C.O.W. #261, the cute fuzzy bombs. WIPs

[(lark]

For more info and details about the rules go here:

http://www.concepyart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=110879


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ROUND #260, the cute fuzzy bombs

topic:

ROUND#260, the cute fuzzy bombs

this week were going to be designing a creature that has a self defense method that is very out of the ordinary.

these cute little guys live in giant populations and will sacrifice themselves individually to help protect their populace as a whole.

they do this by having the ability to explode at will, creating a huge blast radius that can take out any predator that threatens the rest of their adorable, and otherwise helpless, brethren. as to how they create such an explosion? does it create a chemical reaction in its body that produces a highly volatile compound? does it fill up air sacks inside itself until it bursts!? does it do some other crazy thing that has no basis in physics but is hilarious? all of these are possibilities and the choice is up to you!

requirements this week...

- the creature must be small and furry. no larger than an average rabbit. and should be very cute looking!

- the creature must have a way of exploding. ( doesn't have to be realistic, get creative!)

- if you can also show it exploding you get extra credit ( which just means you get everyone saying "hey dude way to do something cool! hahaha!)

Deadline:

May 30th, 7:00pm PST (GMT -8 )

finals go here! ... http://conceptart.org/forums/showthr...57#post3464857

[ninety9]

now, that´s cool

[Tchuk]

Have to admit, this seems like it could have some real potentially funny entries.

I've done some sketches quickly but I think I've decided on a design already.



Have to admit not always good at this stage, always seems a bit messy. Tired the usual squirrels, frogs, penguins and rabbits, eventually stuck with a squirrel like design in the end.



It lives in trees and lives off fruits, however when a predator clambers it's way towards their nests many of them will jump and latch onto the creature using their claws and prehensile tail, inflating their undersides and exploding with a potent acid over the unlucky victim.

Any ideas as to how his could be improved I'd love to hear. Other than that good luck guys

[ChromaticCodex]

Tchuk: #13/12 seem less cute than some of your earlier thumbs. Looks a little avian and predatory... Keep playing around with the design. 1/3/4/8/11 look like they've got some potential for extreme cuteness. Way to get started! I need to do the same

[elephant´s stroke]

i agree with ChromaticCodex.

what i have so far....

[Tchuk]

I don't know... being a predator doesn't mean you can't be cute, as this video would suggest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KczxuINjk54

D'aww :3

And nice elephant you sure those legs are gonna support that weight though, unless of course the sac on his back is quite light.

EDIT: I also thought this may be of use to everyone, after looking up explosive creatures the Starcraft Banelings immediately shot to mind.

[elephant´s stroke]

hi Tchuk, thanks for the feedback.
Those creatures are looking great and with a lot of potential, but the cuteness factor isn´t there. The video is showing cute owls, but i don`t see any relation between they and your designs. By cute, one thinks of a creature that you want to hold and protect...a baby is cute, a baby owl is cute. the spikes in your creatures are almost the opposite to cute at least you complement them with some another cuteness elements.

[LurkingOrc]

If I may... That's not what he meant, elephant's stroke. He posted the owl to talk about his design from the first post, and the creatures on his second post are some starcraft things he posted to give everyone ideas about the explosive factor.

[Snowgoyless]

Aquatic creatures allowed?
I was thinking about combining cuteness of a seal with destructive power of a sea mine. Suicider seals?

[Si_Swe]

Here's a 5-minute sketch on what I want to do. So I figure the creature's don't voluntarily explode. I figure, the explosion is more of an allergic reaction to the sight of a predator that happens to warn the rest of the pack and simultaneously harm anything in the blast radius. I wanted to make them sort of resemble bunnies since with their numbers they'd absolutely need to breed like rabbits.

Doing a somewhat more cartoony approach than I normally do, I think...

EDIT: 5 minute render on that first one...

EDIT: Derping SUPER HARD!

[robtheR0B0t]

This is going to be so much fun My first time entering so hopefully I don't embarrass myself lol.

Worked through some ideas and finally came up with something I liked. Cute little mouse like creature with giant ears. He rubs his ears together to create a spark which lights his tail, which lights the gasses within this cute little critter

I'm thinking pink and purple for this little guy

[Tchuk]

Another update:



My sketches are always a bit indistinct it seems (something I really should work on) but the 'horns' where never horns at all, just stylised fur like you'd get on some squirrels ears. And thanks LurkingOrc,that's exactly what I meant

I decided to make it's ears floppy, gie it a more pronounced forehead and smaller beak as well as adding a bit of 'chub' to it. Seems a lot clearer now

I actually really like yours Si_Swe, it seems like one of those things I shouldn't find cute, but end up thinknig so either way

Yours is good too robtheR0B0T, reminds me of the mallowmice from Viva Pinata :3, not sure if the way it explodes is evident enough though, is it like a dynamite stick where the tail will burn down?

[elephant´s stroke]

This last one is looking nice Tchuk, sorry if i misunderstood your previous post, or if i was a little too direct with my comments

Cheers.

[Buhardilla]

Si_Swe: I LOVE the Superderp. Buahahaha. Makes me wanna give him a hug (probably a bad idea given the design parameters)

Tchuk: I like the floppy ears, it really softened the head up. Initially I liked the head on #11 with the bodies of 12 an 13, but that looks really good.

Snowgoyless: I don't know if it's the claws, or the lumpy throatal pouch, or a combination of the two, but the upper lefthand creature is kinda creepy. Like, if I gave it a hug I'd probably end up with my face on the weird throatal pouch or be eviscerated. In contrast, the bottom center dude with the warty face is much more approachable. I could see wanting to be buddies with him.

Here's my base sketch. Haha, you can totally see the reject scribbles showing through the paper.

