C.O.W. - #094: Singing Death

[pheasanteater]

Nexus: thanks for bringing that to my attention looks like its back to square 1
this goes until thursday the 9th right?

[gatling]

Scorge: Thanks! Looking killer as well. Nice tones for the bestie.

Chuck, Mate: Haha absolutely wicked! Why does he make me want Bizarro brand fruit loops?

Um question... should I post my final in my same post (updated) or should it be a seperate post in this thread? Still new heh.

[Gorromog]

Gatling- great concept, can't wait to see the finished picture

Scorge- awesome, i like the idea of an underwater creature

This is my entry done in acylics.

[Carnifex]

time to recycle the siren concept...haha...
nah,j/k,don't hit me foz

[dragon4lunch]

gorromog that is a beauty! You really should build a website and show off your work. Someone who can illustrate a fantasy creature that well, has got to show us some more of his/her art!

[Crush]

Just a quick concept, hopefully I will make a final to submit; will be my first COW if i do

[Fozzybar]

Hey Fozz~! Got a question. Does it have to sing like a songbird, or is bellowing, croaking, crowing, etc. count as singing? Just want to be on the safe side haha.~

Well, i guess it's ok when it is making any noise with it's mouth or "voice" organ...as long as it doesn't produce it with anything else which can't be counted as a singing...still the sounds should have a relation to the term of "singing"...otherwise any noise could qualify....

[Rhythmus]

I do not like my scanner.
"This reclusive quadriped makes use of both its macarbe, phosphoric tongue, and its highly advanced vocal chords. A nocturnal creature, villagers nearby often recall hearing a "beautiful, melodic voice" which sounded like it was "coming out of a cave." It differs from time to time, depending on what the creature hungers for. If it is in the mood for women, the voice resembles a deep, rich bass, whereas if it hungers for men, the voice is a high, pure soprano. Due to the high fatality rate due to this creature, it has been dubbed "The Singing Death."

[Gorromog]

dragon4lunch- Thanks man! you made me think about putting up a website... maybe in a month or two when i am better i will.

[huhwhat]

I'm calling it done.

Progenies of a freak lab experiment by bored bio-engineers, the gelatin-octopus-pelican-penguin-turtle-thing-that-consumes-souls, aka gopeptuthicos, although possessing none of the haunting beauty of the mythical sirens, are still effective predators, as their calls sound eerily akin to whatever song their preys (mostly humans) find most irresistibly pleasing. Every victim consumed strengthens the gopeptuthicos, as these souls' cries add to the creature's siren call. Old gopeptuthicos tend to meet their demise when their body could no longer contain all the thousands of souls it had digested in its lifetime.

[matias]

Heyall, just chucking an early WIP up just so any major points that may (hopefully not ) need to be completely reworked can be spotted.

100min so far

The <name t.b.c> was dubbed 'Singing Death' due to its unusal hunting method, imbedding its chitinous spiked limbs into the ground to anchor its self, then creates a massive vacum using circular breathing, to draw prey into its gaping maw. The term came from the openings used to expel unwanted debris caught up during the inhale, that when opening and closing creates numerous notes creating a simple tune. Further research revealed that each <name> creates its own slightly diffrent rythm in how it expels debris, using this same signature each time, so each <name> has an individual 'song'.
Mainly carnivours the <name> preys mostly on burrowing mammals, which it can draw out of the safety of their homes with its powerful inhale.

cheers
Matias

[Gorromog]

Rythmus- i really am not in a position to really judge someones entry but: make the dark areas even darker and increase the level of detail, it looks a little rough the way it is.

[grenogs]

rythmus scan your image into any 2d or photo imaging software, like photoshop or painter, then adjust the contrast/brightness of the image. That way you can clear any unwanted faint lines you dont need and it'll also give your image a much more dramatic look and also a touch of professionalism to it. Also its a very handy technique if you want to add some colour to it later on, and you dont want to loose any valueable linework which you may want to rely on as a guide.

[nicked]

Hey everyone, I'm new and I guess I'm sorta jumping in at the deep end - but I liked the concept for this week's contest so I thought I'd have a go! I dunno if it'll be good enough to get in, but worth a shot eh? Comments and criticism welcome!



The Singing Death (or Bagpipus Earsplittus) was a strange creature that used to roam the Scottish Highlands. It would get close to its prey through the long grass, and then suck air into its bulbous sack of a body using its long snout, before expelling horrible wailing songs from the specially-shaped bony tubes along it's back. Any creature who heard the song would instantly be transfixed by the sheer ear-splitting terribleness of the music, and after a few minutes, their insides would turn to mush. The Singing Death would then use its extraordinarily long snout to suck all the jellied insides out of its victims. Over time, the Highland clans became immune to the effects of the song, and would hunt the creatures to kill and use as musical instruments. Eventually they overhunted the Singing Death into extinction, and had to make their musical instruments artificially, out of a bag and some pipes...

