C.O.W. - #104: Nightmare Before Christmas

[Fozzybar]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/images/cow/cow.jpg

For more infos and details about the rules go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110879


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Round #104

Topic:
Nightmare Before Christmas

Deadline (extended):
Thursday, 27th December 2007



note: The deadline won't be EXACTLY after a week...it can last up to 24 hours more, i am human and have to work also, you know ;)
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How to post

In this thread you can post all wips, questions, comments etc
However if you are done with your entry, post the final image in the following thread.

THREAD FOR FINAL ENTRIES (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114442)

READ THE INFO IN THE 1ST POST OF THE FINALS THREAD TO SEE HOW TO POST YOUR FINAL IMAGE!!!

[Fozzybar]

ADDITIONAL INFO

1. In the concept there must be a reasonable relation to christmas time, of course the nightmare part must be implemented

2. No relation to the Tim Burton movie

3. No individual/character!

[Fozzybar]

I added another 2 days for this round because of the holidays...i will be away until the deadline ;)

[Supervlieg]

Wow a 2 day christmas gift. Thanks foz!

[xabian]

woo cant wate to try out some concepts for this one =]

[LORD M]

I don't know if I should start on this and scrap my Medusa drawing. Argh! I'm so confused! I want to enter all contest but it's impossible! As soon as you enter one, another pops up. :/

Oh well, we'll see if I enter it or not. I hope I will.

[Iceman0xh]

I havent entered on of these in a while and haven't ever finished one so....I'm in

[cw]

ok, i was well late starting last time and did an ape besides which i understand is thin ice to be a-treading.

so.. i try again this time - i need more than daily sketch to drive me forwards! please assist in ass-whoopery of me to encourage me to develop from a pupa to moth. :D

first noodling for 30 mins-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/chrissdawaller/COW_nightmare_before_christmas-1-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/chrissdawaller/COW_nightmare_before_christmas-1-i_.jpg

by the way should i put wip in this thread or is it more secretive, like i should just finish it and then bam- into the final thread?

[Fozzybar]

This thread is for WIPs, discussion, help and c&c while being in the progress, so it's ok to post it here...i miss some lines about the red nose in your concept though ;)

[Discoskull]

Rudolph immediately came to mind, so...some bone-plated mammal/reptile that lives in the frozen North and hunts Snow Faeries for food via its glowing red tongue?

[OldJake666]

Well after school gets out, I'll have a lot of free time. Maybe I'll make something that'll get brought to the poll this time. ;)

[ArtIsFun4You]

Those are really cool ideas. I am trying to think of something unique to do since Rudolph is going to be a good start for a lot of people. Maybe an evil Christmas tree dweller... However, Rudolph might be too good to pass up here!

[chriskot]

I'm leaning away from the Rudolph idea toward more of a hulking red and white beast with sharp teeth (maybe antlers though). There's a great idea in my head, I just haven't put it on paper yet. It'll have to be (at least mostly) traditional pencil art, seeing as how I won't be anywhere near a computer for the next 4 or 5 days.

[cw]

@fozz - there is a bit about his red nose in there towards the end. not much mind, but a bit. :)

cheers for clarifying the purpose of this thread, i won't feel like such a newb next time. :)

[sporkian]

A suggestion here, free to anyone who hasn't already thought of it:P It'd be interesting to see what ungodly creature the image of santa was based on. Was he a humanised cave painting of a christmas-dwelling daemon, or perhaps a character in a long-lost folk tale wo had to be re-designed to be kiddy-safe?

Lol, let it be known that i might have a go, but it doesn't look likely.

[ManaBurn]

Tried to combine the inconspicous with the dangerous. Rendered the creature large and kept it large to make it easier to examine. Kept the saturation low so that the tree would fall further into the background.

Ornamental Death Beetle

[Mrianna]

This one sounds like fun. I won't be able to join in this round!

[Fozzybar]

A suggestion here, free to anyone who hasn't already thought of it:P It'd be interesting to see what ungodly creature the image of santa was based on. Was he a humanised cave painting of a christmas-dwelling daemon, or perhaps a character in a long-lost folk tale wo had to be re-designed to be kiddy-safe?

Ask the designers over there at the Coca-Cola company ;)

[Arbu]

sketched an idea that came up... but i might search deeply in my mind to create something difrent.. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff212/detsnuere/sktchscow104.jpg

[BerNo]

Nice topic I'll be participating on this one

[grenogs]

I don't know if I should start on this and scrap my Medusa drawing. Argh! I'm so confused! I want to enter all contest but it's impossible! As soon as you enter one, another pops up. :/

Oh well, we'll see if I enter it or not. I hope I will.


I got the same problem, except i can see myself abandoning everything soon and having to work right through chistmas :(

[grenogs]

[QUOTE=sporkian;1575459]A suggestion here, free to anyone who hasn't already thought of it:P It'd be interesting to see what ungodly creature the image of santa was based on. Was he a humanised cave painting of a christmas-dwelling daemon, or perhaps a character in a long-lost folk tale wo had to be re-designed to be kiddy-safe?

