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whalewithlegs — Field Notes - Compevo

Published: 2008-12-04 22:15:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 6549; Favourites: 91; Downloads: 57
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Description Pgastrode - Small soft-bodied worm. Uses a weak matter transmission ability to ingest humus from loam and decaying leaf matter. Must remain moist to survive, using loose leaf cover also as protection.

Solide - Larger and more aggressive than pgastrode, solide has developed a rudimentary foot wedge which it uses in conjunction with its coiling body to bury itself in the soil. It remains buried, using transmission to feed on detritus close to the surface, and moves only when it has exhausted locally available nutrients.

Leaflitter - Native to higher altitudes than the closely-related solide, the seemingly vulnerable leaflitter's skin has become more permeable to allow some absorption of minerals and water directly through the skin. Due to this, it remains buried nearly half a meter year-round as a protection against the elements. Due to sparsity of food, its matter-transmission ability has nearly doubled in strength and range, allowing it to break down the tougher high-altitude plants and lichen.

Glasstrowel - Digs through earth just below permafrost with a hardened facial trowel. A thick leathery coat and insulating layer of blubber protect it against the cold. It absorbs some water & minerals through crude specialized pores along its lateral line. Surprisingly active despite its cold environment, it uses matter transmission almost constantly to obtain the necessary nutrients from the vegetation above.

Updated:
Obsidian Glasstrowel - Obsidian glasstrowels have moved above ground, unable to procure food from sparse vegetation with limited mobility. Growing to a much larger size, it withers vegetation in its path, draining any available plant of all nutrient and making the environment nearly unsuitable for any other life form. Aided by thick blubber to protect it from the cold, it occasionally forays into water to consume hard to reach kelp or aquatic weeds, but is a poor swimmer.

Icedelver - Icedelvers are found mainly in arctic seas and feed primarily on kelp. They spend nearly all of their lives underwater, never surfacing to breathe. Slow though agile swimmers and largely restricted to water, they are still small enough to move clumsily on land in a snakelike fashion. Kelp is apparently difficult for them to ingest and they become territorial of local kelp beds.

Poisonlace - Feeds on rot and decaying leaf matter on on the forest floor by matter transmission. Ingests a toxic fungus with the leaves and secretes most of the poison through its skin, but also largely lethargic as a result of the toxicity. Hides in tree roots during the day & ventures out at night to keep other poisonlaces out of its territory.

Snotty Peel - Snotty peels have developed a taste for meat which supplements their vegetable diet and allows them to become more agile. They especially predate the closely-related poisonlaces and retain poisonous qualities. In addition, they are better able to excrete the poison through their outer membrane using a kind of mucus covering which also helps keep them moist when not buried in leaves. Prowling their territory more boldly, they occasionally foray into the trees but climbing is slightly difficult. Yellow banding has expanded to cover nearly all of its upper body, making the more appealing & eye-catching red less of an invitation to predators.

Leafy Peel - Faster and more vicious than the snotty peel, leafy peels are a closely-related derivation and have evolved small tines that allow them a better ambulatory grip both on ground an in trees. The poisonous mucous layer over the skin has become more concentrated in areas , slick on the bottom and gummy in spots, allowing fallen foliage to stick to it while retaining mobility. They also have a series of fleshy growths that act as camouflage together with coloration. These growths are shed regularly, similar to foliage, and change coloration with the season to match adhering fallen leaves.

Treacle Snake - Swarthy and aggressive, the treacle snake, though closely derived from the leafy peel, has adapted several of its tines into striking claws to assist in bringing down fast prey. It is significantly larger and better armored than the leafy peel, having developed a layer of dermal armor deriving from hardened layers of fleshy growth and accumulated bark with it adheres to itself with a gummy secretion that hardens quickly on contact with air.

Pocket Snake - A forest predator derived from treacle snake stock, pocket snakes have evolved a small basket-like pouch on top of their head, structured from interlocking leafy armor plates. They use this to carry and store meat for a short time, enabling them to subsist totally on meat even when it is hard to find. As a result, they can put on bursts of speed when chasing prey. The rotting meat on their heads also attracts opportunists which the pocket snake eats also, when it can catch them. It primarily is found on the ground though will on rare occasions act as an ambush predator.

