FBS's General Art

[Pangaea]

Sorry to keep you waiting again!

First, responses to FBS’s earlier post:

I still don't like how the feather turned out greener than they were on paper, but there's nothing I can do with our freaky scanner and it's green-obsession!!

Hold on; so the green thing on Klepto’s back is supposed to be feathers? It really looked like leaves to me…

And yes, Coral is a pretty birdie. My friend picked her because of the colors and although she was certain the picture was of a male bird, she didn't care in the slightest!! Really, looking it up on google, I have a strong feeling the male and female bird look alike, which is a good sign for accuracy!!

From what I’ve been able to find out, it appears that female scissor-tailed flycatchers have shorter tail feathers than males (though they still form a prominent and distinctive pair of “scissors”), but otherwise they are quite similar. It also appears that there’s quite a bit of variation in the plumage of individual birds. I found two Websites with photographs of both male and female scissor-tailed flycatchers, so you can see for yourself:
http://www.greglasley.net/scissortailfc.html
http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/Scistailgaly.htm

Now, my reviews on the new artwork:

Pic #1:

I love this picture. Although I’m only going by memory here myself, Piercer and Slicer look incredibly accurate to the Expedition/Alien Planet Skewer and Daggerwrist (the detail on Slicer is simply astounding, considering his size in the picture). I think Piercer could be a little darker, but he looks great as well. And Emerald looks very cool; I’d love to see a larger picture of her design. Personally I think the background could be even better if there were some Steeple-Gourds/Gourd-Trees on the ground below.

On a parting note, I wonder howóand whyóthe heck Slicer and Emerald ended up hitching a ride on a Skewer in the first place. I hope for Slicer’s sake that he doesn’t keep “riding shotgun” on Piercer's proboscis for long; it would be unpleasant for him in several ways if Piercer decided to eat something. (For those unfamiliar with Skewer feeding habits, that would entail Piercer swooping or plunging down to the ground; impaling a hapless animal on his proboscis up to the hilt; rocketing back up into the air while draining the fluids from the body; dropping the carcass and then diving back down to skewer it again in midair; and repeating the last two steps until the victim is dry.)

P.S. I can’t remember if Skewers and Daggerwrists are hermaphroditic or not (or whether this was ever stated in Expedition); I know several species on Darwin IV are.

Expedition is one of my favorite speculative science fiction books. I can probably credit it for singlehandedly sparking my interest in extraterrestrial life. I first read it sometime in high school; a special ed teacher whose son owned the book brought it in because she thought I’d like to borrow it; funnily enough I saw the book lying around and started reading it before I was even aware of this! I ended up liking it so much that I was inspired to create my own world of “alien animals” (I’ll have to share them sometime).


Pic #2:

The cetacean (specifically, delphinid ) picture is hardly crappy! I think you did a fantastic job on Anika’s patterns, even though she and Paci look a little sketchy and simplistic compared to the other two characters, and I think their bodies (especially Paci’s) are a little too short. Top Notch (cool name; does it refer to the shape of the marking on his back?) is pretty goodóvery aggressive-lookingóalthough his flippers look a little oversized, and his tail fluke perhaps a bit undersized. Even though, being an orca, his patterning is far simpler than Anika’s, I think you did a great job on it.

My favorite part of the picture is actually the bottlenose dolphin; maybe it’s just me, but he looks to be the most detailed of the four characters, and I just like the way you drew him. In my opinion, he’s also one of the fiercer-looking bottlenose dolphin pictures I’ve seen (perhaps that’s a good thing, considering his role in the story), though his eyes give him a somewhat frightened look as well. And as with the other characters, his coloring is excellent.


Pic #3:

Generally, I don’t care much for zombies (I just think dead humans are rather boring monsters ), but I must say that Left 4 Dead sounds more interesting to me than most (since, as you explained, the “zombies” are mutated rather than undead). All I know about it, though, comes from IsisMasshiro’s artwork and what you shared here.

Anyway, personally I think your cartoon human(oid)s aren’t half bad. I myself have always been so lousy at drawing humans that I’m embarrassed to even try. And the Infected characters look to be very accurate, if comparison to IsisMasshiro’s L4D fanart is anything to go by. (Granted, I don’t know what the characters in the game actually look like, though I assume they’re at least semi-realistic.) I like the expression on the fat guy, and the angle at which you drew the Hunter character (nice job on the inside of his mouth, too ). And the red zigzaggy border of the big speech bubble looks awesome,

Are the upward-pointing “fuzzies” on the characters’ hair and clothing meant to reflect surprise and/or the loudness of Hunter’s exclamation (like hair standing on end)? Not that it’s a bad technique, but it looks a little funny on the human character’s hair, maybe because it’s not pointing in the direction you’d expect hair standing on end would naturally stick out. (There's a number of other reasons, but since this is just a “for fun” picture and I'm currently finding it impossible to put my hair-related thoughts into words, I won't bother explaining.)

[FlipperBoidSkua]

The one with the Orca is very nice.

Thankies!! Orcas are AWESOME!!!

No worries, Pangaea!! Your reviews are worth waiting for!!! Squeeee!!!

Hold on; so the green thing on Klepto’s back is supposed to be feathers? It really looked like leaves to me…

I know right! Since posting this, I've made a few attempts to color the other colors darker, particularly the black, but the green is still staying neonized and giving it the look of utter leafy-ness. I don't get it. But it could be worse!

From what I’ve been able to find out, it appears that female scissor-tailed flycatchers have shorter tail feathers than males (though they still form a prominent and distinctive pair of “scissors”), but otherwise they are quite similar.

I knew it!! HAHAHAHA!!! I knew there was little gender difference between them!! Oooooo, pictures! *sparkly eyed* I like the one showing the male's "sky dance".

I love this picture. Although I’m only going by memory here myself, Piercer and Slicer look incredibly accurate to the Expedition/Alien Planet Skewer and Daggerwrist (the detail on Slicer is simply astounding, considering his size in the picture). I think Piercer could be a little darker, but he looks great as well. And Emerald looks very cool; I’d love to see a larger picture of her design. Personally I think the background could be even better if there were some Steeple-Gourds/Gourd-Trees on the ground below.

Why is there no sparkly eyed emoticon? Thank you!! This is one of the pics I actually put effort into and it's great seeing someone appreciate it so! I was worried how the detailing on Slicer would go as my ink pen does not like detail on small subjects, but it turned out very well (thank goodness). I was debating what color scheme to use for our Skewer friend as the ones in the book seem a simple black and the ones in the video have some color to them! I just decided to mix some brown, grey, and black and see what turns up! As for Emerald, I have a few more pics of her and Slicer (and other random Alien Planet pics), but none of them are finished. I can post them later when I'm done!

I wanted to put the Gourd trees down below, but it always looked weird to me.... *sigh* I guess I should add alien plants to the list of things I find hard to draw!

On a parting note, I wonder howóand whyóthe heck Slicer and Emerald ended up hitching a ride on a Skewer in the first place. I hope for Slicer’s sake that he doesn’t keep “riding shotgun” on Piercer's proboscis for long; it would be unpleasant for him in several ways if Piercer decided to eat something.

  Slicer and Emerald were having a bit of a....disagreement (understatement!!!) that took them outta the safety of the pocket forests. With them out in the open, Piercer couldn't resist going for them. The two quickly put aside their differences as they scrambled back for the forests. Piercer barely missed Slicer (most likely on purpose as the Skewer enjoys swooping and causing disorder among the land folks ) and the giant creature was so close, the Daggerwrist's automatic responses barely had the choice but to jump aboard. Emerald became the new target, and the Skewer kept intervening her retreat for safety. She ended up jumping aboard to, but more outta choice than Slicer.

Luckily, Slicer had the common sense to stay on the creature's back during the Skewer's hunts and displays (and trust me, this giant predator made toooooons of aerial displays in the hopes of attracting his mate). The shotgun riding came about when the Skewer caught food and Slicer was hungry enough to risk climbing closer for a sample. Since then, he's been treating that massive lance like a tree branch to chill on.  

P.S. I can’t remember if Skewers and Daggerwrists are hermaphroditic or not (or whether this was ever stated in Expedition); I know several species on Darwin IV are.

Looking through the book, the Skewer's implied to be either male or female. At least, that's how I'm interpretating the sketches and brief descriptions about the subject matter. For the Daggerwrist, the main specimen described was heavily pregnant, but I'm afraid there's nothing said if the subject was female or hermaphorditic. A shame, those two are my favorite critters, it would've been interesting to learn more than what we're given. :unsure:

Expedition is one of my favorite speculative science fiction books. I can probably credit it for singlehandedly sparking my interest in extraterrestrial life. I first read it sometime in high school; a special ed teacher whose son owned the book brought it in because she thought I’d like to borrow it; funnily enough I saw the book lying around and started reading it before I was even aware of this! I ended up liking it so much that I was inspired to create my own world of “alien animals” (I’ll have to share them sometime).

Expedition/Alien Planet and The Future is Wild FTW!!!!! And I wantz to know of your alien animals!! I bet they're gonna be kickbutt AWESOME!!!!!!! SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!

The cetacean (specifically, delphinid ) picture is hardly crappy! I think you did a fantastic job on Anika’s patterns, even though she and Paci look a little sketchy and simplistic compared to the other two characters, and I think their bodies (especially Paci’s) are a little too short. Top Notch (cool name; does it refer to the shape of the marking on his back?) is pretty goodóvery aggressive-lookingóalthough his flippers look a little oversized, and his tail fluke perhaps a bit undersized. Even though, being an orca, his patterning is far simpler than Anika’s, I think you did a great job on it.

Yeah, I was more focused on Top Notch and the bottlenosed than them! Although Anika's patterns were so much fun and common dolphins are my second favorite dolphins after the transient orca!! X3 The shortness was an attempt to keep them smaller than the other two Top Notch was indeed named for the type of 'saddle' marking on his back, and also cause there's a distinctive 'notch' on the tip-top of his dorsal fin!! I didn't like how his flippers and flukes turned out either, but I gave up trying to fix them after like the tenth try.... Orca markings FTW!!!

My favorite part of the picture is actually the bottlenose dolphin; maybe it’s just me, but he looks to be the most detailed of the four characters, and I just like the way you drew him. In my opinion, he’s also one of the fiercer-looking bottlenose dolphin pictures I’ve seen (perhaps that’s a good thing, considering his role in the story), though his eyes give him a somewhat frightened look as well. And as with the other characters, his coloring is excellent.

I adored how the bottlenose came out. He was the first one to be drawn on the picture and I guess that contributed on his details (ya know, before I got lazy ) Fierce and frightened!! Yayz!! I managed to give a much loved critter the desired expressions!! Remember folks, bottlenoses are NOT the perfect little saints the media makes them out to be! Flipper is evvvviiiiiillllll!!

