C.O.W. #172 5 Legs and SuperVision Posting_WIPS thread

[scorge]

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 #172 5 Legs and SuperVision

Topic:
#172 5 Legs and SuperVision

What is it about Earth that leaves super predators with 4 legs I often ask myself? What if this guys was to have a fifth? Where would it go, why would it be there and what would be the advantages and disadvantages of having this extra limb? Now, what happens when you combine this with having the most advanced vision in the universe? I'm not going to dictate what makes this creature's vision "Super", but for few examples it could be anything from binocular, to night vision to some kind of spectrum that we can't see. The point is that it's up to you to make it obvious that this beast has 5 legs, and its eyes are its most notable feature. I'm sure there'll be a few questions so don't hesitate to ask.


Deadline:
Monday April 5th, 2010.

Finals go here: ="http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=185198"http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=185198

[skullbeast]

Sweet! cool topic!

[(lark]

Awesome. I was really excited to start another cow, and this topic is great. Much more up my alley.

[Reymus]

Interesting, now to figure out a way to make it not look awkward or a giant penile organ between four legs ;).

[Labrynthine]

Since you mentioned Earth there, does it have to be realistic, or can it be a magic-based creature/spirit?

[scorge]

Since you mentioned Earth there, does it have to be realistic, or can it be a magic-based creature/spirit?

I suppose it could be magic based, but I'm more concerned with the anatomy of your design and does everything make sense in the way it's situated on your creature's body. The vision thing could go either way in terms of its source, but as long as the eyes are noticeable, whatever you want to do you can.

[Labrynthine]

Cool! Thanks, Scorge!

So yeah, this guy uses his magical true-seeing boatlight eyes to hunt down and neutralize invisible creatures. I'm thinking of moving the arm he holds his face with more towards the side since there doesn't seem to be a very good attachment point on the front (plus unweildly to clip his face back on) and add some weight to the opposite side to balance out that asymmetrically-placed arm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SpectralArtist/weeeeird.jpg

[skullbeast]

Im assuming legs and arms are one and the same...

[Lege1]

:yayca:

[Paolo13]

OK I will do this right!! I hope with help!!
These are some quick studies and ideas. Any comment and critics would be highly appreciated!!! I will not go further until I decide which concept to follow.
I will do more doodles, just to see if I get a better idea.

Ciao

[hiower4]

paolo13 I really like number 2, middle one especially. It's ingenious.

[Spirall]

Ok, so I don't think I'm going to be able to get a finished image in, but I couldn't help myself from scribbling up a quick idea.

This was the first thing that jumped into my head. I think it was sort of meant to be a land variation of an angler fish. . .
942549

[emerging]

the leg is the jump starter.
The eye is used in mating season to fertilize the female over the distance.

[wiegetie]

whew, adding a 5th leg and actually making it an addition is hard :p

im thinking of a creature that can look back in time like half an hour. So it sees a creature sitting somewhere, and then he can track it to its hideout or w/e.

the 5th leg / arm would be used to feel his prey, cause with being focused on the whole seeing back in time this little bugger sometimes mixes up what is and what was

wips to come!

[Wixxi]

Just a wip
http://i40.tinypic.com/2urv6v5.jpg

[Fiddzy]

This seems like a challenging yet potentially extremely fun topic. However not sure if I will have the time this week to take part, so I might have to sit this one out, although we shall see....

Scorge - Just out of curiosity, dose the creature have to actually walk on all 5 legs? I only ask as it says Legs and not limbs.

Paolo13 - My personal favorite is the Crab design, if you could add more detail it could be an awesome and unique creature.

emerging - Love the design of this creature, particularly in its pouncing posture.

Wixxi - I personally think the 3 legged version works better than the 3 armed version, just because adding a 3rd tiny arm almost feels like cheating, unless you can find an interesting explanation as to why it evolved to have it.

All good stuff so far.

[Wixxi]

This seems like a challenging yet potentially extremely fun topic. However not sure if I will have the time this week to take part, so I might have to sit this one out, although we shall see....

Scorge - Just out of curiosity, dose the creature have to actually walk on all 5 legs? I only ask as it says Legs and not limbs.

