C.O.W. - #093: Guts Harvester [Archive]

Sangmort

July 24th, 2007, 02:00 PM

This one reminds me a lot of the "Heart Harvester" cow...

Guts
–noun
1. the alimentary canal, esp. between the pylorus and the anus, or some portion of it.
2. guts,
.....a. the bowels or entrails.
.....b. Informal. courage and fortitude; nerve; determination; stamina.
.....c. the inner working parts of a machine or device.
3. the belly; stomach; abdomen.
4. the substance forming the case of the intestine; intestinal tissue or fiber.
5. a preparation of the intestines of an animal, used for various purposes, as for violin strings, tennis rackets, or fishing lines.
6. the silken substance taken from a silkworm killed when about to spin its cocoon, used in making snells for fishhooks.
7. a narrow passage, as a channel of water or a defile between hills.

Harvester
–noun
1. a person who harvests; reaper.
2. any of various farm machines for harvesting field crops.
3. someone who helps to gather the harvest.

Goog

July 24th, 2007, 04:02 PM

Wippity hoo hah. I'm gonna try to incorporate my creature into the scene better this time, not goin too good :P. Still wip though, lotta work ahead.

nice start pat, can't wait to see the juicy colors you put on that bad boy.

wippppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b250/Googprod/gutfeedercopy-2.jpg

White Wolf

July 24th, 2007, 04:09 PM

ah man, cool topic...pity I can't compete cause I am on holydays...well...I will take my tablet and laptop with me... ;) perhaps I will manage....

White Wolf

July 24th, 2007, 04:09 PM

ah man, cool topic...pity I can't compete cause I am on holidays...well...I will take my tablet and laptop with me... ;) perhaps I will manage....

Nexus

July 24th, 2007, 05:59 PM

Ok I'm not gonna let loose a brainstorm. But I will put forth a little cautionary precipitation. Here's somethings to keep in mind so that we don't have a round that looks like a GWAR concert.

There are two key words. Guts and harvester. Guts is fairly self explanatory. Simply the intestines of an organism. But the truly important descriptive word is harvester. Remember that when you harvest something you have to keep in mind why it is being harvested. In most cases it is purely for the sake of feeding. However, take this into consideration. There are many plants and animal products that arent harvested for consumption. Because of their properties they have other uses. Perhaps this creature harvests intestines not because they are particularly tasty but because it utilizes the innards for some other purpose tied into its life. Just something to consider.

Good luck all.

Chuck,mate.

July 24th, 2007, 06:09 PM

I`m with ya nexus, I am. those are some good points you`re making.
but...after reading this by the fozzster:

ADDITIONAL INFO

...ok, the truth is we want to see some blood :perv:

It made me laugh, and I said... what the hey - let`s go berzerk.
I never do well in these COWs anyways, I might as well give the audience what they want...hehehe :)

Lege1

July 24th, 2007, 06:41 PM

This seems pretty morbid. I might have to take to my dark side on this one.

yoitisi

July 24th, 2007, 07:07 PM

Messy topic Fozzy :P almost makes me want to revisit my Heart Harvester concept and fit it to the topic properly this time.

Been a long time since last I did a COW and I'm afraid I'll have to miss this one as well, but I hope to do some in the near future.

Chris Hershberger

July 24th, 2007, 08:32 PM

I am so in on this one! This is a great topic.

Michael Jaecks

July 24th, 2007, 09:57 PM

I dunno why blood is the worry here. There's a heck of a lot more to clean out in a heap of entrails than blood.

Methinks I'll go watch some of the grislier episodes of Iron Chef for some inspiration.

madkweer_artist

July 25th, 2007, 01:07 AM

This is my first post, though I have been trying to find time for some of the other "OW"s

I think I had a little more fun with the corpse.

The harvester needs some refining. I was thinking of something that would get into the body and start pulling the parts out. I had seen a video on giant crabs ripping apart the corpse. I thought they had effective "tools" for that sort of surgery.

Wandering_Monk

July 25th, 2007, 01:28 AM

Hey guys. I got a few small sketches I worked up tonight. Here they are:

http://www.marksinclairart.com/misc/CoW_guts_harvester.jpg

What I'm imagining is a reptilian creatures sort of mixed with a velociraptor and a woodpecker.. Probably about the size of a human at full maturity.

My creature is a scavenger. It's built for quickness and subtlety. It attacks sleeping, injured or unsuspecting prey and uses its pick-axe shaped head/beak and strong neck to skillfully puncture its prey's abdomen. It's got a long tongue supported with bone and cartilage much like a woodpecker's tongue that darts in to skewer the small intestines. It then runs off, feeding the intestines into its mouth and makes its escape, "eating and running" so to speak.

After doing these designs I thought that adding a slightly overlapping hook-shape to the tip of its beak would be ideal for cutting off the intestines on the run. Hope you all enjoy. More sketches later. =)

rushwolf

July 25th, 2007, 03:14 AM

Goog - Your painting already reminds me of Zdzislaw Beksinski's art, cool beans.

