C.O.W. - #089: Yellow Bloodsucker

[Fozzybar]

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


Round #089

Topic:
Yellow Bloodsucker

Deadline:
Thursday, 21st June 2007




- for any questions or help go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37512

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 ;)

Post your creature for this week!

17332

[Fozzybar]

thanx to ikuru for this very cool topic!



ADDITIONAL INFO

- The main color of the creature has to be yellow. Of course you are free to add other colors, but make sure that yellow has to be dominant.

- Well, the creature is called bloodsucker so no alternates to this bad habit ;)

[Moai]

Sketching away, captain.
I'll have to think of some interesting colors to use with yellow besides red and blue. I use that primary color scheme too often.

[Michael Jaecks]

Wait... does it suck yellow blood? I mean I know its yellow... but is the blood yellow too?

?
?
;)

[Supervlieg]

hmm I think the blood is supposed to be red. Or just bloodish. I think the main thing is that the creature is yellow. Then again, I might think to much.

[Pizza Explosion]

What if it feeds in an oxygen free environment.. then the blood would be blue. Mmm... skittles. This one sounds cool hopefully I will get of my lazy ass and do it.

[Michael Jaecks]

hmm I think the blood is supposed to be red. Or just bloodish. I think the main thing is that the creature is yellow. Then again, I might think to much.

so I have to use red and yellow and white hot speculars? God damn it to hell.

I don't think my edition of Photoshop has those colors. I think I'm going back to burnt orange brown and desaturated blue and just post stuff on the RPG forums. This is just too much trouble.

[Supervlieg]

hmmm, speculars

[RichardPajuelo]

There above says, in the rules: color or B/W… then, how would be made that “yellow bloodsucker”? hehehe

[Arn J.]

I already sketched some ideas guys, tell me what you think hehe. :)

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5708/tehyellowbloodsuckerbabvf6.jpg

[Bradh898]

Nice topic, place holder.

[Moai]

Nice little doodles, Arn. I like the loose brushwork and the Metroidesque designs.
My own doodles.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/24--bloodsuckers.jpg

Update 5: Getting there. Please comment.

Creature Features
-Strong but lightweight prongs pierce skin and flesh. Pores inject gastric fluids, which liquefy organic matter. Resulting soup is ingested by extendable esophagus/tongue.
-Keen eyesight for spotting prey and observing surroundings. Eyes can be retracted deep into skull cavities to avoid injury from sharp bones, etc.
-Large cranium houses large, well-developed brain, as well as a dolphin-like sound-producing organ. Noises are produced for communication, rather than echolocation, and are beyond the hearing of most prey animals, including humans. Exhibit high problem solving skills, as well as capability for planned and cooperative action.
-Spine is flexible for greater speed, and is an efficient shock-absorber.
-Breathing orifices on back (not yet rendered), so that head my be buried deep inside prey's flesh without impairing breathing.
-Long, muscular limbs allow for brief bursts of high speed, up to 55 mph. Large claws used for digging, climbing, and self-defense.
-Stiff tail acts as stabilizer in sharp turns.
-Young borne live, but feed on liquefied organic matter rather than milk.
-Endothermic with speedy metabolism.
-Have complex, pack-based, matriarchal society, similar to hyenas.
-Lifespan of around twenty years. Twice that in captivity.
-Recorded instances of small groups escaping captivity and causing havoc on Earth. Escapees survived solely on blood, since gastric juices were unable to dissolve the protein structures of Earth animals. This habit led to the name "Yellow Blood Sucker."

Updation- I'm moving my final over to page two. So there.

[Alex Alexandrov]

ok my last entry for now probably i will try to make it nice :)

[Cloister]

Since I'm off to Colorado Saturday (for two weeks), and the next two days look pretty busy, I have to yield the coming two cows... with some regret.

Perhaps I'll throw up a quicky on Friday... but probably not.

Have fun, suckers! ;) (I'm sort of yellous...)


Moai: It's good to see som Moai-ic sketch-work again.


Oh, and btw, the topic gets five yellow bloodsuckers -> :needle::needle::needle::needle::needle:

[Sangmort]

Good topic, been waiting for something like this. Has to suck blood obviously though...no licking...

Hope I have time to actually finish this week.~

[Arn J.]

Finished

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6015/wip4rv0.jpg

C.O.W. - #089: Yellow Bloodsucker
Yellowhead

Little is known about this little creature, but what have been observed during the years is that due to very bad flying abilities it has to attach to a creature, contraire to other moskitoes that go around bitting everyone that they want! Basically when they find their prey, they attach to it and keep sucking blood, loosing their wings because they don't need them anymore, this creature keeps sucking and sucking until the day it dies. Boring life, isn't it?

[Stephan_R]

*Placeholder *

I'm definitely IN, i already have my idea :)

Arn J: I liked your drawing on the left more... good rendering but it seems like there could be more to your creature.

Moai: Always a pleasure to see your thumbs.

[Arn J.]

Yeah agreed Stephan, I liked the design on the left one better but I couldn't visualize a finished piece on that one as I did with the one on the right, and as you can see I started it hehe, hope to work on it tomorrow and make a nice entry :) Looking foward to see what you do too!

[yoitisi]

Woohoo I'm gonna leech on this topic :P been missing a couple of COW's already so I really want to get something done this time, but I'm afraid I will have to pass this one again :(

One important rule everyone: if you plan nothing for your holidays you'll end up having no holiday at all. Stupid me :D

[jchery]

wuouau very good topic !!:teeth:
my first sketch
http://julienchery.free.fr/2D/bloodsucker.jpg

[discostu1995]

i just joined today but im a big fan of cow might try it

[Woodlandwalker]

http://www.glensportfolio.com/yellowbloodsucker89.jpg
Ixodes Scapularis Ochros – Yellow haired parasitic genetically engineered tick, or yellow bloodsucker as its commonly known. Thru the marvels of science and genetic gene splicing this creature parasitically lives off its host, embedding its eight fangs into the flesh while its saw like underbelly works its way abrasively down thru the skins layers. Once embedded these animals are almost impossible to get off. They are covered with what would appear to be yellow hair, however much like the fine hairs on several cacti these are in fact quills and cause a nasty infection should they break off in the skin.
For now this breed of tick remains captive and for study. One can only hope that like most genetic experiments that these little monsters don’t make their way into the outside world.

[discostu1995]

im not ready think ill practice more

[Stephan_R]

im not ready think ill practice more

Worst response ever my friend :) hehe... this is the BEST practice you can get. There is no pressure, no prizes... except for an icon that is. Let's see what you got!

Sketches help, check out Moai's stuff.

[Arn J.]

Yeah this kind of stuff must be like the best training ever. :)

[Timmy the Turtle]

I know this is brobably a noob question, but why can't I post attachments? :(

[Fozzybar]

i dunno, but even if...don't do that, because i can't take attached images to the poll...put it on a webserver...

[Rist]

Here is my WIP.

These are the issues that need fixing:

Values

Reflections

Human skin improvement

Blood

Grass possibly redone or removeds.

More details to identify the creature and make the texture more realistic if i can.

---- Any advice for me and things that i have not seen?

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/652/yellowbloodsuckernn3.jpg

[RichardPajuelo]

Update, down

[Cloister]

Well, I simply had to put some entry into this yellow bloodsucker round.
It is rather rushed... and will not reach the top entries...but I wanted to join the carnage anyway! (something about me and shells lately... might see a psychiatrist turtle about that...)

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

I'll throw in a short description tomorrow.

[timothee]

I really like the topic. I did some quick sketches, and settled on this design. Hopefully I can find time to do a finished color version.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/timdeplace/bloodsucker.jpg
Finally finished:
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r146/timdeplace/bloodsucker5_small.jpg
The Nile River Yellow Bloodsucker is found near the river itself. It usually lurks in trees, waiting for larger mammals to prey upon. Once it has a good footing on the victim, it begins sucking it's blood . The hair-like tentacles around the sucking needle, inject a strong anesthesia so the victim does not feel being bitten. The Bloodsucker gorges itself on blood untill it cannot handle anymore, and then jumps off the victim. The sharp protusions on the bloodsucker's back and legs, are actually a defense mechanism against birds of prey, that feast on these little critters.

[Michael Jaecks]

Cloister: That's a really cute little bloodsucker. Kind of sweet and demure little hemophage. Have fun in Colorado. My advice is to stay away from either the horses or the mosquitoes... never mix the two like me. It's a harsh cocktail.

Here's my WIP. I am working the shell angle as well.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a379/neorepto/yellowbloodsucker_edited-27.jpg

[RichardPajuelo]

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2498/cow089yellowbloodsuckerlc8.jpg
Concept: this Creature, resident of the "Yellow River" in China, feeds itself on the blood of the mammals that enter their habitat. One thinks that the yellowish coloration of the animal is by its strange metabolism that turns the red blood to yellow and not because of the Chinese.That by the name of the river. : P

Pta: i'm sorry for my bad english! :P

[Moai]

I updated my earlier post with one of my wordy descriptions. An image will soon follow.
Cloister- It's good to be back, my friend. I like your little critter. Your rendering, as usual, displays a rock-solid knowledge of light and form. A crit: it's slightly awkward the way the upper boundary of the blood spray goes right into the upper corner of the image. More of a nitpick than a real crit, really.
Stephan R- "Check out Moai's stuff." :D You're too kind, man.
Arn. J- Looking good so far. Just get rid of that blur, and do something to make its body more interesting.
jcherry- This looks promising. You should spend some time thinking of the anatomy, though. Why does it have that weird fin thing on its back, and what's that tentacled mass on its backside? Do these organs have a specific function? Function determines form, after all (though it's often the other way around in my creative process :S ). Also, you'd do well to study up on animal limb structure.
Woodlandwalker, rist, and tigerazzo- All very barnacle-like. More specifically...
Woodlandwalker- Give it more of a color scheme. Skew the colors of the surroundings a bit to have a more interesting relationship with the yellow. Also, not every hair on the creature needs to be rendered.
Rist- Waaaaay too high key! Darken up and contrast-ize those values, and liven up that skin tone! In short, follow the critique you've already given yourself.:rendered:
tigerazzo- The creature design isn't quite clear yet, but I'll wait until it's more WIPped up before critiquing further on that. Otherwise, change the hues of your shadows, so they aren't just yellow mixed with black. Look at this too, if you haven't yet: Prometheus|Anj's tutorial. (http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm)
timothee- A bit too early to crit. Be sure to gather up plenty of insect reference!
Michael Jaecks- Cool design! Spice up those skin tones a bit, and I'll crit more later.

