C.O.W. #135 -- Undead with Two Heads! VOTING

[Michael Jaecks]

ROUND #135 VOTING

Topic: Undead with Two Heads!!


Deadline for the voting: Monday, 16 March 2009

Posting thread (closed): C.O.W. - #135: Undead with Two Heads!


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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!

3. No voting for your own entry!!! If a participants votes for his own entry, every member has the right to call him a stupid lame moron in this thread! And i will delete his/her vote anyway...
4. The poll is public and everyone will be able to see who votes for whom. No self-votes.

[yoitisi]

Artist: Yoitisi

Concept: Graverobber

The Graverobber can, obviously, been found mostly roaming graveyards and animal bone yards. Although it's an omnivore, most of its diet consists of carcasses and other carrion eaters - fungi and maggots are included. Due to it's preference for this type of food, these creatures are very vulnerable for diseases and often their bodies start to decay and rot long before actual death sets in. These creatures should be avoided at all times, since not only do they have a very bad temper and attack on sight, they are also spreaders of almost all contagious diseases known to man.

[David-david]

Artist: David-david

Concept: Satan's pet


Ladies and gentelmen, get down on your knees and shiver in front of this
duality archetipic creature.
You are in front of the Satan's pet, kindly called Dustbin,
a very lovable and kind animal who only can stand the harsh and virile charesses of his master.
If some unwary soul touches it, for sure it will be the last time.
Because when it gets angry it becomes Abaddog, (its siamesse brother),
flipping his body vertically his second brain found in its double cranium gets
activated and only can think about mayhem and destruction,
flying towards the victim until it gets its meal.

[Bralt Hannicart]

Artist: Bralt Hannicart

Concept: Ischiopagus

Ischiopagus are all born as conjoined twins. They share one heart but each have a pair of legs, a stabbing arm, a one-eyed head and their own digestion system. After hatching, they quickly develop a preference for the "right" or "left" side of the creature which eventualy dominates the other twin for the rest of it's life. The subjected twin looses it's awareness over a few weeks and it's limbs atrophy and stop growing after a while, aiding the Ischiopagus in it's balance. The vision of the subjected twin remains, giving the dominant twin an advantage as it can see behind it's back.

The compound eyes are set on a stilt inside a transparant but rock-hard glass-like skull. Special concave and convex curves on the inside surface of the skull allow the animal to see for miles in any direction.

When in danger, the Ischiopagus acts like a dead rotten animal. It lays still on the ground making it's skin and even muscle tissue transparant thus giving off the impression of a carcass. Special glands emit the smell of decayed and rotten flesh. When predators or scavengers do decide to investigate and try to take a bite, the Ischiopagus can quickly thrust it's stabbing limb forward in a final attempt to save it's life. Sudden movements like that tend to frighten most predators. With this clever diversion, the Ischiopagus can quickly dash towards safety.

[luness]

Artist: luness

Concept: Bidodo Parretus


Also known as BiPa, these undead giant birds have been a favorite guard pet among wizards and black magic practitioners in the valley of Wirinhii.
Since birth, their flesh and internal organs start to decompose slowly but at a steady pace, all due to deep-tissue infections caused by their constant exposure to dead matter. Once they have reached their adult age their bodies start to decompose much faster, their skeletons begin to fracture, slightly affecting locomotion and how much work as guard pets they can handle (still able to harm and even kill curious visitors, though). It’s when they all gather in a single group and all the puss-covered eggs protruding from the ulcers found around the neck areas are expelled from their bodies in several violent and outrageous slimy squirts, and after a period of incubation among the now finally dead adult birds, new tiny Bidodos are born.

[CCThrom]

Artist: CCThrom

Concept: Genetic disaster

It was intended to be a solution to world hunger. The challenge was to grow from scratch, a protein tissue that would be indistinguishable from actual animal meat. The Bova series was created from the genetic material of many bovine species. It was designed to have no higher functions, no nervous system at all... in theory it would be no more "alive" than an uprooted turnip. But that's not quite the way it turned out...

The worst part was, any small piece fractioned off from the "parent" would ultimately grow into a viable entity of it's own. Oh, we got meat all right... the question now is how do we get rid of it? And how long before they start in on hunting braaiiiinsss...?