Supervlieg

July 25th, 2007, 04:20 AM

http://conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1248794&postcount=81

/thread :perv:

VegasMike

July 25th, 2007, 04:47 AM

Oh I gotta get in on this one!!! Mmmmmmm juicy entrails!

oscarp

July 25th, 2007, 09:11 AM

http://www.oscarpastarus.com/conc/cow93.jpg
This guy charges against its prey, peircing the gut area, ripping out the intestines and leaving the prey bleeding to death. The intestines are brought back to the flock because of its nutritious effects on this species.

cubesoflard

July 25th, 2007, 09:40 AM

Sounds fun.

longshao

July 25th, 2007, 02:14 PM

Speaking of guts, a sperm whale explosion:

http://theexplodingwhale.com/wp-content/expwhales/20040126/1.jpg
http://theexplodingwhale.com/wp-content/expwhales/20040126/2.jpg

Nexus

July 25th, 2007, 06:24 PM

Uhm does anyone know why my avatar image has been changed to a retarded pixel skull instead of my badass deep sea fangly fish? I didnt do it, it just happened somehow.

Fozzybar

July 25th, 2007, 06:26 PM

longshao
wtf happened there?

Nexus
I still see your retarded pixel deep sea skullfish avatar...

Nexus

July 25th, 2007, 06:29 PM

Nevermind, I went in a re-uploaded the image again. Must have been some kind of server error.

Lege1

July 25th, 2007, 08:03 PM

I saw this shyt on line too. Google whale guts and you'll get a nice story from Taiwan,lol. I couldn't imagine how bad that stuff smelled. EWWWWWWW!

Lege1

July 25th, 2007, 08:21 PM

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/legend0187/GutHarvester_001_Sk_11x8_WEB.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/legend0187/GutHarvester072907_Fini_8x11_CA_WEB.jpg

The Guts Harvester is a parasitical type of species that resides in the swamp land areas of Earth. The creature is an Amphibious being meaning that it can dwell in both water, or on land. The head of the creature is leech like and it bears a snorkel like protrusion from it's nose that it uses to suck up guts from the pouch of its stomach where the guts are stored. The Gut Harvesters long neck enables it to bury its entire head inside of its stomach while it feeds on the stored guts. The stomach of the Gut Harvester is sack like and has a both type orphice that sucks the guts in and stores them inside of its pouch which is like a giant sack of shyt. The Gut Harvester has humanoid arms and hands that act as tools for cutting in to its prey and stuffing the entrailments in to its mouth. The arms are also a major part of how the Gut Harvester transports itself. It uses the knife like feelers to dig in to the ground and drag itself forward. The mid torso of the Gut Harvesters body has gills on it as with its tail being a powerful swimming device. The creature typically only comes on land to feed and it tends to always retreat back to the water after establishing its prey. When in the water the Gut Harvester balls up and sinks to the deep, murky, cold bottom of whatever lake it may be residing in and digests its meal as the contents rot in its stomach. MMMMmmm good....

>>>This was a great project and I enjoyed myself very much. I am flattered that people liked the sketch. I have a learned a lot through this competition and hope that you all enjoy the finished product. The most important thing I have learned from this project is to be confident in myself and see through what I have started regardless how big the challenge. Thank you all for having me on here. Enjoy!>>>
-=Legend a.k.a Lege1 a.k.a Nick Lopes

longshao

July 25th, 2007, 11:47 PM

Fozz--The sperm whale exploded due to the trapped gas in its belly. I cannot see the images anymore.
Oh and I've tried upload a image for my avatar multiple times, it never works, any idea fozz?

Fozzybar

July 26th, 2007, 06:06 AM

hmmm, no idea, you need to watch some restrictions, but it must be written down there....did you try to upload it on your server and add the link then for the avatar?

Michael Jaecks

July 26th, 2007, 11:05 AM

Bileturdin Gutmunchers

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a379/neorepto/BileturdinGutmunchersJaecksFINAL.jpg

The Bileturdin Gutmunchers' perverse eating habits begin by capturing and playing with their prey much like a cat plays with a mouse before the kill. The Gutmuncher will corral, poke and prod its victim, forcing it to run back and forth, for up to 30 minutes before feeding. Then, almost without warning, the Gutmuncher picks up its prey and eviscerates it with one quick swipe of its long fingered claws. Quickly, the Gutmuncher consumes the stomach, intestines, and contents and then discards the rest of the carcass. This disgusting display of feeding and waste seems on its surface extraordinarily sadistic, but it is actually motivated by biological need. The Gutmunchers own gastrointestinal tract is weak, lacking many of the enzymes and bacteria needed to break down complex protiens, fats and carbohydrates. Additionally, keeping its meal alive and physically active before feeding increases its prey's metabolism, ensuring the entrails and its contents are something the Gutmuncher can digest.

Cloister

July 26th, 2007, 04:00 PM

Do you have the guts to be gore-y enough people?...To bury your faces in the inner sanctum of flesh... and eat the truth of your own mortality.... Eh... sorry...:S

Anyway... this is my sketching... but the creature is far from interesting enough atm.... so let's see where this bears...

(Michael Jaecks: Here is some mighty rainbows for you! ;)
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102603)

http://www.brandow.se/Page/bilder/Postas/GFX/slayer4.jpg

Gorromog

July 26th, 2007, 04:58 PM

Damn it, this is an awesome COW, and Micheal Jeacks and Cloisters are wicked concepts. i don't know if i will be able to submit anything on this one, i am looking for work since it is summer break and am extremely busy.

