I was messing and tweaking with this particular direction for the Debu a week ago, i just hadn't finished this digitalization until now (i wanted to digitalize this so that the facial shields looked slightly concave rather than random contours, though i'm not sure if i did it right)
This rendition features facial shields!! Ruffs? Uh. Armor? Functionally it's armor slash decor, a leftover from when the ancestors of Debu used to be cannibalistic (as in: killing and eating eachother instead of the funerary purpose), and also a lot more territorial. They used to not like eachother, and they liked to go for the face! Also, the fuller and more curved they are, typically it's seen as more attractive and "stronger". i got my inspo from hadrosaurs and orangutan facial ruffs, and i feel like it makes them a little weirder, makes their faces less human yet still DJMM-y. Also, if you have any suggestions for making the Debu weirder or more visually interesting, do tell!
sketches of figuring out what i wanted. Also, another change - the first and second pair of arms are closer together. I made it canon they used their middle arms for things but i realized very quickly that their middle arms are ill-positioned for that. So I brought them closer to the front so they can actually hold things.
Sketched some new stuff, and realized I never posted any of the old stuff. Behold: the backlog of sketches I forgot I had.
Homo mousike stuff! featuring an unnamed very grumpy Debu who accidentally became a zebraman village's white elephant in the first 2 pictures (not white elephant in the metaphorical burden sense, white elephant in the literal "i became their prized holy animal"). Said Debu came to one of the few sessile zebraman settlements when she was at the absolute bottom of the barrel attempting to eat their crops and was promptly taken in and showered with everything she could ever need, alongside gifts, makeup, clothes, and jewelery. However she can no longer leave. Both parties slowly figure out that the other is actually sapient and both begin to actually form a bond, stockholm syndrome Beauty and the Beast style (Debu as the beauty, mind you) - grumpy Debu starts to like and protect the zebramen and the zebramen have a religious and morality crisis because they realize "oh shit, Debu are just people and we just KIDNAPPED someone. have we been just kidnapping people."
though, i think the debu worship would still actually stay lmao... the zebramen's reasoning is kinda sound ("you're the biggest, strongest thing around and you literally change the earth with your bare hands. if there's a god i think they're one of you"). just, yknow, keeping in mind Debu aren't like their other cows, they're people,
Also, lip flaps and nose-speak. I dont think the lips would flip out vertically like in the pictures, but rather in all directions. Also, a better way to show off nose-speak/have nose speak, where you can see the muscles moving inside the nose as they speak instead of just the nostrils opening and closing (though, they can do that too).
(NOT TO SCALE. fritz is TINY compared to comet.) The OG submarine comet and zombie fritz doodles that actually kinda went hard as fuck. Zombie Fritz was also originally supposed to have bioluminescent dotted lines around him kind of like the Na'vi to show his tie to Comet, which was badass, and now he needs a slight redesign too to incorporate this.
Here was the updated Comet, a lot more squarish and OG Comet-ish. Chin. I moved the baleen onto the sides of her tongue, which I think is a weird, cool move, I like it better than me trying to make it into a mustache. The frontmost teeth are straight and regular but the rest of her teeth are t-rex murder bananas. Need to add a bigger root to them though...
also, see where her nostril is? I didn't put it there just to make the nose structure more nose-y, THAT'S WHAT PUFFIN NOSTRILS LOOK LIKE.
???? THE FUCK
Bonus: I dont think I ever posted sketches of the ponified Fritz and Comet.
Comet is a changeling who can't be reformed/metamorphized due to her being made neurologically and magically being unable to, as an analog to OG Comet's invasive brain surgery. She does, however, often shapeshift as a zebra that mirrors both her human form and, with the placement of her stripes, pigeons, in order to scare people just a liiiittle less. Fritz is a freaky, weird, earth pony chariot mechanic, and is both her personal foodbank and boyfriend.
Despite Sindeer being the one i most often draw tits out, out of the three, I realized Lepit would be the most nude. Clothing is purely decorative in Debu society and Lepit cares the least about his appearance, with very minimal makeup and very, very minimal clothing.
But what's this? Fur on his back? isn't he trans? isn't that what he was supposed to shave off? I DID SWAPSIES!
Typically, the debu men are the caregivers in Debu society, typically bringing the children to their mothers in order for them to nurse. In that case, why did the women have fur in order to carry around kids and not the men? So I swapped that around, and now Lepit wears a wig on his back made from Rinkalla, not the other way around.