EDIT!!: Tigerazzo updated his image while I posted. I'll wait until later to crit it though, since I've been playing on the internet too long. For now, tigerazzo, just move your final into the same post as your WIP, so Fozzy doesn't have to deal with multiple images in multiple posts by the same artist.

[RichardPajuelo]

Fixed Moai, thanks!

[Arn J.]

Thanks Moai, I feel the same way about the bluryness, needs more roughness...kinda using Corel Painter Essentials 2 which is a very basic program, don't have much brushes to choose from to add a plus to that roughness...know that brushes won't do all the work but it helps haha, but that's not excuse of course, it was kinda me also that used very low opacity to keep the strokes clean. I'll work on that thanks! About the body I was thinking of wings...to make it like a sort of mosquito, not so original though Im even considering designing another critter haha and do it photoshop to learn the program well xD Thanks for stopping by and commenting my little yellow bloodsucker.

[Rosser389]

quick sketches on an idea for this one
its the vampire cuttlefish otherwise known as the mosquito of the sea

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/57616776/

[Ninjawho]

Well here's my WIP so far...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v191/Ninjawho/COW-88-WIP.jpg




I'm still kinda struggling with color selection but I have to say that the link moai posted might have changed my life in terms of painting. thanks! But I'm still a tad confused. Problem solving it I say I have to bring the saturation down in everything so the parts getting more direct sunlight stand out more. Put some more greys tones in. Am I looking at it the wrong way? I should do a little line work I think too. I have it but I wasn't sure I wanted an inked look so I didn't refine the lines or include them...

[Rist]

Rist- Waaaaay too high key! Darken up and contrast-ize those values, and liven up that skin tone! In short, follow the critique you've already given yourself.:rendered:


I know, I just had a tough time with the shell. Never really drawn a reflective bug shell before and do not know what kind of values to use. I think I will duplicate the layer and change it to a grayscale so i can see the values easier.

[Charanty]

Sand rapier or Yellow bloodsucker is a weird creature from the deserts of Argo II. Sand rapiers' methods of hunt are quite simple: to rise above and ram the prey from the dispersal. It's mouth evolve into a kind of tube and toung - into kind of a drill.

Sorry, for the lame explanation...

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa58/Charanty/yellowbloodsucker_by_Charan-1.jpg

[Alex Alexandrov]

Michael - that is cool and it looks painfull :) i really like his back the best for now you and tigerazzo

[Grim Reaper]

Fozzy is it okay to advertise new acticity of the week here? Anyway it would be great if you visited new thread Nightmare of the Week when you're not drawing for COW, why don't you participate in this brand new activity and give it a chance to stay alive and rise in power:)
Check it out people, if you don't like it, don't participate...but I'm sure there's some horror fans here who would like to contribute.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99679
Cheers!
Grim

[Woodlandwalker]

tks Moai.. as always apprech the crit :P
I gave it a bit more color... dont want Foz to say he's not yellow enough for later ... hehe... just my luck!

[jchery]

hello guys !

love our design
for me it 's not a insect size

my sketch
tell me what you think!
http://julienchery.free.fr/2D/bloodsucker2.jpg

[Lady Medusa]

Ooh~
place warmer. Hopefully I'll have time for this ^^

[polydrawer]

im in, im going to try and make a better entry this time so it atleast gets noticed

[Kreator]

thought i would give it a bash.
the _ahem_ yellow bloodsucker lures its prey with a pleasant scent and colorful tail resembling a flower. Once enticed the prey(usually small birds) find their heads engulfed by the tail and bound around the head with tendrils that anchor themselves into the flesh and releases a tranquilizing toxin. the bloodsucker then curls itself around the prey and drains the blood through the tail simultaneously impregnating the prey with larvae through its frontal probiscus.
the bloodsucker is no bigger than a common rat.
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/4151/bloodsuckerfinalkreatorcp2.jpg

[polydrawer]

voila made a creature concept and did some poses
dont know wich one to choose

http://share.digicomm.be/COW/089/sketch1.png
http://share.digicomm.be/COW/089/sketch2.png

[hammajamma]

Really great work everyone. I hope I can have enough time this week to be invovled in this one... Probably not, but I'm going to try anyway.

Kreator - Creepy man, that thing freaks me out.

[Cloister]

Hehe... I was going to write a description, but instead I began painting another one... never mind descriptions (or making the poll...) It was fun to cow more speedily... Never really done that before (3,5 hours on this one)

http://www.brandow.se/Page/bilder/Postas/yellow_cloister2.jpg

Have fun! (and suck a lot of blood!)

[aberrant85]

http://www.nathanheigert.com/images/0_FullSize/C_O_W_Bloodsucker.jpg

Here's my concept: a species of birds, when hatched, are still underdeveloped. Thanks to an umbilical cord-like probiscus attatched to their beak, the chicks are able to attatch to the back of the mother or father and feed from their bloodstream until they are old enough to fend for themselves. At that point, the probiscus falls off, and the bird enters adolescence.

[Alex Alexandrov]

ok my sketch

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3800/yellowentrysi2.jpg

it is still WIP i decidet to go for little more cartooni not so realistical this time photoshop and painter combo :) Thx Moai

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9048/wipnm7.jpg

[Moai]

I posted a WIP for you guys up above. Lemme know what you think. I'm forgoing a background for now, since it seemed to just make things unnecessarily complicated at the moment.
Some words on some pieces.
tigerazzo- It's looking much better than the earlier version that I critted. I wouldn't say it's done, though, especially since the topic still has nearly a week left. The creature is fairly good, but the surroundings are still very blobby and photoshoppy, and the lower right still has a bit of white canvas that you haven't painted over. There still seems to be a few pesky blacks in those shadows as well. And finally, add a few sharp specular highlights on the most brightly lit portion(s) of your creature, to give it just a little extra umph.
Charanty- It's a nice start. That tail doesn't look very aerodynamic, though. I'm interested to see where this one goes.
jcherry- That looks like a robot. I see some decidedly mechanical-looking bits. Fozzybar tends to not take creatures with mechanical elements to the polls. Aside from that, it's a neat design. I think you should do some sketches of it in various poses and views to get a better handle on the form.
Kreator- Nice! Cool design and rendering. Un-blacken some of those shadows (particularly on its tail), work a bit on some of the more roughly-painted parts, and you'll be good, I think.
Ravenslayer- Try to sketch much more lightly and loosely. And, like nearly everyone in CoW should always do, study up on your creature anatomy.
Cloister- I'm having fun watching you have fun! I like the brushwork in this latest one.
aberrant85- That's a pretty original idea! Seems like that this arrangement would have both some pros and some cons for the creatures (guaranteed access to food for the kiddies, but they would be completely unable to run or hide in case of trouble). Ah well. There's a good and a bad side to all of nature's designs. Speaking of design, perhaps spice up the design of the adult bird a bit. Give it a crest or a wattle, perhaps.
whiteeeee- It's a pleasure to be CoWing with you, man! I have no crits on your creature, as of yet. Looking forward to seeing it painted!

[aberrant85]

http://www.nathanheigert.com/images/0_FullSize/C_O_W_Bloodsucker2.jpg

A close to finished color version. I like the wattle idea, I'll give that some thought.

[Charanty]

Moai, thanks. Not very aerodynamic? Ok, i'll try to do something with it.

[Alien Ape Star]

Just a wip


http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/alienapestar/QVADRIBUCALIS-EUXINENSIS.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/alienapestar/QVADRIBUCALIS-HEMATOmankeymankeymankeyIS.jpg

My final work Is here..

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1358406&postcount=1579


Please, if a moderator or an admin can move my final work from the link listed above to this tread I will be eternally gratefull! :yayca:

[Hive_minD]

~Alien Ape Star : It was there a minute ago...
~Whiteeeee : great as usual! nothing new from you ;) a true inspiration!
~Cloister : You second pic is the best, you should work more on it! really...
~Kreator : great detal, though the tail/flower is missing the same edge as the rest of its body!


Chris

[Arn J.]

Hey guys, updated my piece. :)
post.16, second image. ^^

[TheDonut]

Sounds fun :) my first C.O.W, a wip

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c176/Shippi222/yellowbloodsucker.jpg

[fughi from yuggoth]

another try:)
nice work so far, guys!!

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t21/funghi_from_yuggoth/cow089KopieII.jpg

The Yellow Goblin
This one is a kind of colibri,which has developed a second pair of wings for even better agility in the air.In South Amerian Jungle they fly around their victim and fascinate them with their yellow feathers and their loopings and roles,so the victim feels save and even begins to dream.just in moment it will not even recognize that it is stinged several times,and soon the act will be past,leaving nothing but a bleeding victim behind.the world is no pony yard.