Im sure he was based on an actual character, st nicolas. but im not sure which country though, either one of the northern europe or scandinavian countries. Also up until around the 1940-50s he used to have a green coat, until coca-cola decided to change it. Actualy i think the beginning of santa clause- the movie is a pretty acurate discription of how he's supose to have been

[Mastermind]

Nice C.O.W.

[ManaBurn]

Ask the designers over there at the Coca-Cola company ;)

I just watched the history of Christmas on the History Channel. Apparently the whole modern day holiday we celebrate can be broken down to the work of an illustrator working for Coca-Cola, and a poem being printed throughout the newspapers of our country. Thus proving Pop Culture is the real god. ;)

[Joey-b]

Wow.. tsbin a while.. think i mised about 30 cows..

well i tried once more
here is some early sketching
hope u guys remember who i am hehe
C&C me plz

WIPS
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/b-yeoj/COW104wip1.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/b-yeoj/COW104wip2.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/b-yeoj/COW104wip3.jpg

-FINAL VERSION-

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/b-yeoj/COW104_joey-b.jpg

Species - Rudeer

This animal has been talked about in fairytales
this shortned story sums it up i guess.

You thought santa's deers are just normal creatures, well... guess again..
Santa hates unhappy people, so he decided something needed to be done
So he got himself some Rudeers.. they have a very nice ability that normal deers dont have
In the nights before Christmas they head out into the world, they visit all the people in the world.
They enter the bedrooms and lean over the sleeping people.
Than their chest opens up and they suck up all the nightmares people have...
This is they way these guys eat... Nasty huh?

Well anywayz

[Reinen]

this may be a real pain but what proograms can create wips?

[Reinen]

this may be a real pain but what proograms can create wips?
Oh shiny new one, my very oown stupidity astounds me, truly

[Reinen]

this being the first time i have done more than comment so hopefully attached to this is my image of the noel dragon which is a simple sketch of a small dragon fabled to horde only gold frankensense and myrhh my apologies if my spelling is off and yes i will try to blame my keyboard....

[Reinen]

please let me know what you think?

[mattbyng]

Finally going to attempt COW after such a long absence - i'd been too afraid to enter after my previous entries..haha..anyway here goes:


http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/417/thenightmareb4xmas2ax2.jpg

OK So here is an update - not the greatest rendered piece in the world but it'll do for now I think.

CONCEPT: Nightmare Pine - The Nightmare Pine spends one whole year 'acting' as a tree; and come a few nights before Christmas, it will begin to uproot itself from the earth. After emerging, it spends its time chasing and terrorizing the animals of the forest in which it sprung to life.

[bwitzke]

quick WIP...
comments, crit?

[Reinen]

I love this ,thoough it could doo with an idea of a trunk somewhere, in my opinion or maybe just a side view?

[Joey-b]

got a new update

any C&C ??

mattbyng - i like urs hehe he looks cute, waiting for the update to give some crits

Bwitzke - Nice idea, i like the eyes but watch the accecory (spelling dont leave me now..), the christmas balls could be eyes but the gift in his belly.. i would remove that.
also the legs he is standing on are very thin.. maybe make m like tree trunk like?? a bit more massive.
Hope this helps a bit, good luck.

Apocolypse rex - very nice, like the sketchwork u got going on.

Discoskull - nice armors on the creature, no crits just awesome.

Reinen - Can u clean the pic up a bit and post it a bit smaller, .
He looks deformed but im guessin that on purpose? (his legs and stuff)


EDIT - Almost Final is up

[Mrianna]

So yeah... even though I said I was going to play this round I started drawing things at work.... So I have a basic pencilled concept. :3 and am going to start colouring in... well... when I get my new compy hooked up and a few things installed. :D

Tell me what you think of this little bugger? and um, if it's too small I can grab a bigger version, I just shrunk him down real quick.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

First time...prob. won't get passed the WiP stage since I don't get a tablet until x-mas, but will attempt to paint traditional style. Wanted to do something sci-fi / astrobiology related, so the concept is important.

Human tradition > common sense. Colonists bring home "Christmas trees", increased heat from homes releases parasitic wasps = nightmare ensues. The nightmare? These lovely wasps use their long ovipositors (sp?) to inject their larvae into the ocular cavity ( ocular = eyes) of their sleeping victims. The larvae follow the optic nerve back to the brain, where they feast on gray matter...if they remain untreated, 2-3 weeks later they emerge as adults, chewing their way back out the same way they got in.

http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs24/f/2007/355/4/3/CoW_104_WiP_by_AphoticPhoenix.jpg

1) Original sketch with color test
2) Revisted sketch (forgot tracing paper smears so easy! eww)
3) Laying out the final on cover paper but it was sketched so lightly that even after cranking the levels some things were lost. Thought I would get some feedback before I finalized the lines and started putting down ink and gouache. If you can't see in the horrible scan...to the left is supposed to be the tree with hibernation hole.

Thinking the "smooth parts" will be red/gold (christmasy!) with biolights...and some sort of bark color for the back camo.

Good, bad...horribly dumb?