Generally, I don’t care much for zombies (I just think dead humans are rather boring monsters ), but I must say that Left 4 Dead sounds more interesting to me than most (since, as you explained, the “zombies” are mutated rather than undead). All I know about it, though, comes from IsisMasshiro’s artwork and what you shared here.

Another thing we can agree on!! Zombies are boring monsters! I hardly find anything threatening about a brain-dead creature you can out-walk !! That's why I love this game so very much!! While they're not technically zombies, they at least give off the vibe of being deadly!! If I saw a true zombie, I'd probably have some fun in taunting it. If I meet an Infected like these buggers, my life would be screwed!

And yes, IsisMasshiro made AWESOME L4D pics!! It was her that introduced me to the game and I don't regret it!!

Anyway, personally I think your cartoon human(oid)s aren’t half bad. I myself have always been so lousy at drawing humans that I’m embarrassed to even try. And the Infected characters look to be very accurate, if comparison to IsisMasshiro’s L4D fanart is anything to go by. (Granted, I don’t know what the characters in the game actually look like, though I assume they’re at least semi-realistic.) I like the expression on the fat guy, and the angle at which you drew the Hunter character (nice job on the inside of his mouth, too ). And the red zigzaggy border of the big speech bubble looks awesome

Thanks!! And you should try!! Your LBT artwork looks awesome and I have confidence in your art style!!

Yes, Isis' work is very accurate for cartoon-y, anthropomorphic (weird, I never thought I'd say that for something....human but...not... ) characters. She certainly draws her character a heck of a lot better than mine ! Considering that just about everything I draw is a cartoon, I would have a hard time drawing them realistically. I mean, look at this:



Not gonna stop me from trying though!! I'm already planning to draw the Smoker as a realistic character instead of 'animating' him.

Anywho, I had tons of fun drawing the Hunter, his mouth was so much FUN!!! And I think the zig-zag-ness of the bubble added to the 'loudness' of it!!

Are the upward-pointing “fuzzies” on the characters’ hair and clothing meant to reflect surprise and/or the loudness of Hunter’s exclamation (like hair standing on end)? Not that it’s a bad technique, but it looks a little funny on the human character’s hair, maybe because it’s not pointing in the direction you’d expect hair standing on end would naturally stick out. (There's a number of other reasons, but since this is just a “for fun” picture and I'm currently finding it impossible to put my hair-related thoughts into words, I won't bother explaining.)

Ah, yes, one of the main things I wanted to do while drawing this!! Lots of people add the fuzzies to these guys, especially the Hunter as Hunters are always associated with cats and dogs, behavior-wise. I wanted to try my hand with it and it was so much fun! It is indeed for showing everyone's startlement at the unexpected outburst and its shrill loudness! And yeah, the girl's hair is a mixture of the fuzzies and natural messiness!!

I'm glad you loved these pics!! In fact, I'mma start attempting to finish some of my Alien Planet pics!! Yayz!!

Oh! And I got a new picture done in this while; college has been getting stingy in its class time. But given how I'm still uberly obsessed with L4D, I have another pic:



A baby Smoker and a baby Hunter!! This is based off my newest fanfic for L4D, Never Say Goodbye. These two little ones have been orphaned, but is soon adopted by two wacky humans that takes the form of my RP-friend (the one that owns Coral and Emerald and stuff) and myself! I intend the story to be funny (two spazzy friends during a zombie apocalypse? Only chaos can follow), cute (these two Infected babies and their antics have earned them lotsa love and awwwwww's from reviewers), and dark (Death? Yes; Hurt? Uh huh; Conflict? You bet! A happy ending? .....Maybe... ). I could submit it here, but I'm not too sure how many L4D fans are here to read it :unsure: .

In the picture, it shows the scene of when they first meet after being orphaned. After an adorable little confrontation that was supposed to be threatening, the Hunter soon discovers that the Smoker's tongue is a fun toy and tries to steal it, unaware that it's currently still attached to said Smoker....

About the picture itself, I wanted to (here goes) make an accurate, non-cartoony version of how I think the baby Infected would look. I failed miserably (I can never make anything detailed enough or colored right to be realistic)! Oh well. *sigh* Once more, my scanner neonizes green, but takes the light blue with it this time. Very well, so long as it doesn't do the same for the Hunter pup. Yes, Hunter pup! Tao acts more like a kitten or puppy than a human child and walks on all fours rather than toddling around like Ace (in fact, the pup hardly has the balance to even stand on two legs yet) and even then, he is still too clumsy to move very efficiently. I like how Ace's hair turned out and I love my ink pen for being able to give Tao his tiny, little claws. Some attempt of shading has been made, but nothing big. The color of Ace's skin didn't show up very well, but I guess that's okay!

Also, I'm not too sure how old these two are supposed to be. Physically, they're both around the same age. Mentally/behaviorally, I guess Ace is the equivalent of a young toddler and Tao's the equivalent to a 6 week old kitten. Either way, compared to the other 'zombies', most fans (including myself) believe Hunters and Smokers to be among the smartest, seeing how they have to strategize and be resourceful a bit more often than the other Infected. In fact, one fanfic author made a very convincing argument stating the Hunter's intelligence is equal to a wolf (no surprise there!) while the Smoker's is close to that of a chimp. Dang it, these Infected are smarter than me !

Anyway, hope you guys like this pic! I'mma try to make/finish some more to make up for the fact that only one has been posted this time.

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Double posting, FTW!!!

Okay, decided to put up a couple of more pics. This one's gonna be three Rattlesnake Jake ones and another Left 4 Dead pic. I'm exhausted right now, so if it seems like I'm being stingy on the descriptions, now you know why!



This one was one of the first Rattlesnake Jake drawings I made and I was stupid enough to try and draw scales *shudders*. But I like how it turned out in the case of humor and serving its purpose. I know there's tons of flaws as this was done early in my Rattlesnake Jake obsession. I don't like how the underside meets the ground and I messed up on the diamond pattern on his back. But oh, well!! It was fun and that's what matters.

The next two drawings are void of extreme scale detail as I won't be making that mistake again. But I tried to keep the humor up. Plus the added bonus of my lemur persona!! I have returned as my ring-tail self!! Enjoy:



I couldn't help it!! Every time I watch the movie, and he says that line, I replied quite readily and willingly. You have to admit, his eyes kick some maor BUTT!!



This one's based off a random thought in my head. When I saw the scene where Jake drains his own venom in the cup, it reminded me of Mountain Dew, which is my favorite soda. Thus, this was born. I still think Jake's trying to kill me or something. Though technically, venom's safe to ingest, but in the world of Rango, that doesn't seem to be the case. *shrug*

Last, but most definitely not least, my most recent Left 4 Dead pic!



Remember little Ace and Tao in my last post? Well, here's Ace's family before he got orphaned, consisting of Mommy Witch, Daddy Smoker, and Little Witch Sister. Anyone willing to test these two protective parents? Anywho, I tried to keep to the realistic design that the game intended (without making it all cutesy like everyone else likes doing), and add some 'individuality' at the same time. All in all, Ace's mom and dad are close to generic. I made his mom's hair a bit longer than a regular Witch and I gave the father less tumors than a regular Smoker. Slight, differences, but efficient enough for me!

Anywho, drawn on paper, colored and texted on Photoshop, which is quickly becoming my dominant way of coloring.

That's it for now. I'm gonna go die on my bed! Nighters!

[Pangaea]

Sorry again for taking so *bleeping* long to respond. I'm afraid I'm not the reviewer I used to be.

Expedition is one of my favorite speculative science fiction books. I can probably credit it for singlehandedly sparking my interest in extraterrestrial life. I first read it sometime in high school; a special ed teacher whose son owned the book brought it in because she thought I’d like to borrow it; funnily enough I saw the book lying around and started reading it before I was even aware of this! I ended up liking it so much that I was inspired to create my own world of “alien animals” (I’ll have to share them sometime).

Expedition/Alien Planet and The Future is Wild FTW!!!!! And I wantz to know of your alien animals!! I bet they're gonna be kickbutt AWESOME!!!!!!! SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!

Well, you shouldn't get your hopes too high, I'm afraid. :unsure: Seeing as I first designed them years ago when I my sense of realism was less developed, the creatures aren't very plausible evolutionarily (defying the laws of physics in some cases), and they're really quite silly-looking. Even the names aren't very good (downright lame in a few cases). I've tinkered with making them more realistic, but like many of my personal projects, I've sort of abandoned them.

Anyway, personally I think your cartoon human(oid)s aren’t half bad.  I myself have always been so lousy at drawing humans that I’m embarrassed to even try.  And the Infected characters look to be very accurate, if comparison to IsisMasshiro’s L4D fanart is anything to go by. (Granted, I don’t know what the characters in the game actually look like, though I assume they’re at least semi-realistic.) I like the expression on the fat guy, and the angle at which you drew the Hunter character (nice job on the inside of his mouth, too ). And the red zigzaggy border of the big speech bubble looks awesome

Thanks!! And you should try!! Your LBT artwork looks awesome and I have confidence in your art style!!

That's so kind of you to say. :^.^: Thank you! (And I really ought to attend to my art thread… )

I'm glad you loved these pics!! In fact, I'mma start attempting to finish some of my Alien Planet pics!! Yayz!!

Glad to hear it. The piece you shared was one of my some of my favorite fanart from you.

In the picture, it shows the scene of when they first meet after being orphaned. After an adorable little confrontation that was supposed to be threatening, the Hunter soon discovers that the Smoker's tongue is a fun toy and tries to steal it, unaware that it's currently still attached to said Smoker....

Well, Smokers can detach and regrow their tongues, right? I think that Hunter's lucked out; he's found himself a living toy dispenser!

About the picture itself, I wanted to (here goes) make an accurate, non-cartoony version of how I think the baby Infected would look. I failed miserably (I can never make anything detailed enough or colored right to be realistic)! Oh well. *sigh*

I hear ya there. I'll probably never be able to draw anything realistically. Still, the detail of your drawing is very good (I'd say you're ahead of me in that department); maybe I'm just seeing things, but I could swear I can see some texturing there; maybe more practice with textures could help you make your drawings more realistic.

This one was one of the first Rattlesnake Jake drawings I made and I was stupid enough to try and draw scales *shudders*. But I like how it turned out in the case of humor and serving its purpose. I know there's tons of flaws as this was done early in my Rattlesnake Jake obsession. I don't like how the underside meets the ground and I messed up on the diamond pattern on his back. But oh, well!! It was fun and that's what matters.

