C.O.W. - #064: No Legs, No Wings, Incredibly Fast - Voting!

[Fozzybar]

ROUND #064 VOTING

Topic: No Legs, No Wings, Incredibly Fast

Deadline for the voting: Saturday, 28th October 2006

Posting thread (closed):
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=79453


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OK - before voting/posting read this!!!

1. Please give c&c or a reason why you voted for the image!

2. Feel free to comment on any or all entries, the artists will appreciate it!

3. No voting for your own entry!!! If a participants votes for his own entry, every member has the right to call him a stupid lame morone in this thread! And i will delete his/her vote anyway...

[Fozzybar]

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artist: Supervlieg
concept: Tingifissi
Piscis Piscis Puteo Celer
The Tingifissi is a creature that is very rarely seen. Very little is known about this beautiful yet mysterious sea animal. It is believed that it is one of the fastest creatures in the sea, though there are no definitive records to prove it. Marine biologists suspect that the Tingifissi uses an almost jet like propulsion system to achieve these high speeds. They also believe the creature uses it's huge dorsal fin mostly for stabilizing purposes. The Tingifissi's habitat is near the carribean, and it is believed the creature has a preference for clear water. On very rare occasions the Tingifissi are spotted skidding across the water, chasing eachother at breakneck speeds. From a distance they are often confused with jetski's. The world is waiting until one of this magnificient beasts can be more thoroughly studied.


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artist: ScaryPotato
concept:
In 1537, a young monk named Zhang Feng went on sabbatical in a remote Chinese mountain range. On his third day there, the thought he spotted a creature gliding amongst the mountain tops without the help of wings. Confused at what he saw, Zhang returned to his meditation to clear his mind. But when he opened his eyes again, the strange beast was still there! Upon returning to his monastary, he told everyone of the encounter. Laughed at and critisized for making up stories of dragons he was eventually forced out of the temple and lived the rest of his days in exile. The story of this animal was never spoken again.
But in the 1980's a group of explorers on an expedition deep into the same mountains rediscovered this strange gliding creature. Due to its docile demeanor, they managed to capture one quite easily for testing. A quick visual inspection revealed the strange underside of this animal. Covered with fleshy nodules, each with a small iron pellet, its function eluded them until they brought it to the laborotory. As scientists examined its physiology, they discovered that it could carry an electrical charge and had the ability to control each charge to induvidual iron pellets. It was noted that the beast was able to levitate over any object that contained enough iron ore. The metre long creature appeared to use these mag-lev abilities to glide over the iron rich mountaintops! By calculating its size and amount of magnetic charge it could produce, they theorized that the animal could reach speads of 150km/h with ease though it has yet to be documented. While trying to come up with a name, they came across an old tale about a monk who went up to live in the mountains with the dragons, and it was decided to name it Zhang's Dragon in his memory.


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artist: kovah
concept: Incendia Voro
When astronauts landed on a perviously unknown moon of the planet Mercury what they found astounded them. An oxygen rich atmostsphere supported a wide range of creatures even in the killer heat from the sun and the large amount of volcanic activity on the moon. None of these creatures however were quite as suprising as the these two.
Swimming in super heated flows of lava the 'fire fish' so named by the astronaut who first obseved them swimming and leaping out of the lava at speeds in excess of 70mph. It was awhile before they realised that the large formation of rocks near the flow was indeed alive. For it had no obvious extremities and stayed perfectly still until one of the 'fire fish' touched its massive jaws. When this happened it slammed them shut with lightening speed resulting in a shower of spark-like scales. This creature was later referred too as Incendia Voro or Fire Eater by the scientists back on Earth.


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artist: Michael Jaecks
concept: Cthonisaurs
Cthonisaurs are beasts that guard the edge of the underworld. Having no legs or wings, they fashion large sphere shaped wheels from earth, dead vegetation, animal remains and their own waste. Combined with catalyzing secretions from their fleshy, shaggy bodies, the mixture forms a hardened shell tough enough to travel over the most inhospitable terrain. Hundreds of powerful micro-muscles along their slug-like abdomens drive and steer their wheel at tremendous speeds. It is thought the Cthonisaurs orginate from the river Styx itself, finding life on land, even in the land of the dead, more agreeable than in those foul waters. Some scholars say the Cthonisaurs torment Sisyphus, the legendary inhabitant of Hades condemned to push a rock up a hill, never succeeding. Cthonisaurs race each other up and down his hill with ease, chiding him with their wraith like screams


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artist: wizo5454
concept:
This insect is called a "Glokker". It uses a special type of fuel which is actually a mix of different rare substance to propulse itself foward. Its called a Glokker because of the fuel it generates inside its complex metabolism called Glok. This substance has the very special particularity of having a volumetric mass 10 times less than ordinary water with makes it light and easy for the insect to carry. Glokkers have 4 propulsers and 1 tube shaped mouth to drink liquids which are difficult of acces. The Glokkers are about as big as the tip of my finger and can reach speeds up to 80 mph which is pretty fast for its size.