[ArtZealot]

arggg! such an awesome topic. Im going to be out of town but i'm sitll going to try it.

[ScreamSin]

First CoW...not sure how well I'll do, but fortune favors the bold eh? The finished piece will be much more detail, this was just a sketch for my concept.

The Antaclaw is a huge creature that dwells in frigid environments. At first glance, it has a nightmarish face that leers in a brilliant display of red and white patterns. However, this is actually a false face, with the bright color scheme designed to attract attention away from the actual exposed part of the creatures true face. The false face is formed from a thick carapace of dead skin and muscle, with a sharp bone proboscis jutting out of the "chin". The proboscis is connected to the creatures gargantuan stomach, which is visible from the back, somewhat like a giant sack. The Antaclaw is capable of jetting out streams of stomach acid through the tube, burning creatures with a venomous cocktail of corrosive and highly venomous liquids. Once it's prey has been neutralized with the juices, the Antaclaw swallows it whole with it's massive jaws, digesting the rest of the kill in it's stomach. Generally the Antaclaw prefers to ambush it's prey from the dark confines of a cave, where many unknowing creatures seek shelter from the frigid temperatures.

[huhwhat]

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7310/nbchuhwhatlc8.jpg

Dec. 20, 2070
By: JAMES WATT
Neo Baghdad Times

Believed to be engineered by the same demented mind behind the soul-eating penguin-squid and toe-eating splattered-bug, this yet to be named Christmas tree impersonator is responsible for the horrific nightmare before Christmas, when seventy-two people lost their lives when taken by surprise by this human-flesh-loving carnivore. Survivors report that 'cheap price', 'free Star of Bethlehem and lights included' and 'unique alien flavour' to be the prime reasons for their purchase. Though appearing inanimate, hours after being warmed by the hearth fire, the dormant creatures awoke and proceeded with the business of devouring their buyers. Authorities refuse to comment on their failure to apprehend the criminal. Cheap Claymore joke work of junior reporter.

[Miasmamann]

I love this community and all this activities. I am far away from beeing a pro but i think i will give it a try and take part in this challenge. Hopefully the time will be enough for me (will start in Train with sketches and can realy start this evening). My idea so far is an animal called Christmaredillo. Nobody knows how it gets (some say it climbs through the chimney) ther but the night before christmas they hide between the other presents under the christmastree. When a little boy or girl wants to look at his/her presents in the night (without permission) the christmardillo discharges a toxic gas so that the child falls asleep and has bad bad nightmares before christmas. (sorry for my poor english)

Sketches for c&c will follow in a few hours

[xabian]

Here's my nightmare, this lil beauty eats presents
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8302/cow104v2copyho0.png

[Reinen]

First time...prob. won't get passed the WiP stage since I don't get a tablet until x-mas, but will attempt to paint traditional style. Wanted to do something sci-fi / astrobiology related, so the concept is important.

Human tradition > common sense. Colonists bring home "Christmas trees", increased heat from homes releases parasitic wasps = nightmare ensues. The nightmare? These lovely wasps use their long ovipositors (sp?) to inject their larvae into the ocular cavity ( ocular = eyes) of their sleeping victims. The larvae follow the optic nerve back to the brain, where they feast on gray matter...if they remain untreated, 2-3 weeks later they emerge as adults, chewing their way back out the same way they got in.

http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs24/f/2007/355/4/3/CoW_104_WiP_by_AphoticPhoenix.jpg

1) Original sketch with color test
2) Revisted sketch (forgot tracing paper smears so easy! eww)
3) Laying out the final on cover paper but it was sketched so lightly that even after cranking the levels some things were lost. Thought I would get some feedback before I finalized the lines and started putting down ink and gouache. If you can't see in the horrible scan...to the left is supposed to be the tree with hibernation hole.

Thinking the "smooth parts" will be red/gold (christmasy!) with biolights...and some sort of bark color for the back camo.

Good, bad...horribly dumb?
that is pure genius, no-one else can possibly win against that, i throw in the towel

[Joey-b]

reinen - dont enter COW to compete.. just share the towel ;)

[Miasmamann]

Here is the first sketch of my Christmaredillo (done in a Train of teh "Deutsche Bahn"...). Some stuff will be aded like more structure and anatomy stuff (ribs etc.) and the right invirement. Have problem to get Pthotoshop run on the PC of my father and i hope i will get this to work until tomorrow. :(

critique and suggestiones are very welcome

[xabian]

Miasmamann its good, but so far its just a christmas creature, not a nightmare before christmas, it seems a little cute really.

[OldJake666]

My idea is a creature from some folk lore that Santa would put in naughty children's stockings... I now have a lot of time so maybe I can whip something up.

[scorge]

I'm working on something for the naughty kids too. Can't wait to see what you come up with Jake.:D

[Aphotic Phoenix]

that is pure genius, no-one else can possibly win against that, i throw in the towel

@Reinen: o_O Aww thanks You've overestimate my ability to paint (and finish things) though! lol That was just the idea that came to mind. Since it's my first time I wanted to post the WiP/concept for c&c to make sure I wasn't being noobish. ^_^

I like the facial structure of your dragon, and the body design is an interesting one. I would suggest that if you want people to identify it as a dragon without reading the concept you may want to consider adding a few dragony details.

