- The planet's main body of land is volcanic, covered in heather and various mountain plants. The dog creature creates meadows of wildflowers within this area.
- There are some areas of desiccated desert nearby, so the sky is often filled with dust, turning it red.
- Auroras are common around the majority of the planet, and are especially vivid during the parts of the year the planet is closest to the sun; it has an elliptical orbit, and thus twice a year it is a lot closer to the sun, making it far hotter and brighter than normal. The mangrove forest benefits greatly from these periods, though eruptions are more common.
- Melting snow during summers causes the mangrove to flood more, meaning water-dwelling creatures have more mobility.
All the creatures I have designed have a notable impact on the eco-system. Without them, their world would be a lot more ravaged and uncontrollable. The dog protects flowers from lava. The cat and crocodile remove mercury and sulfur from the landscape to prevent contamination. The dragon controls wildfires, and the deer grazes on tangling weeds that would choke the rivers. Together they make the world a more habitable environment for each other, if unwittingly.
Creature One - Dog
Based on:
Dog, fox, pika. Lives in packs.
Habitat:
Lives in the heather-strewn hills/plains in the volcanic region.
Diet:
Nectar, sugars (various sources; they find sugar like butterflies do).
Whenever the volcano erupts, they dig up and move the majority of the plants out of the way to a safer area, transporting them on their tails.
Their 'fur' is essentially moss, and they develop new plants on their backs in a myriad of colour and patterns.
Their place of birth and the season changes the colour of their 'fur'. Autumnal ones are more orangey and bright, whilst the one pictured is from spring-time.
In their packs, they tend to gather and cultivate plants and flowers in glorious meadows.
Rarely hunted as they have very little substance for predators to eat, however if killed their flowers continue growing, using the corpse as nutrients.
Long claws - for digging up plants, also for defence
Slim, fast, nimble build
Long, sturdy tail for transporting plants
Covered in plants, gains energy from photosynthesizing
Creature Two - Crocodile
Based on:
Crocodile, monitor lizard, catfish.
Habitat:
River systems, the water in the mangrove swamp, rarely in the ocean. Sometimes on land in the volcanic plains.
Diet:
Fish, or larger animals like the deer.
They have hyper-sensitive barbels/whiskers that allow them to seek out mercury vents, which they drink and store in their bodies to use as a slow poison on prey. By doing this they prevent the eco-system from being contaminated.
Their constellation-like markings are brighter when they contain mercury. Dark, unmarred skin means it needs to find a new source to drink from.
Tends to move at night, when its lack of sight doesn't matter, and its constellation patterns let it reflect the night sky like a pool of water.
Related to the dragon creature; essentially its terrestrial cousin
No eyes; uses barbels to sense movement, coupled with scent to find mercury
Low-slung, heavy; much faster in water
Unusually fast if hungry and stocked on mercury, six legs give it an advantage. Would have to ambush prey for this to work
Creature Three - Dragon
Based on:
Koi carp, goldfish, snake, crocodile.
Habitat:
Forest canopy, rivers. Rarely walks on land.
Diet:
Fish, fire, birds.
Essential guardian of the forest; absorbs/eats fire when eruptions cause massive forest/plains wildfire.
Rarely attacked/in a place to be attacked.
Can almost float - has hollow bones like a bird, and air/helium bladders. Makes movement in air very gliding and fluid, as though it is in water.
Will take sulfur plumes as food if there have been no wildfires for a while. Will also kill the sulfur cats if necessary, for their fire.
Long, fast, fluid body shape for quick, sudden movements
Goldfish-style tail-tip gives extra speed in water/air
Double-jointed ankles (like squirrels) for additional mobility in trees
Vibrant colours make it recognisable to potential predators, also help it blend into greenery (like a tiger) or the muddy river
Creature Four - Cat
Based on:
Lion, tiger, smilodon.
Habitat:
Anywhere. Snow, plains, forest, rarely desert.
Diet:
Typically the horse-type creature, though they will eat anything.
Scavenger and hunter. Tends to hunt alone, sometimes in pairs/small groups.
Eats sulfur; plumes of liquid sulfur ignite on the volcanic plains, and these creatures drink that or wait for it to solidify and then break off chunks with strong jaws. High body temperature allows them to liquefy and burn off sulfur to stay warm when in the snow.
Markings beneath their eyes are sensors allowing for thermal vision (like snakes).
Very strong/muscular. Can use their blade-tip tail to strike at small prey (like birds) suddenly, or to hack through dense muscle on larger prey.
Sometimes predated by the dragon for its fire, if there hasn't been a wildfire for a while.
In snow, sulfur flames give it away, doesn't need camouflage
For in plains, skin is dappled with natural mountain-side plants/heather-like colours
Strong, stocky, can survive independently
Vents on its back and neck release sulfur flames
Strong teeth/jaws for crunching solid chunks of sulfur
Creature Five - Deer
Based on:
Horse, deer, goat, crocodile.
Habitat:
Mangrove forest/swamp, rivers.
Diet:
Underwater plants.
Mostly eats a constricting weed-type plant that chokes other plants within rivers.
Branch-like antler grows as the creature does, also changes with season (sprouts leaves, loses them in autumn, etc.). There are different breeds that can grow fruit - they are known and followed by large fish that eat fallen fruit from the riverbed. Sometimes the dog creatures follow them for fruit also.
Wades through rivers looking for grazing material.
Has nostrils on its neck as well as muzzle; can breath even with its head underwater. In a pinch they can act as gills, too, but not for hugely extended periods of time.
Long legs good for wading through mud/water
Small, sensitive hooves sense vibrations in the ground/water; warned about predators
Strong tail for swimming, or defending against predators
Green, muddy colours for blending into river, algae and surrounding shrubs
Antler constantly grows, changes with season, good for camouflage
Size comparison
Reflection
Doing this four-week project has been useful to judge my workflow and practice with Photoshop brushes I had never touched, as well as give me more confidence with my brush pens and increase in speed with small sketches. I found that doing small, traditional sketches in a single colour (typically black, although breaking off into other colours was useful to not fall into a slump) was an efficient way to test poses and quickly get the sense of a creature. I would then redraw a larger version in Photoshop and test ideas on other layers, whether different poses or additional features (i.e. antler shapes). By the end design I was leaving the previous sketches up in case a pose or feature could carry over into the final design.
Additionally, I have found that texture brushes (typically downloaded as free resources from artists I follow, such as Aaron Blaise and Jama Jurabaev) are exceptional for making interesting designs in a much faster, less tedious method than it would have taken normally. For instance, the dragon's scales are mixes of a few texture brushes, and careful application of the Colour Dodge layer (a technique recommended by Ross Tran in his speedpaints) and Multiply layer (recommended by Aaron Blaise in his tutorials).
For future projects I will try to plan my time more efficiently, and definitely keep doing the small brush-pen sketches for working out poses and design features. The world-building was also extremely useful for creating more unique designs, adapted specifically for the world they were intended for and not just thrown in to fit, and I will keep doing that for future designs.
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