Paolo13 - My personal favorite is the Crab design, if you could add more detail it could be an awesome and unique creature.

emerging - Love the design of this creature, particularly in its pouncing posture.

Wixxi - I personally think the 3 legged version works better than the 3 armed version, just because adding a 3rd tiny arm almost feels like cheating, unless you can find an interesting explanation as to why it evolved to have it.

All good stuff so far.

oh hehe, yeah i know, i worked out the sketch, togheter with some changes as in form and changing to 3 legs instead of 3 arms xD, thx for noting tho ^^

[wiegetie]

would this be considered a 5th leg?

And im gonna add more stuff to the creature, this is just for composition-stuff

http://student-theater.hku.nl/~wieger/sgazan.jpg

[lancer_idenoure]

does it have to be a predator or can it be anything?

[Reymus]

Just in general, while obviously there are animals that use their forelegs as arms, 5 legs to me says that the appendages should provide some sort of mobility rather than have a leg shape but is essentially an arm.

Wixxi - I think you should bulk up and move lower/forward those arms and make them into legs, a good example would be like bats using their forelegs (arms) to walk on surfaces.

Many hours later...a sketch.

[wiegetie]

yeah you're probably right, i'll try and put that leg into some sort of time tracking super walkmode

or something

[Lege1]

Scorge: Very nice topic on this one…..I think it is very challenging and decided to give it my best shot.

Reymus: Interesting but have you considered making that fifth leg straight coming off the back of your creature in the first proto? I think it would do much more justice if you did. The position of the fifth leg (leg to far right) seems like some sort of birth defect, but that’s just my take on it. Second prototype looks fresh, I like the fat mutated frog steez……

Labrythine: Where’s the fifth leg?

Skullbeast: I would think legs are legs man. I like how you’re using the hard edge technique to pop the character forward and the blurred background to make that all, all the much more intense.

Paolo13: I like set #1 (The creature that kicks its eggs with its fifth leg)…I got a good chuckle off this and find it interesting. Definitely don’t do #4 man, the crab / crustacean shit is totally played out on here, it comes up like every other COW or less.

Spiral: Nice attempt…….

Emerging: Very dope concept! I look forward to see either of the two if not both rendered out. Keep up the good work!

Wixxi: You got a cool bird thing going on here but I think that it would be cool if you made the 2 small arms, two small legs….

Wiegetie: Iam feeling that your idea is too cliché / typical/ etc…Maybe try a couple different thumbnails or something.

Good job people, I'll be looking forward to seeing the progress and to also see who else is going to drop in on this one.

[witcrack]

I don't know if i'm able to do this, i got full schedule this week, but the topic is really interesting and i'm really tempted. I have a question though, about the fifth limb, how about a monkey tail? that a limb also, right? or should it be strictly legs (or arms)?

[scorge]

You got it Reymus. Thanks Dude.

Definition of leg: either of the two lower limbs of a biped, as a human being, or any of the paired limbs of an animal, arthropod, etc., that support and move the body. There should be 5 of them. I know that including a fifth leg is not easy because they're not easily found in nature, that's why I chose it.

wiegetie: Not sure I'd call that a leg but it's very early in the sketching phase and hard to tell what your intentions are right now. Maybe you could draw up some thumbnails of variations just to give yourself more ideas to work with.

[nram]

Some nice ideas so far... hope i have time to do something for this topic...
im having a bit of trouble in putting a fifth leg on a creature and finding a decent reason for it to be there... so far i see a lot of creatures that have 5 limbs... but not five legs...should it be strictly legs?

Paolo13: really great ideias there! the second one made me laugh... also like the crab one

emerging what can i say... love the sketch.. really great pose

Lege1 try and remove the eye on the side and see how it goes... dont feel its doing anything there

Reymus - that leg in the back should be a litle bigger maybe...

wixxi - as fiddzy said the 3 legged version works better...

sorry for not commenting on eveyone but im doing this in my worktime :S

[Duman]

Sounds fun, already have all sorts of ideas.
I often find myself wondering what I would do with a fifth, (or superfluous) leg.
Now the hard choice I have to make is whether to make the fifth leg funny, or useable.
Choices choices.