And to be fair I'll try to cover everyone else:

@ Apocalypse Rex, Discoskull - you both posted so early...would love to see an update 'cause both look really neat!

@ Manaburn - Interesting idea, and love the detail of the leg hair/spilkes. Are you going to leave the tail back or will you curve it up like a scorpian for a more menacing look? (not sure if that would feel cliche or not)

@ Joey-b - <3 What you've got done so far. The story book as walls idea is fantastic, and the paint job & effects so far look great. The right side feels a little empty to me since there are so many little details on the left.

@ mattbyng - would love to see what kind of details you'll be adding to yours. ^_^

@ bwitzke - Mmm...x-mas mantis. Agree with Joey-b on the balls/giftbox things. Looks a bit top heavy..partially due to perspective, but also consider the abdomen as a counter weight. Look at mantis photos and observe how the abdomen slopes towards the ground, and use that as an inspiration to make your image more visually viable.

@ Mrianna - I like the contrast of the scary mask and the cute wings. Interested to see what kind of textures and colors you'll be using

@ ScreamSin - Hehe..just wanted to point out that big feet and body shape remind me of a very angry nerds candy.

@ huhwhat - Concept is fun, but with sci-fi stuff I want the concept/creature to match in plausability and I think yours is more sci-fantasy which I suck at making comments for. ^_^

@ xabian - looking forward to seeing some details

@ Miasmamann - The claws and folded skin are a nice touch and could definately add to the "scary" factor if done right. Maybe make the floppy ear more ragged so it's less cute, and the right color & texture choices will make that happy looking grin quite creepy later on!

[Miasmamann]

the nightmare is explained through the discription (the creature liays like a present under the christmastree, and when a little girl or boy wants to watch the presents before christmas, it releases a toxic gas that make the child fall asleep and have bad nightmares. But if Nightmare means, that it has to be an evil/bad/scary creature it can be done with only some little changes (at the eye f.e.). What do yu think?

Will see it ehen i am able to get Photoshop to run today (only have today and tomorrow to finish it, real a challenge).

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I don't think that the creature has to be scary. In fact it's quite a unique approach to NOT have a scary monster, because scary is easier to associate visually with nightmares. I would suggest that if you go with a more passive looking creature that you really flesh out your concept as much as possible. Brainstorm about how this creature came to be, where it goes when it's not Christmas time, who created it, etc so you can use those ideas to make the most convincing explanation of your piece.

*Edit*
It would of course be best to illustrate what the creature does (you could show the gas being released with the child passed out in the background), but since you're schedule has you pressed for time...

[xabian]

thanks for commenting every 1 Aphotic Phoenix some good crit there.

small updated , started to add in some anatomy. can any body tell me if it looks right, i cant tell.
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/9738/cow104v2copysp5.png

[Miasmamann]

Thanks for commands and critique (want more ;)). Have done the shadowsketch. Until now everything was easy and took me ca. 3 Hours of work (i am not as fast as i wanna be). The rest will be harder because it is away from the style i use normaly (this is my first attempt in digital art using a wacom). With wacom it was close to traditional style until now, the followieng (coloring, highlighting, lighting etc.) ... lets see if i can do it.


Here the actiual Version (The color is green because i dont like to work in pure greytones):

[SOUTHERN]

Not been able to participate for SOOOOOO long...work gets in the way these days.

Nightmares before Xmas include Presents being stolen. It's bad enough for us mortals when some evil little toad steals our pressies from our cars or homes (a car in our case tonight...bas&**ds!) but it's a whole other story when presents go missing from the North Pole before they are even delivered!!! Most times the culprit is a wayward Elf with some grudge against the big man or the system.

Santa had a really bad year in `83 so he bred his own line of Xmas Guard Dogs..the Asboid Wolf. A very placid creature most of the time. When worked up or hungry these creatures have a tendency to berserk (often causing massive damage to life and limb in the process). Many an innocent Elf has been devoured when the A-Wolf leaps into action.

Never the less, crime in Santa's Grotto is now a respectable NIL and that is all down to Santa's very own `Nightmare before Xmas`, the Asboid Wolf.

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2007/img127.jpg WIP

[Reinen]

Thanks for commands and critique (want more ;)). Have done the shadowsketch. Until now everything was easy and took me ca. 3 Hours of work (i am not as fast as i wanna be). The rest will be harder because it is away from the style i use normaly (this is my first attempt in digital art using a wacom). With wacom it was close to traditional style until now, the followieng (coloring, highlighting, lighting etc.) ... lets see if i can do it.


Here the actiual Version (The color is green because i dont like to work in pure greytones):
i have to say prmise was unclear to start with, no offence, but now its a genuine work of art and i am startled at it's awesomeness

[cw]

quick update - still lots to do - ooh! roll on wednesday!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/chrissdawaller/COW_nightmare_before_christmas-1-v.jpg

[bigmikey]

This is my first go at COW, so I hope I'm doing this right. I had some extra time over the holiday so I figured, why not. Here is a WIP, I'm working on fleshing out it's body now.