These guys are about 12" long and live in giant warrens. Sentries are posted all around the warren and give a warning beep if a predator is sighted. If the predator manages to eat one of the sentries, the sentries have a large gland running the length of their body containing a substance that reacts with hydrochloric acid, causing the predator's stomach to explode.

They'll have warning coloration once they're finished. The puffy fringe around the face and ears is to make the warning coloration more visible to approaching predators.

Edit: here's some more poses and messing around with markings. I haven't found any markings I really like yet. Those blobby archy things are some ribs from a failed predator.

[Chris Sanders]

this is cool, when's the deadline date? It just has a time, or is it today?

[Tchuk]

this is cool, when's the deadline date? It just has a time, or is it today?

It's for Wednesday night at that time, I think (lark forgot to add the date itself but it's always in for Wednesday night. A few of the other CA people got confused by this too, don't worry.

[Incinerated]

oh which one should I choose ?

[Oskar!]

Si_Swe, I love your guy
Snowgoyless, that's a very cool idea that you're playing with watch out you don't make them too big.


Spacepugs feed on brains, to compensate the lack of their own.
Most of these creature's heads explode due to eating too many brains, but some of them just trip, fall and break their brain sacks.
Edit: Haha, for some reason I didn't noticed the self-defense/protect-your-pack part :V I'd better eat some brains myself:p

[Tchuk]

Just another update, the fur is maknig my idea of colouring a bit confusing but I think I'll have it down



Oaskar
maybe you chould have them like crazy suicide bombers, living in tree tops and diving head first at their enemies

Incinerated
I'm not sure really, they all seem very similar to pre-existing animals, perhaps mixing up properties from each of them to create something unique to work on

[Snowgoyless]

Indeed, other people to whom I shown my sea mine seal found it repulsive. So I'll go with this manatee-otter torpedo instead. I'm afraid that it looks like manatee and otter though... I just can some up with some unique body designed for swimming.

[ElPuertori]

Got a question,I'm prty decent when it comes to drawing, but I'm not really used to painting, I want to learn though...Any tips?

[Oskar!]

I always start with greyscales, blocking out the silhouette in a dark grey and then I block some inner shape in with a lighter and darker greys (face, muscles, etc). When you're happy with the base, you can start detailing your drawing. Don't be afraid to use big brushes when you're blocking your creature
Good luck!

[LurkingOrc]

Since ElPuertori threw in a question, I might as well: any of you guys draws/paints with a regular mouse/touchpad, or do you all use those wacom tablets and such?

[Snowgoyless]

I think we are going off-topic here, no?
In any case I used to draw with a mouse for a couple of years before I got tablet(for the record, not Wacom). When I look back I think that drawing with mouse is for masochists only...

[Si_Swe]

Incinerated - I'll echo previous sentiments. I feel you should push these design further. They strike me as not being altered far enough from existing animals.
Oskar! - Your creature appears to have clothing or accessories which is against COW rules. Tighten up the edges, which feel a little blurred and muddy. Nice colours.
Tchuk - Fur can be tricky. There are a lot of ways to do it and there are tutorials out there if you look. GoldenSerpent has a nice one in their sketchbook somewhere. I know (lark uses a rake brush and the smudge tool to begin his fur rendering. I use a somewhat grainy brush on low opacity, or (depending on fur length and rendering style) a custom fur brush with angle set to direction with a slight jitter and a very light scatter setting on.
ElPuertori - Digital painting or traditional? Digital painting: just get a tablet and start playing. Pretty much every artist has a different approach to creating an image. Some start in greyscale, others (like myself, for example) go straight to colour. Best advice I can give is: use simple brushes, never use pure black and pure white for shading and get some colour theory in ya'. That's the best general advice I can give. As for traditional painting, it depends. Most start with acrylics, I hate working with them, though. That said, they're easier to pick up, since you don't need to worry about fat over lean techniques, and the buy-in cost is slightly less than oil. Get the basic set of colours (Mars Black, Titanium White, Raw Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow (Light), Cadmium Red (Light), Alazarin Crimson and Yellow Ochre) and a good range of brush sizes and shapes. Without seeing any of your work, I can't give you specific advice, just go out and make art.
LurkingOrc - If you're making art with digital media you absolutely need to be using a tablet. Without having and pressure sensitivity you're severely limited in what you can do.

Here's some progress on mine. Never go full derp.

[tsabu]

i am pretty much stuck with legs...

Already tried several different kinds of legs, but i'm not happy with any of them so far...

Any suggestions?

[Tchuk]

i am pretty much stuck with legs...

Already tried several different kinds of legs, but i'm not happy with any of them so far...

Any suggestions?

If I had to suggest anything I'd strongly suggest reducing the leg size, typical things that would define a 'cute' creature are exaggerated features such as eyes and ears, a large forehead and simplified body parts such as legs and arms. not often you see a childrens cuddly toy with legs that dangle. You need to keep it realistic but stylised, so maybe if you wanted to keep he same figure give it chubby legs, something to make it waddle.

Just my input anyway.

[Grievous_666]

Hi guys I'm the new guy here and this will be my first entry for COW

This is what I came up with, a bird that can't fly and mixes chemicals in its brain to make its head explode, the scull will act as a frag grenade.

I'll need all the feedback you guys have, so please fire away.

[Snowgoyless]

Grievous_666
This little fella sure is cute, but you might want to polish it a bit more. So far the only well-rendered part is its big puppy eyes. The rest of its body and the tail is just a mess of... something. Is the creature covered with fur? With feathers? So far it's hard to tell the texture. What is the purpose of this lonely feather? It kind of stands out for no apparent reason.Also clarifying the shapes wouldn't hurt. The picture is looking kind of like a cutout right now.

[Incinerated]

Wow guys nice ideas

I know this isn't super different from before, but i did give it arms and changed the feet