Continuation from this post where i was musing about Na'vi biodiversity as a species and how environment might affect them, I thought I would draw them out while i took some notes on what I thought might change/be different among Na'vi.
Again these are all just headcanons and excuses for me to draw more ocs lol, but i would love to hear what people think!
Just incase people dont want to attempt to read my handwriting (or if tumblr eat the quality of the pic too much) Im gonna type up my notes below. (Also elaborating on some of the notes some more)
Forest Na'vi*
Default for sake of comparisons*
- Yellow eyes most common
- 'Tiger' stripes
- Brighter blue skin tones
- Average height around 9-10ft
- Thin tail with tuft of 'fluff' at the very end
- Longer pointed ears
- Generally thin toned build for climbing trees
Reef Na'vi
- Blue and green eyes most common
- Wave-like stripes
- Softer teal skin tones
- Average height slightly taller, around 9-10.5ft
- Smaller/shorter ears
- Nictitating membranes (3rd eyelid for better sight while swimming)
- Fins on arms and Legs for swimming
- Broader 'swimmers' shoulders
- Paddle tail
Cliff Na'vi
- Yellow eyes most common
- Slightly wavier stripes
- Teal/Aqua blue skin tones
- Average height around 9-10ft
- Smaller fins and Paddle tail (Similar to Reef Na'vi)
- Happy medium between Forest and Reef for both ease of swimming and climbing cliffs
Plains Na'vi
- Yellow eyes most common
- Spotted 'cheetah' pattern rather than stripes
- Darker blue skin tones
- Average slightly shorter height, around 7.5-9.5ft
- 'Tear marks' allow for protection from the sun
- Longer tails with more gradual fluff at the end
Mountain Na'vi
- Blue eyes most common
- Spotted 'snow leopard' pattern rather than stripes
- Blue-Grey skin tones
- Much taller than average, around 10-14ft
- Small rounded ears, better in the cold
- Generally larger builds, able to put on more fat in order to keep warm in cold climates
-Clawed hands and feet for better grip while climbing
- Larger fluffy tail
River Na'vi
- Blue and green eyes most common
- 'Rippled' stripes
- Deep Teal skin tones
- Average height around 9-12ft
- Broader shoulders from swimming, similar to Reef
- Fins on arms and Legs for swimming
- Thicker Crocodilian tail
- Hard 'plates' on tail and fins
- Nictitating membranes (3rd eyelid for better sight while swimming)
- Webbing between fingers and toes?
Went for a simpler style to doodle these guys out a little faster bc i have MANY thoughts always (warning this may or may not be coherent, i apologize in advance)
IMPOARTANT NOTE: the only thing even remotely canon here is the Forest and Reef Na'vi (debatable bc they are still my own interpretations), everything else is just my own musings and personal need for more variation among Na'vi.
In previous posts i think i mentioned the insane venn diagram that lives in my head of forever overlapping and endless combos of Na'vi yadayadayada, this is (LOOSLY) that.
SO, if you have seen my initial post (here) some of these guys might be familiar, but since then, i added Wetlands, Highlands, Glacier and Ash? people! And I have Thoughts ™️
Now I'm gonna hold off on Ash? people for the most part here, mostly because i am a creature that likes at least some level of "Canon Compliance" and we really won't know anything about them until the next film, so i have yet to form any solid headcanons. That being said, I do have a couple quick things:
The name 'Ash People' leads me to think that their generally building lives/evolving around volcanic areas, grey/darker skin tones from evolving around ash?
Thicker/rough skin (volcanic rocks are sharp!) and less fur/fluff on their tails.
Wetlands I imagine as clans that have evolved as a combo or River and Reef, but also Plains, as wetlands (at least as I understand them, i know that there's more to them than this but I am simplifying here) are effectively big wet fields.
I liked the idea of how if River Na'vi developed 'armor' due to swimming in constantly moving water with lots of rocks/fish/debree/etc, that Wetlands might be similar, but not quite on the same level.
Comparatively, Wetlands have no claws, and a thinner more paddle-like tail, more similar to Reef Na'vi.
Highlands I see as Plains Na'vi that evolved for colder biomes, so they keep the builds, maybe in general larger on average, closer coloring to Plains Na'vi and the longer tails, fur and claws of Mountain Na'vi.
Lastly Glacier Na'vi is the Mountain + Reef combo to create the giant spotted seal people of my dreams. I did not show it well here, but I think both Mountain and Glacier hold more fat in their bodies than other Na'vi, as well as Reef Na'vi being physically larger as well. That combo probably makes Glacier Na'vi massive (like 12-14 ft tall). Living in significantly colder climates, they need to be able to hold more heat in their bodies too, so they are physically much larger all around.