The Bearded Creeper spends much of the year lying dormant underground, coming to the surface once a year for a few weeks in December to feed. During those weeks it prowls the alleys, gorging itself on whatever it can find.

[Miasmamann]

Some great looking WIPs in here, i am impressed and very prying on the results. My Problem is, as expected, the coloring and highlighting. I am not throug with it. Now it looks pillowshaded and the left part of the face is to dark/kontrast to backgrpund is to low etc.

There is a lot i've got to learn and so little time :(

Here is the actual pic. I wanted to add the Background tommorow but it seems i have to do an (huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughe) polish and overhauling to the creature again first (hope time will be enough).

P.S.: The claws are not ready, too (only placeholders now to give in impression of the end result)

[Joey-b]

apocolypse rex - nice work, tis gonna look good i know it

[Equeen]

Hi there

watching this cow and I really liked the subject..
though I haven't got ANY software or stuff to transfer
my idea in a real painting :( so here's just my idea,
I don't know, just wanted to show it ;)

grtz, EKE

[ScreamSin]

@ ScreamSin - Hehe..just wanted to point out that big feet and body shape remind me of a very angry nerds candy.

Guess I'll take that as a compliment? :)

[Lege1]

Southern: If you don't mind me asking.......What do you do for a living? Your work is fresh and I'd only hope you're an artist worker of some sort. What's good? By the way your concept is looking fresh. =)

[SOUTHERN]

Lege1: Hi mate, my main income is non-art related but I've freelanced for years. I have an ambition/dream of working full time from my studio but my mortgage gets in the way :) I spent too many years working on 3D stuff/training DVDs/high poly work and want to get back to my pencil roots.

[Nightblue]

Was going to skip this one and focus on sleep and CHOW, but I've had too many creepy tree monster dreams to let this one slip...

Some thumbs on the tree monster. The third one is closer to what's in my dreams. Is plant-creature against COW's rules though?

http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/36915/2003037833893220647_rs.jpg

[Magoo]

Ok, this is my first post here so... I hope I'm doing right.

This is a kind of salamander with fireplace head. At the cold days of winter the fireplacer get in the houses by chimney but leaving only his head out, pretendig to be the fireplace, waiting for the right moment.

His victims are adults who light the fireplaces and kids hanging their sox or leaving coockies for Santa.

Well I think this is it...
Hope you enjoy

[Reinen]

This is my first go at COW, so I hope I'm doing this right. I had some extra time over the holiday so I figured, why not. Here is a WIP, I'm working on fleshing out it's body now.

The Bearded Creeper spends much of the year lying dormant underground, coming to the surface once a year for a few weeks in December to feed. During those weeks it prowls the alleys, gorging itself on whatever it can find.
AWESOME truly original

[cw]

quick update at work (oh cheeky - but it is christmas eve, right?)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/chrissdawaller/COW_nightmare_before_christmas-1-vi.jpg

[Miasmamann]

I have done it... i am ready :steph:
It took me the spare Time of two days to build this and therefore i am more or less satisfied (i hve much problems with highlighting. Also some structere on the skin is to "hard" and ti regular :( ). I would like to have some time to try to improve it, but i dont ... so this is my final version. Maybe i can invest mor the next time.
Crits and commands are welcome although.

Do i have to post it again somwhere or is it enough to post this final version here?
(If someone could help me make the description without mistakes i would be very thankful, my english is bad).

The green smokefigure is supposed to be the Nightmare. It is painted after the famous Artwork of "Heinrich F&#252;ssli:
Der Nachtmahr" ("the nightmare) (1781)

[edujante]

I introduce in this post the original Rudolph before the magician Santa KLauss convert it in the red nose reindeer that everybody knows.
In fact, Rudolph, was a predator and killer beast, eating santas dwarf and caroote cake cooked by santas bride,
Santas, in order to calm the situation, he used a powerfull spell to change Rudolph behaviour!

This is Rudolp before the transformation!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!:asspat:


http://edujante.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/nightmare-copy.jpg

[Novbert]

Just one question: Where is the thread for the final entries? 'Cause I'd really like to upload my one, but I don't know where to upload.
Fozzy?

[Joey-b]

just post it here...
itll be transfered later when the final thread is made by fozzy

[grenogs]

novbert, if you wait a couple days im guessing fozzy will sort it out, don't rely on just posting it here, or it may never get to pole

[The Mongrel]

ok i know this is a little late but here it is the sketch of my penguin eater. i need c & c for it. it looks like a penguin due to camoflauge

[OldJake666]

Penguins only exist in the Antarctic or the south pole. As Santa is in the north pole, the Arctic, I doubt they'd ever come into contact.

[cw]

finished my first COW. :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/chrissdawaller/COW_nightmare_before_christmas.jpg

edit: here's the blurb:
--------------------------------------
The myth of the yuletide reindeer 'Rudolph' was in fact based on a typically misunderstood and reclusive species which was eventually driven to extinction by the human race.

