C.O.W. #200! Alpha land predator. VOTING!

[(lark]

ROUND #200 VOTING

Topic: Land, Sea and Air - Alpha Land Predator

Multivote (≥20 entries)...

Deadline for the voting: Sunday Feb. 5th, 2011

This voting round is the first of a two round set to determine our new mascot. This week of voting will determine the winner of this round (who will get their star as per usual), but also, the top 3 will go on to the second round of voting to determine our new mascot.

Remember to show some love, thank the people who's entries you liked but couldn't vote for. Also if you've got the time, add some crits.

[Forrest_I]

Artist: Forrest_I

Concept: Alpha Land Predator

[PokketMowse]

Artist: PokketMowse

Concept: Alpha Canix

These hardy, muscular, and extremely aggressive beasts are pack hunters that congretate in small family groups. While technically not among the largest of predatory beasts (Even large males stand barely human height at the shoulder) these creatures are highly successful and tenacious hunters that truly have little to fear...save the threat from other packs of their own species.

[Nikola Marinkovic]

Artist: Nikola Marinković

Concept: Desert Hunter

These creatures have well developed defensive system consisting of their hard skin parts made of some kind of rock. They are most feared creatures lurking around because their defensive system makes them invulnerable and their strength and speed makes them fierce predators with no competition.

[Farquad]

Artist: Farquad

Concept: Vrakkore


It's name is the Vrakkore, and is the most feared predator in the known universe.
They are absolutely relentless in hunting thier prey, and commonly known to chase
therakins across the blue volcanos of the planet Thaunis. During these pursuits, the
Vrakkore will actually sprint through the lava fields without so much as a twinge of
pain, as their lower legs are completely coated in unbearably hot, molten rock. As it
cools and hardens, the Vrakkore actually utilizes it pseudo-armor to gore and thrash
its prey with an even greater efficiency.

[GoldenSerpent]

Artist: GoldenSerpent

Concept: Karnicore

These brutal creatures are the apex predators of their home planet, and unlike most predators the karnicore doesn’t just kill for food, but also for pleasure. Karnicores are perfectly equipped to give anything they find a gruesome death. Their massive maws are filled with rows of dagger-like teeth, which are constantly regrowing. The karnicore’s jaws can snap bone, its rancid saliva is full of deadly bacteria and once it sinks its razor claws into its victims it will never let go. The karnicore is truly the ultimate predator of its land; the karnicore fears nothing, but everything fears the karnicore.

[George Abraham]

Artist: George Abraham

Concept: Protaur

He plays with his food.

[lkjhgfdsa]

Artist: lkjhgfdsa

Concept: Necrosaunt
These canine analogues hunt in packs of 6-12 members.
They are a blight on the land as they hunt for more than just food, they hunt for the pleasure of the kill.
The glow they emit is accompanied by a doppling white noise that hammers deep into the subconscious mind of their prey, causing a paralysis of thought and body.
Few have survived the enclosing circle of glowing lights that preempts their final vicious orgy of blood.
Good times.

[Lane.]

Artist: Lane.

Concept: Camaxtli


The Camaxtli derive their name from the ancient Aztec god of hunting, war and fire. These supreme predators have stout bodies with no excess flare, but plenty of muscle. They are designed for aggressive attacks with their strong forearms and crushing jaws. Exposed bone extrudes from the skull and spine, along with scattered extrusions along the limbs. This natural armor is constantly growing.

[Si_Swe]

Artist: Si_Swe

Concept: Plated Markeff


One of the most aggressive animals ever recorded, the undersized, over-muscled Markeff will openly attack almost any animal it comes across regardless of size or status. It's three sets of legs are specialized for maxium potential. It's rear legs function to help it make impressive leaps, and sprint at a pace of nearly 45km/h. It's middle set of of legs functions to support and balance the creature, as well as having excellent potential for the digging of holes, as it often does to get at larger burrowing creatures. The front legs have large talons for ripping and tearing. Very brave, very stupid poachers hunt the front talons to sell as overpriced can-openers.