[YIIT]

Concept Art-COW89- YellowBloodSucker:

http://yiit.net/COW89_YellowBloodsucker_by_YIIT.jpg

Pencil drawing on Paper (Original size A3)
Colored on PS 7.0 + Mouse

CARHEVEEZ POD LEECH: All around the vast green forests of this strange planet there is one creature which in biological terms acts as a parasite without being one. The Juices of the Carheveez Pod Plant contain vast amounts of protein and minerals ; the plant is fairly common .The fluids of the fruit also contain rich amounts of oxygen and nitrogen.

The Carheveez Pod Leech is an insect which feeds on the juices of this remarkable plant.However from time to time the pod leech accidently feeds on the wrong organism. Due to similarity of the fruit juices with human blood, th pod leech may hook it self on a human colonist and suck blood. This strange behaviour is still under research and is thought to be an accidental occurence. Colonist marines have reported that dead bodies have been found
around Carheveez Pod plants which were sucked dry of blood.

[Rist]

OH MY GOD! I was using my old monitor when doing my little bug, it has a very dark contrast to it and my illustration look alright, but now that I have swapped monitors with a new LCD I can see how pale it is! I feel ashamed to have put it up! Do not get me wrong, I have studied values and all the other essentials, just did not see what you guys are seeing, it was a lot more balanced and had a nice contrast.

i will take it down, or if there is time I may improve it!

[Garrett Hanna]

Here is my sketch. It may not even look like this in the end...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j160/gh-graphics/YellowBloodSucker-2.jpg

[Verithin]

I sure hope it's butt doesn't look like that when you're done!

;)

[Arn J.]

Im using my W.I.P's face as my avatar haha <---

Nickzorn: more exagerated legs would work for me. :)

[Moai]

Updated mine on page 1. Link for the lazy (http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/wip5.jpg).

Arn. J- It's shaping up! You've actually got some nice rendering and texturing skills. What's concerning me at this point is the color. I'd say, ditch the green. It doesn't really harmonize from the nice yellow-purple-blue color scheme you have going.
Rist- :$ I've suffered the same problem using different monitors! Every monitor should be exactly the same, seriously.
Ninjawho- Glad I could help! Prom's tutorial is one of the single most helpful art documents in the history of the internet. Anyway, your painting. It's still a bit too rough to give it a complete crit, since I can't tell what a few things are. Here are a few crits that I can give. First off, its face looks awfully gray. Always include a little pigment in every tone you put down, in color paintings at least. No pure whites, blacks, or grays. It could be, though, that my eyes are deceiving me, and that gray does have a bit of a hue in it. Anyway, its face also looks quite a bit mechanical. Fozzy usually doesn't like mechanical things. The cast shadow of the creature is far too dark. The only part in that shadow that should be that dark is a tiny little strip around the bottoms of its feet. Lighten up the rest. Also, and it looks like you may already be attempting this, add some orange reflected light (from the sand) to the cast shadows on the underside planes of the creature.
Abberant85- Lookin' good! Add some more saturated spots of color on the creature, and change the hues a bit in the light and in the shadows, and you'll be fine.

Gotta go now. I'll comment more later. In the meantime, there needs to be more commenting from the rest o' ya'll on each other's work. This is a community, after all.

[Arn J.]

Thanks for the green Moai, crit I mean...I just woked up sorry haha
you say that in the right time, cause if I was going to add wings, Green would have been the undercolor haha, you've saved my ass and what you say it's true :P

If you can comment later, about the body do you suggest that I add more interesting features to it? or it looks interesting the way it is? Thats mainly a taste thing but I would like to ask you hehe :p

Garrett Hannah that's a tight sketch, greattt flow on it, I hope you managed to keep that feeling or at least keep it traditional looking, I will keep an eye on that entry!

[Obi-one]

hello, this is my first attempt in the COW section.

here the sketch:

http://ob1.one.free.fr/2d/croquis/croquis63.jpg


And here the beginning of the coloring. Yes I know it sucks, but I hope to have tips on how improving.

http://ob1.one.free.fr//sketchbook/sketchBook034.jpg

finished :)

http://ob1.one.free.fr/2d/illustration/illustration19.jpg

The "Yellow bloosucker" was a creature summoned by Shamans at the end of a battle in ancient wars. This yellow-eyed beast was only able to perceive dead blood and was not a threat for anything alive. As he was quickly diing without something to eat, he was a perfect battlefields cleaner. He was also usefull to retreive unconscient soldier to heal them or kill them.

[Rosser389]

Hey all sorry about bugging out of the contest like that.
I'll try to get in on the next one.

[jagehtso]

I think I'm finished. I suck at technical drawings!

Final:
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t93/jagehtso/jagehtso_yellowbloodsucker_armagedd.jpg
The Cavern Medusa:

In dark, flooded underground caverns, where food is scarce and life is only sprinkled across miles and miles of motionless water, one would think that the chances for a parasitical life-form to live and flourish are next to zero. The existence of the Cavern Medusa tells us the opposite. This worm-like creature actually manages to live on the blood of other cave-dwellers which it locates with its highly sensitive antennae. Because of the seldom nature of actual encounters it savours the blood as much as possible by storing it in a flexible “blood sack” at its tail-end. Because of its flexibility the sack is not fitted under the Medusa’s shell like rest of its body. Therefore two additional antennae are attached to the back of the Medusa to warn it against threats to this vulnerable body-part. This simple design ensures the survival of this fascinating creature in an environment full of deprivation. Thank you for reading.

[peter_john]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1191/565732183_4afa342436_o.jpg
This yellow bloodsucker is a flightless bird (roughly pigeon sized) that lingers around battlefields. It scavenges off of spilled blood from the combat, using its hollow tongue to suck up any puddles it finds. As it drinks its stomach fills and expands. Once it is bloated enough to be satisfied it staggers off to brood and sleep until the next battle approaches.

aberrant85 - fellow birdmaster! I like the parasitic young and the red vein they have going through their beaks. It looks transparent and fleshy.

[ikuru]

thanx to ikuru for this very cool topic!

Holly Battlesmurfs! Thats nice! what an honnor to see all this bad boys, I dont even know I ever suggested that. Must have been on yellow drugs or sumetin, will try to make some sort of vampire/yellow wip 4 this....

[dragon4lunch]

Hey all, there's a massive vote going on over at CHOW. Would be cool to get tons of people to vote, so here the link: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99883

[ikuru]

http://www.ikuru.se/box/fish.jpg
The Bloodfish sucks blood from other fishlike creatures in order to prevail.
This is done with a IV looking tube thingy that comes out of its mouth with a filthy needle on it.
The sucking goes on and on untill the other fishy is compleatly dried out and dead, then the Bloodfish turns red for an hour before it goes back to yellow and needs to refill itself again...

[Arn J.]

Wow peter_john that a very nice style! :)

[peter_john]

Arn J. - thanks, your work is impressive too :] . It looks like we went in a similar vein with our creatures, er... veins! heh, good work. I think you mentioned you thought of adding wings or legs to your creature, making it more bug like? I sort of like it as is, a kind of creature that might drop from a ceiling and stick into someone like a tack. Like a living thorn. cool!

[MrSmith]

heh looks like im not the only one drawing birds...but anyway. may screw with it some more later...

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8/mrsmithcowbloodsuckeraz4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Great Yellow Bloodsucking Chicken of eastern Nebraska is a flightless, featherless bird that hides in fields and grasslands in groups of 30 or more. When prey approaches, the birds leap up and attach themselves to the hides of their victim with their fleshy, spine-filled skin flaps which surround their beaks. They then pierced the skin with their powerful beaks and suck out blood with their tubular tongues. Because they attack in packs, an animal can quickly lose consciousness and die. They are not picky in what they chose to attack, and many a human has fell victim to the aggressive beasts.

[ibbo]

Hey guys,

This is my second COW entry and im hoping to be able to produce something worthy this time round! There are some awesome idea's floating around as well as some encouraging WIP's!

Here is my concept in its current state- Its still a still WIP and i've got a long way to go, but definitly getting there. I'm hoping to colour it eventually, but for the moment i'm working in B/w. For anyone that cant quite see what it is yet- well... its a banana... with legs...

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/7832/wip1wi6.jpg

At the moment i've only detailed the eye and front end, but i'll be working on the carapace and legs today!

[Chuck,mate.]

http://img32.picoodle.com/img/img32/8/6/19/f_yellowbloodm_f46ed41.jpg

Harpago Ochra Cruentus aka "Yellow BloodSucker"
A very brutal, very high-strung creature, this blood thirsty tiny beast is found on
Every fury animal roaming the countryside, east of java. Insatiable and dangerous, this deep yellow colored parasite subsist in colonies of thousands, attached to the host's flesh , anchored by its horribly sharp hook-like feet, sucking on the host's blood and eventually its LIFE. As fast spreading as the common flea, the "yellow bloodsucker" was virtually unstoppable during the "Aurora Crimson Plague" (circa 2030-2032) resulting in 200,000 lives lost - humans, wildlife, and farm animals. After a 2 year battle humanity finally found the cure: milk.
The H.O.C. is highly lactose intolerant, and the smallest amount of cow’s milk protein rich blood makes it pop like a boil.

A little known fact about the "yellow Bloodsucker": it communicates with its fellow herd members by a series of low-frequency moaning sounds, unnoticeable by the human hear.

[Alex Alexandrov]

woah Chuck our creatures hawe the same mouths 0_O they are like from the same family and sh.. :D

[Chuck,mate.]

woah Chuck our creatures hawe the same mouths 0_O they are like from the same family and sh.. :D

shiat... they do. an honest mishap, I swear.
guess I should take a closer look at other dudes entries... :) sorry.

(I just immediately thought about leeches when I read "blood sucker".)

