C.O.W. #184_Air-Born Acrobat_Wip Thread

[scorge]

For more infos and details about the rules go here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=110879


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Round #184 Air-Born Acrobat

Topic:
#184 Air-Born Acrobat

Thanks to (lark for this cool topic. The idea as he stated was to present a creature that spends its entire life in the air from birth to death. To throw a twist on the subject, we're going to make this a two week round so that you can show three stages of this organisms life-cycle, birth, adulthood and old age. Keep in mind that during adulthood and maybe even at birth this is an agile and acrobatic life-form. What keeps it aloft when its young and when its old? What would something like this eat to maintain the energy to stay aloft? How does it sleep? All these questions and more should be going through your gifted minds when designing the Air-Born Acrobat. Lift off!


Deadline:
Saturday July 31st, 2010.

Finals go here: http://="http://www.conceptart.org/f...d.php?t=192371

[(lark]

Awesome! Thanks for taking my idea. I like the acrobatic element as well because it takes out a lot of creatures that float by gas or hot air, and is more involved with aerodynamics. Also 2 weeks should mean some hot final entries!

[YUZworks]

I did some brainstorming, and tought it might come in handy for you guys... feel free to use it.
(I hope i'm not uploading a file that's too big here, i'm not sure how to upload it, AND make sure evey picture remains clear)

As for my own entry;
Since I know squad about aero-somethings (hell, I can hardly graps why airplanes succeed to fly) I will have to cras-course myself on that first.

that's all for now... i'm off to bed.

p.s. bummer, i never realized that a lot of mythical creatures are nothing but X+feathery wings slapped onto them.

[Miki Tikus]

So, it's permanently airborne? Cool.

[Si_Swe]

I'm not quite sure I'll be participating, but here are some ideas I had that I'll throw out there to use or not to use. I was thinking about how it would maintain the energy and I figured that an outside force other than food would likely need to keep it doing so, thus:
It lives within a constant lightning storm: the creature absorbs the electrical energy converting it into the needed kinetic energy to keep it airborn.
OR
It lives in a lava-filled environment wherein by either absorbing heat from below it, or by staying aloft using expelled bursts of hot air from below, it's able to stay airborne indefinitely.

Also, don't disregard the possibility of simple air and ad currents.

[Snarfevs]

Okay, brainfart.

Baby variant needs bigger wingspan, certainly.

I want a creature that increases in size by several orders of magnitude over its lifetime but smoothly segues between three different modalities: vicious little sky-piranhas -> scary intelligent hunters -> sky-whale, each with its own flavour of acrobatics. For the old age variant the aerodynamic cost of opening its mouth necessitates that it loops over its prey.

[IronicTrout]

This one kinda looks like Snarfevs' which is weird because I don't look at the posts til I have a sketch. But anyway

[Smashed_Pumpkin]

Perpetual flight is a very cool idea and an interesting challenge!

My idea does raise a bit of a "Chicken/Egg" question but I'll go with it for now because I quite like it.

Name: Volapsus
Habitat: The vastly deep ravines of Fragor Altus

Young.
The young Volapsus enters the world with the invaluable gift of high altitude freefall into one of the many ravines which scar the surface of Fragor Altus. As it falls the creatures body spins and twists in the air utilising the kinetic energy for its growth. The creature has a series of highly efficient organic turbines lining it's body which make this process possible. As the creatures falls it grows additional turbines, increasing its energy gain resulting in an exponential rate of growth.

Adult.
As the Volapsus nears the lower regions of the ravine, having built up an adequate supply of energy it makes its transition to adulthood. A set of wings are deployed allowing flight. Observations of this process report a series of high speed loop-the-loops and rapid direction changes as the creature comes to terms with its newly active wings. The creature must feed quickly before it burns what little energy it has remaining. Luckily the lower regions of Fragor's great ravines swarm with a delicious variety insects and other microscopic airborne life upon which the Volapsus gorges its self while releasing reproductive "seeds".

Old.
The Volapsus continues to feed as it becomes increasingly bloated by a build up of ,lighter than air, gasses. The Volapsus then reaches a pivotal point in its life where the build up of gases can in fact hold its own weight. It continues to flounder for a while, feeding when it can until it begins to float upwards. At this point it begins to develop it's young (if it happens to have consumed another Volapsus' seed) which it will later drop upon reaching the top of the ravine, starting the cycle again.

[YUZworks]

@ Si Swe: I was thinking the same thing, but I tought of nothing but a windy place :p

atm i'm sticking to a creature that starts small and agile (like a bug or a small bird) and grows into a huge ass leviathan like floating creature... dunno how i'm going to do this tough.

Seeing all you brainstorming so far, i bevlieve this proves to be one hell of a round!

[Duredhel]

*reposting this because my first image was too large*

Hi, this is my first try here, so i'm pretty nervous, but I loved the theme and I love designing creatures, so here goes nothing, here is the first sketch of what I have in mind. I'm toying with the name Revenant for this beastie.