[Ragnj]

This where Im at, dull pose, pretty shitty creature and horrible colours, starting over me thinks.

[JKennard]

hello all, long time reader of the forum but first time posting. Felt I should get some concept practice going. Looking at my creature I'm not sure the appendage is indeed a leg, but there we go. The idea was that it lives in a near pitch-black cave (hence the eyes) and uses the fifth leg to feel its way and whisk smaller creatures into its gob.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/SwiftMrLobster/coweyeslegs.jpg

[Paolo13]

Jkennard: You still have a week before posting your final. So take your time. Ciao

[JKennard]

Jkennard: You still have a week before posting your final. So take your time. Ciao

Oops. Probably won't change it but if i do shall I just update that post?

[emerging]

Oops. Probably won't change it but if i do shall I just update that post?

yeah man just go edit and then delete the current attachment and upload new one. I do that sometimes too

[emerging]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

here is another little update. Gonna show female and male in the process of mating season

[Shadoworen117]

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2214/image06133.jpg

[Naphtali]

This is what i got so far....

The Bogstrider a very slow and methodical predator. Capable of Small bursts of speed and leaping, it is very unpredictable. It is mostly a "Fishing" predator but it has been known to hunt humans and other animals. It settles over an area with its large leg base and uses its 'Stinger', which is centered on the underside of it's lower body section to spear prey. In the 'stinger' is a powerful neurotoxin that eradicates the nerves on contact. it is usually very sparing with this venom as it is difficult for the creature to generate more once it is used. Although the creature does not need to use much, to be effective. The Creature has shown great intelligence but it is still very much an animal. All biologists agree that it has Arachnid Qualities and Mammal qualities but they are unsure as to how or why those qualities were combined or evolved. Many Biologists believe the Being a failed experiment to create a power creature to be controled and used and when it was deemed a failure they set it free, expecting it to die off. Well, the dead bodies and horror stories of the creature lean more to it being alive and very well.

[viiva]

I have a question, would this be allowed?

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/3500/14806891.png

[RaphaelLuebke]

@aeon:
hehe cool idea!! ;)

[Alexjholt]

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k4/Alexjh/Game%20Art%20Stuff/5legsgoodsight.jpg

Just doodling some ideas

1 is roughly just using the 5th leg for a powerful jump, 2 gets a 5th leg inplace of a tail to aid climbing, 3 I'd really not sure whats its for beyond it being a tripod on crutches arrangement, and 4 would use the 5th leg between its first two for casual walking, but while hunting would tuck it up and use it to strike at it's prey without having to slow down.

[Mr. P Show.]

Hmmm. I miss Creature of the week:(

[emerging]

shit it's almost 5 am... i need to go to sleep but im so into this i cant stop haha
anyway here is some progress.

[Paolo13]

Emerging: that is looking good!!!! You should never sleep! Ciao

His front right leg look a bit off.

[viiva]

woah emerging, that looks stunning. how do you paint like that :O

[Lege1]

Emerging: Great start dudeskee! Looking great now that you got some paint on them. You may have this COW by the neck yet.

[Wixxi]

@Aeon: Haha optical illusion, sweet xD

[Paolo13]

So we agree that the creature must move on the five limbs.
It does not matter how many arms it has or body extensions as long as it has the five legs.

This sends all my studies to the bin LOL...well except for the crappy crab!!

[nram]

just a sketch i did for fun last night... still unsure if it fits the brief... so any feedback before i start rendereing it a bit more would be great :)

this predator stalks the treetops of the jungle at night... the extra limb gives him the abilitie to move faster and the strenght to grab bigger preys without lossing grip

[spoonfruit]

First time ever doing a COW...may not end up doing a finished piece due to my lack of ability with dynamic poses on creatures...but hey...for now it's good practice. :P
The idea: This is a creature that came along before the inefficient 5th leg was weeded out through evolution. However, the leg has begun to take on more efficient roles such as seen here. It still retains the leg-like qualities..but it is now used as a spear for prey. The "knife" end of the leg can fold back into a fleshy pocket located on the underside of the leg. It's vision is thermal based. The large eye on top is protected by a thick eyelid. It is there to provide aerial awareness of other, larger flying predators. The large eye is completely exposed when the creature is on the hunt.

sorry for the length...:)

[(lark]

aeon: holy m.c. escher batman! Looks cool. Really curious to see how you handle the painting on this looks like its not going to be too easy.

emerging: looks awesome. Your sense of color is great. I could learn a lot from you as that's probably my weak area. I do agree with paolo that the far front leg on the male looks akward right now. But I have all faith in you. Great start, if you use the whole week this piece should be amazing.