Michael Jaecks

July 26th, 2007, 05:00 PM

Well it looks like I won't be able to finish my COW this week, because Cloister has seen fit to blind me with his sage green and magenta, genderless visions of the Good Side of the Force. I'm now sinking in an inky well of my existentialistic-own-making, so even though Cloister's responsible, it's still my fault.

If a magical healing takes place, I might be back. Or maybe I'll do missionary work.

Cloister

July 26th, 2007, 05:18 PM

Hehe! I'll ship over some healing potion +3 that's leftover from christmas, if you promise to bribe the customs. I appreciate that someone actually seemed to have read about the artists... personally I only looked at the pictures... well mostly. I'm still addicted to the Symbolism-period, and as you probably know that is a place where gender tended to vanish. And I think I like "divine" beings to be sort of undefined in that area.
Now, is your creature a he or a she... hmmm? Perhaps its guts can tell us something... bring out the saws!!!

Michael Jaecks

July 26th, 2007, 06:47 PM

I'm not sure gender is really significant for my creature. My creature is following the rule "You are what you eat."

longshao

July 26th, 2007, 09:00 PM

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/yty2000/guts1.jpg
Finished!

C.O.W. #93, Guts Harvester--Boranus

The stocky, sluggish Boranuses are scavengers. They have an extremely keen sense of smell, and they can pick up senses of death or near death from miles away. Boranus feeds mainly on already dead animals, as they travel through misty forest lands, looking for carrions. They'll sometimes drive away smaller predators and steal their kills. Boranuses use the giant claws on their forelimbs to quickly dismantle the carcass then swallow the smaller parts whole. Like many other scavengers, they'll eat anything they find, but prefer internal organs. Boranuses dine happily on their favorite item--manure-filled intestines, which most predators shy away from.

MJ--I think I've said this about your creatures multiple times before: that's one disgusting monster, in a good way. WTF is it, LOL.
Cloister--The air force is out to get your monster. :D
Chuck_mate--looking good dude.
oscarp--I think u good refine it a bit, good concept.
Goog--the weirdness of your creature rivals MJ's, very original indeed. I don't know about the colors though, seems a little too whack.

Boolean

July 27th, 2007, 03:00 AM

Here's my about 80% complete WIP with a slapped in background :^^:

Concept: The Guts Harverster.

The guts harvester is not a beast born of this earth, but is a horrible monstrosity summoned from darkness in times of strife. The guts harvester is not used as an outright attacking monster, but instead an almost 'walking dirty bomb', used to contaminate areas after it's slaughtered most of the inhabitants in order to send a message to the summoners enemies. As it consumes the guts of humans by snapping their backs in two and pulling them apart, it's bloated, specialised gut gets to work breaking down the organic matter, filling its own gut with the by-product of gas. Guts for the gut. After a matter of time (usually 2-3 hours after consuming it's first human), the pressure will become too much for the harvester, his belly splitting open in a cataclysmic explosion of entrails and gas.

EDIT - GRRRRRRR!! >:{ I've redrawn these stupid looking feet 50 times now and I can't get a design that looks good, and because I'm adding it in a bit late it's also hard to get it to match up with the rest of the skin. Oh well, looks like I'm out :(

Cloister

July 27th, 2007, 07:07 AM

longshao: A big bad boy, there! ... nice painterly background. Some work is needed to bring the redness into the same gloomy world as the rest, and to make the head come together with its body. I know; it is a wip.

Boolean: It is really squeezing the juice of of those entrails! Perhaps the feet is a bit too cartoony?

Boolean

July 27th, 2007, 09:02 AM

Yeah those feet are really starting to bug me. It looked fine on paper! :teeth:

I know I need to fix them, but I'm not too sure what to replace them with. Something to think about at work tomorrow I guess. Mmmmm...:grandpa:

Goog

July 27th, 2007, 09:13 AM

wandering monk: sketches look good, cant wait to see the final

oscarp: those are some yummy colors looking forward to see the finished image.

lege: hard to see whats going on, lines are too light for me, can't really crit.

mj: ...That has to be one of the wierdest creatures I've ever seen. Weird in a good way though. Although the more I think about it, the more it reminds me of a and balls. I mean, seriously dude, look at his head, it has like the same shape, cept with spikes. So, on these specifications, I believe that it is a male!

cloister: oo, looks nice. Only thing that bugs me is that left arm, anatomy just looks weird,although I know it was just a quick sketch.

longshao: Frikkin awesome so far. Look like something Jakkas would do. Bg looks fine so far to me.

boolean: I agree with cloister bout those feet.

because I cant get to the first page while logged in to edit my post, heres the update (still Wip). If the colors still look funky I'll try to change them

final:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b250/Googprod/gutfeeder2copy-3.jpg

huhwhat

July 27th, 2007, 06:47 PM

Under a kill moon
On an abandoned colony world far in the deep reaches of space, a species of bat-like creatures with long feeder tubes rear humans to supply them with the delicacy the humans named 'gut', which all critters of the colony world strangely do not possess. Once the humans reach a certain age and are ripe for harvest, they are, well, harvested.

yocibox

July 28th, 2007, 03:22 AM

a few ideas for the creature itself...I'm wicked tired, so i'll edit this post tomorrow to add the descriptions

http://www.ourmatrix.net/caorg/GutHarv_iis.jpg

Jim_grib

July 28th, 2007, 04:10 PM

I finally got a couple hundred seconds to myself and am psyched to post in one of these, Whoo Hoo! :bashful:

any way...