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artist: redehlert
concept: the zip-a-dee-doo-dah
with a smile on its grill, this happy-go-lucky creature careens through the interstellar void of space and time traveling incredibly fast.
you know it's near when the following song pops into your head followed by a quirky 'boom' after it passes.
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my what a wonderful day!
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actch'll
Ev'rything is satisfactch'll
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!
thus, it is called the zip-a-dee-doo-dah creature.


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artist: Woodlandwalker
concept:


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artist: Joey-b
concept:


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artist: Vampire Ninja
concept: Moxie
The Moxie is an amphibian who lives in the swamplands and feeds off small bugs. Roughly the size of a lemon, he is composed of very lightly structured organs and bones. His internal system breaks down H2O into Helium, and stores it in a sac, which expands his lower torso. Moxies float while filled with Helium, awaiting small bugs, and with speed undetectible to the human eye, they strick by rapidly releasing their Helium from their rear oraphus, igniting the helium, and propelling their bodies forward to attack their prey.


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artist: Cloister
concept: Eir Elaia
The Eir Elaia – Jumping Whale – was last sighted in modern Afghanistan 1240 A.D. By far the biggest of the known whales, the Eir Elaia has a long eel-like shape and hair-like growths on parts of its gigantic body. It lives in the deepest areas of the oceans but like all mammals it is dependant on the breathing of air. Also, this species has the ability to travel fast over vast masses of land. It cannot survive more than a day or two out of the water, but by wriggling itself powerfully it is able to “jump” enormous distances in a very short time. Traces, or “footprints”, of these giants have been found about everywhere across our globe, but the most recent of these valley-shaped sites is deemed to have been shaped over 750 years old. Exactly why the whales chose to occasionally leave the water remains a mystery. Scientific theories suggest that when stranded the whales began to struggle (jump), but had very little control over which way they went.


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artist: draw
concept: The "Dart" (Retrykagalium Kraeighttouk)
The Dart, an insectoid, slingshots itself to incredible speeds,
pierces its host, then gorges on blood much like a
mosquito. When finished, it releases from the host and hibernates
in in the earth in a chrysallis until its next meal (mammalia).
The single "dart like" body is ostensibly rigid, allowing it to
missile through the air. In order to gain the tension
required to project, its lightweight arms, and 'rubber'
tendrils, act elastically. It also has amazingly tough hairs
on the under side of its chest which tractor the Dart
backwards until the stretch is great enough to propel it
to the required target. The eyes are protected with
scale like membranes as they are intrinsic to it finding
its target and next meal.


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artist: cognition.sb
concept: Flip Flop
These simple creatures live in shallow water feeding off algae. They're completely harmless, but their sole advantage over predators is an incredible speed mechanism. Their body is segmented and their elasticity allows hasty propogation through the water by expanding and contracting their mouth. Where usually they would swim forwards with the aid of their tail, this sends them plummeting backwards, which is the only disadvantage of this asset.


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artist: Einen
concept: The Daffodile - "Fauna of Scholar Frass"
"The Daffodile (commonly nicknamed Sawyer Snatcher or Huckleberry Hunter) is, by many, believed to be the missing link between daffodils and crocodiles. It is, however, a fierce predator like it's reptilian cousin, and nothing at all like the peaceful daffodils we all like to pick and put in vases. (Some scientists still claim that they can't be related, since it would look ridiculous to put a crocodile in a vase.)
Daffodiles have their natural habitat in the woods of southern U.S.A, where they literary feed on anything that come in their path. With a highly sensetive root-system, even the slightest touch could trigger its amazing reflexes - the daffodile plunges itself upon an unexpecting prey with its spring-like body, much like a Jack-in-the-box. Not surprisingly, the whole process is incredibly fast, and usually the creature doesn't know what it just devoured.
It has been debated for ages whether or not a daffodile actually ate Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer. American novelist Mark Twain is known to have said: 'If I hear one more word about a Sawyer Snatcher, I might as well drop dead.' Strangely enough he did, some twenty years later."


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artist: Durin/Piru
concept:
Living in the vast jungles of South-America, the Yellow Limbless Swingtale-Ape or in common tongue "El Dorado", is a very pecular creature. Having the colour it has, it has no chance what so ever nót to get noticed, hanging from trees or rigs in the overall green jungle. Scientist think that's why it has developed a swinging system, powered by the long flexible ears and tail, the El Dorado swings from tree to tree with an incredible speed.
The tribes that have been dwelling there since the tides of the Conquistadores tell tales in honour of the El Dorado. They say that these soldiers where startled and confused by the gold they saw moving through the rain forest at high speeds. Their hunger for the precious metal was making them mad already, but a group of swinging El Dorado's surrounding a regiment of these Conquistadores made them loose it totally!
Many a soldier came back from the jungle, filled with madness!


