before???... you get my point. Second the bird-tree creature was not done by photoshop (as far as I can see), so he'll get extra credits for that.

Still I wish I was only half as good as the guys here.

[Amerasu]

I voted for tempist because of the the amazing quality of the work and the concept. I don't think it's the most original of ideas for the freestyle COW compared to some of the others but I love it anyway. It's just beautiful.

There are many good ones here so the decision was really tough. These are my other 2 faves. It was a tough choice between the 3.

Craig Houghton - my favourite concept. I love it! And I really dig your style too. Very original and fun.

Mike Corriero - I really like the softer colours and especially the lighting. Your concept and execution are definitely top notch. It's lovely :)

I want to add that I'm impressed by all of the entries. There's a lot of quality painting going on here. You guys are inspiring.

[WARHEAD]

Thanks for the crits guys (I know my concept was pants, but I came up with lot's of deranged ideas, which I didn't think were appropriate - but looking at half the mad stuff here I should have continued !)

Anyway...back to the voting, though Tempist's rendering, I think, blew everyone else's out the water it is still 'dragony' and the concept is fairly familiar (no offence intended, I think it is the best piece of work), so I am going for Dusty in this case, beacuse it looks evvviilllll >:D. I don't really have the time at the moment to crit everyone else yet - Some good ideas though !

Hopefully the next COW might be more interesting

[redehlert]

I promise that I'll try to do this every COW because I've gotten much out of those who have taken the time. Plus, I dig MikeC's format. :teeth:

Gloklund:
Damn I loved this piece, but not for boobies and genitalia – it was in the technique! Loved it and the coloring you chose. But back to the boobies, genitalia and the story: very interesting creature and story. I can even see this being a more successful piece without the breasts on top, but what the hell am I thinking….bring em on! LOL.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 8
Color Scheme: 7
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 6
Total: 34 out of a possible 50

0kelvin:
I really enjoyed your concept and found it to be very sci-fi almost Dune-esque. Nice to see you break out and show three samples as it applies to the overall whole – definitely a creature’s creature. Why brown? Just curious. The background (space aka final frontier) is a bit much with the ‘clouds’, but overall I enjoyed it from story to visual.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 6
Color Scheme: 6
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 7
Total: 32 out of a possible 50

Xpose:
Crack up of a story with the mating sound. Is the Sira given the beautiful feathers to be visible in the mist? I’m not sure I’m buying into that part of the concept since it relies more on hearing to feed and possibly mate. Chosen colors are pleasing but they are kind of ‘swimming’ on the surface and not coming across as feathers to me. A little flat overall and I’m guessing that’s because of the mist – no light, right? Would have been nice to see a unique beetle too.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 6
Rendering ability: 5
Color Scheme: 5
Interest/plausibility of concept: 6
Story/description/presentation: 5
Total: 27 out of a possible 50

princeofhappiness:
I saw your concept and now I want to comment on it but can’t see it. Will you reload your piece or direct me to it so I can give a sincere critique? Thanks!

t e m p i s t~:
I said ‘gulp!’ when I saw your piece – and I mean it! Creature first of all rocks….flames are intense and it’s just very appealing to me. The story works for me too! Ass patting aside, there are some muscle issues that don’t seem to make sense and my only other crit is that this seems to be a one of a kind creature. Just thought we were supposed to create creatures that could be en masse, but perhaps this guy is on the endangered species list.

Points: Ranging from 1-10 for all categories 10 being the best
Concept Idea/Originality: 7
Rendering ability: 7
Color Scheme: 8
Interest/plausibility of concept: 7
Story/description/presentation: 7
Total: 36 out of a possible 50

That’s it! Awaiting princeofhappiness’ image….then I’ll crit that one.
Cheers!
Dave :yayca:

[young paddy1]

redehlert: no feelings of naughty, the whole genitalia thing was an after thought as was it being a hermaphrodite as well as the rest of the description. Posted a slightly different version in my sketch book just did it between edits.


ooh. haven't voted yet.


p.s voted for mike because to just pull that out of your ass is an amazing effort.

[Mattinian]

Thanks for the critique people. My vote goes to Mike cuz... emm the critter has a halo, you gotta love a halo. Besides that the mood is great and I`m a suker for those brush strokes.

[chocolatecello]

I voted for Mike - beautiful, dreamlike image and great description to go along with it.

[Fozzybar]

Mattinian & Chocolatecello - Thanks for the Votes and comments, much appreciated.

It's wierd though cuz Neither of your votes Showed up. Atleast not when I check the roster.

yes, that's very weird indeed...though the vote count is equal to the voters number...

[Fozzybar]

no, not 24, just voted for you...25 :)

[0kelvin]

I voted for Mike! I really like when you go into that whimsical fantasy territory. Your's was the most original and best executed piece for me this week.

I really appreciate all the comments and crits! I really wanted to do some c&c of my own but I just got pulled into the Thunderdome as a replacement and now I have to scramble to get something done. Maybe next week!



