#styraphant

[entelodante]

Styraphant expression chart, the basic emotions as well as some vocalizations. Info dump below!

Styraphant's faces are mostly hard, immovable crest so the majority of expressions come from positioning of the trunks and eyestalks. The vast majority of expressions are with the trunk closed, as most people are chewing on something at any given time, but more intense emotions may have either trunk positioned differently! Neutral- Default resting expression. Trunks and eyestalks are for the most part relaxed, with the trunks perked up to avoid the ground. The air sacks are not very prominent even when talking and their tone is even, without much variation in pitch.

Happy- Trunks curl loosely back towards the body and the eyes are strained forwards and widened. The air sacks are evenly inflated and a staggered, sharp voice is used. Will also blush the most obviously.

Mad- Eyestalks slightly retract and the eyes squint. Trunks tense and curl sharply out from the face, a really enraged fellow may part the trunks at the base to rudely gnash their beak. Airsacks inflate mostly upwardly and a low, even rumble of a tone is taken. Sad- They do cry when sad, as people are oft to do. Their eyestalks relax and loll outwards, whilst the trunks tense and curl forwards at the ends. They speak in a warble of a voice, with heavy variations in pitch.

Fear- When frightened a styraphant will retract their eyes to lay flush with the head, partially protected by their crest. Their trunks curl tightly back and rest against the neck. Their voice is shrill and with sharp upward inflection.

Disgust- Trunks curl around themselves, may form a loose knot if really put off, eyes narrow but do not pull back. Tone is very light, as simple as exhaling.

Surprise- When SHOCKED the trunks raise way up and eyes widen. Eyestalks press against the curve of the crest but don't go behind it. They puff up their airsacks and have a shrill, downward trailing voice.

And that's the gist! I'm thinking that most time's expressions are very restrained, with things like revealing ones beak seen as a bit childish. There is also body language I should get into, but I want to talk about their food first, so it will have to wait ALAS.

[gokuharaonyx-07]

Just some doodles for spectember

Styraphant by @extrajigs

[entelodante]

Styraphant mouth mechanics! This is like a part one primer before I get into the FOOD aspect. Further knowledge below the cut!

Styraphants of course have two interlocking trunks that function analogously to the arms of a human, but at the end of the day the main purpose of them is for feeding. Descended from browsing ancestors, the trunks basically function as a conveyor belt for plant matter leading towards a gnashing, grinding beak. The upper teeth of the beak grind against each other to break food down into a fine paste, which is very necessary since their esophagus is very narrow as it runs through their brain. Styraphants cant really swallow anything larger than an almond without risking serious damage so chewing is ESSENTIAL!

This feeding pattern wears down their teeth pretty bad leading to modern folk opting to use gastroliths and spare their teeth as much as possible. Styraphants are eating all day so they really value their teeth! They typically leave the bottom half of their trunk empty for daily tasks, but will always have something their chewing on in their gizzard. Just before the gizzard they can 'queue' up food in waiting so they can keep on munching.

All in all they be munching. Most will only be food free in circumstances where they need their entire trunk. But the majority of the time they will be just finishing up breakfast when lunch rolls around!

[entelodante]

Finally finished the styrapahnt walk! Definitely things I would tweak, but I wanna move on to other stuff for em.

Also gave them a caltrop friend for emotional support.

[entelodante]

Styraphant ethnicity BIG POST! Basically just going over the main 'flavors' that all styraphants kind of fall into. More detail below the cut!

They can all interbreed and are the same species, but have a lot more genetic variation than human populations on Earth! There are about 6 main 'morphs', but that being said individuals with varied lineages may be a little hard to pin down. When in doubt the shape of ones crest is where most will look when trying to assume! Because that IS where most of the variation resides. Big list inbound.

Star. These are the dudes I've been drawin so far. They tend to inhabit around the center of their planets largest continent, in the more tropical zones. So like to live in wooded areas and lush vegetation.

Flame. These guys are named for the upswept tines on their crest. They are the most Northernly, enjoying mostly temperate climates and migrating as the seasons change to avoid chillier weather.

Fan. These guys are FUN. With large webbed tines on the crests of both males and females. They are darker due to their hot, arid home, so typically built to avoid sunburn.

Scallop. These guys are named because the edges of their crested are, in fact, scalloped. They range from temperate to tropical climates, tending to stick to places on the soggier side.

Disk. These guys have completely smooth crests! They are also the smallest variety, mostly due to their more seaborne nature. They have the widest range of climates and tend to move around the most by a wide margin.

Spade. These have a spade shaped face, obviously, with two large tines pointing directly upward. They are found in the colder, Southern continent, the only variety not found on the mainland. Their thickset frame helps them put up with the cold year round.

This is the gist! They cover a wide variety of crest and body type in these groups as they are pretty different!

Most differences come from the different regions each population has settled in as I'm also thinking that they are an older species. So they've had time to become more sculpted by their environments. They get along pretty well though, like I'm thinking it's odd to not associate with each other!

[entelodante]

Want to work on a good expression sheet for styraphants but got distracted drawing flustered flirting. Also decided they talk through rumbling air within an inflatable sack in their chest! It's also how they blush because how cute.

[entelodante]

NEW ALIEN AGAIN! This one I wanted to stick to being more Earth inspired, connecting with my roots. I'm calling 'em Styraphants cause they're mostly a mix of styracosaurus, elephant, and mollusk of course. Trying to make a quad walking sophont always lends to kind of a centaur-ish body plan, so tried to think outside the box for appendages this go around. They've got a pair of trunk tentacles around their mouth that they use as their hands, which have a fleshy 'zipper' to slot together at rest. They also smell/taste with them so gloves are a very popular purchase.

Oh also! Their eyes are on little stalks that peak out around their frill, they can hide them away if scared. Also all the fellas pictured here are gals! They have a male/female system in keeping with the Earthling megafauna theme.

[entelodante]

two scamper crows discussing romance in the late afternoon sun

wanted to get back into bgs, so fun to draw