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artist: Moai
concept: Cloud Rocket
Planet eE-3441, commonly known as Brontos, is a gas giant roughly the size of Saturn, with an atmospheric composition that, remarkably, supports a wide variety of organisms. While the vast majority of these creatures are floating and drifting "air plankton," a number of species with quite advanced means of movement have evolved. Chief among these is the Cloud Rocket, a marvel of evolutionary engineering. It is the only known organism of its size to possess a chemical propulsion system. Several miles below the sunny layer where life is abundant, there is a perpetually cloudy layer, filled with complex molecules which the Cloud Rocket "inhales" into a multi-chambered fuel cavity that takes up sixty percent of its volume. The molecules are filtered through the various chambers and undergo a series of chemical reactions. Scientists know little of this, for their only specimens were badly damaged and poorly preserved, but the end result is obvious: ignition and propulsion. The Cloud Rocket then rides this chemical fire up to higher, life-rich layers of the atmosphere, where it feeds. The life of a Cloud Rocket is an ever-swinging pendulum of gravity-assisted dives into deeper atmospheric strata to collect fuel, followed by speedy ascensions into upper layers to feed. It never rests.
Besides its spectacular propulsion system, the Cloud Rocket has a number of remarkable adaptations for its extreme lifestyle. Though thirty feet long and seven feet in diameter at its broadest point, it would way less than a quarter ton in Earth's gravity. This is due partly to its extremely light, yet strong, skeletal structure, as well as the fact that a great deal of its volume is taken up by gaseous fuel molecules. Its head is broad and flat to streer upwards and downwards, and two vertical fins enable it to steer from side to side. Because the Cloud Rocket feeds while moving at over two hundred miles per hour, it has an extremely fast reaction time, able to open and shut its mouth in less than the blink of an eye to snap up a morsel without affecting its aerodynamics. The back of the creature's mouth cavity is padded and reinforced to withstand the impact of prey entering the mouth at over two hundred miles per hour.
The Cloud Rocket is the top predator on Brontos. No known creature preys upon it. The only known killer of Cloud Rockets is lightning, which can disrupt and ignite the fuel within its body. For this reason, Cloud Rockets, like sharks, have a highly-tuned electrical sense, to avoid lightning.


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[Fozzybar]

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artist: Puck
concept:
It's a cave dwelling tentacle snapper. Springs off it's hind tentacles while using it's fore-tentacles to pull itself forward off stalagmites and stalactites. Eats bats and unwarey explorers.


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artist: jfwalls
concept:
The Leviathon travels the vast distances between solar systems by use of an enormous, organic solar sail. These enormous creatures sail on the solar winds, feeding on the remains of dead stars. They can reach speeds of over 200,000 miles an hour.


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artist: strych9ine
concept: Terrawürm
This ancient greater würm spend nearly half of it's existence lying dormant beneath the dense forests of the world's northernmost regions. For centuries it fluctuates between a completely stagnant hibernation period and months of frenzied devouring of the land. As it lays dormant, it continues to feed the soil with nutrients from it's corroding flesh until it makes it's ascent to cannibalize on the land it's body helped nurture. In it's frenzied state it plunges through the ground and into the skies at a terrifying speed, leaving earthquakes and miles of shattered earth in it's wake.


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artist: xgabo
concept: The Spirit in the Baobab Tree
It was early morning in the desert as the young man kneeled in front of the tribe's Sacred Tree. His head was heavy, but he bravely resisted the urge to sleep right there, between the dry sinuous roots. "almost over", he thought in his stupor. "Soon, the warriors of the tribe will come and take me as one of them."
Grandfather Baobab had been kind with him, not taking his soul last night. The day before, he had been beaten, dragged in the gravel, and forced to drink goat's blood mixed with roots that made him see monsters; but spending the night under the tree's shade was the scariest part of the ordeal. All young men knew the story. To be a man, they would have to be approved by the Baobab, or else be killed right there and dragged into the underworld, never to be seen again.
As the sun drew a golden sliver of light across the horizon, he felt his heart beat fast in anticipation. The heat rising from the sand made him see ghosts; the images of his ancestors silently telling him how proud they were. He could barely contain the excitement as the hour drew near. It seemed like his chest could explode. And then it did.
Still not entirely awake, he looked at the bloody hole were his heart should be, and lagged a second to realize he was already dead. A chilling hiss, and a thousand bony scales like knifes scratching the tree bark were the last sounds he heard as he entered the darkness.


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artist: KaWaii
concept:
Recently discovered:
Levishrimp, family of shrimps (duh)
Size: as big as an average shrimp
Covered by a blue scale, they have a leviathan look. Their tail have strong and flexible muscles which allows them to spin up and launch them at an incredible speed. (the only way to move around for this creature)
While moving they can only slightly change their direction with their small fins. The sharp head can hurt if you get stabbed, so watch out.
Interesting fact: Even though they taste better than normal shrimps, people like to keep them home as pets. It's fun watching them moving around.