(Pictured: A Plated Markeff defends it's recent kill from scavenging Scarlet-toed Monitors.)

[skullbeast]

Artist: skullbeast

Concept: thresh wollv
This beast is highly aggressive and and territorial, Known to rend any live thing, limb from limb. it has no relevant predators.

[sepu]

Artist: sepu

Concept: Zgrzytol

This animal is cunning and ruthless killer who stalks his prey and usually uses surprise as his weapon. His great physical strength and speed are simple but effective protections from any wanna-be enemy that would dare to challenge Zgrzytol.

[Acki]

Artist: Acki

Concept: Pincera

The Pincera is a dangerous creation, which got integrated into nature. It is the result of experiments with dinosaur dna, which got mixed with the dna of shellfishes. This fact is known because of certain, nearly complete destroyed documents, and so some people are thinking, that this could be the reason for the hard armor in the midsection, its huge pincers, the crab like feet and also for its underdeveloped left arm, just like the one of a T-rex. The connection to prehistoric top predators could also be the reason for its huge aggression and bloodlust. Because of its long draw out maul and the strong right arm with three thingers, some hunters are thinking it is main relative is the died out spinosaurus or spiny lizard. There are also documents which prove, that there are also dna elements of nocturnal animals. That shows in the luminous eyes and the big 4 nostrils, which indicate a very good sense of smell. Its This specie can't become extinct without a violent superior power from the outside, because of its genderless breeding.

[VegasMike]

Artist: Vegasmike

Concept: Alpha Land Predator


Our Galactic Expedition has taken us to many planets and moons. Planet AV-33 is tropical with lush vegetation, dense jungles, and vast plains. The wildlife is a mix of gentle dinosaur like herbivores and mammals. ON AV-33 the top of the foodchain begins with the creature pictured below. This carnivore is a terrible mix of horn, tooth and claw...it has porcupine like quills along it's back for protection and display. The males used their horns in battle to claim territory and females.

[los]

Artist: los

Concept: Ujo

Blood thirsty beast preys on all, stands alone on top of the food chain. Along with its keen eye sight, The Ujo detects its prey through the use of hyper developed tendrils by means of detecting the heat of its prey. Should you catch a glimpse of the Ujo, you will be amung the unfortunate for there is no survival.

[DefiledVisions]

Artist: DefiledVisions

Concept: Hyrdrargra


Torn piece from an old and weary notebook:

This creature.. So unlike anything we've encountered so far.. The beauty of these serene woods are deceptive.. like the serpent in eden.... There is only silence.. Nowhere to run. We are hunted... .. (scribbles end in a mess, bloody fingerprints are seen on the edges)

[(lark]

Artist: (lark

Concept: the vicious bromts


These terrors of the planet trioth. Rule all of its land masses with a horrible reign, striking fear into all of the unfortunate land walkers that happen upon them. Extremely able in combat, and oddly fast for their hulking size. these features are both due to their highly developed fore legs (made of ultra hard bone) that have the ability to hook into the ground and propel the bomst at a fast gallop, as well as hooking into their prey and in turn tearing them to pieces. This makes the chances of escaping an encounter with one very slim.

The thing that sets the bromts apart from most other predators is that they hunt even when they are in no need of food. It is said that their blood lust runs so deep that they kill in a purely instinctual way. That they feel very uncomfortable staying idle or almost feel pain because of it, and the only way to relieve that pain is to inflict it on others.

[o0Dave0o]

Artist: o0Dave0o

Concept: Alpha Predator
The vicious and poisonous Woodland Terror (as the locals call it) is the most feared and badass predator on the planet Taurus. This creature uses it's size and surprising limberness to sneak up on its prey and lunge with it's oddly hinged lower half scooping its prey in its gaping mouth. Its bottom jaw is hinged horizontally allowing it to open its mouth into a large, sharp scoop. Nothing dares compete with the Woodland Terror and its horrifying speed.

(note: COW added for size comparison and irony )

[Izer]

Artist: Izer

Concept: Bouhwruuk
They are relentless in their pursuit to show their dominance, and nothing will stand in their way.