Looking at that picture, it's easy to see how it would be a major pain to draw, but that's undoubtedly my favorite of your three Jake drawings, simply because of the amount of detail you put into it. His scales look awesome! Great detail on his face, too! (I realized some time after watching the movie that Jake is missing the heat-sensing pits rattlesnakes have; that's a shame, because if he did have them, then he'd be all the more awesome because he could aim his shots by targeting heat! ) His hat looks good as well, though it really does in all three images! And I'm amazed at how you drew each of the bullets on his bandolier fitted into their own individual pockets (I'll admit they look even better on the third picture, since the pockets are more closely and realistically spaced). As for constructive criticism, I suppose his body is a little short, and tapers in an odd-looking way (it should be about the same thickness until fairly close to the end); for some reason the mistakes you pointed out don’t bother me too much. Finally, as one of the most unlikely compliments you thought you’d receive on this picture, I really admire how you drew the little emotion-indicating swirl above Jake’s head. Whenever I try to draw those little tornado shapes to decorate a card or whatnot, I have such a hard time making them look good, and now I’m thinking it’s because I’m making the swirls overlap the wrong way. You’ve inspired me to try a new method.

The next two drawings are void of extreme scale detail as I won't be making that mistake again. But I tried to keep the humor up. Plus the added bonus of my lemur persona!! I have returned as my ring-tail self!! Enjoy:

I’m actually kind of sad you won’t be drawing Jake’s scales like that anymore. Still, scale detail aside, he does look more realistic in these other pictures. And though it’s hard to say given the size of the drawings, it looks to me like you’ve gotten better at drawing ring-tailed lemurs. Good for you!

This one's based off a random thought in my head. When I saw the scene where Jake drains his own venom in the cup, it reminded me of Mountain Dew, which is my favorite soda. Thus, this was born. I still think Jake's trying to kill me or something. Though technically, venom's safe to ingest, but in the world of Rango, that doesn't seem to be the case. *shrug*

Congrats on knowing the difference between poison and venom! Though venom still could be dangerous to drink if you had a cut in your mouth (that's one reason it's a bad idea to suck the venom out of a snakebite). Also, your comparison of the venom to Mountain Dew reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my brothers years ago about the JP Dilophosaurus’s venomous spit looking like chocolate pudding.

Remember little Ace and Tao in my last post? Well, here's Ace's family before he got orphaned, consisting of Mommy Witch, Daddy Smoker, and Little Witch Sister. Anyone willing to test these two protective parents? Anywho, I tried to keep to the realistic design that the game intended (without making it all cutesy like everyone else likes doing), and add some 'individuality' at the same time. All in all, Ace's mom and dad are close to generic. I made his mom's hair a bit longer than a regular Witch and I gave the father less tumors than a regular Smoker. Slight, differences, but efficient enough for me!

Less tumors than normal? Yeegh…For Ace’s sake, I hope he never picks up his subspecies’(?) smoking habit (unless the tumors have nothing to do with the smoking). Speaking of which, the kids are sure pretty tiny compared to their parents. Perhaps they’re more precocial than human infants (like ungulates and groundbirds that can walk within minutes of birth)? Anyway, great job drawing the kids hiding behind their parents’ legs; it really gets the “protective parents” theme across.

Yeah, I’ll admit that I wouldn’t quite call the image “realistic” in the 3D or photographic sense, but you still did a great job on the details like the Hunter’s shoelaces and tumors, and the Witch’s hair. The glowing outlines around the characters look neat, too.

Keep up the good work!

[DarkHououmon]

Wait, what? Venom is safe to ingest? I didn't know that. I thought it was dangerous swallowed or not. Do the stomach acids destroy the venom?

[Pangaea]

Well, I don't know about all animal venoms, but snake venom, at least, is apparently not dangerous to ingest. As I understand it, the distinction between venom and poison is that venom is specifically adapted to cause damage when it is injected into an animal's body via a bite, sting, or other inflicted wound, whereas poison can be effective if it is injected, swallowed, absorbed, and/or inhaled. So as long as an animal has no cuts, scrapes, ulcers, or other wounds in its mouth, esophagus, or stomach, it can eat a venomous snake without harm even if it is not immune to its venom. The venom will simply be digested. Still probably not a good idea to drink snake venom, though.

[FlipperBoidSkua]

kinda borrowing someone else's computer so my time usage is a bit limited. I'd probably edit my responses to be more detailed when I get back home

Sorry again for taking so *bleeping* long to respond. I'm afraid I'm not the reviewer I used to be.

It's alright, really!! Your reviews are well worth the wait! I certainly don't wanna add to your already busy schedule!!  

Well, you shouldn't get your hopes too high, I'm afraid. Seeing as I first designed them years ago when I my sense of realism was less developed, the creatures aren't very plausible evolutionarily (defying the laws of physics in some cases), and they're really quite silly-looking. Even the names aren't very good (downright lame in a few cases). I've tinkered with making them more realistic, but like many of my personal projects, I've sort of abandoned them.

That's alright, alot of my made up creatures are scientifically illogical and silly!! But it's okay if you abandoned them, I understand that completely. *casts a glance at the pile of drawings left unfinished*

 

That's so kind of you to say. Thank you! (And I really ought to attend to my art thread… )

Your welcomes!! Your art is very fun to look at and I still love that dino pen you have in one of your pictures!!

Glad to hear it. The piece you shared was one of my some of my favorite fanart from you.

I already have one of them outlined, but I'm not sure if I should color it with colored pencils or in my Photoshop...

Well, Smokers can detach and regrow their tongues, right? I think that Hunter's lucked out; he's found himself a living toy dispenser!

Yup, rip it off, it'll grow back in about 15 seconds!! But I never thought of Ace being a living toy dispenser....AWESOME!!!! I'm gonna make that some kind of gag in my story. You don't mind, do ya?  

I hear ya there. I'll probably never be able to draw anything realistically. Still, the detail of your drawing is very good (I'd say you're ahead of me in that department); maybe I'm just seeing things, but I could swear I can see some texturing there; maybe more practice with textures could help you make your drawings more realistic.

Exactly!! I don't know how people can do it! Maybe it'll be easier if it was painted on a canvas instead of using pencils or something. I dunno. But thanks for the encouraging words! *hugz*

As for constructive criticism, I suppose his body is a little short, and tapers in an odd-looking way (it should be about the same thickness until fairly close to the end); for some reason the mistakes you pointed out don’t bother me too much. Finally, as one of the most unlikely compliments you thought you’d receive on this picture, I really admire how you drew the little emotion-indicating swirl above Jake’s head. Whenever I try to draw those little tornado shapes to decorate a card or whatnot, I have such a hard time making them look good, and now I’m thinking it’s because I’m making the swirls overlap the wrong way. You’ve inspired me to try a new method.

Yeah, I think I shortened his body on purpose so it'd be less scales to draw! And I'm glad the swirly thing can be so inspiring; I never thought it'd be important.

I’m actually kind of sad you won’t be drawing Jake’s scales like that anymore. Still, scale detail aside, he does look more realistic in these other pictures. And though it’s hard to say given the size of the drawings, it looks to me like you’ve gotten better at drawing ring-tailed lemurs. Good for you!

Well, if you really like the scales I can probably get inspired to be that detailed with it. Especially if I have the time! Inspiration and motivation is probably what I need. And thanks about the ring-tail compliment! I guess I'm better drawing them at certain angles or something.

Congrats on knowing the difference between poison and venom! Though venom still could be dangerous to drink if you had a cut in your mouth (that's one reason it's a bad idea to suck the venom out of a snakebite). Also, your comparison of the venom to Mountain Dew reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my brothers years ago about the JP Dilophosaurus’s venomous spit looking like chocolate pudding.

Yes, it's one thing I'm proud of knowing! I guess that's a good thing, given that I wanna be a zoologist!! And chocolate pudding?! Man, I'm never gonna watch that Dilopho scene the same way again!!  

Less tumors than normal? Yeegh…For Ace’s sake, I hope he never picks up his subspecies’(?) smoking habit (unless the tumors have nothing to do with the smoking). Speaking of which, the kids are sure pretty tiny compared to their parents. Perhaps they’re more precocial than human infants (like ungulates and groundbirds that can walk within minutes of birth)? Anyway, great job drawing the kids hiding behind their parents’ legs; it really gets the “protective parents” theme across.

Many people believe that before Smoker's were infected, they've gotten throat and mouth cancer from smoking so much. The game doesn't actually say Smokers came from smoking humans, it's just implied with the tumors and constant hacking and wheezing noises the Smoker makes. But yeah, I'm gonna be sure to keep Ace far away from cigarette packs, as he'll be naturally drawn to them. And yeah, now that I have time to think, the little ones will be no more than a couple weeks old. The Infection has sped up their growth so, yeah, technically they'll be much more precocial than human babies.

Oh! And before I'm kicked off the computer I got three more pics that hold a special place in my heart. I was feeling in a paranormal/supernatural/cryptozoological/whatever mood when I looked through my old folders from when I was still in elementary school, when I was obsessed with that stuff. And I found old pics of my very first original characters from my first decent original story (back when my sentences were extremely choppy and the entire chapter was written in one humongous paragraph... : ). I took those three OCs and redrew them in their intended design that my then-crappy drawing skills couldn't handle. Now, I have the new drawings ready to be submitted and this will be the first time anyone ever viewed them in about 10 years!! Squeeeeee!!! They're very simple profile pics, but it's enough to get the point across.

The general plot of my first story was that a girl (who prefers to be called by her nickname of Xeno) saves the life of one cryptozoological creature and now has it as a constant companion. This leads to more paranormal encounters and leads to two more companions.

First up!! The one that started it all!!



Chupa, the Chupacabra!! Man, I was very creative with names back then, wasn't I? He appeared from the start, having been shot down by Xeno's neighbor. She couldn't let him die and took him in. After recovering in a remarkably short amount of time, he decided to stick around, traveling everywhere she goes, trying to hunt any animal nearby, and generally making a nuisance of himself. But Xeno and him share a strong bond regardless of the (sometimes painful) annoyances. The general profile...