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artist: Hammywammy
concept: Metaroid
Often being mistaken as meteors or falling stars by the humans on earth, Metaroids moves in a fast speed with it's burning energy. They feed on meteors, preventing them to fall to earth at most times.


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artist: Tom Garden
concept: Finswift
This creature glides across the sands of the tornado ridden landscapes it inhabits. It has a sleak head which acts as a giant sail to cut through the sand at firghtening speed. The three fins below it act as its rudders, smoothly adjusting their angle to wind two and fro, or digging in hard and making 90 degree turns on the spot. Its long lashing tail helps in its turning momentum. It also has vents at the front of its body, which allow air in, and it is then expelled with force from behind the creature give extra boost in motion. When it isnt moving, it lies in the sand, with the tip of its head fin out of the sand, and the spines on its back poking out, to sense the delicate changes in air temp and speed, before wriggling its way out as it catches the next current to soar swiftly with incredible speed across its desert!


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artist: BlkCelebration
concept:
Guatepior: These speedy underwater creatures are closely related to the squid. They use their tentacles in a scoop-like motion to propel themselves at fast speeds.


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artist: Lodin
concept: Star-Viper
This strange forester snake has a specific property which interrest many scientist in the world. His genetic code contain a part who product a protein able to distend each cell of her corpse in incredible proportions. When she's hunting, she use her elastic property to distort the corpse to create a great back force. This movement contribute, with her multiple tails, to generate a great speed of rotation. Her speed allow to catch her favorite prey: the guinea pig.


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artist: amer-nazri
concept:
The 12 foot tall Whel'ike from the planet known to many scientists as 'Topsy Turvy', overwhelms, through sheer size, the powder-white spirit creatures that inhabit the planet, who seem like insects in comparison. The giant Whel'ike can be familiarised with the much smaller snails of our planet Earth. These giants snakes can cover miles and miles of terrain within a few minutes due to numerous, large finger-like villi that move rapidly, acting as an efiicient means of transporting the large snail as well as a way in which the Whel'ike obtains its nutrients, with each villus absorbing water and minerals from the soil through facilitated diffusion.


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[wizo5454]

Hmm great great round!!!!

my vote: SuperVielg, rendering is awesome concept aswell.
So many others I liked....Ill try to give some c&c later on

[Fozzybar]

not accepted entries:

All WIPs

RedLever
No concept!

snews
Your creature looks more like a character or humanized creature, since it has glasses, technology on the back and using streets...

close to rejection:

none



special note:

Vampire Ninja
Only 1 image next time please

[Fozzybar]

....again i hadn't enough time so i didn't read the concepts...shame on me

[Fozzybar]

New round is on:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80146

[redehlert]

had to give it to cognition, but superV was my immediate second place.
both pieces done incredibly well and i enjoyed studying them time and again.
great round everyone!
cheers,
d

[Moai]

I voted for Supervlieg, without hesitation. If a piece draws a sigh of longing out of me, then it pretty much gets my vote.
I'll C&C later.

[Supervlieg]

ScaryPotato - Nice entry, a bit more shading could have unflattened it a bit.

kovah - Pretty nice start, but could use a bit more start. Try painting in those highlights instead of using the burn tool. Painting gives you more control.

Michael Jaecks - Lovely concept and execution. Still a bit too cluttered imo. Try darkening and softening the parts that are not the center of attention a bit more. And maybe add bigger shadow area's to the creature. Keep on growing!

wizo5454 - Nice and weird creature. Maybe a the large amount of white makes him a bit flat.

redehlert - I like the funny concept, the perspective is a bit weird though.

Woodlandwalker - Good concept. The top round could use a bit more convincing shadowing to show the mass/form.

Joey-b - Good concept and nice execution with the little explanation. I kinda like the little more dirty version you had before. Looks like this one is a bit tightened up a tad too much, and it loses some flow because of it.

Vampire Ninja - Too bad you had two images, they would make a nice presentation in one pic. Anyway, I saw your main pic and liked it a lot. Maybe it could have been a bit tighter rendered.

Cloister - Lovely sense of scale, you are growing and growing every week, and I like to see your progress. The perspective on the creature is still a bit off, especially for such a large scale animal. Perspective plays a large part in convincing in scale. Especially if the whole animal is viewed in a single piece. Keep it up though.

draw - Nice and simple design. the origin of it's speed isnt immediatly obvious from its design though. And maybe it could have done with some sharp highlight on the body part.

cognition.sb - Lovely highlights. The design is a bit simple for my taste though, but the execution is well done.

Einen - I like the cartoony route you took with this piece. It could be a bit more interesting if you vary the colors a bit more. More variaty in the greens would have gone a long way.

Durin/Piru - Anus alert! Hehe. Funny concept. The shadow is a bit too black, maybe try a more brownish shadow next time.

Moai - Great progress coming from you every week. I loved the thumbs, and the work you put in before really shines through in the final piece. Try digging into the details a bit more and sharpen those parts you want to draw attention to.

