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MichaelJaecks — Earthquake Dragon WIP
Published: 2009-07-08 20:00:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 2780; Favourites: 49; Downloads: 122
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Description
Earthquake Dragon head work in progress. There's more I want to do to this, but I have to flip back to the full figure sketch of the concept now. All due Sunday. I hope to have time to pick away some more at this one.Not sure about the motion blur echo 'breath weapon', but it conveys the basic idea that this guy uses soundwaves to induce earthquakes... In keeping with the Dungeons and Dragons theme, I call the effect the "Cone of Apocalyptic Echoes!"
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Comments: 28
Thank you very kindly!
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What exactly is this for? Another Paizo product?
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No, this one is for a contest over at [link] . Tis due Sunday.
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Nice! 
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Thanks! Tha's a pretty good idea, maybe I can mix some of that in for the final.
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Heh heh. First you hear the scream, then you feel the shake.
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I know there are a lot of (possibly valid) queries about anatomy etc, on this piece, but let's remember this is 'fantasy'.
It's still believable enough to get away with all the little quirks that people are picking out, and there are hundreds of artists out there who draw mangled monsters (myself included) that if they really existed would have trouble standing or breathing. But it's fantasy.. and a fair amount of leeway must be given, I finks.
This isn't pure science folks, but a fantastic twist on said science
My tuppence
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Thats awesome man great work.
Love the "Cone of Apocalyptic Echoes" idea, its clever.
:3
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
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well, the only thing I dislike about this piece would be the faded look of the trees on his back... if you put some variation between darker and lighter green however, I believe the effect would be far better.
other than that, I think the concept and exicution is great!
I would like to learn more about soliton waves...
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Thanks for the feedback. Little bits and pieces of detail will get worked in before the final is due Sunday.
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Looks awesome Michael. One small question I have is anatomy based. When he shuts his mouth, his lower beak will most likely protrude a lot higher than his upper beak would allow for... unless he sits with his mouth slightly open when he's at rest? Niggly point I know, but what can I say I'm an ass.
But love the trees on his back and the overall colour choice. Rockin' stuff.
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It's a tough thing to say for sure, you know? In part I think because we know this creature is made of rock, which is rigid. My own jaw has some wiggle room. I can close my mouth funny and feign an underbite. If the creature were made of flesh, imagining how its mouth with close would seema bit different...
I see what you're saying though. Sometimes I veer away from thinking about things realistically in favor of exaggeration and expression. Is there ever a way to tell when its a good or bad idea to do that? I think its sort of an unanswerable question.
You're not an ass! Constructive criticism is always welcome.
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You probably do it the right way! Getting caught up too much in the reality of things can often be to the detriment of the image, and this guy has a really nice balance about him. Think you may be right just on the rock thing too... always nice to have the crit work both ways... helps reinforce things to take under consideration.
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Wow... the head textures and lights are amazing.. I'm loving it!
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Thanks man! Stay tuned for the finals which have to get turned in Sunday!
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I think the soundwave thing looks a bit...odd. Perhaps the quakes could be caused by massive stomps from his feet or his tail? I think having elephant like feet would rock (just watched a thing on 4oD about elephant anatomy [link] and it showed how actually due to elephants weight they run on their tiptoes with a large pad under their heel). Perhaps if these guys were in a heard, at a gallop that is what could cause the earth to split? OR if two of these beasts were fighting or jousting for a female their stomping action could be to see which one would create the biggest chasm and the beta male would fall into it?
This dude would have to be pretty collusal and yes I know that sound frequency can move a lot, something that impacts the ground would make more sense for an earthquake creator.
I dunno, I suck at creating my own ideas but when someone has the start of something I can fire off hundreds of suggestions. This is me just rambling, and if you think my ideas suck its cool!
Oh btw, I accidentally deleted that sketchover I promised last week so once i've completed this project i'll email it to you tomorrow evening!
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Sure, no prob.
Actually, with the echo thing... I'm not in love with the way it looks right now, but I have it on good authority that sound waves are the way to go.
An old friend of mine from art school, who is also quite the scientist and now working for Microsoft swears up and down that the right idea is something called a 'soliton wave.' I'm not the scientist he is, so I have to admit I don't understand what he is talking about completely, but basically it would be a sound like echoes reinforcing themselves... almost like they were amplifying rather than fading. They would travel through the rock and pulverize it, thereby causing the earthquake.
Again, I don't completely understand what Steve is telling me, and he does admit that to a point he is fictionalizing the concept to an extent (because of course, it's not like human beings have yet successfully induced an earthquake on purpose beyond the movies [The Core, for instance]... but...) but I do reasonably trust what Steve is telling me.
Now of course, this is for a Dungeons and Dragons contest, so when I write up the copy for the concept, describing things like 'soliton waves' is going to be way to Trekkie technobabble... which is why the effect is called "Cone of Apocalyptic Echoes' for the time being. Unless I can think of something more catchy by Sunday.
At any rate, thanks for the input. I do think rock would also probably crumble beneath this things feet. And yeah, he's pretty darn big.
Cheers!
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Then the question would be, what does he stand on
I get what you say about soundwaves, it does make sense. It's almost concentrating the sound.
I'd really like to see how it turns out - I hope I don't seem over critical!
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No, of course not! Don't apologize for making constructive criticism; I totally appreciate it. Your feedback is always very thoughtful, which is a lot more than I can say for many others. You actually try to come up with options and strategies in addition to pointing out what you might change... most people just say they dont like something or are sort of vague.
What does he stand on? You know... these Dungeons and Dragons monsters often times will have powers that are described as something they can use '3 times per day' or 'At will'... I don't think he probably crushes all earth he touches all the time.
Its a funny thing thinking scientifically about a magical creature. I think plausibility is good, but ultimately, it is a monster made of rock, which is an impossibility from the get-go.
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Never been into D&D so I don't know the rules! *eerie silence ensues!*
Glad you appreciate my ramblings
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I do love what you have done so far though! Forgot to mention that in my ramble
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BTW, in the end I went with the number 6 head from the sketches with a few changes suggested by head number 7...
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