This is my 14 handed Guts Harvester (12 on top and 2 on the ground). It is for the harvesting of guts, and so, can roughly husk 6 average humans a minute but it can also take down larger animals with the use of its lower arms (mainly used in running). It stores the innards in its pelican like sack under the lower jaw until they are needed/delivered. um thats about it... I've included a rough sketch on how it uses its claws to quickly open up people, then it brings the carcass to its mouth and scoops out the innards (bitting/tearing when required).

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o256/jim_grib/cow093gutsharvester-A01small.jpg

here are my think notes on how it rips people open
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o256/jim_grib/cow093gutsharvester-A01_bnotesco-1.jpg

also a link to a larger version
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o256/jim_grib/cow093-guts-harvester-A01.jpg

K, well I hope I did that right.

C&C most highly welcome.

Gorromog

July 28th, 2007, 08:32 PM

Guts Harvester:
This creature flies in groups of 4 - 20 individuals. Each mating season the males in the group collect as many guts as they can acquire and pile them up. The females then pick the male with the largest pile to be there mating partner.

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/8580/cow93copyzn6.jpg

artisticdork

July 28th, 2007, 09:18 PM

I'm a frequent watcher here, everything is great, i deffintly get inspired. I just got my tabvlet in the mail so I hope to be able to get my C.O.W. done enough to submit it in time for the voting. I'll edit this post to have a WIP tonight when I got off work.

Nexus

July 28th, 2007, 09:41 PM

Hmm, where are all the entries? Granted there are still 3 days left in the competition. But still. Usually CoW's with any title involving outright violence brings everyone out of the woodworks. Jakkas will swoop in at the last second as always and Chuck, mate is laying down some nastiness on page 1. I'll enter the fray with a linework WIP sometime by tomorrow. But where is everyone else?

kevin mayle

July 28th, 2007, 09:42 PM

Some really strong entries so far. Here's mine.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/GutsHarvester.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/1-1.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/2.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/4.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/3-1.jpg
Oops, I put CHOW #93 instead of COW #93. I'll have to change that.

DeKal

July 29th, 2007, 12:12 AM

ay yocibox...that blade on the end of your creature's tentacle looks EXACTLY like lege1's blade on the end of HIS creature's tentacle...hmmmmmm

Nexus

July 29th, 2007, 12:22 AM

Gee, you mean the generic serrated blade shape that nearly every combat knife shares. Don't be petty, DeKal. Maybe if lege1's blades were a strange shape I could see how this might be an issue. But as it stands now, the blade youre referring to is so common that its most likely the default mental image for alot of people in their visual libraries. Good on ya for trying to keep things honest but let's not get knit picky.

DeKal

July 29th, 2007, 12:46 AM

when its a low populated competition with an almost infinitely broad topic people should not be biting as noticably as was done ...a serated blade is common but lege's is pretty distinct and on the end of a tentacle..out of all the things one can think of for a guts harvester, that bite was too hard..and ya know i dont even care that much i was just pointing it out...go take a fuckin hike with your witty little retorts nexus.

kevin mayle

July 29th, 2007, 12:58 AM

I'm betting a lot of entries will drop in on the last day without notice.

Nexus

July 29th, 2007, 01:17 AM

Fair enough. Honestly, I saw the similarity too and I was only trying to avoid jumping to conclusions. Yes they are cutting it a bit close in design. Of course the same could be said for Cloister and oscarp who both have creatures with pronounced lower jaws used for cutting that are also both quadrapedal. However Ive seen alot of CoWs come and go...and I do mean alot. This kind of thing happens all the time. It doesnt mean anyone is ripping someone else's design. In fact if you want to get down to it, almost every idea that we have comes from something that we've seen and alot of times it's other artists designs. Are Cloister and oscarp gonna be pissed at each other? No. The best idea and render will win in the end despite similarities. Are yocibox and lege1 up in arms over the idea of tentacles with blades on the ends ( not either one of the artists original idea of course)? Hell no. Theyre just in it for the fun and most likely happened upon similar ideas. Shit Ive drawn a tentacled thing or two and some of them had blades on the end. If what youre saying happened was on purpose then shame on the culprit but keep in mind he also has another design and may even discard both designs for something else when he realizes that the similarity is there. I wasnt trying to be witty or an ass or whatever. I was just trying not to rush into things and even more so stem the tide of a potential flame war. These things get out of hand so quickly and it just ruins the entire CoW. So my apologies to you DeKal for the way I chose to phrase things. In conclusion, be cautious with similar ideas guys. If someone beat you to the punch then at least consider altering the design because often enough it looks like youre ripping someone off. Just one of those issues that you have step around in these weekly contests.