Name: Chupa
Species: Chupacabra
Gender: Male
Personality: Aggressive and fearless; has a sarcastic sense of humor; protective and has a very strong dislike (aka, extreme hatred) of strangers; he can also be quite the bully
Physical Description: Dark brown fur; luminous red eyes; spikes down his back; 3-clawed hands; vestigial wings; small display structures on back of the shoulders; powerful legs
Abilities: High intellect; telepathy; mind-reading; general great athleticism
Special Quirks: Love eating poptarts; enjoys sleeping on warm laundry piles; and constantly makes failed attempts to kill his human companion's pets as a kind of running gag

Next:



Crypto, the Grey. He appeared in the story to reclaim Chupa, who was an alien experiment set free on Earth, and he was more than willing to use violent means to acheive it (aka, mindcontroling Chupa to kill Xeno). It all ends in Chupa breaking free of the mind-control and Crypto eventually being left behind on Earth himself. He now lives with Xeno. Of course, he and Chupa don't get along at all and in fact, Chupa makes constant attempts to kill him with vengance. One attempt almost succeeded, but Xeno stopped it just in time. Crypto recovered in a surprisingly short amount of time and has somewhat of a resulting...."fear" of his kind's own creation. Typical. Luckily, after Xeno gave him a long talk about helping others and forgiving their misdeeds, Chupa let up on Crypto from being murderous to being a relentless bully.

Profile
Name: Crypto
Species: Grey
Gender: Unidentifiable; is presumed to be male
Personality: Initially cold and effecient; being with a human, he learned to somewhat have a sense of humor, but remains highly dignified
Description: Large head; black, almond-shaped eyes; long thin legs and arms; physically weak; small nose and mouth; four fingers; wears a grey one-piece thingy
Abilities: High intelligence; technologically advanced; telepathy; telekinesis; mind-reading; memory-blocking; invisibility; limited mind-control
Special Quirks: Not much. He likes taking a shower in his one-piece with a shower cap on his head despite not having hair!!

Last, but not least:



This is Azul, the Hopkinsville Goblin. He appeared by chance, much like Chupa. He was injured and abandoned when found and brought back by Xeno. Chupa was suspicious of the newbie, but soon labeled him harmless after Azul displayed a timid nature of his new situation. Crypto soon informed Xeno and Chupa that Azul's race was peaceful and harmless in general, if not a bit juvenile in their curiosity and playful pranks. After recovering from his injuries, and assured that not all humans are hostile, Azul soon ditched his timidness and revealed the nature Crypto spoke about. The general profile:

Name: Azul
Species: Hopkinsville Goblin
Gender: Unidentifiable; presumed to be male
Personality: Initially cautious when brought in as experience and common knowledge has him believing the human race to be extremely hostile; but soon resumes his usual curious and mischeivous nature
Description: Entire being is luminous; Large and sensitive eyes and ears; long arms with clawed hands; powerfully built upper torso; short weak legs; mouth contains rows of needle-like teeth
Abilities: High intelligence; technologically advanced; levitation; telepathy; mind-reading; immune to gunfire
Special Quirks: Loves candy, sticking his head out the window of a moving car, and riding ceiling fans

This is short cause of time restrictions. If anyone has additional questions about these guys, just ask! Nighters!!

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Wow.....has it really been this long since I last posted anything here? I guess I haven't been feeling too motivated, but since adding a new pic to DA yesterday and having a nice chat with Pangaea, I decided to try my hardest to respark the previous amount of activity I once spent on this site.

So, despite the almost 3 months of inactivity on this thread, I'm ready to give it life once more with three of my newer pics from some of my favorite fandoms. The first is from Digimon and Pokemon!!



Probably not a lot of fans here, but that's okay!! These two are easy to find pics of to compare with if one's looking for accuracy!! Anyway, for those who can probably know what I'm talking about in the summary, please continue to the next paragraph!

I've always loved both Digimon and Pokemon, equally. I don't participate in the "zomg!! pokemon/digimon iz soooo much better than the other" fight most other fans of the franchises seem so willing to partake in. So don't take this pic the wrong way. Now that that's out of the way, the true picture summary:

I've been meaning to write a fanfic where the evil Digimon, Cherubimon (the giant purple bunny thing in the pic) is accidently transported into the Pokemon world. Unfortunately, I don't know where to go with the plot from there.... Well, to help with my problem, I introduced the concept to the awesome kickbutt RP I keep bringing up. My friend happily agreed to help me out and created a Pokemon Trainer named Stellaluna (like the famous children's book!) to 'assist' Cherubimon, somewhat against her will. Thanks to my best friend, I'm finally getting somewhere with this!!

Another thing: this is for revenge against that stupid Dragonite (the orange dragon thingy in the pic) that the Champion, Lance, has in the game Pokemon Yellow. I remember it clearly now.... Pokemon Yellow was the first Pokemon game I had and I remembered having a hard time defeating Lance's Dragonites when I first played. Heck, I still have a bit trouble with Dragonites now (why won't they just DIE!?). BTW, I do find Dragonites utterly adorable, but when I'm wasting all my PowerPoints trying to beat one, I don't care much about cuteness!!

Where am I getting with this rant? Well, one of the things we're doing in the RP is having Cherubimon battle in the Pokemon League to beat the crap out of Lance's Dragonite. Sorry Dragonite, it's not personal but....actually it is kinda personal. THIS IS FOR GIVING ME HELL!!!   Anyway, the humans think Cherubimon's an extremely rare Legendary Pokemon of sorts. Cherubimon and Stellaluna goes along with the charade, although Cherubimon occasionally gets irritated with the limitations of Pokemon, as stated in this convo that he (as a Lopmon) had with Stellaluna when she tells him that Pokemon can't return to their previous form once they evolve:

Lopmon : "What other limitations are there? They can't speak, they can't destroy each other, I can't get data from them, and now they can't even dedigivolve...."
Stellaluna : "That's about it, I think."
Lopmon : "Good. Before ya know it, you'll be saying I can't eat either."
-Then later he figures out that Pokemon actually die too...-

How did this battle go about? Well, we're not on that part of the RP yet. All I have is that Cherubimon (who's still currently going about as a Lopmon) can't defeat Dragonite in his Rookie Stage (he's getting pwned, in other words), so he 'evolved' into Cherubimon and turns the tables on the poor Dragon-type.

Now to something non-fans can probably comprehend. I once more colored this via Photoshop and didn't bother with shadings....but I actually put a background in for once!! Oh!! And there's yet another Hidden Mickey in the pic, try to find it!!

This next one also has to do with Pokemon, so bear with me....



Dear Zotz, my handwriting sucks. For those who can't read it:
Sorel: It says here that Psychic types are weak against Bugs...
Lugia: Why Bugs?
Sorel: Dunno. Lots of these type weaknesses makes no friggin' sense...

This pic features a baby-version of a Pokemon known as Shadow Lugia, codenamed XD001 (the adult version's in my new avatar!). Lugias are psychic birds of the Legendary status and Shadow Lugia made its first and only appearance in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, making him one of a kind. Of course, with him being evil and looking hardcore, I love him to bits and when that happens, it finds its way into that beloved RP with my friend. My pal, a fellow Pokemon fan, was more than happy and created the human character in this pic, named Sorel.

In the RP, Shadow Lugia has just been created in a lab and Sorel is his human caretaker as he's still a baby and has much to learn of the world. As a rule, Shadow Pokemon are selfish, largely-emotionless (largely cause they can still feel anger and hatred and stuff) creatures that care for nobody but themselves. XD001 is no exception, even as a baby. However, Sorel is (at first, unintentionally and subconsciously) trying to teach Lugia how to care for others before he grows up with his heart fully closed off to all things good. Good luck with that, is all I can say...

The pic itself is part 1 in a series I like to call Nintendo Logic. Basically it brings up things I find highly confusing in these Pokemon games, such as type-weaknesses as shown here. Most of them do make sense (Fire weak to water, water weak to electric, etc.) but others are so weird (dragon weak to ice, psychic weak to bug, etc  :huh: ).

It was hand colored for once, for old time's sake. I see mistakes such as table angles, but they don't bother me too much. The thing I have most issue of is Sorel.... I can't emphasize it enough how difficult it is for me to draw humans....

Before I go into another Pokemon rant you guys probably don't wanna hear, here's the third pic that has nothing to do with Pokemon or Digimon.



Those who are fans of the Lilo and Stitch franchise might be familiar with this little guy!! My favorite of all the alien experiments: The electric fluffball Experiment 221, known as Sparky!!

Man, I love this guy sooooo much, he was the one that fully inspired the name I go by!! Doesn't help that 21 happens to be my favorite number!! Needless to say, this genetic extraterrestrial mutant is very special to me. I find it a horrible shame that he wasn't given much attention after his official debut in Stitch! The Movie. I mean, he's the very first 'cousin' Stitch ever met; there's so much potential to be used. But at least he makes some cameos in the TV series and in Leroy and Stitch. I don't really watch the Japanese anime version titled Stitch! very often. Really I mostly just watched the episode where Sparky made his first appearance.....as a evil mind-controlled bad***   !!! Really, he was the only good thing in the show in my opinion!! But once more, after he made his debut in that one episode, he was cast aside for other, "more important" experiments *glares in Angel's direction*. 221 needs more love... He doesn't even have his own plushy...

Anyway, this picture was inspired by a Sparky fanfic I recently wrote. I made up a 'waking ritual' that he follows every time he stirs from sleep. It's a ritual mentioned only briefly, but it was such a cute image, I had to draw it!! AWWWWWWWW!!! I can't love this dude enough!!! *hugs Sparky*

Well, three new pics!! Probably not much to look at for some, but hopefully, it'll be enough to spring this thread back to life! Cheers!!

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Got two art works you guys might or might not be interested in! One's an older one and one's a newer one! They're both on the same subject, so I figured I'll submit them together.

Here's the older one:



Inspired by my favorite meme!! Back when I was in Air Force training (specifically Tech School), I made two friends who sadly I no longer have contact with. While my two friends were on CQ duty, I kept them company and began drawing for them. Ultimately, I made marine mammal personas for us: myself as a leopard seal, one friend as a polar bear, and the other as a bottlenosed dolphin.

Now, I always love doing the BUKKIT meme, so one time, I made my polar bear friend my bucket and she was less than pleased!! So this was essentially based on a real life interaction!!

Now the second one is again of our marine mammal personas, just chillin and hanging out.



Sigh.... those were the good ol' days, just using each other as pillows. Nothing to say for this one, but.... CUTENESS!!

FUN FACT: Yes, a polar bear's tongue is blue, but did ya also know their fur isn't really white? Each individual hair is actually clear! And the bear's skin is black! It's funny how optical illusions work!

[Pangaea]

FINALLY I’ve managed to post in this thread again! (I mean, seriously, twenty blorping months? Is that really how long it took me? :blink:) Even though you’re probably going to tell me not to worry about it, I’m sorry for taking so long.