[Arbinn]

Artist: Arbinn

Concept: Hyefer


Sturdy, strong, beautiful, disgusting... These predators have been portrayed in many ways by people but "deadly" is The adjective to best describe these relentless beasts. Hyefers are not as agile nor fast as some Earth predators, but they make up for that by sheer strength and endurance by which they take down anything in their path. They have excellent grip thanks to their massive feet so few can outrun them. And those who can simply die tired as hyefers run very economically and seem to be virtually tireless.

Hyefers appear to catch their prey almost every time so food is always plentiful which allows them to easily feed their numerous offspring with weird cowlike udders. Until the cubs grow teeth...

[Homerid]

Artist: Homerid

Concept: Alpha Land Predator

This large beast, often referred as The Bone-blade Demon, is the most vicious and deadliest creature in the land. Its violent and unexpected character makes it extremely dangerous, even to members of its own species. Equiped with razor sharp tooths, claws, eyes with full 360-degree view, and a strong bone structure, this creature stops at nothing, oftenly attacking and mutilating entire groups of other animals without the need for food.

[Arbinn]

Great round everyone!

I almost voted for about half of the entries but ultimately forced myself to shrink the number down to two.

GoldenSerpent The creature's head is terrific and the whole thing is just screaming "I'M A PREDATOR!". The killed prey gives a nice add to the composition and overall the picture is very clean and well executed. Chris Hansen's nemesis for sure.

VegasMike Great perspective and feel of power. The thorns and spikes work very well and give the creature a unique look. The colors are also awesome and really make the picture pop.




Others I reaaaaally wanted to vote but eventually dropped from my Votetastics- list:



Farquad The view angle is exciting and the overall rendering great. I just felt that despite being more original than the usual four legged feline/canine- predators, your beast felt like a B- movie monster which I didn't like.

lkjhgfdsa As usual, I love the amount of details and rendering. The design is spectacular as well. I just thought that hunting with psychic powers is somewhat lame (+ steals from the hyper intelligent sea beast- topic) and the creature looked more like a scavenger than a predator as someone mentioned in the WIP thread.

skullbeast I really like this creature and the way you've drawn it. I can't really spot any flaws and the design is interesting. I just think that it's a little too dark and has too much contrast. Less pure black could have worked better.

DefiledVisions If you had had more time to polish your predator I'm sure I would have voted for it. Even this entry that looks like an unfinished WIP looks great and has a nice atmosphere in it.

(lark Your creature looks great but there is something that just makes me think "meh". I think it's the claw arms. They look somewhat out of place and seem like a bad design choice.

Homerid People are so going to hate me for not voting you and I'll probably get disqualified for this. :X As I said in the WIP thread the creature is splendid and the fact it's a pencil work triples the awesomeness. Personally I just want the COW mascot to be colored and that is pretty much the only reason I didn't vote for you.




And the rest of all the fine entries:



Forrest_I I think you confined your creature in the square shaped picture too much. It looks like as if he was crammed in the box with the tail curled around its body. The middle part of the legs is also way too short and the bottom part too long. Some balancing between them would have done wonders. The crown on the creature's head is a nice idea though and could have been taken even further.

PokketMowse I really like the creature's head and how it reveals the teeth and gums. The neck and legs (especially paws and claws, I have SO much trouble with those myself) on the other hand seem weird and could have used some more reference.

Nikola Marinkovic I immediately linked your creature with Forrest's one since they looked like they come from the same place. The golden pieces of cut paper on its head look funny (at least that's what I think they are ) and the overall anatomy seems decent. The shoulder on the other hand appears very wrong to me. Ask yourself: what muscles are going to lift the creature's forelegs? There seems to be none that attach to the shoulder.

George Abraham Do you know Houndoom pokemon by any chance? Like Farquad's picture I think the angle is great and the lighting seems correct. The creature looks too much like an ordinary dog though.

Lane. Solid work and great style. It reminded me of Heroes of M&M demons. The design has just been seen too many times imo.