Puck - Nice concept, but its almost like he got legs. But nevermind that. The background is a bit underdeveloped and distracts a bit.

jfwalls - Good background. The creature itseld doenst look very fast. It would have been nice if the skin had a bit of the light in the background shining through.

strych9ine - Nice concept, doesnt really seem to fit the theme imo. Its more ghost like then a fast creature. Great rendering style though.

xgabo - Good concept and execution. The background story is also really good. Love the highlights. The blood is too saturated though. Got my vote.

KaWaii - Good concept and rendering. Keep on improving!

Hammywammy - Nice rendering on the creature. The trail doesnt really convey depth though. Maybe the space behind the creature is a bit flat and could use a bit more color variation.

Tom Garden - Good creature but a bit hard to read. I loved the desert background you did in on of the smaller versions. Too bad it wasnt in this one, cuz it looked really nice.

BlkCelebration - Nice creature. I would have been nice if it had a bit more flow to it. It looks a bit stiff. The water effect works quite well though. The light area to the bottom left looks a bit out of place.

Lodin - Nice one and good concept. A bit like Kawaii's piece concept wise. The guinea pig is very funny.

amer-nazri - Like that style, very story book like. Its a bit hard to read depth because of the lack of shadows.

[Einen]

xgabo got my vote, which I knew the first time I saw the picture. I really love the idea and design of that creature, as well as the fact that it makes you believe it was too fast for the camera. Good price!

And thanks for the crit, Supervlieg. I'm a Photoshop novice in every sense of the word, and appreciate every tip I get.

[Simon Boxer]

Hmmm... This was a tough one. A lot of similarities between entries. While it's not the best rendering, I sent my vote to Woodlandwaker for a great concept. Nice way to approach the brief.

Cheers for the votes/comments/crits! On to the next round!

[jfwalls]

I voted for Ameri-nazri because, well, I just liked it. It was different from what most people had posted.

[dragon4lunch]

redalert (redehlert - I assume you are German ) That was funny of you to have this song - as part of your concept! Oh Mann, ulkig! Nice execution.

Hammywammy (or somthing like that): sweet, but you didn't fix the eyes.

draw You got my vote! It's not as labor-intensively rendered as, say, Cloister's entry (your best entry thus far in my opinion!), but I just found your creature, with its texture and the sharp areas, very interesting! Rock on!

[jackenstein]

My vote goes to Vlieg, but it was a really hard toss up between that and the ingenuity of Jaecks design. Micheal, the improvement is vast and it's a h00t to watch you improve, I just felt Vlieg's render was tighter.

xgabo, I really loved the concept, and the render was amazing, the only thing that kept me from voting for you was the fact that there was no sense of speed to it, which I felt was important to this competition. Really awesome stuff, I always look forward to seeing your stuff. Lodin, I like it, and I understand you were a bit taxed on time as you had changed from you initial Storm Eel render.

Good stuff everyone.

[Vulgar`]

v - Cognition.sb

Excellent.

Supervleig, Strych9ine, Joey-B, and of course, Moai were the runner-ups.

Keep doing you

[Cloister]

Voted Supervlieg, because it makes me wanna see an old Miame Vice episode.

No other entry even got close imo. Michael Jaecks is the second choice, and probably wizo5454 after that. Perhaps som C&C later...

[Piru]

Voted MJ for the incredible progress the piece made as a whole, and the progress relativly to the ones I've seen you make! Cheers! Plus it's on of the more unique desings overall this round.

[Joey-b]

Mj's got it
congrats on the great piece and concept

runnerups
supervlieg and xgabo

[Woodlandwalker]

wtg Supervlieg this was a tough round, and I think you had the best thought out solution that wasnt serpentine, MJ's was great to, but you had said you borrowed the rolling ball idea, and a bit focused on background when COW states more focus on creature... still fantastic job. Lots of great work here, thanks for letting me be a part of this, and for those who voted.

[cowboy surfer]

The big V went to Xgabo. Great pic and story. Good idea from Hammy.

[xgabo]

This was a very interesting theme, and very hard to choose one concept. I voted for Michael Jaecks for evolution in the work and the willingness to take on what could be a very clumsy design. Although I think the creature could use some improvements, it's a very good job. I also like the mythical touch.

Some other comments:

Supervlieg - Great rendering, especially the water. I agree with other comments about the machine-like appearance. Maybe is the whole jet propulsion solution (which was used in different measures by other entries).

Redehlert - I love the expression of this creature, something you would find in a miyazaki movie. Stern and cute at the same time, that's not easy to do.

Joey-B - Grood propulsion solution. The overall design of the creature cold use some work to be more believable.

Draw - I like the rendering, very threedimensional. I think the image worked better when it was smaller. The larger version exposes too much the roughness of the strokes.

Cognition.sb - Great simple solution, totally believable. I missed a "face" to which I could relate better to the creture, if you know what I mean.

Einen - Honorable Mention. I almost voted for you, only because of the story. It made me laugh. The design could be more original, but still a great idea.