Chupa:
Even though I can tell he’s based on the same design as the Jackie Chan Adventures Chupacabra, this one looks a lot closer to some of the pictures I’ve seen of what the real-world cryptid supposedly looks like (Perhaps that was intentional on your part). I think this is my favorite of the three cryptids you’ve drawn here. You did a great job drawing the limbs, hands, and feet (I particularly like how you did the proportions and joints on his left leg in the larger picture), and maybe it’s just me, but the way his wings are folded looks very natural, like what you would see in a bat or some other creature with a similar wing structure. Most of all, I love the amount of personality in his face. His eyes seem surprisingly expressive, considering their complete lack of pupils, and I love the way the line of his mouth is curved. Somehow it makes me think of animals like cats, crocodiles, penguins, bearded dragons, etc., whose mouths are set in more or less fixed positions that don’t allow them to be particularly expressive, yet still manage (from an anthropomorphic perspective at least) to exude a range of emotions based on the simplest of changes in the face (like a closed eye or slightly gaped jaw).

Strangely enough, the main issue I have with Chupa’s design are his nostrils (if that’s what those two black dots on his forehead are); I’m not sure it would be physically possible for nostril openings to be that close to the eyeballs, seeing as you’d need to have space for both the nasal passages and the eye sockets. The way his third and fourth head spines are bent in completely opposite directions also looks a little strange, though I find it clever that you have those first three spines curled forward to emulate a hairstyle.

Pop-tarts…now that’s a hilariously random favorite food for a Chupacabra. And the mental image of him sleeping on a pile of laundry is adorable! I’d get pretty uncomfortable having him around if he was always hunting my pets, though…


Crypto:
Personally I don’t find Crypto as interesting as the other two cryptids (mainly because I’ve never cared much for Greys or other human-like aliens; they’re just too boring for me ), but I’ve still managed to find things I like about him. I love the idea that he wears a cap in the shower; that’s hilarious! (I remember a joke just like that in a Three Stooges episode.) Crypto’s legs look to be a little too far apart, and his right leg looks a little shapeless, but you did a pretty good job on his left leg and arm (and his left hand looks fantastic).

I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but his mouth in the upper left picture is a little asymmetrical, which makes him look annoyed. And that’s a good thing; I think it works well for him. I also like how you’ve apparently given him a slightly different head shape from a human or typical Grey alien, judging by the semi-profile view in the larger drawing (though maybe that was unintentional, too). The way his nostrils and mouth both appear to be farther in front of his eyes than a humans, and you can draw an almost straight line from his “nose” to his mouth, it’s almost as if he’s got an extremely flattened muzzle, like an ape or monkey, as opposed to slits on a completely flat face or a preposterously tiny version of a human nose. (Seriously, am I the only one to notice what bizarre noses humans have? They stick straight out from the rest of the face, the nostrils face downward, and they’re completely separate from the lips and mouth. I can’t help but think we must look incredibly ugly to most other species. )

Abilities: High intelligence; technologically advanced; telepathy; telekinesis; mind-reading; memory-blocking; invisibility; limited mind-control

Sheesh… Overpowered, much?


Azul:
Though his overall design isn’t nearly as interesting to me as Chupa’s, I love the personality you’ve given to this guy. Weirdly enough I find the front view of his face to be a little creepy-looking, but in the other (larger) view I think he looks cute. I think you did an awesome job on the hands (in both pictures), but his feet look rather strange to me. It looks like he’s wearing socks; I can’t tell how many toes he has (if any), and I can’t see any claws or nails, which seems odd given that he has claws on his hands.

Likes candy and pranks? I’ll bet he loves Halloween. Can he control his own luminosity? He could be a living Halloween lawn decoration! The sticking his head out of car windows and ceiling fan riding quirks are really funny, too.

I’m starting to notice a pattern of these guys getting injured before bonding with Xeno… How exactly did Azul get hurt, if he’s tough enough not to be damaged by bullets? (By the way, I was surprised to find out that that was a real reported trait of the Hopskinville Goblins; you really did your homework on these guys!)


Cherubimon Vs. Dragonite:
I know next to nothing about Digimon, so I can’t come up with much to say about Cherubimon. Honestly, I think he’s kind of silly-looking (though don’t tell him I said that ); when I look at his ears and the collar around his neck I can’t help but think of a jester outfit.

I am very familiar with PokÈmon (I first got into them about 12 or 13 years because I realy liked their designs and thought they made for really interesting fictional animals; later I heard about Digimon, but I already had my obsession and so I paid no attention to them). I honestly think your Dragonite looks cuter than most of the official artwork I’ve seen (Personally I’ve never liked Dragonite’s design as much as its pre-evolutions’). I honestly can’t help but feel bad for it, even though I’ve had my own share of royal-pain-in-the-neck PokÈmon opponents.

I found the Hidden Mickey, by the way; it’s on the lightning bolt.


Nintendo Logic:
I dunno, maybe Bug is strong against Psychic because it’s hard to concentrate on using telekinesis when there’s a fly buzzing around your head. As for Dragon’s weakness to Ice…the best theory I can come up with is that there seems to be a tendency in fiction for giant, powerful, rampaging monsters to become encased and immobilized in glaciers and icecaps. I agree, though; a lot of the other type strengths and weaknesses make no sense whatsoever. Why is Bug strong against Dark? Why is Poison only strong against Grass, and not Bug? Why is Psychic strong against Poison? Why are there four types that are strong offensively against Ice, but Ice is only strong defensively against itself? And don’t get me started on the Dark type…

Ahem…on to the picture:

Shadow Lugia is really cute. (I wish Lugia’s Shiny sprite had those colors…) This is pretty much the picture that inspired me to put him on your star day card. And I think you did pretty well drawing the human character (Clever of you to hide as much of her as possible behind the book so that you wouldn't have to draw an entire human, by the way ). I also love the colors in this picture, particularly Shadow Lugia’s shade of purple. I think it’s awesome that you hand colored it. And for the record, I had no problem reading your handwriting.


Sparky’s Waking Ritual:
Wow, so you came up with this entire sequence of waking/stretching positions yourself? That is, they aren’t based on any scenes from the movies where Sparky is seen waking up? (I wouldn’t know because I’ve only ever seen the original Lilo and Stitch.) This is a pretty elaborate series of poses; it almost makes me think you could be a storyboard artist! My favorite image in the sequence is the one where his hair is all fuzzed out, though I also really like the first one where he’s asleep.

One more thing I just realized: those antennae of his look an awful lot like jumper cables. I guess Sparky could be a useful companion on a long road trip in case your car battery died.


My Bucket:
Despite the relative simplicity of the drawing, this is a picture I really enjoy. As I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you, I too adore the “lolrus” meme. (The words “bucket” and “walrus” have become so entrenched in my mental vocabulary that I find myself using them all the time in various contexts, such as as expletives, or while randomly talking to myself. ) Prior to the creation of this piece, I seriously doubt that there had ever been a reenactment of the “lolrus” meme that featured a leopard seal as the star pinniped, or, for that matter, that a polar bear had ever played the role of the bucket. Needless to say, it was this picture that inspired me to draw a derpy leopard seal with a bucket on its head on your star day card.

I actually think you did a great job drawing the leopard seal; good enough that I immediately recognized it as such the first time I saw the picture. Not only is the shape of the head spot-on, but you included claws on the flippers, and from what I can see of the teeth, it looks like you at least attempted to give it the multi-pronged molars that real leopard seals have.

I also like this picture because I find it hugely refreshing to see a leopard seal being silly for once, since the vast majority of leopard seal images out there (including every. single. movie ever made in which leopard seals are featured, and about 99% of all nature documentaries) depict a ruthless predator, usually lurking beneath the edge of an ice shelf waiting to devour a helpless penguin. They’re awesome, don’t get me wrong, but surely leopard seals have a curious, playful side and cute fluffy pups just like any other seal. Personally I think they’re one of the most unfairly portrayed marine mammals in popular media, so I really appreciate your choice to draw a happy, goofy leopard seal just playing around (and, in the next picture, relaxing). For that matter, I think it’s pretty awesome that you chose a leopard seal as your marine mammal persona in the first place; I can’t imagine most people picking a leopard seal over a polar bear, dolphin, orca, whale, sea lion, or sea otter.


Just Chillin’:
I just love this image. All of the characters look incredibly cute. [img]http://i5.ifrm.com/1676/156/emo/dino_happier.gif
[img] I love the expressions on the dolphin and leopard seal, which look almost like what you could expect to see on the faces of those animals in real life. Initially I interpreted your leopard seal crittersona (that’s going to be the term I use for animal personas from now on ) as having her eye cracked open, and peering out the corner of it at the other two, as if even she couldn’t resist the cuteness of her friends sleeping. Then I realized that the eyes are meant to be solid black, and the white part just represents a reflection off the pupil. And while I’m not sure how comfortable a dolphin would be taking a nap out of water, it looks adorable, especially in conjunction with the polar bear having its paws hanging over the dolphin’s back. (Be careful not to cover the blowhole, though!)

FUN FACT: Yes, a polar bear's tongue is blue, but did ya also know their fur isn't really white? Each individual hair is actually clear! And the bear's skin is black! It's funny how optical illusions work!

Just to add on to that, in case you’ve ever heard that polar bear hairs are like fiber optic cables that conduct sunlight down so that the heat is absorbed by the skin, I learned a few years ago that that’s actually a myth. Polar bear fur is an effective enough insulator on its own that the bear has no need for an additional source of heat. In fact, polar bears are often at risk of overheating in the summer, when the sun beats down on them twenty-four hours a day, even without high-tech, heat-absorbent fiber-optic fur.

Woohoo! Finally caught up on reviewing the artwork in this thread!

[FlipperBoidSkua]

Even though you’re probably going to tell me not to worry about it, I’m sorry for taking so long.

Hehe, you read my mind! It's really no problem at all! Really, I'm sorry myself for constantly adding more pics and bombarding you with newer and newer stuff to add to your review!

Even though I can tell he’s based on the same design as the Jackie Chan Adventures Chupacabra, this one looks a lot closer to some of the pictures I’ve seen of what the real-world cryptid supposedly looks like (Perhaps that was intentional on your part).

Actually, I based his design on a show called Animal X, when they did an episode of the chupacabra. I actually watched the Choopie episode of JCA after I conceived the character. HOWEVER, drawing this new design, I DID use the JCA's chupacabra as a color reference!!

Most of all, I love the amount of personality in his face. His eyes seem surprisingly expressive, considering their complete lack of pupils, and I love the way the line of his mouth is curved. Somehow it makes me think of animals like cats, crocodiles, penguins, bearded dragons, etc., whose mouths are set in more or less fixed positions that don’t allow them to be particularly expressive, yet still manage (from an anthropomorphic perspective at least) to exude a range of emotions based on the simplest of changes in the face (like a closed eye or slightly gaped jaw).

I LOVE drawing animals that are realistic, yet still show emotions and personality via their face. I especially like the ones you've mentions, with fixed expressions, as they provide an extra fun challenge in making them interesting and distinguishable! I'm glad it worked so well with Chupa!!