Before the species' untimely demise, they were often used for haulage in northern wastes because of their great stamina and cold weather adaptations. Once it was found that these beasts were so useful they were quickly employed to boost profits and could be found all across northern areas within a matter of months.

It was realised too late that long periods of forced loadbearing caused some hormonal imbalances which brought out the territorial, violent and ultimately deadly nature of these beasts, and many haulers were missing or dead after the animals went berzerk during a dark winter.

this event was known by locals as 'the nightmare before christmas' and by the summer of the next year the species was declared extinct after being culled, hunted and trapped til none could threaten the delicate northerners' economy any more.

Over time, attitudes softened to this creature, and it is now only remembered fondly in the well known christmas tale. Forgotten are the wings and proud stature of this creature, and his mythical form is much more that of traditional reindeer. The one facet of the true species which remains is the red nose which is used in courtship and mating rituals for display.

[Miasmamann]

@A. Rex ... Yours is my fav until know, especially because of the expression on its face (if one could name it face). Really nice work.

[Enosh B]

A purple nightmare :)

[xabian]

fisrtly happy christmas guys
Enosh B its almost like rattata from pokemon, but with big bat ears, i quite like it. what does it do exactly to be a christmas nightmare?

Apocalypse_Rex as Miasmaman said, it's deffinatly the best entry on here so far, with quite a bit of thought put into it. i do like how you have done the fur, like i'm trying to do fur on my own creature but it is harder than what it seems (any pointers would be nice)

The Mongrel an interesting idea, it would be nice to see more of a link to christmas brought into it, but a nice idea all the same.

Magoo just brilliant, love it i laughed so much a small tear fell. its got quite a cartooney style to it and i do love how you have done the scales.


edujante great work, love how you have made the wrinckly skin, realy puts life into the concept. one thing what does trouble me is that it is green and well it doesnt seem like it is suited to cold environment (ie no fur/fat etc that would help him survive in its environment).

Miasmamann an interesting idea, deffinatly original. but more detail might be nice to see in order to make it more life like.

Nightblue some nice ideas, id have to say that i prefere the 1 to the right, it looks to be more like it could be a real creature, and the anatomy on the legs could make it look rava interesting. love to see how your concept turns out.

Equeen a nice simple idea with living tinsel, it would be nice to see a more detailed version but a nice idea all the same.

bigmikey a very nice start. i love the detail that you have started to put into it, also the santa reference in the creature is just sweet.

SOUTHERN's dude, now i have to say that is totally awsome, an interesting idea of being santas guard dog, a pure dip into the reallity of santas workshop. also i love the frog legs, although on the same note they seem a lil wrong, nt sure how exactly, guess you need an expert eye.

xabian an absolutly godly concept, deffintaly a winner. its even going to be biologically created and implimented into the wild. infact as its soooo good you could place the picture in the snow and you would think that it was about to steal your preasents =P (im only kidding im just mad)

huhwhat's interesting idea, a definate style shows through in your concept.personally i think that the wings should look more like the branches of a christmas tree, but its good all the same. p.s. love the colours on the bg really goes with the concept.

ScreamSin ah a very evil looking creature, looks almost like it could get away as being a skull collector. cant wait to see some colour added.

Aphotic Phoenix its a good drawing, but it is a little too much alike a wasp it would be nice to see some more origional features added to it.

Mrianna a nice idea there, would deffinatly give a kid a fright, cant wait to see it finnished.

bwitzke good stuff, evil christmas tree. the anatomy seems a little wrong though, and perhaps it may look better in a different position. good work all the same.

mattbyng "ahhhh its comming right for me!!!" said the raindeer as it got flattened by the christmas tree, santa must really hate them. it aint easy to come by a red nosed raindeer around these parts. nice work, the finnished will hopefuly be as good as the idea =]

Joey-b nice idea and well put out onto paper. interesting way of setting out the bg, although it would be nice to have more focus on the creature.

Arbu's nice creature sketches, but they look a little bit too cute to be a nightmare =P

ManaBurn good work, some more texture on its skin, and more shine on its back would be nice to have.

Discoskull's a nice style of sketching, it allows you to add a fair bit of detail into the concept. oh yeah and of course i love how the concept is going, love to see some updates.

oh my god iv actually finnished writing, sorry if some of it makes no sence or the spelling is bad, a am a "lil" merry upon the christmas goods.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Xabian - Thanks for your comment. ^_^ I do agree with you, but since I never really expected to get passed the WiP by the due date I decided to combine projects. When it gets done it'll be used as art for a gene-seed theory based rpg. (If I ever get That all written up)

[Novbert]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2019/2134259167_6ba897f027_o.jpg