Moai - I would like to see that a little more finished. Of all the jet propulsion creatures, it had the most potential in my opinion.

Jfwalls - I like the solar sails idea, and the painting is well done. The problem with leviathans in space is you don't have a lot of physical reference to demonstrate the size of the creature. Maybe some asteroids would have done the trick.

Hammywammy - I love this design and the rendering is also pretty good. I would love to see that thing eating a communications sattelite.

Tom Garden - Very nice idea, and the creature design is solid, although a bit confusing. The rendering on the tail is spot on.

Blkcelebration - Nice and simple. Again, like Supervlieg's design, it looks a little bit machine-like. In your case, if you didn't tell me what it was, I would probably have guessed the creature was some kind of organic ship.

Great work all, it's nice to see people improving week by week, and different styles emerging from the group.

Cheers

[Jabo]

SV: Lovely rendering, nice design. One of the few that look really fast.
MJ: I like the evolution of this one. Also rather innovative.
strych9ine: Great style.
xgabo: No one was able to beat this. Got my vote.

[kovah]

Michael Jaecks - My vote goes for you - Just a great idea and concept

Einen - Oh this made me giggle, dont think i will ever look at a daffodil in the same way again.

strych9ine - Love this, spooky and well drawn at the same time

xgabo - Close second. Could be on the cover of a horror novel and i would so read it!

Hammywammy - Love the colours and the movement in this piece

Lodin - Made me snigger, down with the guinea pigs. Love the movement in the picture and the expression on the face of the guinea pig.

[wizo5454]

Although im not a professionnal I ll just shoot my constructive critics as I find it to be very helpful when I recieve it.

Puck : Great rendering specially on the eye and torso of the creature. Design is quite original aswell. Only critic I have is the pose/movement of the creature, I cant quite get in what stage of the attack the creatures is. (eg: anticipation, releasing the attack...etc.) Other than that. I like it very much.

jfwalls: Great rendering and style. Maybe lacks a bit of sense of speed because its an open-umbrella shape. Cool nonetheless.

strych9ine : Wow, awesome painting. Unfortunaltely its hard to understand how fast this creature can go due to the abstract nature of this piece.

xgabo: xgabo, you almost got my vote again. Superb pose on both the predator and the prey. Nice everything. very hard to find a crit... um maybe its too violent... joking

KaWaii:Very nice rendering. Might need a bit more lighting on the creature since its so close to the surface but very nice concept idea!

Hammywammy: Great rendering. Cool concept.Not much to crit.

Tom Garden: Very creative design, I like the blades thingies. Colors are ok. Hmm, looks like a walker because all the weight is upfront.

BlkCelebration: Another great design. Great colors and movement. only minus is the squarish look. Great entry.

Lodin: Hard to find something to crit. I am a big fan of your Cow skills. very nice textures, dynamism in the pic.

amer-nazri: Cool style, I like the colors, they remind me of chuck wadey's last entry. Hard for a fast snail to be plausible.

Supervlieg: Got my vote. Very solid concept and design. Overall its kick ass.

ScaryPotato: I like the concept and story. I seems there are different style in your image. The eyes, the scales, the rocks dont seem to fit togheter. Cool smoke though, reminds me of zelda wind waker.

kovah: Nice pic, youve improved a lot! Good scale. Concept-wize the creature doesnt seem so fast.

Michael Jaecks: Super cool creature design and atmosphere effects. Might be hard for a creature on a rolling ball to go very fast though.

redehlert: Good colors and texture. +1 point for the sense of motion. Good entry.

Woodlandwalker: Good rendering and plausible concept. The minus crit I have is the lack coolness factor.

Joey-b: Very good overall, as usual. Very original idea for a creature. Great entry.

Vampire Ninja: Good concept, just tighten up that render a bit. gj for the ballon style creature idea!

draw: Wow. Sharp rendering. Only crit is that the sharpness doesnt seems to be rendered in the same area. But the colors and the creature's speed factor are great.

Cloister: As usual, solid rendering + concept. I love the perspective effect given with the dark foreground and the scale of the snake-like creature. My only crit, It has a bit of a Tyranx feel. Other than that, Great work.

cognition.sb: Very nice sense of lighting and realism in the textures. I like the clean brush style the piece has. eel factor = cool. good work.

Einen : Very nice cartoonish style, as others said, great idea. Resfreshing.

Durin/Piru: Wacky looking, I like it. Its too bad this idea was shared by of couple of artists this round.

Moai: Good colors, good concept. Only needs a bit more detailing, but still very nice to look at

As for me, thx for the critics/comments. It motivated this c&c
Sry if the critic might sound harsh... you all did great work, its just to give every1 my feedback.

[drd]

Xgabo had my vote...I really like the idea of the tree serpent, but how is that thing suposed to hide?