Revenants possess a a monolung system which also works as a ventral sack and flotation device, as they fly, they take in air from two breathing tubes in the front and push it out an orifice near their tails in a way of constant jet propulsion. Their mouths are located underneath their bodies much like a that of a stingray and they possess a frontal, articulated hook which serves to capture prey in swooping dives and take it to their mouths. In order to be aware of their surroundings by use of a system of feelers which grow around their bodies, these feelers sense vibrations in the air and "sniff out" possible prey.

Revenants begin their lifecycle far away from their actual environment, in vast wastelands of emptiness where no prey or predators can be found. They are born out of egg clusters and travel to their usual hunting grounds, once there they embark in a feeding frenzy, swooping down on small prey. Once they've stockpiled enough energy, they enter then next cycle in their lives.

Upon sexually maturing, female Revenants grow to many times the size of the males, whereas the males develop flaps of brightly colored skin around their feelers. Males swarm the bigger females, using the flaps to confuse and distract the female, which tries to snatch and eat as many of the males as she can while they try to inseminate the eggs growing on the female's underbelly. Laden with energy from devoured males, the female begins the last stage of her life.

Her single lung grows into a huge flotation device and she wafts off, far away from both prey and predators, unable to feed herself, she will die soon after she reaches a safe spot for her eggs to hatch, the younglings feed on the dead mother, held aloft by her ventral sack until they can fly on their own and make their way back to the hunting grounds.

[Farquad]

This is a wicked topic. Glad this is my first cow.

I'm trying for epic scale with this guy. For now, he's called a "cloud eater," and he does
just as his name suggests. Gathering moisture and sustenance (sp?) from the very clouds
it soars through, catching it all in his whale-like baleen. It's also reptilian and uses the
sun's solar energy for body temperature regulation. Being such a large animal (almost
kilometers in length), it must constantly be in direct sunlight to maintain a livable internal
climate, as it cannot produce it's own heat. Therefore it travels at immense speeds, ever
keeping up with the daylight.

Haven't entirely fleshed out some of the minor kinks (i.e. what it actually eats or the
sleeping situation, or even how such small wings keep it aloft), but I'll come up with
something lol.



*Update: Color scheme basically down:



And the end of today's progress:

[scorge]

Looking good in here guys! Apologies for my absence as of late, been having some medical issues that prevent me from sitting comfortably, and no it's not hemorrhoids.
Anyway, thanks YUZworks for the informative poster. I'm looking forward to a lot of cool entries on this one. Make sure you guys use good reference and really put some thought into your designs so that your creature is as tangible as possible. No magic or fairy induced powers on this one.
Farquad: F'n great start man.
Duredhel: Great ideas and easy to read. Good job.
Keep em coming ladies and gents. Might knock something out myself if the mood strikes.

[IronicTrout]

This is my new and very improved design. It is an animal that flies over tropical regions of the world. It uses very densely packed plant like cells in its wings and tail to undergo a similar process to photosynthesis. It is a prey animal that is very agile and uses its speed to its advantage. It sleeps by flying extremely high into the atmosphere and fills its sack with air that is less dense than at the altitudes that it lives at, and creates a sort of neutral buoyancy and just floats in the sky.

I still haven't figured out a way to get water. I think I might use spores on its back to collect rain water, because it lives in rain foresty areas.

[Rhdnor]

Here are some silly ideas, in my new handmade paper notebook. Sort of a propeller-like wings which keep it in the air, very short life span, sort of like a moth. I never thought I'd have more fun than chow. Will try to incorporate all the feedback I got in the last cow.

Okay, I've got it, the Dandelion Damsel. Don't be deceived by her delicate looks she doesn't just float about, she propels! She survives on pollen and reproduces asexually. More details in the next drawing.

Update...

Her survival depends on staying afloat so she has to roll on the air currents and go where the wind takes her. Food is more or less always available and around because she can only consume pollen/seed light enough to carry. That thing trailing behind is her feeding tube, breathing apparatus and alimentary canal all rolled into one.

[YUZworks]

Awsome ideas so far guys.

I'm still working on my aerodinamics studies, so no sketches yet from me. I do have some nice ideas tough.

@ Rgeorge: would you feel offended if i worked w/ the feathers instead of scales idea? It's not needed, but i'd love to get some feather training done...

[(lark]

ok. i decided that i think a usage of hot air can be used in conjunction with acrobatics. here's the idea...

these creatures live on a planet with polarizing temperatures. most of the surface is covered in ice because of its distance from a sun. but the inner temperature is very hot and creates fissures along the surface where hot air is expelled. this gives the climate an intricate maze of very hot and very cold air currents.

why is this important? well, the creatures have adapted a way of capturing the hot air near the surface, and using it to rise to high altitudes. once there they glide most of the way down. all the while expelling very little energy. while in the glide state, they become very agile, and quick. where they do most of their hunting of smaller flying beasts. when they get close enough to the surface, they go into a dive towards one of the hot air fissures to collect heat for their next ascension upwards at which point they sleep and regain their strength. the cycle takes approximately 1 day of the planets day night cycle.

here is a sketch of the flight cycles functionality. didn't include gliding but it will be shown in one of the 3 different age illustrations i plan to make.



some really cool brainstorming going on in here! glad my suggestion got people thinking hard hahaha.