[Alex Alexandrov]

Aahahh Chuck dont worry we will hawe Two the hole stuff is for the fun not for the wining :) we will see what is going to happen :D -- and they are still very different you know :bashful:

[blobs]

Well here's mine..
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1989/cow89yellowbloodsuckerbes1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Yellow Bloodsucker
The yellow bloodsucker dwells in the partially submerged caves of Northern Mongopo. There it feasts on the lost and lonely souls that travel too deep into the cave systems. It is a scavenger and sniffs out carcasses with it's blood sensitive tongue, much like a sharks sensors. The tongue also doubles up as a feeding instrument and duly sucks out all of the nutrients, including the blood, until all is left is a dry husk.

Nothing too creative from me, just a nice practise in painting.
I'm well impressed with the entries again, go all! :)

[radu.andrew]

hi guys :)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/756/final089cowtf8.jpg

[peter_john]

MrSmith - avian bloodsuckers unite! We have a pretty good brood forming up. Good painterly quality to your piece, especially the background.

Chuck,mate. - The dark blood phlegm your creature is spitting out is intense... awesome stuff :]

[TomCardin]

Hey nice to see you in a COW again Chuck, Mate ...Critter looks slick and icky! Hard to get away from lamprey type mouths on a bloodsucker type creature, it seems its going to be that or mosquito probocis' etc. I wouldn't sweat any cases of parallel evolution. My two cents.

[Ninjamuffin]

Eh, here we go. Creature? Check. Yellow? Check. Drinks blood? Check.
http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs18/i/2007/170/9/f/__Yellow_Bloodsucker___by_Ninjamuffin13.jpg
This snake-like creature will sit in the same position for days at a time, waiting for its usual prey, small birds. The birds are attracted by both its bright colours and the sweet smelling nectar-like substance produced in its spoon-esque tongue. When the birds lean into the creature's mouth to get a taste, often mistaking it for a plant, it quickly snaps its lower jaws closed, pinning its prey to its hard, plate-like upper jaw, before slowly grinding its sharp teeth into its food, making it bleed as much as possible. When the lower jaws raise, the blue pouch that is attached to them raise as well, catching any blood that drains down. When all the blood is drained from its victim, it drops the carcass and moves on.

[RichardPajuelo]

Very nice works, fellas! :)

[grenogs]

http://community.conceptart.org/member/submit/?item=picture

first time, im sure im doing something wrong here, lol

[Antne]

Here's mine.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/Antne/yellowbloodsuckerchow.jpg

[Moai]

'Nother update on my earlier post. 'Nother image link for the lazy (http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/wip6.jpg). Would appreciate crits, comments, congratulations, and even commiserations. Also, if Fozzybar is paying attention, I'd like his input on whether my creature is yellow enough.:rendered:

I don't have much time for comments right now, since I'm having too much fun painting, but here's a few words.
MrSmith- Beautiful entry, man! Very nice design, especially those jowls around their beaks, and lovely texturing. The creatures' feet aren't up to the same quality level as the rest of the image, though. Oh, they're rendered well enough, but it just seems like you weren't very careful when you drew them.
blobs- Nice design, strong rendering.:wink:
radu.andrew- This reminds me of something from Quake.:rendered: It seems much more pale and creamy than yellow in color, though. And, no offense, it's kind of hard to tell exactly what it is.
Ninjamuffin- Welcome to CA!:yayca: I hope you enjoy your time here and learn a lot. As for your entry, I can tell you right now that it will not be taken to the poll in its current condition. First off, you only showed your creature's head. We need to see the whole thing, or at least most of it (look at blobs' entry; part of the creature is hidden, but we see enough to know pretty much what the creature's design is all about). Secondly, I don't know if your entry is up to the technical standards of the activity. Your rendering has no highlights or shadows, and you seem to have little knowledge at all about color theory. All of your colors except the orange are neon-bright, and you have included every primary and secondary color on the color wheel. You need to be much more narrow in your color schemes, and choose only a few colors to include in your image. Keep those colors relatively dull, and only use your brightest colors in the areas you want people to pay the most attention to, such as your creature's neat-looking jaws. Making pictures is a complicated thing, and you have a lot to learn, so study, study, study. And then study some more the next day. And remember that I'm only harsh because I love ya.:wink:

[aberrant85]

http://www.nathanheigert.com/images/0_FullSize/C_O_W_Bloodsucker3.jpg

[NightMare28]

Hi, I'm new to C.O.W. trying my hand at it.. here's a WIP for the current C.O.W. #89

WOW is all I gotta say about everyone else's stuff.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/nightmare_28/061907COW89.jpg

updated, I didn't know it was due tomorrow.. haha.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/nightmare_28/061907COW89-2.jpg

[Chuck,mate.]

whiteeeeeee - yeah.... I`m not here to win either... I never DO! >:D

peter_john - hey thanks! I figured - as a blood sucker, this creature will be like me and my smoking: sometimes you just HAVE to cough some up..... ;)

TomCardin – thanks partner. And yes, indeed. baring that in mind - I decided I won`t wobble my brains too much, and just go with a gory, toothy little bugger. :)

[grenogs]

can someone please explain to me how i can upload an image into cow?

[jagehtso]

grenogs To upload an image you have to subscribe to a picture hosting site (i use photobucket.com), upload it there and then link to the image by using the url of your image in your post. Hope that helps in any way.

[grenogs]

cheers jage, much appretiated :)

[grenogs]

hhmm
http://bp2.blogger.com/_imaye1ltx3U/Rnk45YdufvI/AAAAAAAAAAM/pesjJYehofA/s1600-h/yellow+bloodsucker+2.jpg

[Alex Alexandrov]

Great works guys hire is mine finished :

[Final]

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6647/readyyellowmf7.jpg

The Yellow Bloodsucker is slowly moving creature which lives in big swamps, deep in tropic woods. Something specific for the creature is that it sucks out the blood of it’s victims. It doesn’t pick out it’s food, everything that ever had pulls can be eaten. The Yellow Bloodsucker is not much of a runner. It is scrolling by the help of it’s powerful front legs. Big part of it’s menu are dead animals , which couldn’t manage to run away from it.

[Jolliday]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/Jolliday/yellowbloodsucker.jpg

From the Dragon Breeder's Extensive Guide, Chapter 35, Parasites

Coleoptera Draconis vampirus, the Dragon's Vampire Beetle, also known as the yellow bloodsucker is a common troublemaker for any subspecies of dragon with a 'golden' form. The beetle's carapace has adapted to look exactly like that of a dragon scale. The long proboscis-like antennae not only aid sensory perception in the dark, but are used to penetrate to the dragon's skin, stimulating the dragon to scratch and tear free scales, providing places for the beetle to ensconce itself. Danger from this parasite comes not so much from the blood ingested through the needle-like proboscis as it does from the spread of disease.

[Piru]

WIP :a!:

http://www.piru.be/wip/piru_cow89_wip2.jpg

The "Squid Sucubusi" is an annoying bugger. This very little beasty sucks itself rock hard onto your skin. Some people think they have a pimple, while in fact they have this leech, harvesting blood, stuck to their forehead. In the end the Squid Sucubusi isn't harmful at all. In the past tribes used the Squid Sucubusi for tattooing purposes.


Hope to have time to finish this one up!
I'd very much like to participate on a weekly basis as before again.
I miss the cows! :)

[Arn J.]

Wow whiteeeeeee that's explendid, love that hatching with lighter colors! and the hint of blues and the interposing warm colors! excellent! :)

[NightMare28]

I'm posting for now here's how it all turned out.

creature's bio:

Size= can grow to 6 inches long

The Yellow BloodSucker started out originally as a genetic creation to wipe out the cause of yellow fever and many other illnesses, mosquitos. Mutations and generations later, The Yellow BloodSucker has evolved into a bio-luminescent tree hanger. Inheriting many of its victims traits, it has an appetite for mammalian blood, breeds in small pools of water, and when grouped with many have a swarm mentality. It has lost all appendages except for a prehensile tail, and its flexible wings.

Fig. A
It uses it tail to hang upside down and its 4 large eyes to watch for prey. Once its found a prey it hovers just above the skin and pricks a hole to suck blood from. Toxins within the mandibles are released causing the prey to become sedated instantly, after which The Yellow BloodSucker does what it is named for.

Fig. B
After feeding the creature curls around its fully filled blood pouch and bio-luminescent bacteria begin to break-down the blood, creating a large bright glow that is amplified by the creature's wings. This glow is also the creature's downfall as large birds of prey, bats, and even lizards are drawn to its glow and know it'll get a full meal. Its only defenses are the prickly points along its back, the fur-like points around its head and its sharp ended tail.


http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/nightmare_28/nightmare28_COW89_FINAL.jpg

Great job to those that finished this challenge.

[Goog]

My first COW entry. For some reason when i hear "bloodsucker" I think of clams.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b250/Googprod/bs3.jpg

The "Yellow Bloodsuckers", or "Gian Clams of Death", as they are more commonly known, have been in existence longer than that of any other known creature. These asexual mollusks attach themselves to trees by means of a hook at the base of their shell (not shown). These creatures survive on the flesh of unsuspecting passerbys such as bunnys, birds, walrus, and in some cases, humans.

[Moai]

Updated again. I'm posting it as an image rather than a link this time, in hopes that someone will notice it and comment on it. I'll delete this image before the round is up, so as not to annoy fozzybar.

Update: As per Arn. J's suggestion, I added a bit of a background. It's mostly an irregular wall texture stretched into perspective. I'll hand paint over it in a bit.

Another Update- Heeding Bruce Jensen's advice (he has a funny habit of giving good tips), I lowered the horizon line. I also changed the background forms a bit to better fit the new composition. I also sharpened up some details on the creature, added a breathing orifice behind its shoulder, and began to give the ground some handpainted lovin'. Tell me watcha think!
Still to do: more painting on the ground, some kicked-up dust, a few more sharpened details on the creature (such as the tips of its prongs), and some drastic softening of that shadow, since the environment is rather overcast.