Artist: Novbert
Concept: Xarotonga (a.k.a. Santahead Treehugger)
This peaceful parasite – inhabitant of the tropical forrests of Aldebaran-V – spends virtually all of its life on the same wuawu tree sucking the sweet sap of the tree. The Xarotonga - or as the human astronauts who discovered this weird creature named it after its special body shape: Santahead Treehugger – is an all-female species reproduces via parthenogenesis two or three times a year with each litter containing 1-2 pups.The feet of newborn Xaratongas are very well-developed and strong, so they can easily climb off the tree and take long distances in order to find a suitable, vigorous wuawu tree to live on. Once the little Xarotonga finds that tree, she climbs up on it, gnaws through the thick bark of the tree with her modified mouth and starts to feed. As Xarotonga never leaves its chosen tree the muscles of her legs atrophy gradually.
Xarotonga has a unique defensive mechanism against carnivores: it’s her frightening screams. Her apple-sized lidless eye scans her sorrundings constantly and if she sees a potential enemy approaching, she makes a terribly loud high frequency sound with her large, yellow, mouth-shaped organ on her back. How this sound takes effect is not yet known, but the fact is that fearful panic takes hold of every living who hear it.
Xarotonga is the totem animal of the local Vokioki tribe. In their language the name ‘Xarotonga’ means: ‘The One Whose Screams Make Your Blood Freeze’

[Miasmamann]

fisrtly happy christmas guys
Miasmamann an interesting idea, deffinatly original. but more detail might be nice to see in order to make it more life like.

Thank you fpr c&c :hugsmile:
Could you specify what details you are missing. Do not have the time to add them until end of c.o.w. 104 but i am interested to become better although :)

[cw]

@xabian - fur eh? well i'm no expert but the main thing is not to try and pant every strand, you'll be there all day and it won't look quite right. Paint the bigger forms of the fur, lit as if they were slightly translucent solid (so softer light transitions than a solid solid if you know what i mean) once the lighting is reasonably on, you can add some rough edges to suggest the fur, and finally pick out some small strands here and there to further push the sell on the lighting you are trying to suggest. :) different kinds of fur i suppose have different amounts of each of these steps. grab photos of creatures to help you understand the light and colour as well.

good work everyone!

[edujante]

xabian: Thanks 4 your comment!

[Magoo]

Xabian,

Thanks for the coments... :steph:
and Merry Hollidays 4 you.

[Kevzip]

Apocalypse_Rex I like your entry, that red nose is really something.


Here is my pic, not finished yet.

EDIT: Well not much changes but i think it is finished. Here it is:

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/7325/cow104hp9.jpg

[emilei24]

Where can you find the deadlines on the weekly contests?

[mattbyng]

UPDATE ON PAGE 1

Kevzip - Nice concept, love the colours, adds an eerie feeling to it, cant wait to see the finished product.

Joey-B - I love your story for this creature; "Santa hates unhappy people" haha BRILLIANT! haha, your creature is likable and very creepy. I must say if I woke up in the middle of the night to find one of those Rudeers hanging above my bed, I'd most like leave them a present of my own (if you know what I mean).

huhwhat - I really dig your design. So far, a winner in my eyes. It just seems right - like something you could imagine coming in from the skies above and could easily fool a buyer! Love it!

Miasmamann - To be honest, at first I thought this looked a bit odd, but after seeing your progression, I am very impressed! I am in no way great at rendering in photoshop or a great artist (yet) so forgive me if I have come off naive. I love all the detail in your image! Well done!

Edujante - If I had your rendering skills, I'd be happy! The expression in its face is just perfect - "dont mess with me" haha. LOvE it! But one thing, you mention in your caption that he is fury? Doesnt look very fury to me.

Apocalypse-Rex - One word. Beautiful. And your first COW! Excellent job, I wish I had your talent. Also considering you for my vote ;)

Southern - I am having a little trouble with yours, does it only have one hind leg? I love the concept idea, the guard dog plot..excellent imagination!

[edujante]

Mattbyng:

Hey! youre right, in fact, i was wrong using the word fury, in spanish, this word,has other meaning!

[Miasmamann]

UPDATE ON PAGE 1
Miasmamann - To be honest, at first I thought this looked a bit odd, but after seeing your progression, I am very impressed! I am in no way great at rendering in photoshop or a great artist (yet) so forgive me if I have come off naive. I love all the detail in your image! Well done!


I do not see a reason to forgive anyone here because ther is nothing that let me felt atacked/offended ... contrariwise i am realy happy about any c&c :)
That is my first time that i tried to render a picture in Photoshop and i will have to do much much more pictures (and get much much more critique) until i am as good as i want to be (if i will ever reach that, because my main-passion is creative writing and painting is just a hobby i do have only limited time for).

Maybe i can handle it to try to set a few more highligts and set the lights better in the scene becaus i came back from a party today earlyer than expected.

[Miasmamann]

I have done some changes on color (and hope, nobody is angry becuse of my many posts). In my opinion now it does not look as clich&#233;d as before. I also set some more highlights and overdone the skin of the christmaredillo (+ add some illumination and selfillumination) and other small changes (less than half an hour of work in whole). I hope i am not the only one that think this version is a little bit better/more interesting, than the green one?

