Final Design - Savanna Ape

Savanna Ape

Genre: General Fantasy

Habitat: Savanna/plains

Culture: Feral Beast

Time Period: Future


This creature would be more of a background character than anything. I see it as an environmental element, just a run-of-the-mill inhabitant of a savanna setting. Not a main character in any story he would be a part in, and any interaction would be minor. Perhaps a smaller foe for a protagonist, before facing the larger predators in the area.

It is an evolved creature that lives on earth in the future. It would co-exist with animals that live today, or at least their more evolved forms.

Many animals today share traits with others that far outside their species, Like moths that look like hummingbirds, or mammals with large duck-like bills (Talking about the hummingbird moth and platypus here!). So I took the same route with this guy. He is a primate, but shares a lot of features with cheetahs. He has the long limbs, large ribcage and lungs, and flexible spine made for long strides and amazing speed. It also has spots to aide in camouflage.

I hope you guys enjoy!

~Emily

Emily's Super Silhouette Extravaganza!

...or something I don't know...

I had a lot of fun with some of these silhouettes, I started drawing, and my mind was working too fast for my hands! I started with a ton of sporadic ideas, drawing whatever weird creature came to mind. As my initial excitement faded, I went back on some of the original ideas and explored them further. It took constant reminding not to get caught up in detail, and to work quickly. Basic shapes, basic shapes! 

I've gotta say though, drawing 100 different creatures without having follow through and finish them was a lot of fun, and pretty refreshing (guess I'm not good with commitment…) I will most definitely be saving these ideas, I'd like to expand on a few of these sometime in the future.

But for now I think I've found one idea I'd love to work on for this project. There was one I was tempted to do, but it was something I've done a lot of...*sigh* maybe some other time.. It was hard to decide, and ended up going with a pretty unique one to me.

So far this is what I have, an omnivorous ape-like creature. The silhouette was really unique I thought, and those long limbs could be useful for a lot of things. In this case, running and climbing. So I've been working on designing a running monkey. I can imagine him living in a savannah-type environment, where he would take shelter in the trees and eat the leaves, and occasionally wander down to pick the bugs off carcasses on the ground (gross). The trees are pretty sparce, so I can imagine him having to book it from tree to tree to avoid hungry predators on the ground!

Maybe I should call him the "floor is lava" monkey...

1800's American Troll

I decided to do with a mid 1800's American troll for this one. With genres like steampunk, the industrial revolution is romanticized, and is heavily focused on high class citizens and fancy, decorative machinery. Since we're working with trolls, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to do something a lot more grungy.

These trolls are integrated into human society, hoping to make a better living. However, lower class working American's survived on very low pay and hard labor. Being a troll, this guy is incredibly strong, an ideal candidate for a job at a steel mill. He is intelligent by troll standards, but still not quite enough to realize he's not being paid as much as he should. His wife proudly holds their night's dinner, a tiny rabbit. As trolls started growing up in a more civilized society, they evolved to be much less aggressive than their wild, savage cousins, though still known to loose their temper occasionally.


I wish I could have done another illustration with one of these guys, but work has been less than pleasant these past few weeks. However, if I do find the time to do so, I will definitely share, even if its late :)

Trolls WIP - Emily

I've done some silhouettes to find the general shape of these guys, and have the sketches and rough values placed down.

I decided to do with a mid 1800's American troll for this one. With genres like steampunk, the industrial revolution is romanticized, and is heavily focused on high class citizens and fancy, decorative machinery. Since we're working with trolls, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to do something a lot more grungy.

These trolls are integrated into human society, hoping to make a better living. However, lower class working American's survived on very low pay and hard labor. Being a troll, this guy is incredibly strong, an ideal candidate for a job at a steel mill. He is intelligent by troll standards, but still not quite enough to realize he's not being paid as much as he should. His wife proudly holds their night's dinner, a tiny rabbit. As trolls started growing up in a more civilized society, they evolved to be much less aggressive than their wild, savage cousins, though still known to loose their temper occasionally.


Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

~Emily

Natural History - Sarcastic Fringehead

I really enjoyed this assignment. It was fun to learn about this fantastic fish, and I'll definitely be doing more studies like this is the future!

~Emily

Sarcastic Fringehead - Push Yourself!

Sarcastic Fringehead - Page 2

Here's a continuation of my studies on the Sarcastic Fringehead.

I wasn't able to find a skeletal structure, but I did find some images of eggs in various stages of development. I also included some quick gesture drawings showing it's movement when swimming and fighting, as well as gender differences and a few different color patterns I've found.

Anything else I should include?

I'm also going to try to get done a full illustration of this guy hanging out in his shell home.

Sarcastic Fringehead Page 1

Here's the start of some drawings of that crazy fish!

I'm working on some more, including gesture drawings and different colorations, which will be up soon! Still searching for this guys skeletal structure and a baby picture..

~Emily

Emily Ormsby - Sarcastic Fringehead

The sarcastic fringehead is quite a unique fish. I especially enjoy its fins and markings, as well as its big dopey mouth. Aww aren't you cute little-

OH GOD NEVER MIND.

Size:

        -usually around 3-8 inches, but can reach up to a foot in length

Habitat:

        -Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of North America

        -takes shelter in empty shells, cracks, and occasionally bottles and cans

          thrown into the ocean

        -shelters protect from larger predators

        -the size of the fringehead's shelter typically coincides with the size of

          the fish living in it

        -extremely territorial and protective of their homes

        - hides its body in its shelter and uses its large mouth to threaten and

          attack intruders

Diet:  

        -the fringehead's diet is unknown

        -many closely related fish eat crustaceans like shrimp and small crabs

        -due to its sharp teeth, it is most likely capable of grasping smaller fish to

         eat as well

Reproduction:

        -females lay 3,000 eggs in a crack or borrow

        -nest is guarded by the male

        -eggs attach to the nest and each other to stay in place

        -newly hatched fish are only about 1/10" long

Lifespan:

        - 6 years

Behavior:

        -displays its mouth to look larger (seen above) and intimidates by snapping

         its large jaws

        -known for their aggressiveness and poor sight

        - as a result fringeheads will attack anything that comes close to its home

        -will fight with other fringeheads over territory by 'wrestling' with open

          mouths pushed together (see video below)

        -fits into small openings by backing into them, leaving the head ready to

         lash out and attack

Other facts:

        -females have smaller eyes than the males

        -related to goby's and many other saltwater fish

        -gets the 'sarcastic' part of its name from its temperament

        -'fringehead' refers to the appendages and fleshy tissue around the mouth

Sources:

     http://io9.com/5911216/meet-the-sarcastic-fringehead-an-oddly-named-fish-who-looks-like-the-predator

     http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/sarcastic_fringehead