Si_Swe I like the six limbs and pose in your picture. The yellow bone structure (?) on the creature messes it up though as I don't know where to focus my eyes. When I view your picture I'd like to look at the hindlegs because of the interesting posture and position in the middle of the picture but when I do that the "helmet" steals my attention. I think the creature would have been much better without any external armor structures.

sepu Your creature reminds me of a flying squirrel and I like the flat body stucture. The curled tail is ruining the movement it has though and the saturated stripes makes it hard for me to distinguish some parts of the body. The hand's muscle structure looks awesome.

Acki I like the asymmetric design and the lighting. It looks dramatic. It lacks some eye candy and details where the viewer could focus his sight though. The legs appear nonexistent to me and are the weak point in your drawing imho.

Ios Great creature and good colors. The posture is nice as well. I think it could have used some more polishing though. Maybe a bit more rendering on some areas?

o0Dave0o Cool design and funky looking anatomy! In a good way. It looks somewhat unfinished to me though. Mainly because of the stripes.

Izer Very artistic drawing that certainly pops from the others with its style. It just doesn't really depict the creature all that well.

I think that was all.

[Zeitwolf]

Great entries in this one, althoug I exspected it to be many many more. Ok, I'm not the one to talk, I didn't participate.
Can't say much to the individual designs, only that many seem similar to me (quadripeds, teethful snarl...)
I'm voting for Farquad, because it's the entry that looks least chimera-esque and although it has an anthro torso. If those were opposable claws, they might come in handy in being a lethal predator...

[Sapphire]

I voted for los and Homerid.
los, your creature is so beautifully vivid without smacking me with saturation, I love it! It's original but also has enough features derived from real-world predators to make it look like it could exist... love the vulture-like head. I can see this being a mascot.

Homerid, I was just so inspired by your work that I had to vote for it, even if it wasn't a color piece. It's gorgeous and makes me want to pick up my pencils and a piece of bristol every time I look at it. Thanks for posting your wips as well, it was fascinating to see your process. Very detailed.

Everyone else did a great job! This was such a fun COW.

[George Abraham]

Forrest_I
Your rendering is still a little muddy and formulatic. Take time to study life with some still life's and copy some photo's of creatures that display the material effects you want to create. Another direction if realism wasn't the idea, would be to include lineart to sharpen your pictures. You could also do muse copies and figure out what you like and how others are doing it.

PokketMowse
Love the creature, something about it is life like and I can imagine it moving and shaking it's body.The way the reflect lights where applied and I think the paws lack something I can't put my finger on, it hints towards some amateurishness because of minor defects but this will improve with time. What I noticed this round is that pure imaginary concepts for real simple stuff like claws sometimes need ref, perhaps not to copy but just to give your mind a clue and to try and imagine what they look like instead of constructing and rendering without a mental image. I had this with my creature's horns. I forgot to "see" them.


Nikola Marinković
Picture needs more contrasts, everything is to bright and washed out. I like the wrinkly skin effect.

Farquad
I love your detail/texture effect and you got your volumes/shapes/perspective and stuff sorted. Not much to crit apart from the ambiguous read. With a closer look I don't see any water creature in there but I think the blue splashes of stuff keeps queing a water effect making it look crayfish like. You should have gone for a desighn that unmistakably reads "land predator".


GoldenSerpent
I'm not intimidated at all. Really... I don't know that bush hog anyway.
You pulled off a Alpha theme of note.

lkjhgfdsa
Love your style, it has good contrast. Your creature has a humanoid face, I would never have guessed it's an alpha land predator, maybe aliens or monsters from the abyss or something. But then again I could say the same for my own work.

Lane
Nice excited look there with some alpha juice flowing. It looks a little adolecent and under decorated though, sorta like it has not yet reached the age to developed alpha colors and physical features that looks like it has reached full maturity but this might only be my own interpretation, it looks a little underplayed yet solid.

Si_Swe
Strong narrative but the saturated colors or something I can't quite put my finger on creates a complicated read.

skullbeast
It's size is ambiguous thus there's no narrative, I'm not sure if I'm looking at a rat or a Giant beast that towers mountains.
It resemble's allot of small heel biting critters I have seen in movies. Cool nevertheless.

sepu
The incomplete leg is a negative for me. He head still looks like a drawing while his body looks realistically rendered as if it has stretchy shimmery skin. The tree also doesn't do it justice. Apart from that the desighn's actually not that bad, maybe a carcass or something in the tree?