Chuck,mate.

July 29th, 2007, 01:29 AM

GODDAMN computer GODDAMN crushed yesterday, taking all my original PDF WIP files with it..... so, bye bye "Gut Harvester"....... :(
deadline is Tuesday if I`m not mistaken, so I`ll try and crack up a new beast `till then. fucking no good computer... shit.
:nohope:

Pat.

kevin mayle

July 29th, 2007, 02:00 AM

Chuck,mate.

July 29th, 2007, 02:05 AM

Damn! It was looking great too!

it was alright.... did I say PDF files?... I`m sorry, it`s real early here, and I haven`t slept in 2 days... what I meant, of course, was my PSD files...

like I said - I`ll try and do something untill deadline. hopefully a GOOD something....

P.

yocibox

July 29th, 2007, 04:53 AM

Nexus, your response is what I was gonna say, with the added note that I didn't even realize Lege had used a serrated knife, I kind of skipped over Lege's entry because non photo blue on white makes my brain shatter (based on Goog's crit of it, I'm clearly not the only one). Dekal I know he's your friend, and I appreciate you pointing out the similarities (though I'm of the opinion that the 2 ideas are dissimilar enough to make a knife on the end of a limb rather inconsequential to the comparison) but next time please give me the benefit of the doubt before jumping to the conclusion that I'm ripping anyone off. In the end I need to thank you, as the Liston knife (i just watched from hell, and the creature is themed after Victorian surgery and necromancy) doesn't even have that serrated edge (clearly I didn't watch the movie close enough, and went with the more bad ass bastardization my mind constructed when I was thinking about the movie) so i need to fix that and add a bone saw if I'm even gonna use that idea.

Chuck,mate.

July 29th, 2007, 06:29 AM

well I don`t have much time (nor energy) for a whole new piece, so this is what I came up with...
and since the old creature`s file is lost, I guess it`ll have to do.
some steps:
http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/9/7/29/f_gutharvestem_7257f9a.jpg
http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/9/7/29/f_gutharvestem_5f1a2c5.jpg
http://img30.picoodle.com/img/img30/9/7/29/f_gutharvestem_c0afc25.jpg

Fozzy-Wozzy - this is the FINAL from me:
http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/9/7/29/f_gutharvestem_2b2f8f6.jpg

:)

Pat.

Michael Jaecks

July 29th, 2007, 08:00 AM

Very cool Chuck, even for a quickie. Sort of gastrointestinal and volcanic at the same time. Strangely appropriate I think. :)

Chuck,mate.

July 29th, 2007, 08:11 AM

Very cool Chuck, even for a quickie. Sort of gastrointestinal and volcanic at the same time. Strangely appropriate I think. :)

thanks MJ. :) a quickie is the right word. about 35 minutes. and I hated it the second I started.... :er:

:)

P.

Nexus

July 29th, 2007, 04:25 PM

Pssshh. Shrug it off Chuck. I'll tell you this. The new design whomps the first by a wide margin. It's more dynamic, the colors are better, and you retained the hanging intestine environment that made the first so wonderfully unsettling. Sure it could use some slight refining but for 35 minutes it's damn good.

Coleb

July 29th, 2007, 06:25 PM

My first COW.

Don´t know if I´ll finish. I have a CHOW that needs a lot of time dedicated to it.

I crossed a warthog with a triceratops. Are warthogs odd looking or what? My thought was that the creature is actually after the semi digested contents of the intestinal tract, lacking some necessary enzyme to digest the local flora and fauna itself or something.

aedman

July 29th, 2007, 06:47 PM

This is my first time participating in the COW, trying to get more aquainted with working digitally... any crits would be greatly appreciated. Still a WIP obviously... Thanks.

kevin mayle

July 29th, 2007, 07:22 PM

Readjusted my final image.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q30/kevinmayle/GutsHarvester-1.jpg

JollyBob

July 29th, 2007, 11:25 PM

Hey all, I'm new, tryin to go straight in at the deep end here with a gut-harvester. Not sure how it'll turn out to look at, but I've got the idea and I'll try present it as best I can. I don't have any real art programs, but I can draw ok. Any tips?

EDIT: aside from 'next time don't wait till a day before'
and can it be entered as a 'study' of the creature, sorta like these explorer's notes?

Nexus

July 29th, 2007, 11:36 PM

Well, you do stand at a slight disadvantage without Photoshop or a tablet to help you bang out some colors for you linework. However, CoW is as much a learning experience as it is a competition. My advice would be to really spend time on the actual design. Do a few thumbnail sketches and come up with something you like from them. A well drawn creative idea is much better than someone who has art programs but spent little time in the concept portion of his creature and simply went with the first thing that came to him.

Chuck,mate.