Also, I brought back red-tipped sails from ye olde homo mousike days. Sails can be more or less brightly colored and have greater contrast across debu, though it does start to dull a little bit the older a debu gets, though the contrast and saturation is largely on an individual basis. Higher contrast and Higher saturation is also HOT, and makeup/piercings around the tips of the sails is typically to enhance those features. But Lepit already doesn't care about his appearance, and he's also an asexual and doesn't really want to appear hot to anyone at all, so he covers up the tips of his sails the most out of anyone.
Sindeer likes dressing up, but she is far past the point of trying to look hot to people. Sure, she doesn't outright cover her sails like Lepit does, but does she dress them up? Not really. She focuses a lot of makeup to her face, and she uses a whole lot of white - With it being the color of mouth-glows, white looks fierce! She hunts the scariest animal to Debu as a job, she's damn good at it, and she's really proud of it. So she likes dressing up, and she likes dressing up as a scary huntress.
Her clothes are very yellow (which are extracted from lionfleas), and really leans into the lionflea getup. Her sails are also the dullest out of the 3, though they wouldn't have looked much better if she was as young as them (Sindeer is middle aged while Rinkalla and Lepit are in their late 20's), sort of as a bow on top of the fact Sindeer-Awi is culturally kind of... ugly. But you don't need good teeth, good sails or a fat hump when you've got guns, baby.
FUCK!! SHE'S GOT GOOD TEETH, GOOD SAILS, A FAT HUMP AND GUNS!!!!
Rinkalla is culturally gorgeous, she's dripped the fuck out with those sail piercings and makeup, those crazy dried plants and beads in her hair and she dresses up nice, with rare yellows and blues.
But above all, she looks like a city slicker. Rinkalla was supposed to be in hiding in Lewes after escaping her fame in Serendipolis, but she very quickly found out this bum, backwater ass village in the middle of nowhere doesn't know shit or fuck on who she is OR anything about Serendipolis, so she just dripped out in the same way she used to look back in the city. So, no dust on the face, angular and geometric makeup patterns, and a love of blue, which was much more common in Serendipolis. Don't get me wrong, debu love blue, even if it's a little more pricey, but reds, blacks, and whites are the most traditional and common in lewes, so people don't go as crazy with the blue as Rinkalla does.
She's got a blue beard and pronouns but nobody cares because she's jawdroppingly hot and vastly outshines the 2 kinda ugly bums she calls her significant others.
This was mostly just a fashion analysis, but, that was what mostly changed anyways. putting these on artfight soon :3
They're this polyamorous trio of Debu who I love dearly. Lepit fled to Lewes, their village, to escape his death sentence, Rinkalla fled to Lewes to escape her fame and adoring fans, and Sindeer's... always been here. Now they're all dating eachother, under the scrutiny of everyone, making stupid bank as an iron trio with Sindeer bringing in lionfleas, Lepit making never-before seen dye out of them, and Rinkalla using them in her artwork that would become prized artifacts of the modern world.
Breakdown of designs and general loredump below the cut:
*rated on how easy they are to acquire, not how common they are in Debu art/fashion
So, a big thing with these 3 is that they've gotten famous for dealing with their last competent predators - the lionfleas (bottom of post), these bipedal pack-hunting bugs that take advantage of their enourmous size, and their dye isn't just desired because it's made from lions but also because the color is valuable in general, similar to how purple was prized and usually reserved for royalty because of how difficult it was to get.
The first 2 sections of colors are really common with the first one being found constantly in the rocks they're constantly quarrying to make their caves, and the second one being a really prominent color in their plants' "flowers." Yellows, greens, and cyans aren't usual plant/organic colors, so they're very hard to get as pigments, at least for Debu who need a lot more of it. Usually they can only get it through trading Zebrapeople who can create these pigments much more efficiently than Debu, as zebrapeople have domesticated bugs who create them. But these lionfleas' shells produce a surprising golden yellow hue from the vesigial wings that got incorporated into their elytras, and this dye is used in the fabric Sindeer makes as a huge moneymaker and a giant ass flex in their stoles.
Speaking of which, Valley Debu have 3 big ideals - heritage, your in-group, and history/recordkeeping. The second of which I'm about to show off rn:
*The right side is the right side of all of their stoles to show they're all a part of the same group, and each of their left sides show their role in it.
Also, the fertility symbol - I went over this in the first try of this post, but the debu fertility symbol is kinda universally known as this centermost circle within the object it's on, since it's supposed to resemble a yolk from an egg. A lot of societies have a specific sigil but it's very easily recognized from the aforementioned center circle thing. The damn thing is everywhere on account of fertility being a very big ideal for Debu - their environment is harsh, arid, and susceptible to frequent famine, and prospering crops and other Debu is something they look forward to.