Just some crits for now. I'll try and post my wip tonight when I get home. Trying a new technique.

[emerging]

thanks guys! you both are absolutely right about the leg. I was also getting a "something-is-wrong-with-it" feeling. Working on it !

Ill post more feedback on others later tonight. Gotta get off the comp and go work out haha

[Shadoworen117]

Bit of progress even though I'm already done, I'd like to show how it looked shortly after I started coloring..

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5465/5leggedwip.jpg

[ninety9]

emerging u got my vote already, cool pose, cool anatomy AND most important i could imagine how that beast "walks" with 5 legs :D looooove the muscles already in this early stage.

[meganite]

Based on a greyhound, which is a "sight-hound" i.e. chases prey when it sees them. 2 ideas, perhaps 2 separate gaits of the same creature: a loping gait shown at the bottom which includes the back legs, and a full out run using only the front 3 (stronger) legs. Large claws would be on the back legs so as soon as it catches the prey it can "pounce" with them. This might lead to further developments of hind-winged creatures (as the velociraptors developed into birds....)
944133

[Reymus]

Shadoworen - You still have days to go with the cow, work on it some more, get some legs in there and some values.

Aeon - Cool idea, it looks ethereal-ish, it'd be interesting to tie in the movement as well maybe with the static pose, a diagram off the side maybe.


Update, blocking in... :).

[Shadoworen117]

Thanks, I already did, got all 5 legs down and everything, I was just showing an earlier version up to you guys.

[ArtMinionAndrew]

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1079/5legssupervision.jpg

My W.I.P. sketch for this week's C.O.W.

He's some type of demon.

[neyeq]

im having issues, just as much as the next with the fifth leg idea.
however i keep seeing people using something i would consider arms and counting it as a leg.
i think emerging's concept is a great showcase of what this means.
yet i keep seeing raptor like creatures and the two arms are considered "legs"
scorge defined what legs were, something that adds to mobility
i dont feel like arms, or what would be considered arms do such.

and scorge please correct me if im wrong,
but don't get settled in to a concept that doesn't have FIVE LEGS as it is the most challenging aspect of this COW in my opinion.

[Paolo13]

Ok. This is what I see from my opinion. Ciao

Artminionandrew: 3 legs
Reimus: 5 legs
Shadoworen117: 2 legs...and...well I would change the point of view!!!
Spoonfruit: 4 legs
Emerging: 5 legs
Aeon: 5...no 9...wait wait! 5 Legs
Naphtali: 4 legs
Jkennard: 4 legs
Ragnj: 5 legs
wixxi: 3 legs
Spiral: 4 legs
Paolo13: 5 legs (crab)
Lege1:...help me out!
Labrynthine: 4 legs

[emerging]

here is some update.. going to work on certain flaws now. Also going to work more on the ground and background.

[Paolo13]

Emerging:OmG looking grate!!!

[Shadoworen117]

My guy has 5 legs.. one in the middle, two in the back with eyes on the knees, and the two front legs are the ones that look like hands, but aren't.

[(lark]

emerging: wow. Did you use a texture overlay for the ground or did you paint all that in? Its awesome. I'm sure you still see stuff you could work on but it looks pretty much done to me. Great work.

[Paolo13]

Shadoworen117: If you say so. I am just pointing out what I see. I can not read peoples mind. If I say I see arms, hand and fingers, you should take it as a suggestion to try and fix your illustration so that when someone views it he will not fall in my same "error".

I am having the same problem with my creature.

Ciao

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/paolo13/Cow172_paolo13small.jpg

[Shadoworen117]

Dictionary definition for "leg"

"either of the two lower limbs of a biped, as a human being, or any of the paired limbs of an animal, arthropod, etc., that support and move the body."