July 30th, 2007, 04:23 AM

Cloister

July 30th, 2007, 06:36 AM

Nice sketch, Nexus. I like the twirl around the branch there... and nice perspective, too. The place where it all happens (the harvesting) might be in a somewhat off part of the canvas, though...

sporkian

July 30th, 2007, 07:08 AM

grenogs

July 30th, 2007, 08:20 AM

If people are going for creatures which gouge out animal guts, why not have burrowing creatures that reach up out of the soil and tear them out from underneath? I'd do it... but I'm too poor for any imaging programs, with the exception of MS paint :P

Not a real excuse, you can always find demo versions of good software online to download, and if you prefere the real thing, then just buy any digital art magazine and your almost guaranteed to have a free older version of photoshop or painter attached to the cover.

kevin mayle

July 30th, 2007, 09:21 AM

Not a real excuse, you can always find demo versions of good software online to download, and if you prefere the real thing, then just buy any digital art magazine and your almost guaranteed to have a free older version of photoshop or painter attached to the cover.

You could put pencil to paper or brush to canvas. All my favorite works of art were done with traditional media.

Thalion

July 30th, 2007, 10:02 AM

Nekhete Avaros
These 2 metres long predator lives near the lakes on the dry super continent of the Khaand planet. Water is a place where the food of Nekhete Avaros lives. It is rare amphibian, which skin is extremely poisonous. This is the reason why the creature eats only guts of its victim. Nature gave to this animal very sharp teeth, perfect sight and strong legs which makes it absolutely effective hunter.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z139/thalion_art/NekheteAvaros_final.jpg

Woodlandwalker

July 30th, 2007, 12:56 PM

Another little known scavenger that has turned up recently has been given the nickname the “Guts Harvester”. These little creatures come out after large predators have gone, or preferably if an animal has died recently… then you will see them by the dozens to come out and feed. It would seem that these vicious scissor-jawed vermin are a distant cousin to the chipmunk but with long rat like tail for balance. They have specially designed jaws that are able to slice large amounts of what could only be considered the choicest of innards. Cheek pouches are then used that hold more than three times its own weight in food. The Guts Harvesters then take their prize back to their nests where they create pungent piles for their young, letting the meat rot sufficiently before being consumed.
http://www.glensportfolio.com/gut_harv_cow93.jpg

artisticdork

July 30th, 2007, 04:35 PM

This beast looks like he could do some damage, and well looks aren't deceiving this time, he is roughly 2x the size of a bowling ball with 4x the weight. It is covered in thick matted hair like fur that is so matted from all the dirt, blood and intestinal peices it has subject to come in contact with. The 'Guts Harvester' will launch its self towards an un expecting prey and point its 3 talons together to form a point in which it drives into the abdominal area , as its talons are 1/2 way through it flings its arms open in order to rip the body open. Then it feeds on the blood and gathers the intestines which it takes back to its nest to wrap around its eggs to insulate its young, but also because the young feed on the rotten and decomposing intestines when it hatches.

Cloister

July 31st, 2007, 02:41 AM

Thalion: Very nice skin-work/texture on that creature. It is a little too much of a dinosaur for me to enjoy it as a COW, but it is a nice painting. (Perhaps a hint of reflected mountains in the water?)

Thalion

July 31st, 2007, 02:48 AM

Thanks for suggestions:) hm... maybe it look like a dinosaur too much... but this idea/conception appeared in my mind, so I decided to paint that one. Thanx:)

sporkian

July 31st, 2007, 05:01 AM

You could put pencil to paper or brush to canvas. All my favorite works of art were done with traditional media.

Hey! Awesome idea! lol... That never even occured to me. Thanks guys.. Although my colour needs some work... I'm.. more of an enthusiast atm, hoping to become industrial.

Michael Jaecks

July 31st, 2007, 05:22 AM

Longshao: your update is looking very nice. I wasn't sure about the black feathers on the head at first cuz I liked the red of the bald looking head, but its working well now. The hollow space on the top of the head is very Wayne Barlow. If Maoi stops by for a visit, I'm sure he'll like it much too. :)

kevin mayle

July 31st, 2007, 05:59 AM

Hey! Awesome idea! lol... That never even occured to me. Thanks guys.. Although my colour needs some work... I'm.. more of an enthusiast atm, hoping to become industrial.

I just bought a Wacom Tablet and started painting in Photoshop last month. For the 33 before that it was all traditional media. Tha's probably why it sprung to my mind so quickly.

Cloister

July 31st, 2007, 07:27 AM

Here is my contibution to the harvest.
(had to post now, and couldn't get to page 2 for some reason.. that's why I post it here...)

FINAL:

http://www.brandow.se/Page/bilder/Postas/guts_harvester.jpg

While the imperial legion normally refers to this creature as the Orc-Bull, the dark armies themselves have nicknamed it the Guts Harvester. On the battlefield it runs with great speed, removing infantry and cavalry alike, before the hosts of charging orcs. Not seldomly the masters dress this beast in the entrails and guts of its victims. It is said that the smell of such a garb infuriates the Orc-Bull even further.

The red wart-like growth upon the head can only be found on the males, and is thought to serve as a signal in times of mating, and as a hierarchal symbol amongst the male creatures. No records exist of Guts Harvesters ever sighted outside orc company, but the species is known to be very old.

Cloister

July 31st, 2007, 07:37 AM

MJ, Longshao... looking good!