All of these are still just loose and I continue to be vague about a lot of it bc biodiversity and cultures that evolved around a given biome are two separate things to me. I like that these can be used as like umbrellas that the actual clan cultures can be born under, but not 'rules' or anything.
(I do have at least 1 (possibly 2) fan clan situations cooking in my noggin that i am slowly working on, but that's also something i want to be very conscientious about as I build it out.)
Anyways! Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Let me know your thoughts, I love talking about this sort of thing, hearing people's feedback and building off of it!!
I got all the initial shaping done today! My dad helped a lot but cutting the initial chunk of wood on the bandsaw for me, but everything since then is all me! He’s not perfect, and I accidentally put one of his back legs in the wrong position, but I really don’t expect him to be when I’m not the most experienced with carving yet anyways. I cut the shit out of my finger on a different small carving project a couple days ago too bc im a genius, and have been a lot more careful when working on him. Safety first yall!!
Anyways I drew out some of the cleanup/details to work on for tomorrow too. With any luck I can get carving him done by the end of the week!! (Big fingers crossed on that tho I got a lot going on) but then I’ll just need to find some bits and bobs to make the braided cord he hangs from and the feathers.
Also yes I know he’s like an entirely different color than in the reference. I plan on staining his wood darker to match once the carving is totally finished!
I’m so happy with how this little guy turned out, and especially that I figured out how to get him to hang fairly easily. There’s a few things I would do differently if I made him again but otherwise I’m really happy with how he turned out!!
I opted for feather beads rather than actual feathers this time around but maybe if I do this again I’ll use those instead.
This has been such an interesting learning experience for me and honestly I might make more just to really hone my skills and maybe make one that’s a little more accurate in the future but I really like this little guy right now!!
Thinking about the potential different clans/types of Na'vi again bc the potential!!!!
So far the only variants we have seen in canon are Forest Na'vi and Reef Na'vi (in terms of like biodiversty) but i wish we had morrrrreee. I kinda feel like some of the clans are kind of a missed opportunity in terms of evolutional differences.
Like you're really telling me that the Cliff people, who live and lives revolve around the SEA and Ikran wouldn't have features similar to the reef people from living on/by the sea for so long? I know JC probably hadn't come up with the idea of diversity among Na'vi yet when they were introduced in A1, i'm just sayiiinnnggg
Personally headcanoning that Cliff clans are like the perfect middle ground between typical Forest and Reef Na'vi, coloration and builds more similar to forest but with fins and tails like reef.
I like the idea that Plains people maybe look generally similar to forest people, have more subtle differences? I tend to think of Na'vi as similar to various species of large Cats (Lions, Tigers, Panthers, etc.) So if Forest people like the Omatikaya are like Tigers/Panthers, Plains people being like Bobcats or maybe Cheetahs? Like if we lean bobcat, then maybe they are on average a bit shorter/stockier, short tails and stripes that break up a little more. Or on the flipside with Cheetahs they're on the taller side, with more spots than stripes and tear marks?
I really love peoples fan clan interpretations of various potential clans too!
The idea that Na'vi in snowy mountain/colder biomes are like snow leopards. Like big fluffy tails, and bodies that actually put on fat to help regulate body temp, softer grey-blue skin tones to blend in with the snow and rocks of the mountain, big claws to help scale rocks, shorter more rounded ears. I keeps thinking of them and like Pallas cats or spotted seals too.
River/Swamp lands people that are the most like reef people but lean almost crocodilian? More ridges and scale-like markings? Deeper green/blue skin tones.
Variation among Na'vi is so interesting to me, largely bc it makes for a more interesting and diverse world. Plus, like, i know a lot of people like making mixed forest/reef ocs, esp Loreya fankids etc. so like, 👀 more of that but more variation than just forest/reef? (Maybe mountain/reef is where that seal idea comes in, etc)
And in my own corner, its an excuse to make more ocs lmao
I might attempt drawing some of the ideas out at some point too, im just actively being eaten alive by these brainworms rn lol
My local industrial rubber/silicone store has a giant Jake Sully statue?? mold 👁️👄👁️
i have a pic but its of me flipping it off bc its from right after the Atwow brainrot started to take over and i was in denial/felt haunted specifically by Jake Sully
Im going back tomorrow to pick up some stuff for my dad and will attempt to take another pic if hes still there