As far as I know, even if it looks like a hand, in my concept it's paired, and both supports and moves the body, despite the fact that 2 of the legs have limbs that look like fingers.. for all you know they could be long toes, similar to what a monkey would have. The imagination stretches far, and by definition, I've got 5 legs.

[Paolo13]

Fair enough!
Ciao

[(lark]

944295

here's where I'm at. probably have another update late tonight.

[emerging]

Shadoworen117: If you say so. I am just pointing out what I see. I can not read peoples mind. If I say I see arms, hand and fingers, you should take it as a suggestion to try and fix your illustration so that when someone views it he will not fall in my same "error".

I am having the same problem with my creature.

Ciao

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/paolo13/Cow172_paolo13small.jpg

Hey man i love the drawing! can't wait to see it painted. The idea is pretty funny too haha

[ninety9]

i second what somebody said above - many creatures with 3 legs+2arms here...

paolo, cool sketching style + lighting

[(lark]

here's an update. worked quite a bit tonight. c&c welcome.944337

[Natzuur-JK]

Emerging: Wow thats looking really great. You def set the bar high early on.

Paolo13: Excellent functionality for the fifth leg, nice line work. Cant wait to see more!

Reymus: Like the style, keep the rendering coming.

Shadoworen117: Don't call it done yet, clean up some of the lines and try pushing the values a bit more. The idea itself is nice.


Here's my rough sketch, much more to go.

[TimM]

Shadoworen117 - If your creature has eyes in the knees, it seems more of an aesthetic choice than a functional one. Knees bend a LOT, and at full stretch or full compression there would be a LOT of pressure and stress on that eyeball. Would it be better to have a series of smaller eyes above the knee area to avoid the eyeballs exploding when the creature ran?

[Shadoworen117]

These aren't regular eyes. They more just look like regular eyes, but all it is, is a pupil and retina underneath the layers of skin. The knees are as hard, and sturdy as knees can be. The purpose for the pupil/retina to be where it is, is basically super peripheral vision. When the creature runs/walks, it's knees see to all sides.

[oren90]

hey guys here is my take on this one, finally had time today :)

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9036/cow1722.jpg

[emerging]

These aren't regular eyes. They more just look like regular eyes, but all it is, is a pupil and retina underneath the layers of skin. The knees are as hard, and sturdy as knees can be. The purpose for the pupil/retina to be where it is, is basically super peripheral vision. When the creature runs/walks, it's knees see to all sides.

yeah but there are couple reasons why most if not all animals have their eyes in the place that is stabilized the most and doesn't move much. First is of course to get a direct link to the brain so that what we see has least delay possible. Second is in the occasion of performing movements especially running, jumping etc. Even let's say it is possible for this creature to sustain the pressure on the eyes in the knees. Imagine your eyes on your elbows or knees and you run really fast - what's going to happen? There won't much use to those eyes since everything will be going up and down like crazy and blurring all together. Arms and legs are the things that move the most and fastest during motion and that's why having eyes on your elbows or knees doesn't seem like a valid design feature.

[Paolo13]

Emerging, Natzuur-jk: Glad you guys like it, but I do not think I will color it. I will just add some white chalk and work on the presentation. Doing all those lines is time consuming, so I think is going to be worth keeping it with this style. I am doing the Eow as well, so I need to balance my time.

Ciao

[Jakers]

Very interesting topic with some already really creative takes!

Emerging: image is coming out good dude. Fun idea, pretty dynamic. BUT - in the back of my head, I was thinking that its hard to tell the 5 leg idea looking at it as a concept. I actually scrolled back up to double take that they were there.

If I had to suggest something, a standing pose for the female on an angle to see how the legs look while on the ground - right now, basically the same pose on both characters for the rear. It would also make the male look like a total showoff while she conciders the mate...little more ritual. My two cents!

[Asterisks]

wow some scary looking creatures in here!

I've never tried COW but I think I'm gonna give it a go this time.

ah but it's hard. Five legs, I could barely make sense of it.