Acki
Nice muscles. It does not look complete at all.

Vegasmike
Like the colors. Reminds me of Primal Rage.

los
Nice desighn, would have liked some of your other desighns more, You picked a more iconic one but I think the others where better. Your b/w's has more power than your coloured picture.

DefiledVisions
Interesting color. Read's a little messy, The face looks unagressive, not sure what the eyes should be there, weather I'm looking at it right.

(lark
Really well done, something about the face just feels funny to me. Not sure what but it acts as an attention device.

o0Dave0o
Interesting, The rendering on the creature is a bit underdone. Poor cow.

Izer
Weak display of the creature, I don't see much.

Arbinn
Is that a music note?, Something about it is surreal. I like it.

Homerid
Good move with the pencils, it's superb, love the gesture and the life in the claws.

[Si_Swe]

Because I will be doing crits for each category, instead of personalizing them as much as I can, each crit will be broken down as below. If you find them cold or harsh, I am trying to be as fair and honest as I possibly can. Compliments can come from loved ones or friends, I am not here for that.
Forrest_I - Strengths: Visceral sense to the creature
Weaknesses: Rendering is a little fuzzy. Background needs more attention. Tail swings around to the front awkwardly. I don’t think green liquid is necessary to illustrate that a stinger is poisonous. No description.
Accuracy to the Brief: I works fine for the brief.

PokketMowse - Strengths: Textures, definition.
Weaknesses: Some forms are somewhat unclear or not crisp enough on the light side. I find the design uninteresting.
Accuracy to the Brief: It works well enough for the brief.

Nikola Marinkovic - Strengths: Textures, palette.
Weaknesses: Background needs a bit more definition, or less scenery. Teeth still feel impractical. Musculature needs work, I would recommend doing some animal studies.
Accuracy to the Brief: I don’t get the impression that it would make an incredibly effective predator.

Farquad - Strengths: Excellent rendering, very original design, dynamic illustration.
Weaknesses: - Background spikes look unfinished. Mouth feels more suited to a fish than a land creature, it looks incapable of closing. Hands look nigh-useless for a creature of it’s stature; given the design it would need to bring food to it’s mouth.
Accuracy to the Brief: Looks like it could definitely be a fearsome predator.

GoldenSerpent - Strengths: Great design, feels like it could be a real creature. Excellent sense of ferocity. Excellent palette.
Weaknesses: Back legs look like they lack the necessary muscle to propel and stabilize the creature.
Accuracy to the Brief: I consider this the best fit for the brief. I voted for it.

George Abraham - Strengths: Lighting, foreshortening.
Weaknesses: Rendering and texture need definite tightening. Perspective is questionable. I don’t find the design particularly interesting.
Accuracy to the Brief: Looks like it’s killing rodents, I don’t feel like it’s necessarily an Alpha Predator.

lkjhgfdsa - Strengths: Very original design, nice rendering, portrayal of distinct juvenile and adult (I’m assuming).
Weaknesses: Strange green lighting on it’s underside. Palette could be pushed in terms of variance on the creature’s skin.
Accuracy to the Brief: As I mentioned in the WIP thread (and Arbinn above me) it looks more like a scavenger than a full-on predator, to me.

Lane. - Strengths: Excellent painting style. Good forms. Multiple views.
Weaknesses: I wish some of the edges were a bit crisper, that’s about it.
Accuracy to the Brief: Definitely, I think it works quite well.

skullbeast - Strengths: Ferocity, textures, energy.
Weaknesses: Edges are sometimes unclear, shadows should be colder in hue (depending on the circumstances), but here seem just grayer, darker versions of the illuminated hues.
Accuracy to the Brief: I’m on the fence. I think there are elements of scavenger present in the creature, reminding me of monitor lizards lizards and vultures, but I also think there are elements that suggest extreme power and ferocity.

sepu - Strengths: Some great sense forms, interesting head design. Only arboreal predator.
Weaknesses: Leg cuts off awkwardly. Head is much flatter than the rest of the creature and seems to be looking in a different direction than it’s reaching. Does not seem to interact with it’s environment very much. Texture overlay on the tree looks completely out of place.
Accuracy to the Brief: I don’t get the impression that this creature is much larger than your average monitor lizard or large iguana. It’s effectiveness as a predator would probably be limited to the trees, and I’m also seeing a hint of scavenger in the head design.