Yet Another Update- My final, pending future crits.

Concept: Dromaenovacula infernis
Dromaenovacula infernis is a creature that goes by many names. It has been called the hell ram, the devil trident, the rushing blade, and its scientific name, which roughly translates as "running blade from hell." Perhaps its most widely-used, if ineloquent, names is the yellow blood sucker, as it was called by the various primitive peoples of Pre-Ascension Earth. For the purposes of this brief essay, it shall henceforth be referred to simply as Dromaenovacula.
Originally from the colony-world Trantosia, Dromaenovacula is a liquivore, as are many predators on that planet. As one naturalist vividly put it, Dromaenovacula can be imagined as "a charging bull crossed with a racing cheetah, and given the feeding mechanism of a spider" (those unfamiliar with Earth-fauna, please follow the links at the bottom of the article). A powerful quadruped, Dromaenovacula is a creature designed for both speed and strength. Its main killing mechanism is its trio of cranial prongs. Using its head as a battering ram, its collides with its prey, snapping bones and piercing deep into its prey's flesh. Given its large mass of up to 150 kilograms and its maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per hour), the impact of predator and prey causes a large risk of harm to booth. Dromaenovacula has evolved a number of adaptations to lessen its risk of injury. Its three prongs are sheathed in enamel, keratin, and tough, leathery skin, and the bone core has an interior latticed structure undiscovered in any other species, which lends the bone incredible structural strength. Its sensitive eyes can be retracted deep within their sockets to lessen the risk of being gouged or punctured by snapped bone. Dromaenovacula's spinal column, in particular, is a marvel of evolutionary engineering. It can be highly flexible to aid in speedy movement, but at the critical moment it can straighten and lock to give the collision with prey battering ram force. Interspersed between the vertebrae are packets of fluid which efficiently absorb impact. Because Dromaenovacula's head can be buried deep within the body cavity of its prey, its breathing orifices are located on its back, negating the risk of suffocation. As a side-effect of this adaptation, Dromaenovacula drowns easily and is hesitant to swim, a weakness capitalized on by its prey (including Pre-Ascension humans). Dromaenovacula aims for its prey's ribcage just behind the first set of limbs, where it can cause maximum damage to vital organs and cause the quick death of its prey, as any struggle while the creature is lodged shoulder-deep inside its prey carries a high risk of injury.
As already stated, Dromaenovacula is a liquivore. Under normal conditions on its homeworld, once its prey is dead, it pumps gastric juices into the dead body and then slurps up the resulting soup with an extendable proboscis. However, for the populations that existed on Earth, this was not the case. As any student of history will know, in the 24th and 25th century, Earth was recovering with devastating bouts of disease and warfare, and its population of only a few million lived in primitive savagery. A tiny fraction of that population, however, was an ultra-rich elite, including a hunting-enthusiast quadrillionaire who imported a small number of Dromaenovacula to Earth for his sport. The creatures escaped, multiplied, and caused legendary havoc amongst the poor Earthlings. Dromaenovacula is a highly intelligent, problem-solving organism, capable of communication, cooperation, and planned action. It proved quite the equal for those sad bands of Pre-Ascension humans. Anyway, Dromaenovacula's method of injecting its gastric fluids and waiting for its dead prey to dissolve proved impractical, as its enzymes were incompatible with Earth-animal tissues. So, Dromaenovacula simply drank up the vital fluid that already existed in its prey: blood. Its status as a vampire ensured its infamy in Pre-Ascension Earth history.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/moai_bloodsucker_anditsyell.jpg

Some comments:
YIIT- You have my sympathy for working on a mouse. I did a few CoW rounds on a mouse before I got my tablet, so I know how clumsy it can be. Anyway, that's actually a very nice, simple, elegant little creature design you have there. It's very natural-looking. My only crit is that the coloring seems rather quick, but I know you can't have much in the way of technique when using a mouse.
Garrett Hanna- The way the tentacles come out of its body is odd, for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on. It also seems more like a movie monster than a real creature, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.:rendered:
nickzorn- This seems like a good idea and a good start to a picture, but I feel that it would be stronger if you were more decisive with your shapes. See the way the body is kinda lumpy but kinda smooth, and the way the leg curves inward a bit and then just curves slightly outward. These shapes have sort of an indecisive quality. Go back in with a clearer idea of what you want your forms and shapes to do, and you'll be good.
Obi-one- Cool, weird creature design! I like it. I also like how your coloring has gone so far. Be sure to add some of that bright yellow light to the rest of your upward-facing planes when you continue coloring it. My major crit in terms of creature design: your creatures front legs are basically human arms with hooves instead of hands. The muscles and bones of quadruped legs are arranged and proportioned differently than on human limbs. Look up some quadruped musculature and fix that, plz.
jagehtso- Much too chalky and low-contrast. Darken up that background quite a bit and add some strong highlights and shadows. Cool concept and design, though.
peter_john- Nice design and great, forceful style. No real crits, except that the brushstrokes seem a bit out of control in places, such as its back and rear.
ikuru- The creature doesn't have a very strong shape. It also seems rather rushed and flat compared to other things I've seen you do.
ibbo- Ring ring ring ring ring...Banana Bug!! Ahem! Anyway, nice start to this. I think it's a good idea and a nice design (I like its little eye). My only crit is that the top plane is much too dark.
Chucky McMate- You have a very strong style, man. I love the canvas-like background.

[ibbo]

Interesting concepts so far, special kudo's towards Whiteeee and Chuck, Mate as my two favourite! Here's an update on my concept, i've stuck to b/w and only have the details left to put in!

Edit: See page 3 for my final drawing

[Moai]

More comments.
ibbo- Very strong update! I don't know if fozzy will approve of you keeping it black and white in such a color-centric topic, though.
the donut- Nice start. Just clean up your outlines and clarify your highlights and shadows.
alien ape star- Are you going to work with this more? If you are, you really need to add some shadows and highlights, since it currently has no form at all.
fughi from yuggoth- You're getting better, man! That's a neat creature design, sort of like a hummingbird/mosquito hybrid. I like that it has wings on its rear limbs as well. It's a shame that you didn't make it larger and more detailed, though. Also, get rid of those blacks and whites. Make them very light and dark colors instead, but not pure black or pure white. Never have completely unsaturated tones in a color painting.

There are still I few of you I haven't commented on, but I gotta go to work. I'll get you later, or in the voting thread.

[Bruce Jensen]

Moai- just wanted to say that you've got a great entry there.

[sickelsick]

first CoW! i had fun, hope i can find time to do more

WIP 1
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/4857/leachsketchsmallerdm7.jpg

WIP 2
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/6268/leachactionsketchsmallekk4.jpghttp://img479.imageshack.us/img479/3554/dfgsdfgsdgfsmallerjs6.jpg

i made this with pencil/prismacolor marker/white poster-paint pen/micron pen/colored pencils and since the scan took away a lot of colors, i ran it thru photoshop.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2485/leachcowfinaldw3kq8.jpg

this creature moves and attacks like a snake, and feeds like a mosquito and leech. the blood balls on its head acts as a storage device to fertilize its eggs. the body is tough and built like leather. while the head is much more delicate (especially the needle) and can be considered its weakness. while resting, after a meal, it tucks its mosquito like needle into its chest for its own safety due to the fact that once it is broken it takes weeks to heal, therefore its young eggs will die.
the 10 extremities are not for walking but are used to grip onto its prey. they squeeze tightly to cut off blood flow so the blood builds pressure (scares victim = victim heart pumps faster = more blood pressure), therefor makes feeding easier.

[muleskinner]

Very hectic week for me. I planned to enter an underworld concept in the environment of the week and missed the deadline, but at least I got my entry in for this one. I missed out on the last CHOW (puppeteer), but took Oblio's advice and tried to work on lighting and color more on this peice. Also, trying to clean up the look of my finished work and lighten it up a bit. Let me know. I'll write about it in the morning as I'm beginning to go cross eyed. Sleepy time she comes...

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z202/dnickoli07/muleskinner_COW-89.jpg

The Yellow Bloodsucker is a bizarre creature that haunts the damp thick foliage of dense tropical rain forests. Anthropoid in form, amphibian skin, and and insect like head, the Bloodsucker is a nocturnal hunter. At night, slumbering creatures of any sort are a good meal just waiting to be had. The bloodsucker slowly, almost tenderly, creeps onto its victim while gently rattling the two golf ball shaped peduncles on its head creating hypnotic sound waves that put the unlucky creature into a catatonic state. In this way, the Yellow Bloodsucker can feast to the sound of its own music and not worry about interruptions from other forest predators while dining.

[Arn J.]

Hey Moai, I would had enjoy a more wild background on your creature, the pose is great but it feels like it needs the complementation of a background on it, maybe you will add a background, but if you won't I would say that you should consider it. ;)

Other thing, but this is mainly my taste, is that you should sharpen the details abit, great work nonetheless. Really love the pose!

[Moai]

Bruce Jenson- It's great to hear you say that. Thanks!
Arn. J- Thank you as well. I'll definitely consider a background, and some of those details definitely need sharpening.

Sorry for not commenting on anyone else's pieces right now, but I gotta get to work painting.:teeth:

[K-NOVA]

:D
Funny stuff!
I like it!

[Moai]

I took an hour and photoshopped-up a background. I'm going to do some painting over it so that it's not just a texture colorized and transformed in photoshop.

[Piru]

Darn, I must have overlooked Garrett Hanna's entry, sorry for going the squid way too, my entry isn't intended as a copycat!

