[Brynn_Metheney]

Welcome to the Creature Planets, the CG HUB challenge of exploring worlds beyond our own, and the different species living within them.

Topic #28 :: December 11th 2010
Organism: Foorian Sand Swimmer - Yup, we're still on Foor!
Planet: Foor

Deadline: Sunday, Dec. 19th 2010 - 11:59p.m. [PST]


Here are the organism's details. Follow them to the best of your ability

Bioform Overview
Foor is a harsh planet with its intense heat and muggy atmosphere. While the planet seems inhospitable, it is home to an abundance or organisms that have adapted and evolved to live in these harsh environments. The Sand Dunes of this planet are vast and numerous. While the dunes are a hostile place, they hold a uprising array of wildlife.

IWCA Requirements – The city of Viscin is found on the planet Foor in the Plintalis System. This massive metropolis is responsible for most of the trade and commerce among the vast star system around it. Because of the impact that Viscin has had on the surrounding environment, the IWCA feels it is important to educate the population and officials about the wildlife that inhabit the area.

You are required to depict the Foorian Sand Swimmer:

Little is known about this endangered organism. While it's behavior and overall appearance is a mystery, it is known to be carnivorous. Some remains have been found but only in pieces. The IWCA wants a full depiction of the creature in it's natural habitat.


Appearance is up to you, however, no humanoids please.
This is an open round Good luck and remember to have fun!

“Please don't keep everything secret, working on your image in private only to post it at the very last hour as a surprise. The point of sharing sketches and work in progress material is so everyone can learn from each other, receive crits, compliments and improve their skills in a classroom/workshop like environment. There are no teachers and no students per say, but try to offer help to others when possible. Please be open to receiving crits, and paint-overs or mock ups of your work, as we are all here to participate, have fun, learn, grow and enjoy what each week has to offer.” --Mike Corriero

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

If you have questions concerning Creature Planets Rules and Information please refer to this thread.


Also, check out the rules on Plagiarism - HERE - Learn about why its lame!

[CrowCandy]

Ooh I need to go gather desert references. This should be good.

[Robobobo]

nice theme, but dont have much time, so i'll just draw something simple

[CrowCandy]

This time I'm going for something BIG that manipulates its environment to its' advantage. The idea for this giant sand swimmer is that it creates instant sandstorms and uses alternative senses to consume prey in its confusion and disorientation.

I've found success in starting a color scheme by sampling colors from an image that has the color feel I'm going for.

[Brynn_Metheney]

@ CrowCandy - That's a wonderful start! Looking forward to more!

[Robobobo]

dont want worms)

[jose8a]

Cool
To be honest I can't come up with many ideas right now but I do feel like I need the practice (a lot hehe), so I'm in.
One question though, the description (the way I see it) implies that we don't know much about it. Should we keep it that way hiding most of its body? Or is this about giving the creature a full body?

Also, my internet connection has been failing, so I might not be able to post in the finals

BTW, great start guys

[Ogi-G]

Originally Posted by jose8a

One question though, the description (the way I see it) implies that we don't know much about it. Should we keep it that way hiding most of its body? Or is this about giving the creature a full body?

It's a creative way of saying that this is an open round, which means we are not giving you specifics on the creature's appearance so the whole design is up to you.

Think of it as nobody in the universe has ever seen a live one, just hints of it's existence, and you are the first person that happened to be at the right place, at the right time and u snapped a pic of it in its full glory on your fancy touristy camera

[CrowCandy]

I made a little more progress this morning on my sand swimmer. Hopefully I'll be able to work on it some more later today.

So far its pretty much been one layer, but I'm thinking of separating it to more easily be able to show the transparent sand clouds. Thoughts?

[jose8a]

@Ogi-G: ooooh! Nice ok, I'll go start then
Thanks!

[Juto]

Here's my first thumbnails. Going to keep exploring, these are way too safe to be alien. My inspiration is the Sandfish, a scinc (skink/lizard) that has been discovered to tuck it's legs like a snake to sift through sand. I was also mixing in some piranha and gator, but I want to move more abstract. Want to emphasize pressure sensor organs to help keep it logical.a

Crow Candy, I'm liking it. It's kind of sluggy without feeling like Dune.

[Ogi-G]

CrowCandy - id personally like it if you showed the creature more, for exampple, have the silhouette show thru the clouds of sand

Juto - yea I agree with you, you are not pushing the designs to look original/alien, they still seem just earthlike lizards, keep exploring!

[Juto]

Here's another few. I'm feeling something good with the 3rd one. I think I can push it further while I refine it.

EDIT: Here is the final sideview. I'm going to try and do an illustration to actually enter as my final since that's part of the criteria. no promises tho
And just to be clear, the leg texture and tail are from photos of gators, and there's a rust texture over the body, because I'm a lazy poopoohead
I'm pretty unhappy with the design of the upper forelimb and the shapes of the plates on it's back, will try to address those eventually as well.

[N30]

wow! really cool stuff there

[CrowCandy]

I've developed the sand swimmer's body some more, and separated the sand spiral clouds so they are on a layer on top of the creature itself. I plan to rework the sand clouds quite a bit, but for now I'm glad the creature can be seen a bit better.

I also would like to incorporate some sandy texture as well as a rough scaly hide type texture on the sand swimmer. Does anyone happen to know of some good tutorial resources about utilizing texture?