Strangely enough, the main issue I have with Chupa’s design are his nostrils (if that’s what those two black dots on his forehead are); I’m not sure it would be physically possible for nostril openings to be that close to the eyeballs, seeing as you’d need to have space for both the nasal passages and the eye sockets. The way his third and fourth head spines are bent in completely opposite directions also looks a little strange, though I find it clever that you have those first three spines curled forward to emulate a hairstyle.

I believe I done those hole-thingies because they were prominent in the CGI model in Animal X. Back then, I remember interpretating it as some adaptation that allows Chupa to better receive telephathic messages from others as well as receiving the brain-waves that allows him to read minds. In present times, I'm not too sure if that would work, but I too think they're rather odd. I'm now unsure what their function is... :unsure:

And the hair-style thing is something I can't resist. Even the old-style Chupa had those! I just LOVE giving my character's bangs.

Pop-tarts…now that’s a hilariously random favorite food for a Chupacabra.  And the mental image of him sleeping on a pile of laundry is adorable! I’d get pretty uncomfortable having him around if he was always hunting my pets, though…

I don't remember why I chose pop-tarts anymore, but I agree in that it's hilarious! And I'm certain I'll be making a Chupa sleeping drawing, it's just too cute! Another cute thing he does is his Begging Face. He makes his eyes extra big and shiny, holds his claws together under his chin, and sticks the very tip of his tongue out. It's a look Xeno can't resist and a weakness Chupa exploits often.

And no worries, Xeno's well aware that Chupa won't harm her babies (not like he has much success in hunting them anyway : ).

Crypto:
Personally I don’t find Crypto as interesting as the other two cryptids (mainly because I’ve never cared much for Greys or other human-like aliens; they’re just too boring for me ), but I’ve still managed to find things I like about him. I love the idea that he wears a cap in the shower; that’s hilarious!  (I remember a joke just like that in a Three Stooges episode.)

I think I did intend Crypto to be a bit blander than the other two, as if to emphasize the difference between them. And I never actually watched the Three Stooges; I think the shared joke is AWESOME.

I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but his mouth in the upper left picture is a little asymmetrical, which makes him look annoyed.

No, it wasn't intentional, but I LIKE IT!!! :!

Seriously, am I the only one to notice what bizarre noses humans have? They stick straight out from the rest of the face, the nostrils face downward, and they’re completely separate from the lips and mouth. I can’t help but think we must look incredibly ugly to most other species.

Nope!! You're not the only one, buddy!! I think our flat faces and our (rather sad) lack of a tail and natural coat makes us rather odd looking to other animals!!

Sheesh… Overpowered, much?

Yes! Yes, he is!! I think I was making up for the fact that Xeno herself can beat him up in a physical fight! Plus, he needs all that power to defend himself from Chupa on a regular basis!

Weirdly enough I find the front view of his face to be a little creepy-looking, but in the other (larger) view I think he looks cute.

Yes! I'm not the only one to find the front view creepy! It's the eyes, I swear!! I once made a collage of different facial expressions for Azul and one of them (a look he makes when he's hungry) is genuinely unnerving: he stares intently at you with his mouth open enough to show his rows of sharp teeth whilst drooling excessively. And he won't stop staring until you give him food...

but his feet look rather strange to me. It looks like he’s wearing socks; I can’t tell how many toes he has (if any), and I can’t see any claws or nails, which seems odd given that he has claws on his hands.

Yeah, the pictures I've seen of what these goblins supposively looks like doesn't really show nails or claws on the feet. But he does have toes, so yay!

Likes candy and pranks? I’ll bet he loves Halloween.  Can he control his own luminosity? He could be a living Halloween lawn decoration!

I actually have a very old picture drawn of him during Halloween! He's dressed as a Pumpkin! And another picture draw of the the same Halloween night had him passed out from eating so much candy, with Chupa walking by with this unimpressed look on his face!!

And yeah, Azul has both conscious and unconscious control of his glowing. Many of his pranks (which takes place at night, seeing how he's naturally nocturnal) has him dimming his lights so he can't be seen and it's also something he did when Xeno first found him so as not to draw attention to himself (which failed regardless). I also ready that when shot at, the goblins flash brighter when they're hit, something I interprete as being an involuntary response.

I’m starting to notice a pattern of these guys getting injured before bonding with Xeno… How exactly did Azul get hurt, if he’s tough enough not to be damaged by bullets? (By the way, I was surprised to find out that that was a real reported trait of the Hopskinville Goblins; you really did your homework on these guys!)

Yeah, back then, I couldn't really conceive of any other way for them to bond with this unassuming human girl.

Azul's injuries were made ambiguous as I was leading to a big reveal. Unfortunately, I never made it that far in the story and I don't remember what that reveal was anymore. Sorry

And yes, being so obsessed with them and of Chupacabras leads me to do as much research and watch as many relevant documentaries of them as I possibly can!!

Honestly, I think he’s kind of silly-looking (though don’t tell him I said that ); when I look at his ears and the collar around his neck I can’t help but think of a jester outfit.

He does look pretty silly, doesn't he? He looks a lot more intimidating when they keep him in the shadows (which, luckily, they do most of the time). I think the jester look was intentional, seeing as how his fellows, Seraphimon and Ophanimon, are based off knights and other medieval designs.

I am very familiar with PokÈmon (I first got into them about 12 or 13 years because I realy liked their designs and thought they made for really interesting fictional animals; later I heard about Digimon, but I already had my obsession and so I paid no attention to them).

I definitely agree with you! The whole reason I fell in love with Pokemon to begin with is because they're soooo obviously based on animals (amongst other things). I never really cared for the human characters... But I have lost interest in the newest generation. The Diamond version is the furthest I got, and even then, I don't play it as much as my older games.

I honestly think your Dragonite looks cuter than most of the official artwork I’ve seen (Personally I’ve never liked Dragonite’s design as much as its pre-evolutions’). I honestly can’t help but feel bad for it, even though I’ve had my own share of royal-pain-in-the-neck PokÈmon opponents.

Awwwww!! Thank you!!! Especially since I find Dragonite adorable as it is! And I don't blame you if you like Dratini and Dragonair's design better, as Dragonite seems kinda...off compared to them. And apparently, he does for a reason. The reason he looks so different from his pre-evolutions and why he's such a pain-in-the-neck to beat is because he was originally intended to be a stand-alone Legendary Pokemon. Then Nintendo changed their minds and added him to the Dratini evolutionary line. I guess it doesn't really matter overall, but I found it interesting enough to share!

I found the Hidden Mickey, by the way; it’s on the lightning bolt.

Yayz!! I love it when people find my Hidden Mickeys!!

I dunno, maybe Bug is strong against Psychic because it’s hard to concentrate on using telekinesis when there’s a fly buzzing around your head.

That's actually pretty close. According to a lot of people who commented on the pic in DA, the types Psychics are weak against (Bugs, Dark, and Ghost) are actually based on common fears! I guess the logic is that people can't think straight when confronted with something they're afraid of. Although I agree, plenty of the weaknesses you pointed out make no sense (although that Dragon fact seems pretty legit!)

Shadow Lugia is really cute. (I wish Lugia’s Shiny sprite had those colors…) This is pretty much the picture that inspired me to put him on your star day card. And I think you did pretty well drawing the human character  (Clever of you to hide as much of her as possible behind the book so that you wouldn't have to draw an entire human, by the way ). I also love the colors in this picture, particularly Shadow Lugia’s shade of purple. I think it’s awesome that you hand colored it.  And for the record, I had no problem reading your handwriting.

I too wish Lugia's Shiny looked like this!! I once spent a LOT of man-hours searching of a way to get Shadow Lugia in my games (unfortunately you can't trade him from Gale of Darkness to the hand-held games <_< ), but I can't hack to save my life....

That book was a life saver!! I still no like drawing humans (although, I think I'm getting better)!

It's been a while since I hand-colored a picture. My colored pencils feel rejected!

And yayz!! Someone who can read my handwriting!! You're one of the few to say that actually!!

Wow, so you came up with this entire sequence of waking/stretching positions yourself? That is, they aren’t based on any scenes from the movies where Sparky is seen waking up? (I wouldn’t know because I’ve only ever seen the original Lilo and Stitch.) This is a pretty elaborate series of poses; it almost makes me think you could be a storyboard artist! My favorite image in the sequence is the one where his hair is all fuzzed out,  though I also really like the first one where he’s asleep.

One more thing I just realized: those antennae of his look an awful lot like jumper cables. I guess Sparky could be a useful companion on a long road trip in case your car battery died.

Yup!! Made it all up myself in my Sparky fanfic! I don't think I've ever seen Sparky sleep in the series now that I think about it!!

Wow, I never noticed how his antennae look like cables!! That's AWESOME :! !!! He probably would be useful, if he doesn't blow it up (Sparky's voltage is so powerful, so far only a lighthouse proved strong enough to take it) or eat it (yes, Sparky eats batteries!)  

Prior to the creation of this piece, I seriously doubt that there had ever been a reenactment of the “lolrus” meme that featured a leopard seal as the star pinniped, or, for that matter, that a polar bear had ever played the role of the bucket.

Whoa....originality coming from me? I'm scared!! If it wasn't for the real-life scenario this was based upon, I don't think I'd ever expect seeing a pic like this either!!

I actually think you did a great job drawing the leopard seal; good enough that I immediately recognized it as such the first time I saw the picture. Not only is the shape of the head spot-on, but you included claws on the flippers, and from what I can see of the teeth, it looks like you at least attempted to give it the multi-pronged molars that real leopard seals have.

That's very good to hear, since my other attempts at drawing leopard seals has ended miserably. I especially seem to have a hard time drawing the leopard seal from Happy Feet, which sucks seeing how popular he is in my Happy Feet fanfics... I guess this lolrus style is the way to go then!!

I also like this picture because I find it hugely refreshing to see a leopard seal being silly for once, since the vast majority of leopard seal images out there (including every. single. movie ever made in which leopard seals are featured, and about 99% of all nature documentaries) depict a ruthless predator, usually lurking beneath the edge of an ice shelf waiting to devour a helpless penguin. They’re awesome, don’t get me wrong, but surely leopard seals have a curious, playful side and cute fluffy pups just like any other seal. Personally I think they’re one of the most unfairly portrayed marine mammals in popular media, so I really appreciate your choice to draw a happy, goofy leopard seal just playing around (and, in the next picture, relaxing). For that matter, I think it’s pretty awesome that you chose a leopard seal as your marine mammal persona in the first place; I can’t imagine most people picking a leopard seal over a polar bear, dolphin, orca, whale, sea lion, or sea otter.