//edit: updated wip above

[YIIT]

Moai- Thanks for the comment.On with the mouse Im saving money for a Cintiq. :)

[Fozzybar]

ibbo, all
as Moai already mentioned (thanx) b/w pieces of course won't qualify for the poll...it is always an exception on the b/w rule, when the topic asks for a specific coloring - naturally...;)

[Chuck,mate.]

Moai - many thanks there, mate. I didn`t use any canvas textures in the piece, though. guess it`s just one of them happy accidents. :)

ibbo - thank you, that`s cool of you. ^_^

[radu.andrew]

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4536/cow89finalqq7.jpg

this creature sucks your blood using it's bate and that is the lips making it more friendly for victims and very tempting.it's used by thiefs because they need the money and the creature needs the blood .



moai thanks for crits dog - nice rendering by the way hope u finish it and make it with more colours thats all ;)

and thats my second entry hope i finish it in time :D :D (updated) if asking how come it spells "CUM IN ! only 5 bucks" it means that some dudes use this animal making fools think they can get pleasure that cheap :D .

[jagehtso]

Thank you so much for your crit Moai! I updated my entry accordingly. I hope this is better. As for your entry - seems a bit static maybe add a bit of swirling dust behind its feet to add movement to the pic. You probably did that already, but I would feel bad without giving something back, y'know? :P

radu.andrew That's hilarious! But I think it goes against some unwritten rule about biomechanical critters. Don't know for sure and it would be a pity, but there was a big discussion once about it. When the memory back from my old lurking days serves me right, that is.

[Thalion]

Lybis
The small population of the beautiful lybises (kind of Hummingbird) lived on a small island. One day the cataclysm destroyed all trees with flowers. The small creatures were deprived of food. By chance animal found dead sea creatures on the beach and saw the blood which had its favourite red color. Lybis started do suck the blood and it became its main diet. Small Hummingbird is very interesting phenomenon for scientists.

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

[ibbo]

FINAL

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1808/finaleh4.jpg

I present: The central african banana bug! These creatures are commonly found in the dense jungles of africa, either near or ontop of the native banana tree. Discuised as a fruit from the tree, this niche creature preys on unsuspecting small mammals (including small primates) and laches onto them with its squid like mouth. The insect then slowly begins to drain the victem of its blood until it has taken its fill or the creature dies!

Thanks for an inspiring competition to everyone who particpated, including Moai for his comments and all the newer CA.org'ers like myself who are joining the competitions.

Its a shame this wont go through to the poll but i've learn't alot and cant wait for next weeks COW!

[grenogs]

can anyone please explain to me how to upload an image into cow, i keep trying , but everytime it just seems to put in the link instead of the actual image itself.

[dragon4lunch]

ibbo: ! ! ! How can you let this cool creature not go to the poll??? Just friggin' grab some yellow colour, make a new layer and slap it on there! Don't let this way cool creature not go to the poll! I dig your creature!

[fughi from yuggoth]

thank you Moai,that's the kind of comment i was waiting for:).
i'll try to fix the problem with the colours.you are completly right,i was drawing black and white for so many years,that i don't get it.thx man

[Bruce Jensen]

Moai- I think lowering the POV on your landscape would help a lot. Your creature fits in that perspective better, and it's more dynamic. Here's a super quick overpaint so you can decide for yourself though. I love the creature! I just think adding the background has introduced some compositional issues with room for improvement.

b

http://home.earthlink.net/~yobaj/_uimages/moai-overpaint-bj.jpg

[busterbam]

Hey folks how do? Just recently joined so this is my first post and first COW. Been a fan of CA for ages but just been to chicken to join and post as there's so many scarily talented people here. Anyways i've taken the plunge with this COW and hopefully it will be the first of many.
Yellow Bloodsucker: As comfortable on land as it is in the water the Yellow Bloodsucker wreaks havoc as it spreads viral diseases between species.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x264/busterbambam/YellowBloodsucker.jpg

[grenogs]

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x279/grenogs/yellowbloodsucker2.jpg

not very exciting, but i thought i'd give it a try, oh and if you haven't worked it out, its actually living inside the veins. and no, those red things are not smarties :)

[ikuru]

radu, thats such a nice and fun one, too bad the fozzlo wont like it, (he only like stuff with no gum signs on it I think)

[radu.andrew]

moai = dude more colours and spice the details a bit
Arn J = dude u have some awesome rendering abilities and the creature is lookin pretty good if I could pick out something that pisses me is that purple on the left it doesne match pretty well with the rest of palletes.
Jchery = nice face u have to work its back some more hope u finish it – first sketch bravo
Woodlandwalker = interesting concept man  but u could manage to do a more detailed part of ya critter to show us how its grabbin the hand and how it sucks blood i see just the hair 
Rist = it needs more work man  go go go
Cloister = pro scketchin  I cant tell you anything u know better  just that the eye make it look like she’s fed up with blood
Timothee = nice pencilin man cant say the same on the painting it needs more details and tones
Michaeljaecks= finish it finish it ! 
Tigerazzo= I wouldn’t like to step on somethin like that no no  it needs details
Kreator= man don’t over do it .u can detail the head so that it stands out from the rest of the body .
Whiteeeee = wow dude !
Alien ape = hehe more work ma man more – post some pencil stuff anf the paint it – I know u kick ass with pencils
Yiit= very explicit and interesting work but u have to colour it more :D – next time I’ll try something like ure approach too.
Garrett hanna= cool pencilin finish it
Obi-one= it looks better at the middle somewhere along the work something didn’t add up I think it’s the highlighting .
Peter_john – niiiice !
Ikuru = cooool !
MrSmith= wow !
Chuckmate= kick ass !
Radu Andrew = dude it sucks ass !!! sorry ;)
Ibbo = very cool desing MAKE IT YELLOW GOD DAMMIT !!!! :D
Jagehtso = thanks dog  I made it more organic the form makes it a bit androit or robotic in rest well I dunno I say it’s a creature 

Cheers to all  and sorry sorry for the ones I didn’t comment but look at the brighside u could do well with or without my f***** up commets :D im just tired from all this writing.

[radu.andrew]

radu, thats such a nice and fun one, too bad the fozzlo wont like it, (he only like stuff with no gum signs on it I think)

nooooo ! :D im meltiiiing :D

[sickelsick]

checkmate - very cool creature. i would add more motion to the spittin blood. but otherwise u paint with nice clean lines... i wish i could do that.

mrsmith - yours looks scary, i like the heave fleshy part of the mouth. i can just imagine it flopping when it runs.

garrett hana - finish that kool sketch man

antne - goood compostition. it looks real threatening. like the veins too.

whiteeee - i like the way u draw. i been lookinn at your sketchbook for a while now.

piru - kool concept but if those are wings, i tihnk they need to be a bit bigger. cuz it looks like the squid tenticles are too heavy for little wings. funny about the pimple thing, kool about the tattoo thing.

moai - BG adds a lot more. to add some more movement, put some little dust particles a few feet behind him on the ground with a motion blur.(or just motion blur the ground) that should do it. ur rendering is nice.

radu - funny man! at first, i thought it said "gum in" or does it say "cum in"?
if that shit says "cum in" i luv that peice. now i get the little heart in the bubble. i can just imagine this thing being used! haha


anybody got any crits on mine? i can use it. ;]

[Moai]

radu.andrew- Oh, there's definitely going to be more color. What you see now is just a grayscale texture overlayed over a purplish background. So yeah, definitely more color. Thanks! I like your new entry too, by the way. I love his little blue-green eye. The only thing bugging me is that "gum" sign. I find it hard to believe that a creature would evolve markings in English text, and fozzy usually doesn't take critters with artificial additions to the poll.
jagehtso- Thanks! Dust clouds coming right up. For your entry, I still think that your critter could use some much darker shadows, since it lives in a realm of absolute blackness and I don't imagine that there would be any nearby surfaces to reflect light back into the shadows (that's why all shadows aren't pitch-black, you know, reflected light). Definite progress, though.
bruce jenson- Adding a background has a way of complicating compositions, doesn't it?:P I think I will lower the horizon line, since that does indeed look more dynamic and gives a greater sense of my creature's speed. Thanks for your help!
sickelsick- Thanks! I'll be working on the background today.:rendered:

[Woodlandwalker]

radu.andrew- thank you very much for the honest crit... I just got done with a small rant in CHOW about how important crits are... although understood they arent mandatory... I hope I was able to address the issues you brought up.
Tks again!

[radu.andrew]

the shit says CUM IN :D yaya i know
woodlandwalker - man its hard at cow but its worth it im just glad i have time to draw more for this :) its a great place for crits

jagehtso dude try making it sepia :)

[Eriboss]

prolly not yellow enough and prolly too humanoid for poll, ah well
http://www.eriboss.com/images/yellowbloodsucker.jpg
spiderhound of eternal damnation, parasite of the underworld, sucks the blood of corpses, hobos and virgins. doesn't much care for vampires.

[jagehtso]

Moai THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS! You made my initial piece of crap soo much better! Updated it again, of course. Hopefully not too late....
Had to add a bit of glow to the tail, though. Otherwise I couldn't show the whole creature anymore, since the tail would vanish in the shadows. And showing the whole creature is one of the reqirements of this activity after all.

[aberrant85]

I just want to see if my profile picture works. Also, how do I upload a revised pic into your original post so that I don't have to take up so much space next time? Anyone? Anyone?

[aberrant85]

Dammit, why is my profile picture not showing up?