0kelvin

[Oblio]

Hell - i've go votes??? WOW... thank you!
I've been so bussy haven't even check'ed out the forums.. not the time to see about the new cow.
Thank you all for the crits. As soon as i get some time i'll try to reply too.
I used a photo for the landscape - i really didn't had the time at that point to finnish properly. I'm guilty :S :^^;:

[BrainBug]

I used a photo for the landscape - i really didn't had the time at that point to finnish properly. I'm guilty :S :^^;:

i think most people saw that... don't worry

[t e m p i s t ~]

Thanks for all the votes everyone! I thought that was very supportive of you all~ and I wanna say thanks for the great crits.
This creature was actually quite the challenge for me and learned a lot from this piece; and the crits helped even more.
I was actually just about to go the route of deformed and demonic, but ended up creating something from my own personal taste since we had that freedom. I had fun with it, and just enjoyed the design and colors. Those of you who also liked it that’s awesome :D


-davi I voted for you; I love the quality of your piece and it’s absolutely perfect. The brushstrokes are excellent and adds a great sense of texture and detail to the skin.
The lighting…holy crap, I cannot get over how well you executed the lighting. That’s what really blew me away. Lighting is a tough one for me so I just go crazy when I see how well others manage it. Excellent job on this piece ;)

----well I had some time to quickly finish off some crits for everyone so here it goes:


Craig Houghton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fantastic coloring and I really like the Japanese-like style of your piece. The one thing that really stood out was the head to body ratio, and how heavy the creatures upper body and head appeared to the bottom. The two legs seem too short and thin to support him. The “arms” look as if though it could support its body but as it walks I notice they aren’t always touching the ground. Overall I really like it. What medium was this done in? I thought the texture on the paper in the background added a really nice effect as well as the stamp and signature. You did a really great job on this one!



MIKECORRIERO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beautiful description on your creature, its absolutely brilliant and I’m in love with this story! My fav by far. …I almost voted for you :P but a few things just needed to be fixed. Something about the body really bugged and seemed separated form the front half of the creature until I realized that the head of the creature was in profile shot compared to the front part of the body, which stands at a 45 degree angle towards the viewer. When you glance at the back part of the legs once again you notice that they are facing more sideways along with the head but this puts the front legs in an awkward position. I hope that made sense!
The background on the left hand side is so lovely and the brushstrokes around the halo make for a very magical effect. I really wish you added some of those small flickers of light to the right side of your background! It’s so empty. That big black space really stands out at first and eats away at your whole picture. Great choice of colors though and great design for a mystical looking creature.



NIGHTFEND
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like these nice strong colors and I how the green and pink lights reflect off the creature. You did a marvellous job with your brushstrokes and I love the quality of your piece. The background in comparison to your creature seems a bit dull and not as detailed as it could be. It would be really cool to see some fine images of the environment like a lot of jelly food surrounding it, and even have a few more silhouettes of other eyewalkers scurrying about! Like spiders, yea that would look spooky :tihi:
Really good job on this, and it was in my top three for voting!



POSSESSED
------------------------------------------------------------------------
sounds deadly! At first glance this a just too blurry. Love the green and black together. The shine looks good too, but would work better if the image was sharper. The opacity for your brush or smudge/erase tool should be set to a stronger level so it prevents soft edges. It would have been great to see a background to go with your pic- even if it were a mix of two or three colors. The grey is just too plain. Cool design in the left hand corner, but a darker tint in the background would’ve made it more noticeable and would add more effect to the overall piece.



DUSTY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
it takes a little while to find the details in your pic since it blends in too well with the background. It seems hidden in all the red. When you do notice the details of the creature you really appreciate the imagination that went into it. Great concept and story, and a nice creature addition to the underworld :P I just think there needs to be stronger light or dark hues in the back to make the creature stand out more. If anything even a fire would be perfect behind it, giving off a stronger light around the soul eater. The one part that really sticks out is the leg-or-arm on the right. It doesn’t seem to have any real bone structure and appears jelly like. Well you can see shape of the bones and joints, but it’s in a perfectly rounded curve- that makes it look like it’s melted. Try for an outward grabbing hand, or at least have the nails clenching the ground.



MATTINIAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
excellent body design, and the background with the faded silhouettes of other Toronan Kakadus really give it a nice touch. The wing design I’m not too fond of. The back outlines of the wings are great, but the top design of the wingspan doesn’t look as if it would work. It doesn’t have creases to where the wings would fold when stationary, and can’t expand or move. If anything they could work as gliders. That’s just my opinion! If that’s the design you wanted and liked then cool.
I also like the warm colors, the clouds, and the soft glow of the sun in the background- very nice. The head design is really cool especially with the extra flaps on the back of its head.