Gumsponge - Though dangerous enough animals in their own right, gumsponges spend most of their adult life in shallow torpor, relying primarily on body armor to defend them. They form colonies and can often be found growing interlinked, plantlike, forming small thickets of dense keratin-like mass that becomes a safe-haven for their more mobile and self-sufficient young. Hard to awaken, short of physically harming them, gumsponges will react violently to predators, though they have reverted to a herbivorous lifestyle. Vegetation grows more easily within sheltered clusters of gumsponges, forming a kind of proto-agriculture on which the gumsponges subsist. Seasonally, they will become active and migrate, revealing their wormlike body structure.

Spiny Cushion - Almost totally immobile, spiny cushions thick armor plates become porous along their outer surface, encouraging drought-resistant plants, mosses, and lichens to grow on its surface in a thin covering. Their arm spines serve mainly to ward off small browsers and birds that would eat their vegetable coverings, and will wave occasionally as if in wind. They extend their snakelike tail below ground, keeping their body as cool as possible.

Polarstern - A mesopelagic creature largely confined to arctic regions, Polarstern's main differentiation from Icedelver is a dietary conversion to mostly of plankton and the occasional floating kelp mass. Territorial and solitary, it spends much of its time floating near the surface, using matter transmission to slowly clear the water around it of organic matter, moving on only when it has exhausted local resources. This creature has also been known to eat mud and even to corrode metal surfaces.

Bettawhale - An extremely aggressive creature, bettawhales have an elongated facial crest which is used for ramming. Due to a more streamlined body shape and more powerful fins, it can swim more quickly and charge more effectively.

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Playing Compevo against ! [link] & [link] Anyone can join in .. we've just had another player start! There are also challenges that you can start, and 1 standing challenge open, I believe.

Texture: ... somebody.
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Comments: 59

MickMcDee [2010-11-30 16:58:17 +0000 UTC]

brilliant concept
love the "polarstern"!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to MickMcDee [2010-12-01 02:33:24 +0000 UTC]

thanks! That's a fun one, isn't it?

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MickMcDee In reply to whalewithlegs [2010-12-01 15:36:06 +0000 UTC]

yeah, but the others are great as well

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snarfevs [2010-09-05 12:40:14 +0000 UTC]

This is fantastic. I really like the bifid tail motif. Compevo sounds cool.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to snarfevs [2010-09-06 05:59:08 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it was a fun game. Hard to manage though & it kept dying during the holidays.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

The-Mirrorball-Man [2009-02-15 09:59:18 +0000 UTC]

This is fascinating on several levels.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to The-Mirrorball-Man [2009-02-15 12:15:11 +0000 UTC]

thanks! I really enjoy how the idea of descendancy has so many nuances, not the least of which is how it mirrors the decision-making process

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The-Mirrorball-Man In reply to whalewithlegs [2009-02-16 04:30:32 +0000 UTC]

I have to admit that my decision-making process is not nearly as well organized as this.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

The-Odd-Gentleman [2008-12-26 22:40:36 +0000 UTC]

where the heck do you get your ideas from? they are just amazing!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to The-Odd-Gentleman [2008-12-29 16:19:44 +0000 UTC]

hehe, thanks ... i was just thinking a little about this yesterday, actually .. i'm the kind of person that always sympathizes with the monster in films. I think I don;t feel human at my default level, but sort of rise or sink to it in different emotional states.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-Odd-Gentleman In reply to whalewithlegs [2009-01-06 06:39:00 +0000 UTC]

I kinda what you mean. I felt great sympathy for King Kong when I was younger and then I always felt somewhat more sorry for the monster that just got caught up in the selfish intrigues of mad scientists...robots on the other hand...

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OrzhovSlodier [2008-12-24 20:15:00 +0000 UTC]

Leaflitter: Absolutely no symbolism here.

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whalewithlegs In reply to OrzhovSlodier [2008-12-25 01:37:36 +0000 UTC]

why does everyone keep saying that? XD

I know, right. The worst part is I think I am possibly one of the most unfreudian in intent of artists.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

thomastapir [2008-12-24 17:32:45 +0000 UTC]

I think the Polastern and Bettawhale are strong contenders for my new favorites!

I love the way you're handling that glossy skin texture on this arctic lineage...Is that really all Photoshop??