C.O.W. - #104 from Miasmamann:
The Christmaredillo

Concept:
Santa Claus' bag is a gate to a whole parallel universe, where, among phantastillions over phantastillions of presents, some very strange Creatures lives. One of these creatures is the Christmaredillo. In the night before christmas, when Santa Claus distributes the presents under the Christmastrees all over the world, some of these strange, glowing, little, partially scaled marsupials can escape this dimension and settle between the presents where they are hardly to detect because they look like alluring glowing presents themself.
When a Child wants to peep at its presents in the night without permission a Christmardillo can smell the bad conscience and will release a toxic gas out of a gland in it's back, that let the child fall asleep and have veeeery bad nightmares.
Because Christmardillos are from another dimension they cannot live long in our universe and so they disintegrate before morning brokes.

[Joey-b]

Miasmamann - nice enrty but since the creature gives of so much light.. let it refelct on its claws and the floor.. i c u tried to put some light on the kid but i think u could make that lighter than it is now

also.. could u post it at a higher res cause it pretty small now

other than that nice picture.. and nice story!

[xabian]

Miasmamann ido think that Joey-b has it right, its not the lack of detail, its more that you cant see it too well as the pic is so small

[Nightblue]

Whee, tree monsters!

final, but feedbacks are appreciated as I can still make changes before fozzybar makes it back ;)

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/lxc2000/COW104_pv3.jpg

The Green Giant feeds on children who walk away from their parents when they go pick out their Christmas trees at night. They appear in their victims' dreams the night they saw the children, chasing them across the massive, empty, snowy plains. Most of the children escape by waking up before falling into the long fingers of doom, but some unfortunate youngsters never wake from their sleep.

[Hakim]

Hello, this is my final pic, B&W...
http://usera.imagecave.com/newbie/kong.jpg
C.O.W. - #104 from Hakim
Concept:
This is when Kong decided to take a part to christmas eve :). He's silverback lil bit rudolph (without red nose ) and lil bit claw for grab a roof, that make santa job more easier.. and not forget with cute tail in a back :). He's adorable and dangerous in same time

[Lege1]

Southern: Thanks for answering that question of mine man. I am definitely trying to push the full time illustration thing and always wonder what others are doing with their talent and how they got where they got. Everyone is always quick to talk art but I think these forums lack the business side of things. Hobbies are great, but for those of us wanting to go for the gusto their is much more than coming up with concepts and creating images to know. =) Thanks for being humble man. Much love,
-=Lege

[mattbyng]

Nightblue - I love your idea so far! The angle and posture of your creature feels and looks so dramatic. I cant wait to see it finished!

Hakim - That is just friggin sweet! Haha very bad-ass! ;)

[Miasmamann]

thanks very very much for critique. Have tried some of the suggestiones. (I also give you a larger image, but it is only scaled up from the smaller version. The green version was 30cm x 21cm with 300DPI, but since i came to timepressure i decided to work on with the very small pic and add the changes in better quality later without timepressure. This scale is o smooth now).

[SOUTHERN]

I decided to act on the feedback and remove the silly frogs legs. I started this guy off as a guard-toad and as he evolved into a dog I forgot to go back and re-work the legs.

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads2007/img131.jpg

Santa had a really bad year in `83 so he bred his own line of Xmas Guard Dogs..the Asboid Wolf. A very placid creature most of the time. When worked up or hungry these creatures have a tendency to berserk (often causing massive damage to life and limb in the process). Many an innocent Elf has been devoured when the A-Wolf leaps into action.

Never the less, crime in Santa's Grotto is now a respectable NIL and that is all down to Santa's very own `Nightmare before Xmas`, the Asboid Wolf.

[bigmikey]

Here is my final image. Feedback is always welcome.

http://www.mikebohman.com/sketches/santaBug.jpg

The Bearded Creeper spends much of the year lying dormant underground, coming to the surface once a year for a few weeks in December to feed. During those weeks it prowls the alleys, gorging itself on whatever it can find.

[Joey-b]

Big Mickey - like urs a lot but uh, maybe at some more white speckels on the glow parts to make it more slimy? and some drool maybe.. just my $ 0.02

Southern - nice design, as for crits.. does he have 4 eyes? it looks a bit confusing, also the bg is to much the same contrast as the bg so the hairs fade a bit to much in the bg imo

Hakim - sweet! dont c a lot of full pencils here, crits his left shoulder (view right) looks smaller than his right.. other than that nicely drawn!

Night blue - nice design and idea but his arms are a bit confusing.. specially the one that is pointing to the viewer.. i think the body is turned in a way its just impossible for him to get his arm like that

[Bretton]

the link for the finished pieces goes to the spongeback voting... where should I post my final piece?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/bretton/bearscare016.jpg

[Fozzybar]

[SIZE=6]OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS!]/SIZE]

Oh man...sorry people! Just returned from the holidays and saw that i forgot the final entries thread. Here is it now, please post your finals there, i will close the round the next days:

THREAD FOR FINAL ENTRIES (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114442)

[Lander]

Great now I had to do one more COW. :)
I had let go of this one and then Fozz says "next days"
So I hanged one on the final entries wall.
There are some great images this time around. Hope to see you all next weekend in Seattle!

[Joey-b]

to bad i live in the netherlands.. seatlle is preeeeety far away.. say hi to pearl jam and kurt for me

[Fozzybar]

poll is on:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=114442