Michael Jaecks

July 31st, 2007, 07:42 AM

You too Cloister! Like the multi-cloven as opposed to the bi-cloven hooves. The suggestion of flies is a nice touch. I sorta miss the war planes. I was curious where you were going to take that idea. :)

Woodlandwalker

July 31st, 2007, 08:29 AM

Cloister, very nice... having entrails placed on me would probably infuriate me as well hehe... the horn is cool, the eye was probably supposed to be glowing etc, but seems a bit blind/dead to me... but that is by no means a crit... looks good.

MJ, very nasty lookin... repeat... nasty hehe

Longshao, diggin the colors man

Thalion, nice illustration... bit washed, but I like it

Chuck,mate, like the second version, just waitin for the concept... is he just runnin and chewin thru an intestial world? :P

kevin mayle

July 31st, 2007, 08:51 AM

Woodlandwalker

July 31st, 2007, 09:00 AM

Aww man, I don't get a crit too? And we only live 2 hours away from each other.

hehe.. sry man... i cant see ur pic from work... not sure where you have it posted to... some places are restricted here... I usually can only see about half the entries.. I end up voting from home so I can get the whole picture (so to speak)... Ill b sure to give ya a crit as soon as i get home :P

kevin mayle

July 31st, 2007, 09:19 AM

hehe.. sry man... i cant see ur pic from work... not sure where you have it posted to... some places are restricted here... I usually can only see about half the entries.. I end up voting from home so I can get the whole picture (so to speak)... Ill b sure to give ya a crit as soon as i get home :P

Oh, haha, that's cool. I have it posted to Photobucket, but I know what you mean. I have trouble with some sites from work too.

Hopsy

July 31st, 2007, 10:29 AM

Guts Harvester
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s118/Hopsypeti/guts_harvester.jpg
This species specialized for the hunting of the humans. Humans are spread wordwide, easy to kill them, and their guts are rich in nutritives, good food for the Guts Harvester. It is not an alien, the evolution produced it. First appeared in the XXVIII.th century. They are taking a big part in the exterminate of the humanity.
Spreading: all in the Earth, near the human colonies.
Life style: Active after sunset (they don't see well in the sunlight).
Food: Human guts.
Hunting mode: Hurl itself at the victim with it's long legs, keep him down with his holding legs, blind them with it's ahead extension, paralise them with it's back thorns. After rip open victim's stomach and suck his guts.
Reproduction: with eggs. From eggs crawl out the little ones, similars to the adults.

Gorromog

July 31st, 2007, 12:25 PM

WoodLandWalker- looks amazing

Cloister- I love the concept and the drawing, great work man.

longshao

July 31st, 2007, 12:44 PM

MJ--thanks. I love Barlow's work; his Darwin IV book is a big inspiraion to me. Yours is looking great. I like the exposed brain/spine a lot, and having it drop the little bug man is a nice moment, :D.
Cloister--I like this a lot better than your first sketch, looks more believable and badass. Very nice rendering.
Chuck,mate--35 minutes!? That's incredible man. The intestine-filled environment is a great idea. I like the creature better than the first one, and great depth in the image too.
kevinmayle--WOW, so much blood and gore that it shocks me. The creature itself might need to be resolved more, right now it's kinda floating there in between the nets.
Thalion--ditto cloister, too dino-like. I like the design though.
Woodlandwalker--Love those evil little creatures, full of personality. :)
Hospy--nice to see something different, is that watercolor?

Michael Jaecks

July 31st, 2007, 02:09 PM

Longshao: Thanks! I'm glad the gag with discarding the uneaten parts reads okay; it seems sort of important to the concept as its written... I used to get frustrated with coloring black and white renders, but I'm starting to like the process more and more.

Hopsy

July 31st, 2007, 02:45 PM

Yes, it was painted by watercolor. The scanner doesen't work well.

DeKal

July 31st, 2007, 02:51 PM

i know what u mean about that b&w coloring Jaecks...it takes some practice...you seem to have it down. which process do u think gives the best results?

Benjamen Christ

July 31st, 2007, 02:59 PM

This is my first post.Hope you like! Gut Beak is from deep in the jungle,and lives off the bodies of soliders of battles won and lost. It is about the size of a horse, and is quite beautiful.Any suggestions ?
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/christismellows_portfolio/images/44514/original.aspx

Christ

Gorromog

July 31st, 2007, 03:24 PM

i finished my entry on page 2. its acrylics, hope you like it.

Michael Jaecks

July 31st, 2007, 03:27 PM

DeKal: Thanks! We can always grow more, but I'm glad you like the results so far.

Personally I'm really starting to like coloring a b/w render. It seems a lot more organized. You worry about your design/values/comp/light/details first and then you try to get your color to work as a seperate process which by itself is complicated enough. At least for me. Then at the end you add the little details. I'll probably keep trying this method more and more.

timothee

July 31st, 2007, 03:31 PM

It's been a while since I did a COW. I didn't have much time this week, but decided to give this topic a try. I used this creature to try out a new workflow and textures. About 3 hours in PS.
Updated Final:
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/timdeplace/COW93_Timothee_GutsHarvester2-1.jpg
The Guts Harvestor lives in swampland, waiting for a host to prey upon. The creature usually enters the body through any orifice it can crawl through as a larvae. Once inside, it cacoons itself against the intestinal wall of the host. When it becomes mature, it creeps out of it's cacoon and begins feeding on it's victim's guts. A human can usually tell if it has been infected by the creature by a continuous piercing pain felt in the stomach area. Once the creature has gorged itself on guts, it will expell itself through the anus, a most uncomfortable pain to the host. As soon as it is out of the body, the guts harvestor will lay it's eggs(the creature is a hermaphrodite) and go into hibernation for half the year. And then the cylce begins again.
Thanks Woodlandwalker and Bear Jr. for the crits. I applied most of what you guys said was missing in the scene.