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-25 01:38:33 +0000 UTC]

this is actually Paint Shop .. i just found a paint tool, among it a palette knife which I used for those past 2. They were also initially hand-drawn as opposed to the others.

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LegionGUA [2008-12-24 12:56:36 +0000 UTC]

Impressive work. I particularily like the Glasstrowel, Leaflitter and Obsidian Glasstrowel. o.O Only... I feel as if I'm going to upload some creature I drew one day, thinking it's all unique and witty, and then seeing three simular entries on DA, hah.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to LegionGUA [2008-12-25 01:43:28 +0000 UTC]

Hey, great minds think alike, eh? I'd still like to see your drawings! Leaflitter itself is pretty basic, at least though

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

LegionGUA In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-25 12:06:22 +0000 UTC]

I wouldn't know about 'great minds think alike'. I don't think I'm that great, after all, I basicly toss random vital organs on a stack and see what grows.

As for uploading things, I'm sorry but, as I said in the quoty bit of the profile, I still have a lot to learn about drawing before I actually upload something. But thank you anyway.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to LegionGUA [2008-12-30 18:03:27 +0000 UTC]

heh heh, it's certainly an interesting process, eh? I'd encourage you to upload anyhow though, if you're interested in the criticism. communities certainly help you grow faster!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

OrzhovSlodier [2008-12-23 01:42:23 +0000 UTC]

Holy foop, That's an update. i didn't even notice the update until I went back and cleaned up my DevWatch.

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whalewithlegs In reply to OrzhovSlodier [2008-12-23 05:59:49 +0000 UTC]

Yes! I may re-update this gradually, or just upload new pieces ... i have to change the background every time anyway, so it's just as much work as a new piece, almost.

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Hydromancerx [2008-12-19 07:18:40 +0000 UTC]

I like the update.

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whalewithlegs In reply to Hydromancerx [2008-12-19 08:41:35 +0000 UTC]

the update likes you XD

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thomastapir [2008-12-18 04:09:54 +0000 UTC]

Icedelver = WIN. I love that creature, it looks like some alternate whale...How big did you picture it being?

The colors are looking really good on these! Is it just Photoshop? (Well, not "just" Photoshop, but you know what I mean...)

I really like the Pocket Snake, too--my first impression was that it was carrying some sort of symbiont on its back.

Too much coolness...Yeah, the vibrant colors on toned paper really make these pop!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-18 07:04:32 +0000 UTC]

yeah, it's a fun experiment to get them all colored like so ... all of my creatures have color schemes, movement patterns, even voices, smells, etc, but it's just too much info to ever get out without decades of work on just that one thing. Doing the colored drawings like this every few days has been really great ... putting the stuff down all together just looks so much better than the other taxon maps i've made so far .. blah blah blah!!


I imagined Icedelver to be somewhere like small whale-ish size .. pilot whale, beluga, narwhal maybe? not quite as big as orcas, maybe only as big as porpoises? small as walruses, minimum: [link]

Man, and pocket snake? I think it's a terrible drawing, ha ha! I do think the name would be great on a Sniadi animal though

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-18 22:55:24 +0000 UTC]

Okay bro, check these out:

[link]
[link]

I'm really curious to see if you get where I'm coming from on these (related to that poster, that is).

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-19 01:00:02 +0000 UTC]

haha, i do see that totally XD .. it's hilarious how that was right there to be seen right after we talked about it!

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thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-19 02:32:15 +0000 UTC]

I meant to say that in the description!--"thus proving that I have to add mantis arms to everything..."

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-18 18:16:18 +0000 UTC]

Wow, I didn't realize your creatures were so fully realized--you seem to have a very rare type of creativity that works on every sensory level. I'm usually limited just to the basic visual image; the other factors you mention only follow from that, if at all!

Hey, is there a list of those giant-sized emoticon accounts somewhere?? I'm stuck using the "gigantic ohnoes plz" for every situation.

That whale chart is awesome, btw...Holy crap, I just misinterpreted something on there and it evoked a very bizarre whale image!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-19 01:02:54 +0000 UTC]

haha, and to think I just threw that whale chart at you on a whim .. i only looked it up to make sure the sizes I was trying to explain were accurate!

