CHOW #53 - Guest Host: Julian Gollop - Topic: X-Com - The Chryssalid - revamp

**Oblio** · December 11th, 2006, 08:17 AM

ROUND #53

PLEASE CONSOLIDATE YOUR WIPS AND FINALS INTO YOUR FIRST POST.

CLEARLY DESIGNATE YOUR FINAL.

FOLLOW THE TOPIC.

You will receive votes for every successful representation of the topic elements. The ammount of votes will be listed in the round topic. Description is optional.

Please save your files starting with your nickname.
example: "Oblio_CHOW23_Platformer33 copy copy.jpg"

PLACE THE IMAGE IN A FRAME WITH YOUR NAME/TOPIC

(you can add CA logo, etc).
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DEADLINE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24th
The way the deadline works: if deadline is on a Sunday and your image is posted on that Sunday 23:59 your local time it's a good entry.
In fact - as long there is Sunday somewhere on the planet your entry is ok. I will make the poll sometimes Monday afternoon my time (GMT +2) yet i'll have a look at the last entries.
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X-Com - The Chryssalid - ORTHO

Here we are at CHOW #52 - ready to shock again:
We have the pleasure of havig a legendary designer as our guest:
Julian Gollop is the creator of the X-Com series and he has a topic for us today.
Here he goes:
__________________________________________
Hi Andrei,
So the character I have chosen is a re-imagining of the most feared
alien from X-Com - The Chryssalid.

Description:

The Chryssalids one of the main alien terror species in the PC game
'X-COM: UFO Defense'. They are roughly humanoid in size, with an
insect-like exoskeleton and menacing claws. They strike fear into X-Com
soldiers in a major way. The reason? They turn civilians into zombies by
injecting a parasitical Chyssalid spore. Since the Chryssalids attack in
densely populated civilian zones, the task of the X-Com commander
becomes perilous. Every civilian is a potential zombie recruit, but it
is much worse than that. A new Chryssalid will emerge from a zombie in a
frighteningly short space of time. It is entirely possible for an X-Com
commander to find his squad transformed into a horde of Chryssalids,
with no hope of salvation.

The task is to re-imagine the Chryssalid. How can it's parasitical
nature be portrayed? Perhaps it has some human genetic material combined
with its own? There could be a hint of some human features mixed with
something horribly alien. For added effect, the creature can be
portrayed shedding its human-zombie host.

Here are some informational links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chryssalid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-COM:_UFO_Defense

__________________________________________

The winner of this topic will be taken to the new 3D contest.
ONLY the winner will be available for the Sculptors and 3D guys.
Do this right - see your creation in 3D.

Now... concept!

______________
Topic elements:

1 = revamp the Chryssalid.
2 = ORTHO
3 = na

Make sure your picture contains these - you will receive 3 VOTES for each topic covered.
_____________
Please try to save your progress - maybe a nice tutorial is comming out.
BE PROFESSIONAL - only finished and good quality entries will be taken to the poll. The host will make the selection.

Info about ORTHO:

Previous ORTO Challenges:
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78667
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80934

RESULTS:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=81432
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82588

You have 2 WEEKS.
Let's make this GREAT!!!!

**StephenMReed** · December 11th, 2006, 02:41 PM

shouldn't this be in the cow section???

**voraz** · December 11th, 2006, 03:00 PM

This is probably one of the games I have spent more time playing in my life!
I was thinking about participating until I saw it is supposed to be a ortho challenge... lets see, I'm not a big fan of this ortho stuff he he!

**dragon4lunch** · December 11th, 2006, 03:39 PM

humanoid - therefore CHOW stephen. Yet another zombie thingy, huh?

**cakeypigdog** · December 11th, 2006, 06:13 PM

i loved x com to death but i cant enter this: too busy.

**SephyCloneNo15** · December 11th, 2006, 06:57 PM

I may give this sucker a shot. It'll be my first CHOW.

**cmr8286** · December 11th, 2006, 08:57 PM

I'm in too... I've got this idea that I think could be terrifying as hell, if I can just pull it off.
Also, I love how you guys (Oblio) are pushing for collaboration between the different groups on this site.

**Michael Jaecks** · December 11th, 2006, 09:11 PM

This sounds like fun. I like insect bipeds.

I may be dating myself with this admission, but I have not played the game. Is there any chance we can get a good link to the old version of the Chryssalid. I've googled it, but I'm coming up with very small images and what appears to be fan art in some cases...

**cmr8286** · December 11th, 2006, 09:49 PM

MJ... check this out... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chryssalid.png

**Radunz** · December 11th, 2006, 11:38 PM

Just a quick preliminary sketch throwing ideas around. I'll do orthos next. I might have to do a little redesign to make him a bit less....uhhh....phalic.

EDIT: Ok here's the ortho. A bit rushed due to X-mas chaos.

The most feared alien race in the known galaxy, the Chryssalid, has stalked the black void of space for countless millennia. Watch your six, and don't drop the soap! Because in space... no one can hear you get sodomized by a hulking alien crab man.

