Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Ballerina Forest 1: Shifting Gears

I've decided, for the time being, to use this space as something of a "creator's commentary." I'll talk about the latest updates on the project, what's inspired them, and some noteworthy decisions I made in the creative process. This is kind of what I've been doing with the blog any way, but I'm going to be more proactive with it.

With that said, I've started work on the second to last biome: the ballerina forest. Details about local flora are still in early development, but the general idea is a forest of lithe trees that twist and pose to maximize their exposure to sunlight. I imagine them resembling graceful dancers, but that may change as the design refines somewhat.

The first nereid of the group is the fulgie. It's the last nidovalve of my first batch of species, and is also closely related to another nereid, the flashbulb. I'm noticing now that I approach my 100 species benchmark that a lot of the species are in the same genus as-- or at least very closely related to-- previously featured nereids. This introduces some interesting challenges, such as how I can develop a species that closely resembles others while making them unique, interesting, and worth giving attention within the project.

What sets the fulgie apart from the crowd is its resemblance to flowers. I came up with this feature before I decided nereid plants should be flowerless-- at least as we know flowers on Earth. The concept sat as I worked on other species, but now that I came to it again it occurred to me that resembling a flower would be a useless adaptation in a world without flowers! Undaunted, I switched gears with the concept: now the flowery appearance isn't to hide, but to be seen; that they resembles flowers on a bush is more a result of terrestrial eyes than nereid evolutionary pressures.

The jester chaparro is the other new nereid of the batch. From the beginning I imagined it being the laughing hyena of the family, and drew on the mischief of corvids for inspiration. As the reader you'll have to make your own judgment on how I did with it. After I posted it, the folks at SE pointed out to me that kritocauds appear to have no pupil in their eyes. Well, that's a very good thing to point out. If I can't figure out a way to justify the apparent lack (a pupil so small it's not easily noticed, multiple tiny pupils in a compound-like eye, or some strange reflection of light that makes the pupils always seem red) then I might just have to chalk it up to artistic license and/or think about inserting pupils at some point in the future.

That's all I have right for right now. I have two more nereids in pencilwork and written outlines at this point, so keep a lookout for 'em!

3 comments:

  1. You're extremely talented when it comes to conveying your imagination into realistic drawings. I am extremely impressed! XD I have detailed dreams about an incredible alien world with a few creatures that strangely resemble some yours, but they rarely ever make it past the pencil stage. If you want to you can check some of the old ones out at http://thebiverse.freeforums.org/zion-alien-ecosystem-t665.html .My personal opinion on the Jester Chaparro is that it's eyes should remain red due to a type of light reflection much like the eyes (and bodies) of many insects. It could be for a mating purpose, but whatever the reason it just looks so badass.

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  2. from Rodlox:
    Superb work.

    One question: how does the Jester take flight? does it lean and fall backwards and go from there? or does it raise that large tail and charge forwards?

    either way, I continue to enjoy Nereus, and hope to see where you go with it next.

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  3. Thanks guys! As long as the all red eyes of the kritocaudians is plausible I'll stick with it. And I always imagined chaparros leaping forward for flight. Doing a backflip off a branch would be cool, and a chaparro could maybe pull it off, but I don't think it's the primary method of takeoff.

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