Woodlandwalker

July 31st, 2007, 05:15 PM

Oh, haha, that's cool. I have it posted to Photobucket, but I know what you mean. I have trouble with some sites from work too.

Kevin_mayle
hey man... looks gruesome hehe... not sure where the lightsource is coming from tho.. kinda the same tone all over the spidercritter... I would darken a bit to round him out.. unless the light is shining directly at him from the front.
(i would have added little hooks on the ends of his legs to, just for holding and clawing, but thats me :P )... nice job tho... gotta love guts.

Hopsy that is one killer bug man!... how are u scannin in ur Watercolors... justa regular flatbed scanner when the paint is dry?

christ.. hehe.. he has the same look on his face bigfoot had when he was caught on camera!.. nice

timothee, like the colors .. somethins gotta be squirtin out someplace tho.. chompin on guts!!! :dead:

kevin mayle

July 31st, 2007, 06:02 PM

Thanks for the crits. My creature could have used more work but I'm trapped here at work all night and won't be able to get to it. Better luck for me next time.

Supervlieg

July 31st, 2007, 06:21 PM

http://www.bolman.nl/cgtalk/supervlieg_cow093.jpg

Scavenging Ratmole
Rattus Rattus Talpa

This distant cousin of the sloth was known as one of the most ugly creatures in the animal kingdom. It was fiercely prosecuted throughout its existence and it is now believed to be extinct. The Scavenging Ratmole has a hairless head with long neck, enabling him to get to those hard to reach intestens with the greatest of ease. The ratmole is quite large, roughly the size of a big pig.

Because of its slightly humanoid facial features it was in old times believed to be a failed version of a human. That its haunced way of moving about looked like a person walking on hands and knees strengthened these beliefs. It has caused many nightmares among the superstitious and though it is mostly harmless, it is among the most feared animals.

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

If this thread stays open, I'll work on it some more.

Mj0lnir

July 31st, 2007, 11:17 PM

http://gosytale.dothome.co.kr/cow/GutsHarvester.jpg

This Creature lives in the desert and It raids the village.
It cuts the body with the tongs and eat the guts.

KO_Miguel

July 31st, 2007, 11:20 PM

Well it's been a coincidence,after finishing I saw there was an entry very similar to mine... hope there's not any inconvenient

BEAR JR

August 1st, 2007, 12:06 AM

Whoo! glad I was able to rustle up a monster for this round; gross stuff is always so much fun. There are definitely some things this image leaves to be desired for me, but I had fun with him, and he didn't take too long.

This corpulent bastard makes not only a meal, but a home, from the entrails it collects. When rations run out, a brief starvation renders it lean enough to go a-huntin once again.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/HeyBEARJR/COW_gutsharvestercopy.jpg

Aaaaand crits!

timothee- texture on your creature is great; it looks to me like a hard shell partially covering ropy, thin flesh, like one can see muscle showing through. I would have liked to see that glow you have on top of the monster repeated throughout the composition; maybe some reflected light on the creature's stomach? I also think the large fang on the upper left needs more definition.

Supervlieg- Love the expression on his face. The look of something that appreciates life's simple pleasures; in this case, gorging on intestine. I particularly like the two light sources: cool yellow and warm orange, and the texture on the creature's flesh is fantastic. I do think the fur should be developed a bit more, to complement the great detail on its face; especially on the right, perhaps by brightening up that cool yellow light just a bit. I also love the rat tail; it adds yet another dimension of creepy to this idea.

MjOlnir- I really like this one, especially the scorpion claws, which suits the idea of it living in the desert. Just awesome. What program did you use?

KO Miguel- I dig your idea, especially the part with the creature hanging from a tree; the way it folds up is interesting. It's hard, though, to get a grip on the creature's structure. You may want to think more about what's underneath the skin and claws of the beast you're creating: does it have a skeletal structure? How does it work?

Woodlandwalker- the detail and personality on those chipmunks' faces are amazing. It'd be cool to see you carry that detail into their furry bodies, which look a little flat. I would also define their paws a bit more.

artisticdork- I like the idea of fur matted with blood and flesh from previous kills, but as far as rendering, your creature needs more value range; I'd brighten up the brights and darken up the darks.

Cloister- your concept is my favorite so far. What better terrifying war machine than a creature that rips out the enemies' guts? My only crit is that the mouth could use more definition, just a darkening at the edges, perhaps.

MJ- I love it. Once again you've used that lovely lovely lilac on a horrible beast, and it works. I'm interested in your approach; the times I've tried a b&w full-value underpainting, the colors I added looked either so dark I could not make them out, or too chalky on top of the greys.

That's it for me tonight. Hope the comments were helpful, and sorry this post is so long...feel free to crit mine away.