[Moai]

I updated my image! Here's a direct link to the photobucket image if you want to check it out: linky (http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/moai-save4.jpg).
jagehtso- Worlds of improvement, my man! Cheers to you for doing the work to revise it. If you have time, perhaps consider adding bright little highlights on parts of the tentacles, just to give them that much more strength.
eriboss- Nice! I like the loose brushwork. I don't think that would be considered humanoid. In my way of thinking, humanoids are creatures that could generally be described by this diagram, or something similar:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/metalukesurfer/0017-0402-2904-3909_SM.jpg
Your critter, while it has a human-like face, does not fit this diagram. So I think you're good. It's always nice to include a traditional media entry in the poll as well.:rendered:

Okay, I'm going to go read some Dan Simmons and then paint some more. I apologize to all those I didn't comment on yet. I'll get everyone in the voting thread, if not before.

[jagehtso]

Aaaaaand updated again!
Moai I think you've got now officially two entries running in this round. :P And yeah,I'm really improving a lot and fast since I visit this board. It's really an amazing (virtual) place! Two weeks ago my art looked like this: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1348121&postcount=77

As for your entry: It's shaping up nicely but that sucker's (ha! I'm so funny!) movement should have an considerable impact on the dust. After seeing it's okay, I doodled a bit over your wip to show you what I mean. http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t93/jagehtso/moai-example.jpg
You can probably do that a lot better but I just wanted to give an example. Hopefully it's not too late for it!

Aberrant85 below your previous posts, in the lower right corner, there is an edit button. Click on it to edit your previous posts, as in exchanging picture links. You know what's funny? I'm actually using it right now to tell you this! As for your avatar-problems I'm having the same problem. I changed it a week or so
ago and on top of my posts there's still that ugly clown. Maybe we should tell the tech-staff?

<off-topic> Is that upload-counter on photobucket actually real?! That thing moves crazily fast!

[Michael Jaecks]

Fozz: I dunno if I'll finish as work is piling up. If I don't magically find some extra hours somewhere hiding under the bed, don't bother taking mine to the polls.

Moai: Yours is really turing out to be gorgeous. The purple of the sky is really perfect with the yellow you chose. Far be it from me to disagree with Bruce (and I don't exactly, but) I like the way the darker mountains kind of frame the head. I think (and I could be wrong) that what feels a little odd is that his body twists one direction slightly while his head twists the other slightly (which is possible of course) but the skin on the neck looks a little slack, as if its not twisting. I don't mind the twist... but... I dunno.... maybe he'd look speedier if the whole thing was banking the same direction, or, the neck showed the strain in that slight turn of direction. But his mid-air mid-stride is really convincing. And again... the color is just lovely.

[Vorace]

Here's mine!
I'm in a super hurry so no time to crit&comment other's:nohope:

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2846/yellowbloodsuckervoracexq0.jpg

Today my fellow brothers, we will fight!
These nasty beast have sucked our blood for too long now!
Sharpen your swords too pierce their shells, because they are as hard as stone!
Hold on your shields to block their serpent-tongue and their fast claws!
Maybe they are faster than us, twice our number and fearless, but they are no match against us and our iron will!
Strike where they are vulnerable, in their soft skin under their shells, and wear your yellow cloaks to lure them!
Chargeeee!

[Moai]

jagehtso- I actually haven't done the dust yet. What you see is just my messy brushstrokes for the dirt. Thanks, though!:rendered:
Michael Jaecks- Thanks, pal. I purposefully did those dark hills to the left to increase the contrast around its head, which is the focal point. I also took the pose almost exactly from a photo of a running cheetah. Ah, reference is nice.:rendered: There is a little bit of a twist, isn't there? I hadn't noticed it until you mentioned it, and I didn't really plan for it to be there. I think I'll just leave it the way it is, since I don't really know what to do to change the illusion of a twist, so I think I'll just add that kicked-up dust everyone's been talking about to increase the feeling of speed.
How have you been liking zBrush, by the by?

I'll have my final up tonight. Don't you be too quick with closing the round there, fozz!:P

[ikuru]

vorace thats real nice, but alot there is allot of "Alien"&#169; resemblens in there too. ;)
Moai thanks for crit, and your right, its more like a quick speedo and the concept with the tube just feels not inspiered at all.
Anyhow I really like yours... the front leg looks a bit closer to the camera, like its turning this way, but maybe thats on purpous...

[Michael Jaecks]

Moai: Those are good ideas. The twist is happening because I can
a) see a bit of his belly and
b) the top edge of his mandible thingy bobs.

I think if he was fully banking to his right, you'd start to see the bottom of his jaw... his shead would lead his body in that direction...
but... he can certainly twist, banking one direction, while slightly changing his attention for his next move. I just think the neck would show more tension if that were the case. It's still really nice. I will steal your color palette at a later date... >right click<

Ah, zBrush. How many "banes of one's existence" can one man really have? The UI is kicking my ass, but it will just take time to get used to. I find myself accidentally making things look somewhat sculpted and then I am quickly felled because I can't do the simplest thing like remember how to zoom or re-polygon it or whatever. I did find one tutorial that began with "This is how you turn zBrush on. You'll notice it looks quite different from other user interfaces..." Nice and slow. I'll watch that several times. I like being busy with work, but it leaves no time for new learning curves in the personal realm.

The best thing I've learned about the software is that it really is designed to make a 2D image... with 3D tools. Once I got that through my head, the software's set up started to make more sense. You're not sculpting so much as sculpting for a painting. Kind of weird, but that's why its here.

[nickzorn]

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/johnnyveryscary/yellowbloodsucker2copy.jpg
So I reworked my original idea. A lot. But hopefully I'll have a finished piece done by the end of the night.

Thanks for all the critiques so far guys, I'll take all the help I can get.

Here's that final:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f47/johnnyveryscary/89YELLOWBLOODSUCKER.jpg
The yellow bloodsucker lives anywhere that it can get food. It uses the horns on its head and its giant claw to grab and hold its prey, mainly large mammals, then impales them with its other arm, draining them of all blood. The yellow bloodsucker has been found everywhere from India, draining elephants, to the Pacific Ocean, feeding on blue whales. It can survive in almost any environment, as it gets not only its food but also its oxygen from the blood it drinks.

Hope you cats like it.

[gene0i1mortal]

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l126/genetimmortal/10cow89.jpg

The yellow blood sucker of the fungal moon Ch'marren 6 usually feasts upon the Greater Nine-Toed Gherma Beast by utilizing it's hardened legs to pierce the thick skin of the armored underbelly. Attached, it feasts for up to four days upon the creature's blood, more than doubling in girth from it's feeding.

This causes the massive bulk of the bloodsucker to tear away from the beast, it's own weight leaving all but three appendages attached. The creature is then forced to drag itself to shelter where it hibernates and experinces new growth; replacing it's lost limbs before returning to feast again. Contact with native populace rumor there is an ancient parasite able to consume a whole Gherma's blood supply, though this has not been confirmed as of yet and is deemed highly unlikely.

Unfortunately it was the second research team that discovered this particular parasite. The enviro-suits needed to protect those brave adventurers in the hostile atmosphere did little to prevent entry from such a hardened feeder. It only took a breeding pair of these gluttonous creatures to consume the first team.

[nickzorn]

Moai: Those are good ideas. The twist is happening because I can
a) see a bit of his belly and
b) the top edge of his mandible thingy bobs.

I think if he was fully banking to his right, you'd start to see the bottom of his jaw... his shead would lead his body in that direction...
but... he can certainly twist, banking one direction, while slightly changing his attention for his next move. I just think the neck would show more tension if that were the case. It's still really nice. I will steal your color palette at a later date... >right click<

Ah, zBrush. How many "banes of one's existence" can one man really have? The UI is kicking my ass, but it will just take time to get used to. I find myself accidentally making things look somewhat sculpted and then I am quickly felled because I can't do the simplest thing like remember how to zoom or re-polygon it or whatever. I did find one tutorial that began with "This is how you turn zBrush on. You'll notice it looks quite different from other user interfaces..." Nice and slow. I'll watch that several times. I like being busy with work, but it leaves no time for new learning curves in the personal realm.

The best thing I've learned about the software is that it really is designed to make a 2D image... with 3D tools. Once I got that through my head, the software's set up started to make more sense. You're not sculpting so much as sculpting for a painting. Kind of weird, but that's why its here.
Where is that tutorial? I just got the program, and I could use some direction with it.

[Moai]

Yeah! Wherezat tutorial, Mike?
My final is up. I doubt I'll have time to change it, unless Fozzy is quite late in closing the round. It's been a great time, ladies and gents!

[aberrant85]

Hey thanks Moai for clearing that stuff up. You're a good man for helping out us neophytes.

[nickzorn]

Just out of curiousity, how are you guys putting signatures on your posts? I'd like to be able to put the link to my sketchbook page in these.

[blobs]

blobs- Nice design, strong rendering.:wink:


Thanks Moai, i appreciate that. :)
Just checked your beasty out, now, I'm well impressed with the running motion. You've really captured the essence of motion there I feel. Cheetah reference, or horsey? :)

[fughi from yuggoth]

made update yesterday,try to avoid the mistakes moai gladfully showed me.

[ikuru]

Moai
I did this paintover (hope you dont mind) to show you what I talked about, basicly I used the feather tool and sphearize on three diferent locations, (took me like 5 min), hope it helps...
http://www.ikuru.se/box/PAINTOVER.jpg

[banhatin]

Try This Guy! The Bloody Creatures In Your Dreams
http://forum.coowow.com/noncgi/attach/2007/06/22/1182507358-userId-624-.jpg

[BANNED_For_POOPY_PANTS]

Some really cool drawings here so far, ppl.

Here's my guy:

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s31/Vaiagra/COWyellowbloodsucker.jpg

[ibbo]

In an attempt to intergrate myself into the CoW community a little more i thought i would offer up some crit's and comments on other entrants work!