[Tawnos]

I thought of a herbivore floating thing.
It lives on a planet almost entirely covered by rainforrest and feeds on Blossoms.
As a young it is not able to control its course, since the "leaves" that cover the floating sack, that is filled with a self produced gas and keeps the creature up, are still not unfold. Since it is very small, it has no high altitude anyway and hovers shortly over the higher branches of the trees, where it came out of it eggs, and uses his tentacles to maneuver. With his "tri-mouth", it hovers over buds and then devours then.

As an adult, the leaves that cover the floating sack slowly unflold and reveal a series of tubes sticking out of the balloony device, that allow the creature to press condensed air through it and thus make it a very agile manouverer.

Looked upon from above, the creature always resembles it's prey; As a young one, the closed leaves that cover the floating sack as a protection, since the outer shell is still too soft and wet to function, make it look as a bud, and as an adult, it resembles a blossom, since the floating sack is bright yellow and the upper parts of the leaves are white.

Older individuals of the still non named creature are distincted from the others since the floating sack lost a lot of it's internal pressure and the leaves seem as if they withered and hang down sadly.

[Rhdnor]

Awsome ideas so far guys.

I'm still working on my aerodinamics studies, so no sketches yet from me. I do have some nice ideas tough.

@ Rgeorge: would you feel offended if i worked w/ the feathers instead of scales idea? It's not needed, but i'd love to get some feather training done...

Sure, I'd love to see the results.

[(lark]

here is a wip of the first panel, youth. it shows the early years of protection from its mother until it is old enough to fend for itself. which will be the next panel in which i'll show hunting, and the more agile aspects.

crits welcome.

[Lege1]

It's been a minute...How's everybody been in here? I am just throwing around an idea here....early birth stage or what not....Just loose and having a good time with it....

[Rhdnor]

Alright so I worked on it until it began to get ridiculous and now I'm wondering whether it holds any appeal at all. It sort looks like the powerpuff girl's pet pom-pom. May be I'll finish it but I don't know if it works for the brief.

[pixel cheetah]

rgeorge: amazing idea, I love it! This could be the first stage in the life-cycle. What is the next? ;-)

[goldilockz]

No time this week to play along, but these designs are amazing!

[Rhdnor]

rgeorge: amazing idea, I love it! This could be the first stage in the life-cycle. What is the next? ;-)

Thanks. I don't think she was born that way, in the last stage of the lifecycle her floating devices eventually fall off... I guess the idea isn't entirely idiotic. In the first I guess she's born with little stumps and sprouts feathers only in the second.

[dragon4lunch]

rgeorge: Groovy! Keep on rocking!

[Norsehound]

I'd guess when looking at mine it'll be obvious I'm a mechanical designer getting into creatures. However...

When thinking of an airborne acrobat I thought up several avenues... mostly thinking of the 'acrobat'. I figured such a creature might have to be speedy and maneuverable... but I thought more about the speed aspect and wanted to make swarms of small creatures that were incredibly fast.

But I also wanted something different, and I thought about how things keep aloft, thrust and whatnot, and somehow (perhaps unsurprisingly) concocted a kind of biological jet engine.

Like how hummingbirds have very high metabolisms and beat their wings at an incredible pace, these "Miguel's Darts" (named after the one who spotted them) inhale and exhale at incredible rates to produce thrust out the back. The only animal off the top of my head that has a separate orifice for thrust would be the squid, and the darts pretty much do the same with the air.

Since I figured this would be on an alien planet, the Darts feed off of pollen that is generated by some kind of plant (though highly toxic to humans). They dip in and zoom out, using gills in their air intakes to siphon food from the air. They don't sleep, just parts of their brain shut down while others remain active (like dolphins).

I'm concerned that my work-in-progress final sketch might be too static to stand a chance of winning, but the darts don't really bend that well so it's not that easy to 'pose' them. I thought about doing this as some kind of scientific display, showing the static images perhaps with showing activity in a larger image *shrug*

[Farquad]

Little update. Drew in the offspring/birth part of it, but I'm afraid it's too small and
I've lost the readability of it. :/ Eh, not sure what to do.

But yeah, the "cloud eater" has its young gestate on the sides of its neck in protective
sacks filled with collected water and embryonic fluid. The process takes place as far
up as the creature can physically go, as the newborn must learn to fly before it hits
the ground. A jarring start in this world for sure, but it also ensures that only the strong
and deserving survive.



Detail:

[Si_Swe]

Farquad, your image quality is good enough that just boosting the size of your final a couple hundred pixels should do. You may want to define the youth a bit more by either desaturating it a bit, or doing something to define it's skin tone as different. Many scaled animals don't take on the tone of their parents immediately. Don't think you've lost readability, though, and it looks great.

[Tawnos]

I wont continue my sketches, it's been a stressful week and I'm going on vacation tomorrow.
Feel free to use them if you want to.

[Si_Swe]

Looks like I will be trying to hit this round this week. Here's a quick sketch of the adult form. The child will be smaller, with a larger head-wing ratio and fewer appendages. The matriarchs will be much larger and have large egg sacks on their backs. I'm thinking there will be a vast quantity of fin appendages on the matriarchs.