[xgabo]

drd - Thanks for the vote! answering to your question, she's coming from a hole underneath the dead tree... or, as the natives in the story believed, the "underworld". The idea is the snake, being the same colour and texture of the tree, could sneak up the trunk until the victim is close enough for the strike. I guess natives in a state of religious stupor are particularly easy to deceive

[Moai]

Supervlieg- Thanks! I tried making the creature sharp, but you're right, it could be a lot crisper. As for digging into the details, my creature design this weekend was fairly bland; no interesting wrinkles or bumps or anything. So, there wasn't a whole lotta detail to put into it. But I'll definitely keep those words in mind when I do a more complex creature.
Vulgar'- I seem to have a fan! I'm glad you like my work so much.
xgabo- Thanks. It could be a lot more polished, but I really didn't know how to get it there. My brushstrokes just started to look overworked without improving the piece.
Wizo5454- Thanks!

Since you guys were so good to me this round, I'll try to put a little extra something special into my mass critique this time.
Supervlieg- WAAAHOOOO!! I can feel the speed! Beautiful picture. Almost flawless. My only crit would be that the clouds could look a little better, but obviously, so could mine. Great creature design, and that splash is about the best splash I've ever seen around here. The contrast of the white against that richly colored scene gives the whole piece a very clean feel. I like its breathing holes. Like your Creek Crawler, it has some quality about it that makes it seem almost JakkaS-like. Well, your ass is prolly sore from all the patting I'm giving it, so I'll move on.
ScaryPotato- I wish this was finished! Your pictures usually have a clean, luminous style to them, but this looks flat. It needs more color and interest. The creature design isn't particularly exciting, but the concept behind it is good.
kovah- You're improving! Pay attention to composition: where the image leads the eye, and areas of the picture that seem rather empty and boring. An example of such an area would be the area to the right of the creature. The eye typically starts on the left side of the picture and travels to the right side, but there's a lot of activity over to the left and not very much over to the right in this picture. Keep practicing and taking part in these activities, though! You'll learn a lot.
Michael Jaecks- You outdid yourself with this one, Mike, you really did. Chuck Wadey's method really worked for this picture. Those are the deepest and most subtle colors I've seen from you yet, I think. The creature design is very good as well. My only crit is that the ground could be a little more solid. I'm eager to see what you do for "Trick or Treat"!
wizo5454- This picture is an improvement in every way over your "From Above" entry. It is cleaner, has better and more subtle use of color, and a far greater sense of mass and form. Better creature design, too. My advice would be to clean up your style just a bit more and really economize your brushstrokes, as in don't say with many little brushstrokes what you can say with one big brushstroke. It's advice that I'm still trying to follow myself. Good job!
redehlert- This has been a great round! Many entries are my favorite things those people have ever done, and this is no exception. It's face is charming. I can just imagine it whistling that tune between those teeth. The color scheme is quite attractive, and this piece is a great example of tightening up things around the focal point and letting things loosen up in less important areas. No crits!
Woodlandwalker- Nice concept. The pencil drawing is stronger than the digital drawing, though. The digitally drawn creature is a bit lopsided, and the shading could be better. There is usually a subtle highlight on the shadowed side of an caused by reflected light, so the deepest part of the shadow isn't right on the edge of an object. I posted an image to demonstrate. Note the reflected light and the shadow core.


Side note: It is rediculously difficult to find a decently shaded sphere on the internet! Most had no reflected light and therefore contradicted the point I was trying to make!

Moving on...
Joey-b- Cool pic! Interesting idea, too. I like the simple line drawing on the right. I just like its expression there for some reason. As far as critiques go, I have only a nitpick: the creature in the main scene looks far larger in comparison to the trees than the creature depicted on the right. No real reason for it that I can pinpoint. Nice job.
Vampire Ninja- The inflated creature looks pretty good. However, the "empty" and "full speed" creatures look very rushed or unfinished. There was probably a better way to imply great speed than having the creature messily blurred as well. On the plus side, the eye of the fully inflated creature is gorgeous.
Cloister- Great picture. It has the feel of a classical traditional painting. The impression of size and movement is very powerful. Like I said in the topic thread, I can clearly hear the massive thumping and splashing sounds of its movement when I look at this picture. I have two crits. One the portion of the creature's body that's in the water actually appears to be right on the surface of the water, rather than actually in it. Maybe if more of its mass was hidden beneath the water. Two, the surrounding environs are a little two orange for my taste, particularly the area behind and to the left of the creature. 'sides that, awesome job.