Valley Debu really like grouping themselves, establishing and aligning themselves with communities, on the broader and individual scale. Yes they're very nationalistic, but they're also extremely proud of even just friendgroups, they love to show the pride and demonstrate their exclusivity within groups as niche as possible(which leads to a LOT of polarization and wars within Valley Debu). These 3 are no different and when they're out and around other Debu they wear a stole around their hump+shoulders showing off how they're the freaks who keep surviving their equivalent to lions and live to make them into dye. Usually though, around the house they're just naked :P
Also, Extra notes on some of the stuff I added as their professions!
Sindeer is a huntress but she's specifically a whistleblower one, and also carves whistles, and here's why. On Bolur, all 3 species domesticated cloes instead of something like a dog, these bird-like creatures who originally were domesticated to keep bugs off them and their crops, who can often be trained to respond to specific whistles that mimic the ones they use naturally. The cloes Debu domesticated act a lot like hunting hounds for Debu, they can locate and kill game. So basically, she hunts with flying dogs and makes dogwhistles.
Then there's Rinkalla, who among other things, makes cement?
On Bolur, they have have land coral, these photosynthetic things with a soft, marrow-y pith and a hard limestone outside. The homo mousike (3 sapient species) really like using it in their cement and concrete since it's really widespread, and Rinkalla... does that! The original reason was because Bolur didn't have wood, but I'm realizing that wood as a concept for plants is so incredibly simple that I don't think I can make it Not canon, even though it was a fun design constraint.
Also, last names: Valley Debu societies are generally patriarchal, but their love of recordkeeping extends past this - they prefer the mother's last name to be passed down since the mother is the most reliable parent. If someone gives birth, no matter what they say who's the father, you can never be sure. But whoever gave birth is DEFINITELY the parent, you know? Their last name also doesn't change even with marital status.
So, I've decided that Serendipolis debu, or at least the founding ones, were actually badlands debu! Their culture rapidly changed in this one city where they had all these new resources (the mountainous, harsh area may be good for mines) and this whole new cultural exchange with the two species that they usually don't really meaningfully come into contact with. Now I'm thinking that serendipolis's very grand body mods are an extrapolation of badlands debu body mod goals, where they're trying to mimic the badassery of a bunch of scars and piercings by having these big sweeping ones, and how the saddle-caparisons could be used as actual saddles for passing zebramen and zebraelves like how in beastars, larger animals let smaller ones hitch a ride on them in hallways!
I could go on but the important part is that the entire dress has the template of Badlands wedding dress, but the designs within are very reminiscent of Valley debu.
So, the dress is actually really skimpy, it's just about the equivalent to Debu lingerie with the placement of the cutouts, and the reason is is sort of the message to highlight the back hairs and behind area to be like "now that you're a part of the family, here's the goods." The back hairs in particular also have the message of both the impending motherhood since that's where baby Debu latch on, and also the highlight of the closeness between the newlyweds, since resting your head on the back hairs/back area is a form of affection that isn't... intimate but it establishes that you're very close to the person to have the same tenderness and vulnerability with them the same way a child does when it hangs on to those hairs.
The blue, and the frills on the edges of the caparison is a very Serendipolis part of the design, but the actual design on the caparison is very curvy, floral, it's geometric but very wavy which are generally the designs that Valley debu create. The bracelets are the opposite, though, they have very hard, straight edges and Badlands Debu love that stuff. The floral element next to her hump is both representative of Lepit and general growth and those light-colored thingies around the back are supposed to be whistles that represent Sindeer c:
I just have to make a reason for every damn little thing, huh
their shoulders are paralell with eachother and they're all at the same width on the torso - their arms are constantly in eachothers' way
I ignored it really hard during the run animation where I just magically layered all of the legs on top of eachother, but it bugged me real bad, so i fixed it!
Now they're super wide, their middle pair of arms comes wider out than the other pairs. I remember saying that Debu were wider than they were tall in order to make them better at climbing cliffs, and I think this makes them better at doing so. Also it's inherently the funniest front view on Bolur. 🛸
Also, Debu shoes. It's Drohnen shoes - socks and sandals edition. Their hooves are uncovered, their fingers are gloved, and the palm of their hand is padded, and sandal'd.
Also, zebramen!