Excerpt from Closed Congressional Hearings (declassified):
"...why didn't you tell the public?"
"The public? Are you kidding? The public still freaks out over genetically modified tomatoes and irradiated milk. Do you really think they were ready for THIS?"

[grey]

Artist: Grey

Concept: Carrionbird
the unholy incarnation of every pet parakeet that ever died neglected in a cage, these monstrosities slither about on undulating layers of viscera, squawking in an endless ill-tempered tirade against unkind fate . . .

[Wixxi]

Artist: Wixxi

Concept: Atomic Lonewolf
These beasts wander the desert outskirts by themselves. They never travel in hords, for the simple reason that these beast are extremly aggressive. They eat everything that moves, even their own kind.
These dangerous predators are the left-over of desert animals and nuclear test bombs. Because the intense radiation they are exposed to they have brains that have a neural activity beyond recognition.
These higly toxicated brains make their bodys operate without failing in extreme conditions. Because of their strong and ever lasting bodies these beasts scare or walk aside for nothing and nobody.
The only thing they think about is eating to regenerate their bodies to their original shape.
Throughout the years these monsters have evolved into a selective combination of the best predator parts.
If you see this thing comming at you, you better kill yourself fast, because there is no running, and once they got you between their teeth a part of the toxic gasses go inside your body, stopping you from dying and making you watch the show while they slowly digest you.

[Pierropod]

Artist: Pierropod

Concept: Crodalinus
This creature is not very fast. It's crawling with the help of its second head.
It's looking for its master, but he's dead. The Crodalinus only dies when it realizes its master is gone.

[lkjhgfdsa]

Artist: Lkjhgfdsa

Concept: Haemionarazel
Haemionarazel does not breed, rather it travels virally from one creature to another;
spread in the spore left behind from the initially unwell creature to other creatures
feeding nearby.
Once infection turns to decay the host begins to mutate between it's own and last host's DNA.
Only the consumption of flesh and the driven need to spread its spore will sustain the undead
creature once it arises from it's final death throes into Unlife.

[Verehin]

Artist: Verehin

Concept: Sicklos


This undead mutanting creature, hunts at night and eats as the vampire, exhausting blood of a victim

[KevinR]

Artist: KevinR

Concept: Bogdog

A dumb species of animal that is constantly at conflict with itself. Even in an undead state it would rather rip itself apart than fight for it's own survival. Needless to say, they're on the endangered list, but with nothing other than themselves as a threat to their existence, extinction is imminent.

[Soulweaver]

Artist: Soulweaver

Concept: Wastewalker
The Australis Tecton is an arctic wasteland that is inhospitable at the best of times, but its winters are particularly brutal. Living things cannot hope to withstand the temperatures, and most animals have the sense to migrate to warmer climates. The wastewalker, however, is a non-migratory creature. Since it cannot survive the winter, its solution is simple; it dies.

With the onset of winter, the wastewalker floods its system with a chemical that dissolves and digests its internal organs. Though the creature is effectively dead, the energy produced by this process fuels it for the entirety of the winter, and it continues functioning even in the coldest temperatures.

These undead creatures feed exclusively on a special crystal that only grows in the Australis Tecton's cave systems during the winter. The crystals have regenerative properties, slowly rebuilding the wastewalker's missing organs. So in this way, come springtime, wastewalkers are "reborn".

[dwinbotp]

Artist: Dwinbotp

Concept: The Bloodhounds of Carnifex 64
description included on final piece

[scorge]

Artist: Scorge

Concept: Von Kotzebue's Burden
Discovered in the Bikini Atoll on March 3 1954 by natives on neighboring islands, these were thought to be aliens from another planet. At the time, none had the wherewithal to understand the first test of a hydrogen bomb and its adverse effects on the surrounding wildlife.
Believed to have come from the sea, this creature and many more like it were originally found alive, though suffering badly from diseases at the time unknown to common man. After the death of one of these majestic beats, its body was entombed in a steel box for transport to the United States for further study, but it never made it that far.
After having been dead for 2 hours, Von Kotzebue's Burden(Named after Otto Von Kotzebue who discovered the islands), came back to life, it's body sustained by the massive dose of radiation from the fallout of the newest and deadliest bomb the world had ever seen.
It's not clearly understood why this creature has two heads, but it is suspected that in its very rapid evolution a second head was added to the now tainted genetic code to ensure the beasts ability to sustain animation after death.