Agreed, but I guess it was that depiction that got me to love them in the first place (ah, my villain side talking). It would definitely be refreshing to see something different though. Must be why I love that Wild Kingdom episode about a leopard seal befriending a human. I think that's the closest we'll get to a lovable leopard seal in the media.

I can't imagine my marine mammal crittersona to be anything else. As much as I love orcas and admit to them being my favorite sea animal and among my favorite animal period, leopard seals just have a very special place in my heart. It's my inner childhood speaking

Initially I interpreted your leopard seal crittersona (that’s going to be the term I use for animal personas from now on ) as having her eye cracked open, and peering out the corner of it at the other two, as if even she couldn’t resist the cuteness of her friends sleeping.

Why do I have this sense of deja vu? Like I once had a dream of reading that comment.... Oh well!

As seen in my response above, I'mma be using the crittersona term now too!!

And while I’m not sure how comfortable a dolphin would be taking a nap out of water, it looks adorable, especially in conjunction with the polar bear having its paws hanging over the dolphin’s back.

I thought the same thing, but then my mind went, "CUTENESS OUTWEIGHS ALL LOGIC!!1!!one!!!eleven!!!"

Just to add on to that, in case you’ve ever heard that polar bear hairs are like fiber optic cables that conduct sunlight down so that the heat is absorbed by the skin, I learned a few years ago that that’s actually a myth. Polar bear fur is an effective enough insulator on its own that the bear has no need for an additional source of heat. In fact, polar bears are often at risk of overheating in the summer, when the sun beats down on them twenty-four hours a day, even without high-tech, heat-absorbent fiber-optic fur.

Wow, I don't think I've heard of that memo. It's very interesting even if its a myth.

Woohoo! Finally caught up on reviewing the artwork in this thread!

*plays celebratory carnival music!!*

[FlipperBoidSkua]

I separated this submission from my reply so you won’t have to feel obliged to review in your response, Pangy!!

Alright, I’m gonna limit it to two pics so as not to overwhelm! I certainly don’t want ya to feel rushed in reviewing Pangy, so again take the time you need!

This first one came from an old fanfic of mine; it was one of my first on FF.net, but I removed it cuz it sucked big time. It was based on the children’s book, Crickwing, written by the same author as Stellaluna. I loved that book sooo much!! Anywho, I drew a pic of a scene from my story, depicting the first meeting between the two protagonists.

Scouting up the massive trunk of a tree, Private kept her small eyes peeled for any movement, movement that always equalled food. However, the tree was mostly empty; apparently the residents knew of her presence and has hidden.

Like she needed to this job to be harder...

Oh well, at least she's getting much needed practice. Maybe she'll find something so good, she'll advance in her rank! Her antennae perked at the thought.

So absorbed she was in her ambitious imaginings, she didn't notice that there was movement right in front of her.

Dirt could barely see where she was going, carrying such a large leaf. She was the only one of her colony in this tree, having scouted it out and is now taking a sample of it back to the nest.

But that job was interrupted when she slammed into something and vice versa. Yelping, she lost balance and fell from the twig, only one set of her claws keeping her from the long fall to the forest floor. Whimpering, she flailed a bit, trying to climb back on the twig. But her cargo wasn't making it easy.

Glancing back towards movement, she spotted an soldier army ant staring at her with antennae tilting forward in curiosity. Dirt didn't like the close proximity with the larger ant, especially not of those massive jaws, but she had no choice....

"H-hey!" Dirt called out to the other insect, voice muffled by the leaf sample. "Help me out and pull me up. Please?"

Private tilted her head, unsure of what to do. This must be one of those leaf-cutter ants her colony often spoke of. Not food, not a threat, why should she care? Still she was curious of the little ant's flailing, wondering why she couldn't just drop the piece of vegetation and pull herself up.

"Just let go of the leaf." she told Dirt, who shook her head vigorously.

"I can't!" she protested. "A leaf-cutter ant never loses her leaf!"

'Well, that's stupid,' was the only thought going through Private's mind...

Private the Army ant and Dirt the Leaf-Cutter ant. All I can say is that I genuinely like how this picture came out! Drawing insects has always been my specialty (seeing how a TON of my OCs are arthropods of some sort) and I think this one kinda shows it. The thing that bothers me is mainly the scaling. In Crickwing, the two ant species aren’t truly in the same picture together, so I had to use the Crickwing character himself to make the judgement. I’m not too sure the real-life size comparisons of the two, although I heard that Army ants are pretty large.

Not much else to say unfortunately. Private’s antennae also bug me though (pun not intended).

P.S. Army ants are technically blind, but for the sake of this story, Private's got some amount of eyesight!!

Now let’s end this on a sadder note. I’ve been waiting to submit this pic here for a while, so much so that I had the description pre-written in my documents. It’s another Pokemon picture, so yeah.

I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom to make it all better
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom who will love me whatever

I want a mom to take my hand
And make me feel like a holiday
A mom to tuck me in at night
and chase the monsters away
I want a mom to read me stories
And sing a lullaby
And if I have a bad dream to hold me when I cry

Oh,
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom to make it all better
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever

And when she says to me, she will always be there
To watch and protect me, I don't have to be scared
Oh, and when she says to me "I will always love you"
I won't need to worry 'cause I'll know that it's true

I want a mom when I get lonely
Who will take the time to play
A mom who can be a friend and find a rainbow when it's gray
I want a mom to read me stories
And sing a lullaby
And if I have a bad dream, to hold me when I cry

Oh,
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom to make it all better
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom to make it all better
I want a mom that will last forever
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever
I want a mom
I want a mom
I want a mom that'll last forever
I want a mom that'll last forever
I want a mom
I want a mom
I want a mom that'll last forever
I want a mom
I want a mom that'll last forever
I want a mom that'll last forever
I want a mom...

I’ve been playing my older Pokemon games lately (particularly the Yellow version) and it only now just hit me how dark the Pokemon franchise was in its early days. Particularly with the infamous city of Lavender Town, which is dedicated specifically to Death. Firstly, it’s the place where you find out that you had a direct hand in the death of one of your rival’s Pokemon. Apparently, in your last battle with him, you critically injured his Raticate, and unable to seek help in time, the little rat Pokemon died. Your rival’s in Lavender Town to bury his friend and one of the first things he says to you is if you know what it’s like to lose a friend. AND if killing your rival’s Pokemon isn’t enough, the whole reason your there is pretty gruesome. Here’s the story for any who’s unfamiliar with what I’m talking about:

The main villains of the game, an organization called Team Rocket, is killing baby Cubones for the black market. One of the Cubone’s mother tries to save her baby, but is shot and killed. Now her restless spirit haunts the top floor of Pokemon Tower (a Pokemon cemetery) and attacks any intruders. Your job is to defeat her in battle (effectively ëkilling’ her a second time) so that she can pass on and rest in peace.

Then that leaves little Cubone, who I believe is the saddest Pokemon EVER conceived in the entire franchise. These tiny orphan Pokemon wear their mothers’ skull in mourning and NEVER removes it, so nobody knows what their real faces look like. They also carry another of their mothers’ bones as a club to defend themselves in a harsh and cruel world. During the day, these little guys typically act cold and distant with strangers for two supposed reasons: 1) they don’t know who they can trust and 2) having lost their mothers, they’re afraid of losing anybody else. But during the night, it is said that the shrill cries of these Pokemon can be heard for miles. These mournful sounds are even louder during a full moon. This is because the baby Pokemon sees the image of their mother’s face in the moon   . They cry so often and so heavily, that their tears have left permanent streaks in the skull they wear. Their story and sorrow is so powerful, that I read that the infamous Lavender Town theme is officially called Cubone’s Pain. A sad, yet beautiful version of the song can be heard here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdq1BqECfCs

Now about the actual picture. It was inspired by the song quoted above. Cubone itself is an easy Pokemon to draw, but that skull is evil. I also didn’t put too much effort in the Kangaskhan in the background. I just added it simply as a nod to a fan-theory that Cubones are actually baby Kangaskhan and that the stress of living on their own leads them to follow a different evolutionary line. I personally don't think I buy into it. *shrugs*

Also, the Golbat was fun, especially since I added it mainly to have a baby Zubat clinging to her, like some real-life bats. And poor little Cubone...

Anywho, enjoy!

[Pangaea]

Really, I'm sorry myself for constantly adding more pics and bombarding you with newer and newer stuff to add to your review!

Seriously, Flippy*, that's not something you have to apologize for. I'm just a slow reviewer and you're a fast artist (and I think most people would agree with my opinion that the latter quality is far more desirable and commendable than the former); don't limit yourself and your creativity just to make things convenient for me.

*That's your new nickname. …No, actually I like Sparky much better, but who says I can't have two nicknames for someone? (I mean, provided that said person doesn't find the nickname irritating. :unsure:)

Actually, I based his design on a show called Animal X, when they did an episode of the chupacabra. I actually watched the Choopie episode of JCA after I conceived the character. HOWEVER, drawing this new design, I DID use the JCA's chupacabra as a color reference!!

Oh. Shows you what I know! : I'll admit I did think it looked slimmer than the JCA version, but I still thought I saw some physical similarities, and the colors definitely threw me off.

I LOVE drawing animals that are realistic, yet still show emotions and personality via their face.

Yipes…another freaky coincidence between you and me: :blink: I like to draw my animal characters the same way: realistic, but stylized just enough to be expressive.

I believe I done those hole-thingies because they were prominent in the CGI model in Animal X. Back then, I remember interpretating it as some adaptation that allows Chupa to better receive telephathic messages from others as well as receiving the brain-waves that allows him to read minds. In present times, I'm not too sure if that would work, but I too think they're rather odd. I'm now unsure what their function is...

I do vaguely recall seeing a few of those Animal X episodes, including the one on the Chupacabra, but I don't even remember what their CGI version looked like, so I can't offer much speculation. There's probably no way of knowing what sort of adaptations would be conducive to telepathy, since that ability does not exist in the natural world as far as I am aware. There are, however, fish that produce electrical fields (namely knifefish and elephantnoses), which can communicate with one another by pulsing those fields, which I've always thought of as almost being like communication on a telepathic channel (although it would probably be more accurate to compare it to communicating via radio signals). Some electrosensitive fish do have pits in their heads that help them detect electrical fields, so maybe Chupa's holes do serve an equivalent function for his telepathic sense.

I think I did intend Crypto to be a bit blander than the other two, as if to emphasize the difference between them. And I never actually watched the Three Stooges; I think the shared joke is AWESOME.

If you can ignore the occasional politically incorrect content that comes from being a older show, I highly recommend The Three Stooges for comedic entertainment, especially if you like slapstick and quirky insults.