Anyways the best reason for having a fifth I thought would be for quicker turns. So if the creature is running really fast and it spots some other danger coming from a different direction it would just drop one of its legs and lift the other to keep running the other way. Am I making sense or did this all read like gibberish?

well here is my little sketch.
944569
I figured I'd have to show two of the thing for better view. But I'm confusing myself with the left one since I was trying to show the pivot but am totally failing. I'll keep trying though.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. ;)

[ArtMinionAndrew]

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1079/5legssupervision.jpg

Updated WIP, added secondary forelimbs to the main legs. I couldn't figure out a better way of adding two more limbs without making the fifth superficial.

[Paolo13]

ArtMinionAndrew: I think your first idea for the back legs was more balanced. You could try giving him a longer trunk and add two forward legs, like a sort of centurion. Or anyway produce more body space to find different solutions.
Ciao

[scorge]

Awesome work Emerging.

So why are you all having such a hard time with the five leg idea? I know it's tough, but it's not impossible. You should've seen what we had to do back in the day with the six legged creature. Now that was damn near mind shattering.
Anyway, keep doing what you're doing, quit all the bitching please and figure it out.

Love you guys.

P.S. I am seeing a lot of arms being included in the leg conflaguration, but as long as they're used for locomotion, that's all I care about. Don't forget about the special vision!

[skullbeast]

emerging - dynamite! what a great flow!

lark! wow man!

[skullbeast]

...is anybody else having trouble viewing a few of these images? They are partially grayed out for me.

[lancer_idenoure]

well looks like i cant do this one cuz my damn tablet pen broke! i guess its not so bad though, this is a tough one. 5 legs is kinda rediculous. and scorge i think 6 legs is a lot easier because you can at least make it symmetrical. anyway good luck to everybody
emerging, thats lookin legit

[Shadoworen117]

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7550/5leggedcow.jpg

No more knee-eyes.

[Guberuken]

Hey guys,

Been lurking here for a while, made some starts, but never got around to posting/finishing anything, but this time I at least wanted to give it a try.
So, here is my 5-legged supervision critter:
http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/Guberuken/COW172.jpg
To elaborate; It's fifth leg/arm basically catapults it into a high flying jump, so that it can surprise its prey from above.
Its supervision consists of two pairs of eyes; one of which are located where most eyes ar located, and one of which is located in the jaw, to make it possible to look down during 'flight'.
Comments and crits would be much appreciated ;)

[Reymus]

Guberuken - You're already showing the leaping action through a diagram, you could make your main piece a relaxed pose. Think of lions/cats sitting, or prowling.

Update, lots to go still.

[emerging]

at work now so just quick question guys
you think i should do a run sequence sketches for my creature too for those who might be confused as to how it moves? just because ive seen someone is having trouble imagining how it would work and i can see why they might feel that way. But i do have a clear image of how it moves around. I have an update at home of a pretty much done piece so i'm wondering if i should use the rest of the time i have to show the diagram for creatures animated sequence? what you think?

[Dead Dude]

GUBURKIN- I really like yours but I could see it with a bit more of a membrane between the front and back legs, and a less 'hand' looking middle foot.

Cheers
-DDW

[(lark]

emerging: I think that's a great idea. You really busted out an awesome piece quickly. Might as well use the rest of the time to add in anyway you can, And a run sequence would work perfect.

[Si_Swe]

Emerging: I don't think it's entirely necessary to do full on extra frames. If it was a series of profile silhouettes I think it would work equally well to demonstrate how it runs/leaps/bounds. I feel like making full on frames would be excessive.

[meganite]

Supersketchy again... based on greyhound, again, combined with Velociraptor. The back legs come up at a full run to snatch prey with the large claws. The feathers serve to confuse prey and trap them. The back legs must be used to walk at slower speeds because the 3-legged gait is unstable.

945515

One advantage of 5 legs is that each one can be thinner, thus making the creature faster.

I'm debating whether or not to keep the feathers.

[Rambozo]

emerging : I don't think you need it, the movement is quite apparent -to me at least-. It might be a nice touch of course, but I recon you're good as is.

I might suggest adding to the background instead (although who knows what you've done with the latest version), maybe put in some sort of obstacle so as to accentuate the leaping motion of the creature closest to us.