Whiteeeeeee, As with your last entry i'm blown away by the detail and technical skills (i wish my anatomy, especially muscular anatomy was that good!). Its a really interesting and origional concept.

Jolliday, Your idea is similar to mine in so far as your creature is using a form of camoflage so sneek up on its prey. The design reminds me of a Leaf bug we get here in the UK!

Piru, This is a really wild design that i like it alot. In particular, i like how you've drawn elements from lots of differnt creatures (i.e. octopus's and butterflies are two i'm seeing strong elements of!). Another really origional concept.

Nightmate28, Congrat's on joining the CoW! You should have joined the 'Razor Fly' CoW a few weeks back, this beastie would have certainly fit in well there!

Goog, This is a really bizarre entry! It look's like it should be some nautical creature but here it is whipping birds out of the sky! However the scene seems a little static and two dimensional and could use some dynamism. Definitly an interesting twist on the 'Clam' theme though!

Moai, I'm really liking this entry and seeing it progress through its WIP stages. Your creature is not only original (it reminds me a bit of the 'dogs' from the PC shooter Half-Life 1!!!) but you've also captured a real dynamic shot of the creature in action. The write-up is also very impressive!

Sicklesick, Eeek! If that thing got anywhere near my arm after seeing your concept i would very likely brown my underwear! A cool idea, and very gross!

Muleskinner, Another sick concept! The eye's are very well done, (imo) and certanly add to the 'creepyness' of the creature. However, its hard to establish how large the creature is, or get a sence of how it might move/act. Still, a strong piece, especially considering you were working on the EoW at the same time!

Radu.Andrews, Your concept is competely bizarre and i love the colours you've used. It almost reminds me of something Egyptian (with the gold and Tourqoize coloured eye, and feet at the base of the box shape) but then again maybe thats just me being odd!

Thalion, Another interesting Bird entry, almost Kiwi like. However its hard to establish how the creature extracts the blood as you've described! Your environment suits the creature very well and i like the scene of debris on the beach (it goes well with your description!).

Busterbam, It's great to see so many new entrants like myself on these CoW challenges! Your creature like some other entrants designs mix's alot of different creatures into a single design, i can pick out the squid and mosquito straight away! Although its a very penickity crit- your creature's light source seem's to change from its black carapace to the yellow tenticles!

Grenogs, A pretty vicious looking parasite, i definitly like the 'ribbed' (steady... no inuendo's please) texture of its body.

Eriboss, Absolutly insane but i love it! Was this done in painter or using traditional media? Its sick (in the good way!) and definitly an interesting take on the challenge, but there isn't much Yellow in the piece itself (not that i can talk, mines black and white!).

Vorace, The "soft skin under their shells" is drawn really nicely and textured! My one crit of your design was already address by Ikuru and thats that the creature may resemble the 'Alien' too closely to call it completly origional. It's still a really strong piece though, and that thing coming out of its mouth looks great!

Nickzrn, Like Vorace's piece this is a really strong drawing, but it reminds me too much of the PC game 'Star Craft' zerg creatures. Both are strong drawings with obviously origional concepts, but seem to be layered over existing ideas! The creatures head look's awesome though!

Gene0i1mortal, It's a little hard to see whats going on in this piece, as the creature seems to be very saturated. However i can see the detail for the creatures face and i'm getting the main idea of it. Your write up was also interesting to read.

Banhatin, Definitly one of my new favourite 'insect-themed' concepts! The colour's used really compliment the design and the shapes build up a really vicious looking creature!

*collapses*

I appoligise if i've missed anyone out whist writing this, i'll be sure to try and offer some c/c when i next can! Hope this might help/encourage everyone!

[Charanty]

Thalion, interesting idea with hummingbird.
Vorace, very unpleasent creature. The best place for it - inside some video game like Silent Hill...

PS
Moai, i've revamped Sandrapier's tail. It must be more aerodynamic now.

[Vorace]

ikuru, ibbo : Hum yes I must admit there is some ressemblance with the Alien, but it's unvoluntary.:(
I'm a big HR Giger fan, so maybe my inconscious just commanded me to do something more xenomorphic

Thanks for the other comments !

[Garrett Hanna]

I'm in a rush right now so I'll put up my submission and I'll critique all your guys' stuff next post. Just gotta get it in before the deadline...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j160/gh-graphics/YellowBloodSucker-Final.jpg

I was hoping it wasn't just going to be the pencilled version with colour on it. I was hoping to paint it but I couldn't find the time. Yes Moai, it does look like a movie monster and believe it or not it was what I was going for hahaha. I have a thing for old 70s and 80s monster movie mosters that are all dressed up.

[gene0i1mortal]

Gene0i1mortal, It's a little hard to see whats going on in this piece, as the creature seems to be very saturated. However i can see the detail for the creatures face and i'm getting the main idea of it. Your write up was also interesting to read.


Thanks for the crit! Color was never one of my strong points, always preferred b&w. It's a weakness I've been trying to confront lately. Went back to a desaturated version, fixed some shadows and highlights and hit it with some color layers. Seems to have helped some.

[NightMare28]

Hi! Thank you for all your crits, and I'll say it as well, "Who am I to give you advice?"

Here's some C&C, I try to be constructive, but sometimes...

Arn J
Good stuff, I like your design and the way it came out. Maybe you can show us how it looks before it loses its wings?

Moai
Awesome design, although I don't see the "bloodsucker" part in it yet, but really good piece. I agree there's some issues w/ twists, and adding the background really makes it complete.

jchery
like your ideas, just stick w/ one and go for it.

woodlandwalker
I like the whole package, it looks like a deadly sea urchin.

Rist
try showing other views, if the design is very simple its best to show all angles to give your creature more depth.

Cloister
Is it a shell or more like an armadillo shell? The tail gives me that impression. Are its eye's bleeding?

Timothee
Looks good, I think you just need to clean up your edges with another pass.

M.Jaecks
Interesting, what is happening on the underside? Is it cutting into the skin or is that the creature just resting its body on the skin(ground). It doesn't feel like its "on" the skin, perhaps a shadow will fix this.

tigerazzo
please don't let me step on that! Again, simple diagrams explain so much! Who needs english when you got universal pictures.

Charanty
pretty cool design, however your explanation says its a sand dweller, and it looks far too smooth to travel through sand, scales

whiteeee
Simply awesome! I don't think you need the heavy arms for this creature, maybe a fatter version of the bottom legs in my opinion.

ibbo
why didn't you just slap some color on it?

chuck,mate
your style is great, does the creature sputter around on its hind legs like that?

sickelsick
Great idea, I wouldn't want that around my arm at all! I like how it turned out.

radu.andrew
Hilarious! Great presentation. I dunno how to comment on that one.

Thalion
Great looking piece. I'd like to see the whole bird tho.

Gregnogs
I feel like I'm in the bloodstream. I like your composition.

Vorace
Yes, very Alien-esque. I like the way you rendered it.

Nick.Zorn
Yes, very Hydralisk-like. Same thing here, great job drawing and coloring, but there's just too many things that scream starcraft to me.

banhatin
Nice design, really gross looking. I think you need to clean up your edges a bit and then it'll be rock solid.

Garrett Hanna
Very interesting looking. Great drawing and coloring.

Piru
I like the expression and the overall body movement, I agree w/ bigger wings, but maybe you can add multiple small wings instead.

Antne
Great looking entry, it looks like its coming right at you. I like how you did the wings and the details on the face.

blobs
Great! Looks like a slug that will suck your face off! I like weight and how the skin on it looks.

MrSmith
Holy chicken! Awesome is all I can say, and please teach me how to paint like that.

ikuru
Interesting, I like your entry just how it looks, however the mouth looks too human?

peter John
I can only think of, quote the raven "nevermore". A great piece.

Obi-One
I like your design, but the head looks too large for the body.

YIIT
your concept and diagram is awesome.

okay sorry for those that I missed. Gotta go for now!

[Michael Jaecks]

Moai and Nickzorn: the tutorial was on YouTube. Just search zBrush there. You'll find it. I forget which organization put it together, but it was fairly long (30-40 min?) and near the top of the list. There are two actually from the same people... one gets you familliar with the UI and the second starts you off sculpting a head. It's a tut for zBrush 2, but the UI looked much the same.

I for sure wont finish before Fozz locks it, so don't bother taking me to the poll, pls.

Nighmare: yeah a shadow was coming later in my original plan. I tend to seperate the subject and background and integrate at the end, but I never found the time to finish this round.

[nickzorn]

Moai and Nickzorn: the tutorial was on YouTube. Just search zBrush there. You'll find it. I forget which organization put it together, but it was fairly long (30-40 min?) and near the top of the list. There are two actually from the same people... one gets you familliar with the UI and the second starts you off sculpting a head. It's a tut for zBrush 2, but the UI looked much the same.

I for sure wont finish before Fozz locks it, so don't bother taking me to the poll, pls.

Nighmare: yeah a shadow was coming later in my original plan. I tend to seperate the subject and background and integrate at the end, but I never found the time to finish this round.

Thanks Mike, I'll be sure to check that out!

[scorge]

Holy shit, talk about the last minute!>:|
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k153/scorge40/yellowbloodsucker2.jpg

This is the yellow bloodsucker. About the size of a bus, this formidable creature scours the countryside in search of big prey. Usually cows and horses. Through some freak of nature, this animal has developed the taste for blood and a unique adaptation to go along with it. It uses its tail as a straw after skewering its hapless victim. Like swiss cheese, the bloodsuckers tail is really just exposed bone that grows almost the same as a rattlesnake's rattle. Throughout its long life life, this beast will evolve its taste for blood as it matures.

Can't believe I made it. Sorry to all who got it in in time. :\

[Fozzybar]

poll is online:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100328