In the Stooges' case, the bathing cap joke I was thinking of was only referred to in dialogue, and went like this:

Curly (the Stooge with only stubble for hair): "I ain't gonna take no shower!"
Moe: "Why not?"
Curly: "I ain't got my bathin' cap!"

(I think there was also a scene in a much later film where the resident bald Stooge really was seen wearing a bathing cap in the shower.)

Yes! I'm not the only one to find the front view creepy! It's the eyes, I swear!! I once made a collage of different facial expressions for Azul and one of them (a look he makes when he's hungry) is genuinely unnerving: he stares intently at you with his mouth open enough to show his rows of sharp teeth whilst drooling excessively. And he won't stop staring until you give him food...

Hmm…how does the effectiveness of that technique compare with Chupa's Begging Face?

Yeah, the pictures I've seen of what these goblins supposively looks like doesn't really show nails or claws on the feet. But he does have toes, so yay!

It could be that the people who described the goblins didn't get a very good look at the feet (Let's face it: if you ran into one of those guys, you probably wouldn't be paying much attention to what their feet looked like ), so the drawings based on the eyewitness reports are just lacking in foot detail.

And yeah, Azul has both conscious and unconscious control of his glowing. Many of his pranks (which takes place at night, seeing how he's naturally nocturnal) has him dimming his lights so he can't be seen and it's also something he did when Xeno first found him so as not to draw attention to himself (which failed regardless). I also ready that when shot at, the goblins flash brighter when they're hit, something I interprete as being an involuntary response.

Cool!

Awwwww!! Thank you!!! Especially since I find Dragonite adorable as it is! And I don't blame you if you like Dratini and Dragonair's design better, as Dragonite seems kinda...off compared to them. And apparently, he does for a reason. The reason he looks so different from his pre-evolutions and why he's such a pain-in-the-neck to beat is because he was originally intended to be a stand-alone Legendary Pokemon. Then Nintendo changed their minds and added him to the Dratini evolutionary line. I guess it doesn't really matter overall, but I found it interesting enough to share!

Wow, I'd never heard that. Interesting.

According to a lot of people who commented on the pic in DA, the types Psychics are weak against (Bugs, Dark, and Ghost) are actually based on common fears! I guess the logic is that people can't think straight when confronted with something they're afraid of.

Ohhh…that does make sense! I still like my "annoying fly" theory though.

Wow, I never noticed how his antennae look like cables!! That's AWESOME :! !!! He probably would be useful, if he doesn't blow it up (Sparky's voltage is so powerful, so far only a lighthouse proved strong enough to take it) or eat it (yes, Sparky eats batteries!)

Oh. Maybe not such a good idea after all, then. It would be pretty funny, though.

Alternatively, what would happen if someone tried to use Sparky as a defibrillator? :blink: (In real life it would probably kill you, but c'mon, you can't tell me that Sparky never shocked any of the other characters in the Stitch series!)

Hmm…maybe the MythBusters could hire Sparky to supply electricity when they're testing myths involving lightning strikes …and for gratuitous blowing up of random stuff.

[Pangaea]

I separated this submission from my reply so you won’t have to feel obliged to review in your response, Pangy!!

Thanks. Considering the time I took to write this review, it's probably a good thing you did…


Just Let Go of the Leaf:
Zotz, I loved Crickwing (Stellaluna and Verdi, too, but Crickwing cracked me up the most).
In retrospect, I think one of my favorite things about Jannell Cannon’s books was the minimimal anthropomorphization of the animal characters, which is also one of the main reasons I find this to be such a brilliant scene. Basically, you’ve taken something that probably happens among leafcutter ants all the time (losing one’s grip on a branch while burdened with a leafy load), and depicted it from both that ant’s perspective and the perspective of an ant of a different species (which could plausibly come across such a scene as this one in real lifeóeven if it could not witness it visually), and suggested how the priniciples of one ant society might look to another ant from a very different one. …Maybe I could have come up with a less overcomplicated way of saying it, but I really like this concept.

Knowing that army ants have such tenacious bites that their jaws will remain clamped on their victim even if the ant is decapitated, I can’t help but imagine a reversed situation where Dirt is watching Private biting a much larger creature in defense of her colony, refusing to release her grip despite the beating the larger creature is giving her. Something like this:

Dirt: “Just let go of the [*creature Private is biting*]!”

Private: “No!” *SWAT* “An army antó“ *SWAT* “ónever lets go ofó“ *SWAT* “óher victim!”

Dirt: (thinking) Well, that’s just insane…

By the way, not long ago I found an online guide to common ants of the Amazon. One thing I learned that didn’t really surprise me, but that I can’t remember having ever seen illustrated anywhere else, is that there are actually several species of army ants (leafcutters, too). Judging by the pale head and brown body, Private’s species is a Burchell’s army ant (Eciton burchellii). The guide was just one post on an awesome blog dedicated exclusively to ants and other insects, the author of which is also an insect photographer with another site dedicated to his photos.

In Crickwing, the two ant species aren’t truly in the same picture together, so I had to use the Crickwing character himself to make the judgement. I’m not too sure the real-life size comparisons of the two, although I heard that Army ants are pretty large.

Oh yeah, the ant guide also stated that Burchell’s army ant soldiers measure at least 10 millimeters long, while leafcutter ant workers range from 3 to 12 millimeters, presumably depending on which caste they belong to (there are at least threeóminim, media, and majoróthough some sources state that there are four or more). I also found this page, which has some photos comparing the different castes. Given that Dirt is a media (the caste that cuts leaves), it’s possible that she is a little small compared to Private. Then again, I’m sure there’s some variability in media worker size; maybe Dirt’s just a particularly small one.

One more thing: the guide’s description of army ant soldiers as having “ice tong mandibles” (the similarity really is amazing) made me imagine them either delivering blocks of ice to owners of early-19th-century-style iceboxes, or helping to host a party by standing behind the refreshment table dispensing ice cubes into the partygoers’ drinks (How and where the inhabitants of the undergrowth in a tropical rainforest would acquire ice in the first place is beside the point).

By the way, just a teeny, tiny little nitpick/question about Private’s name: if your army ant characters are named based on military ranks, then wouldn’t “Private” be more appropriate for a member of the worker caste, since they outnumber the soldiers (which could be seen as their “superiors”) and do most of the actual scouting and hunting for the colony? Or do you see the worker caste as the “civilians” in your army ant society, with only the soldiers getting military names?

Not much else to say unfortunately. Private’s antennae also bug me though (pun not intended).

Personally I thought you did a great job with the antennae. I admire your ability to draw all the joints and segments in your insect characters’ legs and other appendages as accurately as you do. Looking closely, I can see a few features of Private’s antennae that look a little lopsided, but they’re still one of my favorite things about Private. I particularly like how the two antennae are in different positions, implying that they are being alternately waved about, as ants’ antennae always are.

It looks a little odd to me that Dirt’s antennae are tucked behind her head, but you did a great job capturing her flailing in the positioning of her legs. Her anatomy is also masterfully drawn; no offense to Private, but overall I think Dirt is the more realistic-looking of the two.

Personally I think this picture would be even funnier if Dirt were holding a larger piece of leaf (Apparently leafcutter ants typically measure out a section of leaf about the same diameter as their own leg span as they are cutting it).


I Want A Mom…:
Aww…this picture makes me want to hug Cubone. Great job drawing it; the poor thing looks so sad…

If you still have a problem with the skull, part of it might be that it’s not apparent enough that we’re looking at the skull from an angle, with both the top and the side visible; you might want to add some lines or texture marks to indicate where the side of the skull meets the top. Think of the skull as a wedge, like a slice from a circular cake; the problem is that we can’t see where the icing ends and the cake begins. (Hopefully that’s a sufficient analogy for what I think is wrong.)

Also, wow: that’s the most thorough explanation of Cubone’s backstory I think I’ve ever seen. (I’d never even heard that the cracks in Cubone’s skull were a result of all its crying.) Weirdly enough, back when my brothers and I were originally into PokÈmon (and there were only 151 of them), Cubone was one of our favorites, and yet I don’t think I comprehended just how frickin’ depressing its backstory was until years later. :huh: Nowadays, thoughóand I hope this isn’t offensive to other PokÈmon fans in some wayóI can’t help but suspect that a lot of the “facts” cited in the ol’ PokÈdex are akin to the information about animals in the Medieval bestiaries (Here, check this out; surely I’m not the only one who finds this familiar ). On that note, check out these comics I came across a while back.

I’ve been playing my older Pokemon games lately (particularly the Yellow version) and it only now just hit me how dark the Pokemon franchise was in its early days. Particularly with the infamous city of Lavender Town, which is dedicated specifically to Death. Firstly, it’s the place where you find out that you had a direct hand in the death of one of your rival’s Pokemon. Apparently, in your last battle with him, you critically injured his Raticate, and unable to seek help in time, the little rat Pokemon died. Your rival’s in Lavender Town to bury his friend and one of the first things he says to you is if you know what it’s like to lose a friend.

Seriously?! :blink: My siblings and I had a PokÈmon Yellow game once, but I guess I must not have played Lavender Town, because I don’t remember that. Sheesh, that can’t have done any favors for the common criticism against PokÈmon that compares it to animal bloodsports like cockfighting. <_<

I also didn’t put too much effort in the Kangaskhan in the background. I just added it simply as a nod to a fan-theory that Cubones are actually baby Kangaskhan and that the stress of living on their own leads them to follow a different evolutionary line. I personally don't think I buy into it. *shrugs*

Personally, I love the Kangaskhan. Especially the mother’s content-looking sleeping expression. The way she has her paw on her joey’s (logically, that’s what you would call a baby Kangaskhan, right?) head is also cute.

I’d never heard that fan-theory, though. Yeah, I don’t think I believe it either. Still, Cubone and Kangaskhan do look a little similar, now that you mention it; maybe they had a common ancestor? (I wonder if anyone’s ever tried creating a phylogenetic tree of all PokÈmon species?)

And the idea of a Zubat pup clinging to its Golbat mother is just plain adorable.

[DarkHououmon]

Firstly, it’s the place where you find out that you had a direct hand in the death of one of your rival’s Pokemon. Apparently, in your last battle with him, you critically injured his Raticate, and unable to seek help in time, the little rat Pokemon died.

Actually, that is just speculation. From what I heard, there is no official confirmation that Red killed Blue's Raticate, or even if the Raticate is dead at all. People just draw the conclusion that his Raticate was dead simply based on the fact that it no longer shows up after a certain point. Another easy explanation is that Blue just put the Raticate in a computer, you know like how any of the players can at any point in the game.