Unnamed bald guy stands out when he's out in public, but mostly for his "overdressing." Most societies around the area that I focus on don't wear much of any clothing, and this is across all species. It's too hot to be doing that! But it's fun to wear some jewlery and bracelets, decorative wear that doesn't cover much. He wears this big cloak - not because he's self-concious, he doesn't give a shit - but because sunburn is much more of a problem when you don't have fur.
He does boast being able to keep cooler than everyone else though
this unfortunate fellow's steed has broken right through its reigns.
This Creature actually has the same leg problem as Debu, but it's on purpose - @/portalfire gave me the idea of an animal with this really cool locomotion where at any given time during its "gallop", it's practically bipedal by cycling really quickly through its legs in a circular motion. In media, even in ancient times, it's depicted with a sonic "leg swirl" from how it appears to everyone else.
It's herbivorous, but it's very social, and competitive within its in-group at that, which is why they evolved such gnarly beaks.
Ah, my favorite part of speculative biology... the flying Thingmajigs!!!
Instead of domesticating wolves, the Music Men's best friend is birds. "Cloes," specifically. Many of them are insectivores because they're an alliance over their crops (music men get their crops free of pests, cloes get snacking) but they do have "raptors" that help them locate and catch prey and game that I should also design.
The Debu have domesticated the Homo Mousike equivalent of bats. Nocturnal, communal, cavedwelling cloes that even sleep upside-down! Though that last part isn't special, most cloes sleep/roost upside-down - have slight prongs on the ends of their muscular tails to help them hook on to a branch they're hanging on.
Originally they were the pests but now they keep pests out, not just bugs but any small animal. They're also communal much like most domesticated cloes, and by mimicking their calls you can command an entire flock, which is an especially potent ability when the only thing stopping these guys from going after bigger prey is numbers.
The gap between their front and back teeth are especially large so they can have a gap for Grip. They use their long middle finger to stab insects.
The Zebraelves have their insectivores, but they actually have clohe mounts! Diving, powerful flyers the size of our storks that they ride. They're not as communal as most domesticated clohes, and they sleep/roost on the ground, unlike most cloes. They actually can use their tail like a fish's, and swim like one beneath the water.
They're almost a bit too water friendly, and oftentimes, if you fly over water with them, there's a half chance they'll dive for a snack... It's best to keep them extra-fed but there's no cure for impulsivity.
Behold... the cloe equivalent to a crusty white dog. This one is a basic clohe domesticated for the purpose of keeping pests off your garden but the wealthy have begun breeding fancier cloes from the already curly-furred, cute, insectivores in nature.
Wouldn't be a true "dog" without the unethical breeding for cuteness
They have a version of fetch (aka some game universally played with cloes) where they toss them up in the air and let them glide/fly down into their hands. Once they industrialize/modernize I imagine cloe movies will have someone reluctantly adopt a cloe after literally tossing it away and having it fly right back over and over.
That one picture of the zebraelf holding her laughter in inspired me to make these 3 characters - these 2 mailmen who ride their cloes to far-out cities and deliver things and their kinda uptight boss who always catches them on stupid tomfoolery. Mordecai, Rigby, and Benson dynamic.
They actually do know Sindeer, Rinkalla, and Lepit, but the first one (fanny pack, "Mauli") is seen as a treat to have in the house and the 2nd one (mohawk, "Pua") is seen as a PEST by specifically Sindeer because she caught her stealing from her farm Only Once
Also, Rinkalla's petroglyphs.
The first one is set mostly in the past. shows the nigh-falling out between Sindeer and Lepit that led them searching for someone new, Lepit making his seperate burrow now that Rinkalla is there to sleep beside Sindeer, something she made to comfort Sindeer on her infertility woes, and Rinkalla offering Lepit a razor to shave off his back fur, alongside making fur extensions from them. Surprise! i forgot to mention that in their introduction post but Rinkalla and Lepit are trans and they have a sick trade deal
This one is mainly set in the now with just very domestic scenes for the most part of Rinkalla offering Sindeer handmade blades, Lepit caring for her when she got stupid sick, but that one gruesome, blood-covered scene was how this series of skirmishes with a group of Zebraelves ended, where a group of exiled, unwillingly nomadic raiders were attempting to drive the 3 out from their homes so they could take it. The first time Lepit got stabbed badly when they came, they got away and stole a big chunk of their food, but the 2nd time, Sindeer literally picked up one of them, chucked them into the air, and called their cloes to feast on the fucker midair.
That ended that issue very quickly! It was the scariest thing Rinkalla had ever seen and she commemorated it