Acki - Strengths: Dynamic pose, unique design.
Weaknesses: Design is completely impractical, those legs wouldn’t hold it up at all. Lighting and shadows needs work. Head is a little bit flat.
Accuracy to the Brief: If if weren’t so impractical as a creature I could definitely see it being an Alpha Predator.

VegasMike - Strengths: Style, dynamism, and rendering. Original design.
Weaknesses: Somewhat exaggerated perspective, tail looks like it could have been a bit crisper (pre-blur filter).
Accuracy to the Brief: Totally, I think it’s one of the best for this.

los - Strengths: Believable yet powerful design, decent, painterly rendering.
Weaknesses: Sacrifices definition of faded elements in order to bring emphasis to the front of the creature. All well and good, but parts of the faded areas look very sloppy.
Accuracy to the Brief: I can definitely see it as a fearsome and effective predator.

DefiledVisions - Strengths: Composition works to bring attention only to focal points, lighting is stellar, sleek and powerful design. Great painting style.
Weaknesses: Paws/claws could have used some definition. Some of the crispness in the background elements is distracting. Parts look unfinished rather than being loose, but supporting the focal points.
Accuracy to the Brief: I think it fits quite well. I voted for it.

(lark - Strengths: Great rendering and textures. Excellent sense of intense violence. Grand scale.
Weaknesses: Back legs are a little bit sloppy. Bottom teeth look like they’d get in the way more than be functional at all.
Accuracy to the Brief: Totally fits the brief, as I see it.

o0Dave0o - Strengths: Palette, composition.
Weaknesses: Creature’s design is totally awkward and doesn’t seem functional. Some of the rendering on the creature is not up to snuff with what I know you can do.
Accuracy to the Brief: I think it fits alright, but it’s so awkward that I think it might have some trouble with the stealth it seems to practice.

Izer - Strengths: Dynamic scene. Good attention to values and contrast.
Weaknesses: Creature design is totally unclear, I almost didn’t let it into the poll for this reason.
Accuracy to the Brief: I can barely tell what’s going on in the image, but from what I can see, the predator seems like it would be fairly effective at throwing it’s weight around. I just wish the design of the creature was more present.

Arbinn - Strengths: Movement, forms and textures.
Weaknesses: - Tail looks a bit awkward; top-heavy nature of the creature would require a longer tail to maintain balance in such a sprint. Rendering for the hair on the crest could be a little tighter.
Accuracy to the Brief: I think it works well enough for the brief.

Homerid - Strengths: Sense of forms. Movement. Believable and yet original design.
Weaknesses: I wish it wasn’t just in pencil, because I think this is one of the strongeswt pieces here. The head looks flatter than the rest of its body, though.
Accuracy to the Brief: I can easily see this as an effective and brutal predator. I voted for it after some consideration.

[Acki]

Thx for the crits guys!! I really want to improve my work.
Getting no vote is kinda hard, but well....this is showing me what to do.
I 'll work on the rendering and post the result in my sb.

I have to learn very much for school, so I am sorry to say, that I haven't got the time to comment your work or sketchbooks at the moment. As soon as I can spend a few seconds, I will.

cheers, acki

[emerging]

i voted for (lark. Great rendering and really gives off that "bear" vibe and bear can be considered an alpha predator in real world so thumbs up for using that for inspiration.

Some close ones were
GoldenSerpent - i just thought it looked too much like a raptor/t-rex dinosaur with different colors added to it. Otherwise nice work

VegasMike - like somebody mentioned before you pretty much nailed the brief and i like how it is not as busy with detail all over the place as your first version. I guess the only reason i did not vote for yours is because personally i am a bigger fan of more realistic styles like (lark's for instance.