[Wacky Wackowski]

Artist: Wacky Wackowski

Concept: Heart-Breasted Fuzzle Wuzzle
Nothing said 'I love you' better than a gift of a heart-breasted fuzzle wuzzle. These creatures were developed by one of the world's top genetics companies and were funded by Hallmark's stuffed animals division. They were loved for the heart patterns on their chests as well as the funny interactions between their two halves (both of which result from their conjoined state) as well as general cuteness. For several years, the fuzzle wuzzle was Hallmark's top selling item on Valentine's Day. This would suddenly drop off with the discovery of an odd 'condition' found in 2% of the fuzzle wuzzle population. The condition was an unintended result of the genetic manipulation of the creature that caused reanimation upon death as well as a hunger for flesh. As could be predicted, this unfortunate side effect resulted in many break-ups between couples as well as the occasional widow/er. Hallmark went bankrupt soon after from a multitude of lawsuits. The few heart-breasted fuzzle wuzzles that remain are a favorite pet among the morbidly curious.

[Edward B]

Artist: Edward B

Concept: Pyrmamid Guardian

Animated by the old lords of Egypt, These creatures were tasked with guarding the ancient burialgrounds.
Having claimed several uncautious archeologists the beasts earned their nickname: Phear-uh-ohs.

[David79]

[*B]Artist: [*COLOR=White]David79[/color]

Concept: [*COLOR=White]canine leprus[/color]
[/b]

Mars 2316, after terraforming,the colons started to impleted some animals earth to mars, but a old martian diseas start to mutated all creature!
Here a concret example of how the diseas work in a primitive dog, all relative organic partes are gone, attacking beasts and humans, no moar alive! aproch with extreme caution!

[ramtam]

Artist: ramtam

Concept: Soul Devourer

The Soul Devourer makes it's home in the dreaded bone graveyards of Murky Realms.
It feeds on a dimwitted creature known as the BoneGrubber.

Bone grubbers, like Soul Devourers, possess multiple eyes, but cannot see the Soul Devourer that lies beneath it's decoy skull, which it
wears on it's back to entice the dimwitted creature.
When the bone grubber goes after the 'fake' skull looking for a meal of fresh bones, he is absorbed into the devourer and his remains spewed out.

[skullbeast]

Artist: skullbeast

Concept: Feeder

Eons ago these beasts were summoned forth to clean battlefields of death and decay. Now they roam the lands with a prodigious hunger in search of their long dead masters, feeding on living and dead alike.

[benu]

Artist: benu

Concept: Dikephalos Anekros


After Perseus beheaded Medusa, he left Kisthene's dreadful plains to present his gruesome trophy to Athene. Elated by his triumphant victory, he neglected to incinerate the Gorgon's pregnant body, as the goddess had warned him to do.
From that time on Medusa's headless remains give birth to a Dikephalos Anekros every year on her day of death. The monstrous beasts, half horse, half bird soar high up over the plains on decaying wings in search of the severed head. Their two skulls perpetually shrieking and neighing in lament of their mother's evisceration, driving any unwary wanderer to insanity. As these undead creatures share the lifeforce of their mother's undying body, they will continue their quest for all eternity unless Athena returns Medusa's head.

[Anthis]

Artist: Anthis

Concept: Two-headed scavenger

Roaming in search of corpses or live prey when possible, this creature needs corpses to sustain its slowly decaying body. Flesh is reassembled into new tissue, rather than broken down. They are notorious for opening graves, but mostly search for carcasses or weak animals to feed on. They depend mainly on scavenging, as their decaying bodies are frail and not fit for hunting.

[Fractalbot]

Artist: Fractalbot

Concept: 2-headed Night Mare
The 2-headed Night Mare is an undead mount bred from 2 zombie horses. With each generation of breeding the creatures become even fiercer than their sires and less horse-like-- the legs and angles of the creature are the first to change their appearance drastically. They are more elephantine in size and can run at an extremely fast pace across dangerous terrain, and aren't afraid of losing a limb or two in the process.