Scientists have yet to explain the tartan fur...

[watereater]

version before scorge's critique: http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3...gdeath7bd2.jpg

thnx scorge:



Singing Death likes to attract its prey by singing (da – da – da, followed by lah- lah -lah) really loudly, all day long. It irritates all living things around it, causing short tempered prey to go on a “seek and destroy mission". Unfortunately for them, singing death’s other head gobbles them up by the boat load.

[Lege1]

Awesome work!

[scorge]

Update Page 2. Feel free to comment.
Gorromog, thanks a lot! I do my best to be different.
Huhwhat, Not sure about those legs or the human like posture, but I like where you're going with it.
Matias, Looking good buddy. Nice anatomy.
Chuckmate, always here to keep us thinking huh? Great color as always and the visual effects are mind blowingly super. Not sure if that's a word but what the hell. Good to have ya.
Watereater, really hard to read that second head. The angle works well to demonstrate the scale, but the inclusion of that second head seems like(as many here will say) an afterthought. Like the lips.
Nicked, Welcome! Great texture on the creature. Watch the anatomy though, from someone who's been blasted a couple times for that particular subject. Try to make the appendages appear as if their growing from the body, instead of being stapled on. Good to have you here.

[nicked]

thanks for the comments - I will try and integrate the limbs to the body a little better. For the final image, do I just post it here marked as final or do I need to send it somewhere?

[Fozzybar]

just post it here in this thread...but work on your current entry, i might be in a bad mood when setting up the poll and i dunno if i will accept it then at this stage

[Benjamen Christ]

here we go . this creature, with its blond hair flowing in the breaze, sings a beautiful song that draws ships to the shallow watters. once they wreck they are picked off one by one. Good eats!

Ben Christ

[nicked]

just post it here in this thread...but work on your current entry, i might be in a bad mood when setting up the poll and i dunno if i will accept it then at this stage

Thanks, I'll see what I can do! Ah well, if it doesn't get accepted, I'll just keep practising!

[Simonstalenhag]

I know this is a bit of a facehugger ripoff and that it is two images in one... I just couldn't find a way to explain this creatures "jizz" with just one picture... sorry...my bad.

Anyway let me introduce the "singing death", a monstrous sticky grasshopper thingy. It's "body" is big as a magpie and with it's digitals streched out it measures 50 cm in diameter. It's body resembles a Yellownecked Rockwarbler, a bird common in the areas inhabited by the "Singing Death". It also produces a sound similar to the singing of the bird mentioned above. In this way, it attracts other predators, like cats and dogs, and when they come close enogh, it releases a cloud of paralyzing chemical substance. When its prey lies defenseless on the ground, guess what - it devours them. The "eyes" on it's head isn't its real eyes, those are hidden near its powerful beak. From a distance it can be confusingly similar to a bird, but it gives itself away in flight, showing its insectile double set of wings.

[BEAR JR]

Hey guys, here's my WIP. I haven't looked at the other entries yet, so I'll come back with crits later.

Concept: a creature that works a bit like a woodwind instrument, sucking air into its body. The air disappears into holes throughout (in the mouth, leading up to sinuses in its skull, in its torso, and through a hollow passage in a tail yet to be added), which the creature opens and shuts with fleshy flaps. These allow it to control the pitch of its sound. It often makes triumphant songs as it attacks and destroys invaders to its territory.

[longshao]

Nice round so far.
Oh darn, my idea is the same as watereater's....

[gatling]

Sketch w/ Painter 8
Ref used for naked, dead chicks *snort* | Creature inspired by the Tawny Frogmouth



I could hear it -that sound; that dissonance. It rang and stretched in endless chords with only a brief reprieve before starting anew. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t have killed them this soon. His instinctual clock for mating has become dire in its frequency. We will never get them off of that list this way.

The u7Belize society of ornithology would strip me immediately of my certification if they knew of my home studies. Captivity of such creatures in any domestic nature has been forbidden upon its enlistment within the endangered catalogues. This behavior however cannot be placed on pause. Sleeping does not interrupt its need. The male has now been separated from its mate. She almost seems to feel inadequate. It’s sad really… her song has all but been silenced.

Short version: Violent male species use certain calls during mating. Usually signals death of newborns.

[thetempest]

Hi thanks for all comments and suggestions, I am back with this entry....still working on it. Pipe Organ Fishy - name to follow

I did an "anologue" sketch on paper with a biro though and felt it had more life in it so i may have another stab at it time permitting. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Ta!

[Kasen Kato]

update on page 2...Comment if you like....

[timothee]

Update on P.1.
Just got a look at this week's entries, there are some real nice pieces being posted. Can't wait to see all of them.

[townes]

hai, here is my first try on creature design.
How would you improve my color map? click

Simonstalenhag: i really like your spiderbird. Nice color too, it looks like 3d

[Arn J.]

Very good gatling!