Great job everybody!

[los]

Thx for the crits guys!! I really want to improve my work.
Getting no vote is kinda hard, but well....this is showing me what to do.
I 'll work on the rendering and post the result in my sb.

I have to learn very much for school, so I am sorry to say, that I haven't got the time to comment your work or sketchbooks at the moment. As soon as I can spend a few seconds, I will.

cheers, acki

paraphrasing here from something a friend said.

"if you learned something doing this, you've already won."

[Lane.]

This was a fun challenge with great results. I'm glad I participated and look forward to future challenges!

I think the critiques above are great, here are mine:

Forrest_I- The creature design is solid, but the rendering and perspective are weak. The creature appears stiff because the muscles are all flexed. The foot construction could use some work. This could benefit from a better light source and cast shadows.

PokketMowse- The body of this creature is very strong and well done. However the head and jaws simply don't work. The jaw just looks too long and cumbersome.

Nikola Marinkovic- There is a lack of energy that I think brings an otherwise strong design down. He looks sad and tired. The muscles of the torso and forelegs could be better defined. The tusk could work if they were integrated differently, perhaps in the front of the mouth like a sabertooth cat.


Farquad- This is wonderful creature! The rendering and sense of motion are great. I just don't feel that it fits the brief too well. Like a crustacean, it looks like it is only suited for its unique habitat.

GoldenSerpent- The snout is by far the strength of this design. It looks like an alpha predator! I feel the limbs, particularly the hind legs and feet are weak both muscle and construction. Nicely painted.

George Abraham- The design is interesting, but the pose is not working. Due to the extreme foreshortening, a lot of the information is hidden. The lighting and shadows have come a long way, good job.

lkjhgfdsa- Much of this design is very alien, and seems to have form without function. Overall the design is fun an interesting though.

Si_Swe- It first strikes me as a rodent, which has connotations of weakness. However this creature obviously has massive size. The pose is just a bit awkward with the rear end jutting up so much in relation to the front half.

skullbeast- I like the originality of the design. The creature has bird-like legs, which makes it seem weak and small. I could see this being a ferocious predator, but maybe not an alpha one.

sepu- The body is fairly well done. It looks fast and agile. It also looks small and vulnerable. The head is too flat and doesn't really match the body.

Acki- As other have said, the legs are simply not practical. This looks like a mutant creature that would tumble around. It would help if we could clearly see both hind legs and if the forearms were the same.

VegasMike- That pose, particularly the rear legs look familiar, almost identical to something I've seen before... Your color and rendering are great, coupled with a dynamic pose and juicy little details make this a catchy image.
You obviously have skill, but I can't help but feel that you tried to put every "cool" thing into a creature hoping that cool + cool = cooler. Quills, spikes, curled ram horns, linx ears, scars, spots, stripes, and even a club tail. Does he really need all of that? How does he close his mouth?

los- Great design and colors. This looks like an alpha predator! Much of the body is left to the imagination though.

DefiledVisions- This is both creepy and beautiful! The perspective of the rear is a kind of wonky. It seems a little unfinished, but I really like it.

(lark- Your rendering is superb! The lighting and colors are beautiful. There is such a tangible fleshy look to it. I agree that the forelegs are the weakness though. They just don't seem very efficient or effective. It's an original idea, and I could see it working in a certain environment.

o0Dave0o- I can't tell if this creature lives in the trees, or is just climbing on them. The anatomy doesn't make much sense. Claws may not be the best choice. Poor cow!

Izer- This could work for as an illustration accompanied by descriptive text, but it does't stand as a creature design. Make the creature larger so that it is the obvious focus.

Arbinn- This would be great without the utter. It's not that it couldn't work, just that we immediately associate it with a cow. Cows are far from alpha land predators. The muscles and anatomy are solid.

Homerid- I absolutely love the construction of your creature. It looks like you really thought out the anatomy. Nice rendering. The head tail is really cool.