[darkly]

Artist: darkly

Concept: Dromi-Mortis (of the Dromi-Morti family)

This awkward looking and odorous creature is the Dromi-Mortis. You may notice something peculiar about this creature. That's right, it's "undead."
It is actually quite natural for it to be so, mainly due to the fact the Dromi-Mortis' molecular structure is at constant stages of both decomposition and regeneration. Slowly its body degenerates and at the same rate regrows anew to replace the dysfunctional and rotting parts. The Dromi-Mortis reproduces young approximately once every 100 years. When one is birthed, it is "undead" and functions quite well despite that fact. The Dromi-Mortis actually uses its rotten flesh to discourage predators from coming near its' territory by leaving samples of the fowl stuff around. Some locals who have been able to get over the stench of these creatures actually use them as beasts of burden. It's been said that the ownership of some specific Dromi-Mortis have been passed down through multiple generations due to their longevity. Which in itself is ironic due to the fact that they are indeed "undead."

[Evil_Sloth]

Artist: Evil_Sloth

Concept: Ligerton

When Africa switched nuclear power in the late 30's the powerplants were not very well built and maintained as a conciquince the watering holes were tainted with radiation and the wild life both living and dead began to mutate. Some carrion was continuously batterd with radiation over the course of 10 years before the powerplants were destroyed, which began cell regeneration in the exposed carcass not only to restart after death so quickly in some cases that cells could fuse tissue from living and dead sources into itself adding to the hosts body.

[Mr--Jack]

Artist: Mr--Jack

Concept: Necrosaur


In 1924 a plateau was discovered in the jungles of eastern Bangladesh, and it was thought at the time that a possible 'lost world' had been found, inspiring hopes driven by a still-lingering fascination with the ideas behind Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel. In fact researchers at the time were unfortunately close to the truth, and a number of extant relatives of otherwise extinct animals still existed (though to say thrived may be to put too fine a point on it). Their survival was concluded to be due to certain radioactive leakings from a myriad labyrinth of vents and geysers across the plateau, which had given the creatures the necessary resilience to death to weather the dramatic shifts in climate, which otherwise brought about a number of catastrophic mass extinctions. It was not, however, a wondrous paradise that the researchers had stumbled into; many of the animals had grown fierce and highly intelligent across the generations—the Necrosaur being a prime example—and only one member of the party ever managed to make his unfortunate way out of the heavy jungles, to die with his body riddled with cancers in a hospital in Calcutta.

[Nether]

Artist: Nether

Concept: Ancient Mutant Quadfish

In a time when the earth was still young and life was yet to emerge from the sea unto land, there were several leaps in evolution when nature was still trying to figure out how a land-dwelling creature was supposed to work. The Quadfish is a prime example of a species, which has taken the next step in evolution to become a land-dwelling quadruped, resulting in it's pectoral and pelvic fins starting to resemble actual limbs. While still retaining almost all of the qualities of a fish, the Quadfish is gifted with a voracious appetite and a remarkably efficient neural network giving it a strong drive for survival.
This particular individual is a two-headed mutation resulting from a sudden leap forward in it's evolutionary chain. In some fight with a larger predator the creature has sustained enough damage to become practically dead. The only thing keeping it going are instinctual neural signals from it's two stubborn brains, that make it mimic it's basic survival funtions even though the creature itself has died a long time ago.

[LORD M]

Artist: LORD M

Concept: Mage Crusher

This horrible abomination is created by necromancers when they go to war, fortunatly it is very rare since only the most skilled necromancer can create it. They are adapted for recognisance and infiltration - and assassination of enemy mages. Infused with dark magic, the Mage Crusher is capable of withstanding magical and physical blows that would kill off a living creature aswell as most undead creatures, and only the most skilled mages can withstand the foul beast.

The Mage Crusher uses its speed in combination with its aura of decay and filth, even slightest scratch given by this creature can spread to become a nightmareish disease for the unfortunate one to have been touched. The creatures is so feared by enemies and allies alike that even the necromancers high council have banned it from use if it isn't extremely necessary.

[Mr. P Show.]

Artist: Mr. P Show.

Concept: Afanas Spiridon

[Michael Jaecks]

On the whole, I am very happy with the entries this week. There are some really highly skilled stand-outs from the more experienced artists and I also think the new folks who may have seen their entries get cut, or nearly cut in previous rounds have really pushed themselves. So, this week, everyone gets in the poll. I'll make more individual comments later. Well done guys.