Life In The Low Forest

A new environment with some new species here.

This is the first look into this particular biome- hopefully with more to come. All creatures depicted have a photosynthetic component to them - least of all the large plodding walkers, who rely most heavily on grazing for their energy intake. The creatures that resemble flowers are motile, but move less frequently. The long rope-like organism grows at a rapid pace to stake its claim over as much ground area as possible. The large round textures semi-spheres are not phased by this tactic, as they employ an electro-chemical defense over their outer surface to keep the strident ropes at bay.

World Eater

In the murky ponds on the floor of the Glow Forest lives a surprisingly diverse community adapted to the near total darkness. Decaying organic material releases methane gas which is harnessed by towers of colonial microorganisms. Upon this bedrock of the food chain, a plethora of creatures creep and crawl about their daily lives while trying to avoid the pond’s top predator - a massive leviathan blindly devouring everything in its path.

Passengers

The Purple Slow Walker is primarily photosynthetic, but occasionally it must travel to acquire additional resources. It retracts its mobile roots, extends its tube legs, and begins the tedious journey to better feeding grounds. Groups of slow walkers congregate around a large carcass, exogenously digesting the flesh and absorbing the coctail through their extended roots. This is the opportunity the passengers have been waiting for. Not only do they rely on the walker for shelter and free transport, but also as a source of pre-digested nutrients they can pilfer from their host's method of carrion consumption. Whether the passengers provide the walker anything in return for its efforts is unclear.

Brand new website!

Check out Exobiotica.com for all your weird alien needs. Get prints, read new content, and go in-depth into the project. Enjoy!

Aquatic Predator

An older drawing from several years ago.

I saw you're a graphic designer.

Are you commissionable for creature designs or similar projects?

If not that's OK. Like your art

I’m not currently available for commissions, sorry. I definitely will keep making art though. Glad you like it!

This is the native habitat of the megamyriapod (at center). This slow-moving, placid beast is about twenty feet tall and feeds primarily on the purple wave carpet organism that is spread across the floor of this scene- gathering it up with its anterior grasping appendages (at left). Other creatures lurk here, including the greenish motile floating feather duster gourds, the yellow/teal walking platter life-forms, and the purple pilantir balls. Growing around and above these smaller living things are the gargantuan lineated gold air-sponges - the megaflora that constitute the main physical features in this environment. All these creatures obtain energy from a combination of photosynthesis and physical consumption of soil nutrients or living tissue. Basically, the strict division of heterotroph/autotroph (plant/animal) that is exhibited by Earth-life simply does not apply here. Rather there is a gradient between those creatures who gain energy exclusively from light, and those who must consume others to survive. The majority of creatures here utilize both approaches.

Sky Shepherds

Caelumopilio pictoratus

This work serves as the official kickoff for my illustration project called "Exobiotica". The creature pictured is a Sky Shepherd. As its name implies, it carries on an aerial existence - maintaining neutral buoyancy via internal hydrogen compartments. The front appendages serve two functions- they are used to physically herd or corral the species of floating creature they subsist on, and also they are equipped with color-changing tissue that is used as communication between members of their group. Like them, most of their predators and prey are essentially floating gas bags which are highly susceptible to rupture. Thus, the Sky Shepherd evolved sharp appendages for use in attack and defense. Propulsion in any direction is achieved by the intake of air at the ventral posterior end, and then subsequent directional exhalation of the air through any of the four siphons. The next work will I produce will feature these creatures and their prey in their aerial environment.

Part of a color study for the next painting I plan to start this week.