**Simon Boxer** · December 12th, 2006, 12:10 AM

I heart monster topics.

**KaWaii** · December 12th, 2006, 05:45 AM

I'm out, not a great fan of Ortho, will check the results though

**Chuck,mate.** · December 12th, 2006, 05:48 AM

i`d probabley get head-butted by you people for this but:
i have never heard of X-com. or Chryssalid/s.
got no idea about any of this.
plus...an ortho... who in the world got the time.........
good luck mates, and have fun.

**proximity** · December 12th, 2006, 10:33 AM

hey guys maybe being dense here but whats a ortho? lol

**Woodlandwalker** · December 12th, 2006, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by proximity

hey guys maybe being dense here but whats a ortho? lol

An orthographic view is when you are looking at a object from 90 degrees, or straight at it. This means that you can only see 1 side of the object. You see either the top, left side, right side, bottom, front, or back. Several views are used to define a 3D object.

**Oblio** · December 12th, 2006, 06:54 PM

heloo alll from SF. Hope to see some of you at Insomnia.

I know this topic is about a bit more work the ussual - but then again - the reward is sweet too. And well.. if you havent; got into X-com when you had the right age... then.. no special invitation or pimping on my side will help anyway.

My respekts to all who grow the balls to do this one. I will not have the time - i hope i'll be able to serve you in a different way this week.

in..somnia...

**misledtomisery** · December 12th, 2006, 09:00 PM

giving an ortho a go...we'll see how it comes out..
here is the front view...a little chaotic until values get thrown on i suppose.

**Howie** · December 12th, 2006, 10:17 PM

final

**dragon4lunch** · December 12th, 2006, 11:10 PM

Great silhouettes, Howie! Yes, 2 and 4 are best. You'll have to decide

**Paolo13** · December 13th, 2006, 04:46 AM

This ortho thing is really tough...
Let see what will come out...
We all have the same kind of idea... lol

**Woodlandwalker** · December 13th, 2006, 01:33 PM

A revamp, but I'm trying to stay true to the orig as well.

**dragon4lunch** · December 13th, 2006, 02:08 PM

Woodlandwalker that is just disgusting! Oh man, I think it's just too much gore. Bah, shame on you! lol

But for real! Eeeeowww!

**Howie** · December 13th, 2006, 02:18 PM

Woodlandwalker that is awesome

**vances22** · December 13th, 2006, 03:56 PM

Alight I think I am in.... woodlandwalker....you're one sick son of a........

j/k totally digging it, You really made that description stick. Great work so far people! TO WORK I GO!

**Hookswords** · December 13th, 2006, 10:26 PM

woodlandwalker, very nice

**vances22** · December 14th, 2006, 04:09 AM

EDIT
FINISHED!!!

**Simon Boxer** · December 14th, 2006, 10:26 AM

Went for bulky, geometric. In-game it's hunched over and uses its claws to walk, too. Like a gorillacrabmonster! Will probably add a separate illustration of it as well...

**vances22** · December 14th, 2006, 10:44 AM

hey cognition,
Looking at the ortho and just wanted to throw in my two cents. I myself am a character modeler (not professional yet) about to graduate in the next year, so just a few things about your ortho. Its looking good painting wise and what not. It's not good to make a concept blocky, like it is in game to hand to a modeler. I know it sounds like it would be easier on them (it seems logical) but it's not. It hinders the model substantially. The modeler is going to try to match the silhouette of the character as best as he can with a given poly count. So if he is handed something that is blocky it's actually going to look worse when it is finished, because it will seem blocky and inorganic. You want a more geometric character to be the end result of a model, not the end result of the concept art. Because the more a modeler has to make "changes" to the original concept, the longer it is going to take as opposed to having a bangin piece of concept art where he has to subtract things from the model to get it to work through texture or normal maps instead of trying to add things to give it stronger details and more form. I hope that makes sense. Because if i was to model straight off of this. It would look boxy, and people would look at it and thingk something is wrong. I know models are geometric but a pentegon is a round shape, a square box is not. I do think its awesome you tried to think of the modelers for this piece though. A lot of people don't and that can also lead to problems. So its awesome you did that! keep up the good work! Oh and the texture on this would be dank cause you showed it off so well in the ortho. Nice.....(insert southpark voice here)

**xgabo** · December 14th, 2006, 11:39 AM

Such a juicy theme... damn!

Going to SF this weekend, traveling home for christmas the next... I'll try to squeeze some time for it. Can't resist bug-like space monsters.

**Gorgoth of Suburbia** · December 14th, 2006, 02:44 PM

For my redesign, i decided to focus on the humanoid aspects of the chryssalid. When i googled the chryssalid and other x-com creatures, I also saw some autopsy pics. I wanted to integrate that into my image somehow and ended up with the cross section of the chryssalid's chest.

Here's the ortho (my first one, actually)

Yeah, it sucks but that's all I have time for. Season's greetings everybody!