#exquisite beast

[dotclownetowne]

yeah his name is kevin he's just like that

the most kevin looking cat I've ever seen honestly. that's just a guy. looks like he does paperwork

[bowelflies]

Calognathus chevrolati (Tenebrionidae)

[source]

[thebeeroftheweek]

Beer of the Week 234 - 3/7/2018: Dancing Gnome Exquisite Beast

[halim-waw]

Halimaw 1

Hello there! we are friends Fly and KK and welcome to our Exquisite Beast! 

Inspired by artists Evan Dahm and Yuko Ota (whose project can be found @exquisitebeast) we will be taking turns drawing a creature and with each drawing we will further the creatures evolution. Hopefully we’ll be posting some strange looking creatures each week, so stay tuned!

[evandahm]

All Benign Kingdom books are now available through Topatoco! This means the Exquisite Beast book by Yuko and I is available online outside of the Kickstarter for the FIRST TIME EVER!

I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS and I am VERY EXCITED to work with the fine folks at Topatoco!

[metamorphic-park]

Metamorph was well on its way to being a great camouflage artist, but then it's little watery world was struck with a drought! Surviving the environment is now a factor in metamorph's development, in addition to having to feed itself.

Here we can see the metamorph mostly buried in mud. The top of its head, and (gradually), further down its body, is firmer and harder, and can stand being dry. The rest of its body is more sensitive, and to stay wet, the metamorph buries itself in the mud when water becomes scarce. Its gills need to stay wet to breathe, and so it's developed something like a bloated pouch over them to seal in moisture. Its skin is starting to participating in the oxygen exchange, and while it may not be as effective as the amphibians we know today, it's a start.

Because food is more scarce in these harsh conditions, its changing to live for longer periods without food, storing fat and slowing down its processes while it waits for better conditions. That last part is a little harder to demonstrate.

It no longer has tendrils at all. I'm going home, Caz, and I'm taking the ball with me. >:|

[metamorphic-park]

hey guys, sorry it's late, shit's been intense over here

that said... OH MY GOD ARE THOSE LEGS??

yes. yes, legs for days. our monster spends so much time crawling around on its belly that its fins have slowly developed into weight-bearing limbs. you're not often going to see it standing up like this, though; think of it like a crocodile, squatting on its stomach for the most part and occasionally going up on its hind legs for a cute little sprint.

the "lie down, make noises like a rock and wait to grab prey" trick has worked for our metamorph for a very long time. but those with a turn of speed have gained a hunting advantage over those without, especially when the other fish are getting quicker and more sophisticated with every generation. the metamorphs with these rubbery li'l legs have started to flourish over their fins-only ancestors. meanwhile the metamorph's back is growing craggy and camouflaged, as the softer, more porous rock of its home gives way to harder rocks with fewer hiding places.

now that it uses its mouth pretty much exclusively, the beak has fused open and become part of that fake rocky outcropping we know and love to draw.

it still works together with those tiny fish, who have only gotten brighter and more visible over the years. the small predators which our metamorph eats have gotten wise to their game, so now they come in a flurry of colours and patterns, visually mimicking a variety of regular fish. genius.

rex, i brought down the number of tendrils again, but all's fair in war >8)

[metamorphic-park]

oh no caz uploaded something with panels in it last week how am I going to beat that-- DID YOU FORGET WHAT I AM GOING TO SCHOOL FOR?!

Anyway this week is again something subtle, but so I didn't feel like I was totally ripping off Caz's antics last week I figure I'd include a full body  shot too.

The Metamorph's 'beak' has spread more open, in part resembling the outcroppings and other weird ocean growth around it, but also to allow more room for the jaws to shoot out, more like the jaws of our good friend the goblin shark, instead of the secondary jaws of the moray eel. The jaws are already protruding further at rest, as well, so it'd be interesting to see what happens to the beak, after that. For now, I think I can see it blocking up the tunnel and leaving only its mouth exposed should something bigger and meaner than it comes snooping around.

The leafy growths have grown a little more numerous across Metamorph's lumpy head, but they don't quite act like bait anymore. Those little pink fish have entered in a sort of mutually beneficial relationship with the metamorph, like a clownfish and a violent anemone. The pink fish hang out on top of metamorph's head, maybe picking at wayward parasites while waiting for a big catch - which comes in the form of its predator. The fish duck under what looks like a nearly-safe-but-not-safe-enough outcropping, where the predator easily follows, only to get snatched up. In turn, the little fish get to eat the scraps of the metamorph's meal, which is more than enough for tiny lil' guys like them.

As for Metamorph's body, I figure it's spending most of its time in a tnnel of some kind in the rocks, so while the front half of its body - particularly its head - needs to be bumpy and rocklike, the rest of it has to be able to dig and move comfortably in the tunnel, so as you get further to the tail, its skin gets duller and smoother. Its fins have also grown more to crawl and push itself in and out of the tunnel as it needs, and the tail and back fins in particular may see use to dig out its home further.

Finally, its eyes shifted around a little more, the barely-functioning ones serving more to detect light/dark - the front ones can tell when something's moved into its mouth, the back ones tell when it's too far out of the tunnel. The remaining eyes are still pretty sophisticated, for whenever it has to rely on its own, without the little lurefish, and also to pick out territory and so on.

Well! That's it! What now, Caz? :)