[skullbeast]

weird I got a mac update then the grayed out images were fixed.

[scorge]

Emerging: I'd say what you've got right now reads pretty well to me. Damn good in fact. If you're up to doing some more, I'd say go for it. But I also have to agree with Rambozo about the background. Why not bump that up a bit?

Meganite: Feathers=Good. Helps with the flow.

Guberukin: Nice job on the diagram, really helps with the description. Check the anatomy especially in the shoulder and the neck. Refer to some cat pics or something to help define that area. You might also want to check the proportion and postion on the main jumping leg. Looks a little long.
And welcome to COW!

Skullbeast: Looking good buddy!

ArtMinionAndrew: Great start. Love that head. Hard to understand what's going on with the center rear leg. If you raise the ankle joint there that might help to define it better.

(lark and Reymus: Nice! Interesting concepts. Reymus, watch the curvature of the ground, creating a major tangent with the belly of your beast.

So, I wasn't planning on entering this one, and I'm still not going to. But after reading
lancer idenoure's inspiring comment, I decided to prove that this topic, while different and perhaps mildly rediculous, is the same as all other topics we've handled here, a challenge, and not as hard as it seems. Just so you know Lance, traditional media is allowed as well, and in case you haven't noticed, I like to be a sarcastic son of a bitch sometimes.

Photoshop
3 designs, 10 minutes each.

[lancer_idenoure]

scorge: yeah i know you can sumbit traditional ive just been pretty busy (and a little lazy) and traditional takes a lot longer for me. but i dont know i might submit something later, we got all weekend. nice sketches btw

[skullbeast]

scorge - thanks! I'm digging the one on the far right!

[Lightmode108]

heres my quick wip ill be fixing soon

[(lark]

ok... so I'm going out there a bit on the super vision thing so let me know if its too out there. here's the description.

chromaton.

the chromaton has the very unique ability to suck in light color from its surroundings, then ingesting, and processing it into energy. in other words it eats color. the color it ingests, while nourishing it, also serves another need. the chromaton can measure the direction, distance, and amount of the color it ingests, and matrix's the information into a detailed image of its surroundings, even areas that are not in normal visions direct line of sight. essentially being able to see around corners, behind things and even other rooms. as long as there is open air to something within 50 yards of it. it can see that thing.

its is extremely hard to see one but you will always know where its been because it leaves the areas its been dim, and gray, and dark.945772

please let me know if the addition of the colors is distracting, or if you think it was a good addition. I'm on the fence right now. or if there's anything in particular you think i should work on. thanks.

[emerging]

(lark - sweet concept description! pretty creative!

here is some progress. Not too much about the bg. I think i might leave it as is just because i don't want the background to overpower anything. Just want to leave it more of a suggestive background rather than representational.

[(lark]

emerging: thanks. i think i changed my mind about you doing a run sequence. its pretty much perfect as is. awesome work man!

[oren90]

some intresting creature you've came up with :)

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2170/cow1723.jpg

[(lark]

hey everybody. i had to submit early because i just got hit with a more pressing project.

good luck everyone! i may see you in the next round if i finish early.

later.

[JanJager]

Hi all
You came up with some great creatures and some cool ideas for five legged creatures.
I think it was challenging to figure out how a five leg creature moves .

oren90
Nice shape of the creature.
emerging
Grate! Wonderful rendering and action in the anatomy.
lark
Good idea.
Lightmode108
looks promising a bit early to crit.
skullbeast
I like the eye. I think its a good idea to render it accurate since its such focal point.
scorge
Wonderful designs
meganite
Good idea to combine greyhound and Velociraptor.
Reymus
I like it. The design is nice. And some really cool eyes. Perhaps the eyes has a little more perspective the the rest of the body.
Guberuken
Good skeet. Nice to show how hes using the fifth leg.

Sorry for not critting all.
Did a wip don't know if I be able to finish it.

[Fiddzy]

Looks like I might be able to enter this week afterall, however I am rather behind. Anyways here's my initial sketch, of the Rencharon, a 5 legged giant arthropod, which uses its 5 legs to stabilise and support its naturally evolved plasma canon/mortar, with its telescope eyes used for long range accuracy and scoping, like a sniper. I shall go into more detail in the final description.