LLOTHCAT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting creature you got here! I can’t tell whether or not it’s suppose to be in water...I honestly thought he was in the sky. I think your choice of colors could’ve been a bit brighter, and should’ve been more on the blue-ish hue for the creature to look more like it was submerged under the water. Without those blues it looks as if though it’s in the sky since you can see the clarity of its color. It also looks a bit desaturated as well as the background. The grey also seems to drain the color away. For an underwater effect it would’ve been great to see some bubbles and darker blues behind the fishmonkey. Be careful with the brushstrokes of your picture and take your time. The fins look very rushed and the strokes are outside the creature’s outline making it look a bit messy. Keep that in mind for your new pics and keep up with the good work!



young paddy1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a really sweet design and does look a bit on the freaky side. The background is really neat but doesn’t go well with this creature’s colors. It would probably suite it better to see it in a dark forest scene. As for the creature’s body try different hues of purple and add some stronger shadows and highlights. It feels too flat and this will add more depth. I like the coloring and you handle your brushstrokes very well. As for the pose I think something different would’ve made him look more threatening and creepy.



PANDA
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What a happy looking mountain eater! Gives him personality and I like it! The only thing is that the creature and mountain compared to the background seem out of place. The background might be a bit too dark and the creature and mountain needs a stronger highlight from the sun/moon? The background would work better if it were a sunset or had more of a darker yellow-orange-red in the sky. I still like the sky and the glitters make it look even more beautiful- it just doesn’t work with the colors of the creature.



OBLIO
---------------------------------------------------------------------
What an exotic beautiful creature. The colors are awesome and the description is really good too. I say you should have challenged yourself and drew the background :) Look at the water and notice where the white streaks are. You would just need to color in the whole water area with a couple hues of the green-blue and then add a few of those white streaks over top with the right brush. Those islands would just need splash of dark green with a lighter color used to add in the detail of those trees. Working at high resolution you would be able to zoom in and capture that detail perfectly. That back part looks like its tail off in the distance, (if I’m right about it being a tail) I really like how it fades off in the distance and gives the creature a larger appearance.



WARHEAD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very cool story and sounds very possible! He’s cute and you did a very nice job on the pic. The thing that got me after looking at it for a little while was how it appears to not be actually standing on the table. You just need to add a stronger shadow beneath the feet onto the table- and more shadows under his body, face, etc. For the body it would’ve been nice to see a more metallic shine. Other than that it’s awesome and the antenna is perfect!



REDEHLERT
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Nice proportions, awesome design, I also really like where you placed the shadows too, and the pose works very well. As for the coloring it seems you were too afraid to really add much to this piece- like it’s unfinished. After scanning your pic you should try changing the hue of the entire page to a really dark green or blue, and then work on the lights and shadows from there. That way your entire pic will already be colored and you just have to add color from there. This will get rid of the white spaces in between your brushstrokes and give it a more finished look with less coloring. The back legs and wings also looked a bit rushed so take more time on you brushstrokes especially making your outline straighter.




Gloklund
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a trap!?!?!?! noooo you’re just paranoid :tihi:
What I liked most about your piece was the ink-style; very unique and appealing linework. This sort of look goes very well with the light subtle colors …you pulled it off nicely. My only crit would be that the creatures leg on the viewers left. The length and joints do not match and the foot-claw looks out of whack. That’s of course me just being picky!



OKELVIN
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Terrific perspective; I really like this shot of your creature and the movement of the sky behind it. Although, I think it would strengthen your composition if you added diversity among the clouds in the sky. Pictures of space have very unique formations of mist and color. Also try adding a cluster of either pink or blue in the sky blending it nicely behind the creature. If you had a few groups of much brighter stars, it would also allow you to add more of a highlight around the creature- giving you more contrast in the piece and a more impacting glimpse of space. It’s still beautiful and I really like the details of the creature’s body. I loved the images of the three species below! Felt like I was looking into a science textbook :P



XPOSE
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When I look at this piece and read its description I think of something between a bird and a gargoyle-vulture. Not only would bird references help you with the body structure, but so would mixing it up with a gargoyle-like creature- adding a greater design between the body, legs and tail. I really like the blue hues, and I would’ve loved to see some of that mist swirling around its legs and tail! Get it all in there and overlapping him slightly to give it the full effect!! Just feel free to experiment with your pieces and use references if you’re unsure how to sketch a specific body structure.



PRINCEOFHAPPINESS
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I like these colors! It’s very alive and interesting. It’s the outline that needs to be cleaned up a bit- I can see the sketch marks around the creature. If anything this sorta reminded me of Gloklund’s piece. When dealing with faint or strong colors they seem to go better with a black inked-outline. The design and color choice of you creature would be perfect with this style but that might be because of the white background. For the look you currently have it would be better to add in a background. The white doesn’t really allow you to highlight many parts of the creature but if you were to use a darker background you’d be able to add more highlights to the creature without it looking too faded. The highlights and shadows would really bring this piece to the next level-
and would’ve worked well with grass and soil by a dug up hole; even with dirt around its body.

[redehlert]

Thanks for the suggestion TEMPIST!
I need all the help I can get when it comes to color - I usually rush myself to get that part done, spending way too much time on contour and tone.
And thanks for being a part of COW....same goes to everyone else new in these parts. The more the merrier!

Cheers!
D