I'm gonna take a break now. I'll pick this up again tomorrow.
...
I'm back!
Draw- I think the background could have been more interesting and could have provided more contrast against the creature. Much of the creature's outline is a little too soft and blurry. Intriguing idea, though, and the creature looks like it can perform its function without much difficulty.
cognition.sb- It's a well-drawn picture, with lots of interesting brushes used. The rich brown of the creature is quite pleasing. The creature design isn't exciting at all, but it's quite plausable, and I like the design of its mouth.
Einen- The biggest complaint I have about this picture is that the colors look like they were picked from a marker set, and nothing varies in color. The plants are all the same shade of green and the dirt is all the same shade of brown. Use more imagination when choosing colors. Also, in many areas the brush size used was far too small and the result is a mark that looks rather like a pen scribble. The rule of thumb, as I've been told many times, is to use as large a brush as possible. So, you wouldn't want to use a little pen-scribble line when coloring a large area like the ground. The idea is humorous and besides the color choices and too-small brushstrokes, the picture is well-done. The description is great. The Mark Twain quote is perfectly in character for him.
Durin/Piru- The composition would probably have been more interesting if the creature wasn't centered. The shadows on the creature look like the local hue mixed with black, which produces dead, muddy colors. It's better to make the shadow a different (and probably cooler) hue than the mids and lights. The creature's pupils aren't the same size, but that might have been intentional for a deranged effect. The sense of movement is quite nice, especially with its whipping left ear, and the anatomy of its torso looks good for being a legless lump. Great idea with the prehensile ears!
Moai- Loin to draw clouds, yeh foppish dandy! And sharpen up the edge quality of them critters! And quit talkin to yehself, ya look like a lunatic!
Puck- I really like the design of this creature. I like its dinosaurish head, its crooked neck, its whacky limbs, and the little barbs at the end of its tentacles. I'm glad Fozzy didn't think those were legs. The stalactites and mites look good as well. Crits: the far background looks messy. The transparent red marks on and around the creature don't really make sense; are they there as part of a partially-erased sketch, or to add a little color variation? The bat could stand out a little more. Try using a larger brush as well; some parts of the picture, particularly the tentacles, look like they were made from many small transparent strokes. Economical use of brushtrokes makes for more attractive pictures. Great creature design!
JFWalls- Masterfully rendered image. As far as technique goes, I see no flaws. The composition could be more interesting. So could the creature design, but with creatures like this solar sailer and my own bland rocket creature function tends to dictate form.
strych9ine- Great style! Very subtle, textured, and moody. The color scheme really gets across a slimy, decomposing feel. The creature's head is great, but its body looks like a simple tube.
xgabo- You write excellent descriptions, sir or madame. You make some good pictures, too. This is an excellent image, as we've come to expect from you. Great creature design, as usual. While some have complained that the blood is to bright and saturated, I myself would complain if you dulled it. The brilliant red is quite shocking against the subdued surroundings, which is very appropriate for this piece. My only crit is an echo of Durin/Piru's: the tail disappears rather awkwardly. As great a piece as this is, I feel that Supervlieg deserves the win. His piece is just more incredibly fast. Your talent is great, though, so I'm sure your own CoW star is not far off. Maybe even this week, seeing how close the race is.
Kawaii- The first thing I notice when I look at this picture is that it needs more color! Brighten up those blues and reds! The second thing I notice is that it's a pretty sweet creature design, very creative and probably the best I've yet seen from you. The third thing I notice is that the default PS round brush is a little too obvious in spots. Brighten up your colors and continue polishing your design skills and you'll be on the right track!
Hammywammy- Did it go to the poll with the eyes removed? I'm pretty sure I remember seeing it here with its eyes still on. Oh well. The picture is technically very well done and the creature design is good. The concept, however, doesn't seem plausible at all to me. Crits for the picture: the distant meteors (or metaroids) need to be dulled somewhat so they recede in space, and the sky has a distinct watery texture.
Tom Garden- I have mixed feelings about this piece, to tell the truth. To begin with, I'm not sure if I like that green on the right. It's a pretty color, but I'm not sure how well it goes with the rest of the picture. The creature design is good, but the position of its three fins don't really make sense to me. Are the fins in a row, one directly behind the other? As it is, it seems that one fin is slightly overlapping the other one, making the creature asymmetrical, which I don't think would make much sense, functionally. Also, concept-wise, what does the creature eat? It's a nice design and picture, but I think it needed a little more thought put into it.
BLKCelebration- I like it. The colors are very soothing. Like Cloister's piece, this is another picture where I can clearly imagine the sounds this creature is making. Compositionally, the lower right corner is somewhat empty, but that's my only crit.
Lodin- Great picture. I commend you for making a conscious effort to avoid your own cliches. It was quite successful. Did you follow Chuck Wadey's tutorial at all for this? It has a similar traditional-media feel. The guinea pig is wonderful. My only crit is that the white line diagram on the right isn't drawn as well as the rest of the picture.
amer-nazri- Very nice illustration. It's very soft and rich. Some crits: there isn't much sense of depth, and the pearly white spirit-folk are drawing my attention more than the creature. And, like others have mentioned, I'd have to see it to believe that it's incredibly fast. It's still a good picture, though, and I'd like to know more about those strange white spirits.

[redehlert]

hey everyone! i'm always impressed to see so many great works, but even moreso - the dedication to writing crits for each entry. man! that rocks.
your crits and complements are well received, thank you.
all the best!
dave

[KaWaii]

Vote went for SV, great scene showing "speed".

Thx for the comment guys ! Will keep up ! (right now too sleepy to comment, srry)