Also there are some great and varied designs appearing, and while I don't have time to comment, (lark, skullbeast, emerging, scorge , JanJager, they all look epic!

I shall update again latter...

[Pezz]

I had hoped to get in on this week's COW, but the Easter Weekend is robbing me of art time (it's become family and loved ones time!). Can I still post my sketches/ideas even if I won't have time to do the final finished piece?

[ninety9]

cool entries so far.
as i said earlier my fave is emerging´s - his creature got me hooked from the first initial sketch.

@Pezzle: sure u can, all posts and WIPs are welcome. :)

decided to give it a try and come up with a creature as well.
this is still in a very early state (~1hour).
it´s called "the wall" due to its size and movement. the supervision will be a lot of hair on the feet to let him "see" with ´em while he walks. tried some more colour this time, hope it works. crits very welcome

[oren90]

JanJager - liked your idea, it looks interesting :)

thought of going with a different creature for this, this one gives me a better feeling, what do you guys think?

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8909/cow1724.jpg

[Jakers]

These are neat guys, I have to get into CoW again myself!

Emerging: Oh if other people don't agree take what I said lightly. It DOES read pretty solid, I just thought having one standing would have showed off your design a little more. I wonder if its mostly that the middle leg seems soo big, that I have trouble seeing the smaller side ones reaching the ground. I suppose they are just for extra balance?

Nice poses though, you're doing a good job none the less, so ignore me if you'd like. The distant females back 'knee' area is a little too pointed?

Good luck guys!

[ninety9]

dunno if anyone is interested in "noob-steps" but in case there´s someone who wants to see it:

[emerging]

These are neat guys, I have to get into CoW again myself!

Emerging: Oh if other people don't agree take what I said lightly. It DOES read pretty solid, I just thought having one standing would have showed off your design a little more. I wonder if its mostly that the middle leg seems soo big, that I have trouble seeing the smaller side ones reaching the ground. I suppose they are just for extra balance?

Nice poses though, you're doing a good job none the less, so ignore me if you'd like. The distant females back 'knee' area is a little too pointed?

Good luck guys!

Yeah man not a problem. Basically the legs are mostly for extra balance especially at the moment of landing. Because the 5th leg is quite strong it allows the creature to do some hardcore leaping/jumping and in order to land without falling over to the side the legs on the sides are used extensively to give extra support and stability.

[lancer_idenoure]

well i didnt think id be submitting cuz my tablet pens still out of commision =(
anyway i got something done in ballpoint pen with some touch-ups and texture in photoshop. sigh...i miss my tablet
i wont really be able to change anything until i get a new pen but any crits or suggestions would be welcome

[fury03]

Here was my idea... fun topic, but i doubt i'll get a chance to finish by tomorrow. :(

947829

[Lege1]

Working hard now but trying to get home so I can finish my COW for this week. I probably have a couple more hours to put into it. Trying hard to make the deadline on this one and this one I just had fun with.

[Fiddzy]

After a busy Easter weekend, I defiantly won't be able to enter this weeks challenge, as shown in the WIP below I have only just got around to adding some base colours, and still along way off completion. Values, detail, texture, landscape, re-framing, interactive lighting, canon blast, designing the creature I was going to have it shoot out of the sky... to much for the time I have left. I will continue to work on it over the week however, and post it in my SB instead. ...oh well

Still looking forward to seeing the results in the finals thread. Good luck all and see you in the next round!

[skullbeast]

final

emerging - superb composition!

[Wixxi]

I'm out for this round, didnt had time to work mine out =( ah well better luck next round xD

anyway, Fiddzy, yours makes me think back of the star wars spiuder droid xD awesome though. I like the massive shape it has. Looks like a creature from a distand planet habited by giant creatures.

http://www.ossus.pl/images/4/40/Dwarf_spider_droid_01.jpg

And Emerging, wtf dude, thats just sick :D Greattttttt Job! xD

To all other good work and good luck when voting starts :)

[Tyrus]

I was thinking not to work on my creature anymore, but it seems I could have...
So when's the new challenge coming up?