zeroGravitas
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Marine Biology: concepts
🕑 Added 2022-09-25 16:21:08 +0000 UTCAs promised, the concepts for the new underwater story.
Starting with the critter: The monster is a 6 legged (armed?) squid type monster, inspired by the Alien version of a trilobite, but actually it turned out a bit different. I'm thinking it's called a hexapod/hexapus, for obvious reasons. The main body of a typical adult is ~50cm in length, with tentacles of ~2.5/3 meters. The critter is a slightly translucent blue, and blends in very well in its environment.
They are among the more intelligent creatures on this planet, definitely smarter than spiders. As predators, they have been observed to toy with their food and hunt for sport (catching and torturing their prey and then not consuming it), and are considered evil by some. Better stay away from them.
The hexapod lays eggs in clusters by means of an ovipositor located just above the mouth (A-C). The ends of the tentacles secrete a sticky substance it uses to encapsulate egg clusters. The slime can be spun into string, normally used to anchor the egg clusters to the sea bed (D).
Main character: Elizabeth, a scientist (you can tell by the glasses) in the field of drug discovery. She has dark hair and blue eyes and clearly works out, somewhere in her twenties. She is employed by the same (still nameless) company as the others, just a different department. She specializes in these hexapods and their eggs. The eggs are filled with a fluid that has remarkable healing properties and Elizabeth (Liz?) is looking into ways of synthesizing a new type of medicine based on it. She needs a new batch of eggs for her experiments, and this is where the story starts.
She's not a fighter, the knife she carries she uses for cutting free eggs, not for stabbing things. She has the legs of a swimmer and is pretty fit so I'm sure she can defend herself if necessary.
The helmet is a rebreather, so she can stay underwater indefinitely without running out of air (combination of future tech and water with a high oxygen content). Integrated sensors identify which eggs are optimal for her experiments. So she steals only the ones she really needs, she's considerate like that.
She uses a little scuba scooter (is that what they are called?) to travel around underwater. She has an actual boat on the surface close by.
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I've never done an underwater story before, I hope it will turn out ok. I'm planning to tell this story over ~15-20 images in the next few months. I have the sequence planned out mostly, but since it's all sketches now, things can always change.
Comments
zeroGravitas
Thanks! I think I will. You have much more freedom with poses and things underwater. I should find an alternative for the helmet though (that also does not obscure the face too much)
Abysspool
I love these types of stories. The wetsuit is amazing and the background story is terrific. I hope you do more underwater stories after this.
Euderos
Great design for the next story. Fantastic drawing of the protagonist, Elisabeth: she looks like she likes water but can't wait to go back to the lab. This creature looks magnificant, for some reason I initially thought that the creature looks amphibian. How would these eggs hatch?
Double X Studios
I look forward to the type of angles you can get with scenes like this. Tentacles all around! :D
I like her feet design
Ghost
I'm looking forward to it. I think imperfections of the underwater scene, air bubbles, sediments raising from the movement in the water from the bottom, fish and kelp, lights from the character's helmet etc, all of it build the underwater scene.
zeroGravitas
Thanks for the advice. Yeah it could probably use a bit more work with how light reflects off the surface and the patterns of light that creates on the sea floor. Although the background I have here is quite close to the ones in the real world underwater color references I am using. I am specifically going for crystal clear water, calm seas, tropical environment, 5-10 meters down, that kind of thing. Either way, I'm sure I'll get better at underwater stuff if I keep practicing.
Ghost
It's an interesting concept, but I believe much more work needs to be done with the scene's underwater illumination and light scatter. Currently, it doesn't feel right as an underwater scene. I understand it is a mere character-focused concept artwork. Still, I believe underwater scenes would require much more work to transmit the underwater environment right.
Timothy Kelly
Oh that sounds fantastic! I can't wait to see it in full!
Sumo
this looks great, can't wait to see the set develop!
Alex S
I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS *massive grin*
Tableuraz
Any plans on sharing these WIP sketches ? 😊
Reizus
So there! You all have my attention. This is a really intriguing and exciting specimen. I can't wait to see the rest of this study. A big congratulations
James Gavin
Liz has got thighs that go on for miles! Looks interesting - squiddy will make a fun change from Veteran Spider.