If you find that giant emoticon list, let me know .. i'm stuck trying to test each one out whenever i find it ... although, that has lead me to stumble across Winkler:

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-19 02:30:52 +0000 UTC]

"Aaaaaaaaaayyyy!"

Now of course I'm wondering what kind of experimentation led you to come across a giant Fonzie emoticon. Or somebody to produce one in the first place.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-19 03:29:39 +0000 UTC]

"They'd all laugh at me if they knew what I was trying to do ... Well, I'll show them! I'll show them all! "

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

commander-salamander [2008-12-05 22:17:33 +0000 UTC]

I love the use of the texture behind. Once more, very fascinating creatures

Kaka, are a type of parrot in my country. In fact Kaka means parrot.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to commander-salamander [2008-12-06 06:51:49 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, learning to use just the paper texture has added so much to what would otherwise be just doodles ... it sort of validates the doodle

kaka is becoming more and more versatile .. parrots, sports icons ... i'll have to tell my dad about North Island Kākā ... we haven's had a great potential joke like this since we learned about pahoehoe and aa.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

commander-salamander In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-06 07:06:01 +0000 UTC]

Just a bit. Look up Whakatane.

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whalewithlegs In reply to commander-salamander [2008-12-06 07:20:09 +0000 UTC]

Wow, that area is just chalk full of potential!!

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commander-salamander In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-06 10:20:03 +0000 UTC]

I thought you'd like!

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Sphenacodon [2008-12-05 11:14:41 +0000 UTC]

I like them. They're like both planarians and nemerteans (the poison*lace* is a reference to the latter, right?)

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whalewithlegs In reply to Sphenacodon [2008-12-05 11:25:24 +0000 UTC]

HOLY KAKA, that's a scary creature ... I had no idea that it existed! I actually must admit to a biological ignorance about a lot of the animal kingdom, coming into the speculation community mostly from the art side. My only real areas of any knowledge, other than the basics, are of primates and some birds. I only just learned about Helicoprion a couple of weeks ago... stunning how amazing the natural world is, eh?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Sphenacodon In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-05 15:03:43 +0000 UTC]

You swear on Brazilian football players?
The poisonlace wasn't an intentional reference to bootlace worms? Once more, art imitates nature (even the stripes are really spot-on, actually). Well then, welcome to another facet of the wonderful animal world - may it never cease to amaze you.

Now may be a good time to mention priapulans, aka penis worms... or maybe not.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to Sphenacodon [2008-12-05 19:01:05 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, i was so surprised about the stripes!

Ah, nature in all its phallic glory.

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lizander1888 [2008-12-05 03:13:00 +0000 UTC]

I wan't to play compevo T.T, stupid deity ¬¬.... anyway my little bugs will kill and fest in the frozen carcass of your little creatures in compevo, wahahaha.... by the way,leaflitter, well, it is in fact inevitable XDDDDDDD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

thomastapir [2008-12-05 02:36:18 +0000 UTC]

Ooo, nice. I think the Glasstrowel is my favorite, but I'm digging the spots on the Leaflitter. They remind me of planarians.

So does "matter transmission" mean actual teleportation? (I guess I should read up on the game before asking a bunch of stupid questions!)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-05 03:12:14 +0000 UTC]

Like all things slow & slimy, I simultaneously love & hate planarians ... they're fascinating creatures, but they creep the hell out of me too.

Matter transmission in most of my creatures is a rough and dirty group of wave-based teleportation-related adaptations that I usually refer to as ' psychogastronomics' or 'telegastronomics,' but I feel kind of silly using those terms in a public forum.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-05 05:30:03 +0000 UTC]

The creepiest thing about planarians is the way you can chop them up and feed them to other planarians and the new group will absorb the memories of the old!

Hey, telegastronomics works for me. Of course I immediately want to start pestering you with questions about what kind of wave-based phenomenon this would entail, but I'll restrain myself.

Does the "Fielf" in the title have a specific meaning, or is it a typo..?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-05 08:17:04 +0000 UTC]

Ah yes, memory-transference .. there's actually a lot of interesting junk about racial consciousness & monkeys & apple washing .. i'm sort of breaking down into unintelligible tangents here .. i'm tired & sore & a little wobbly.

Yeah, ask away! I'll volunteer some info later, but am a little too vapid at the moment to formulate more than just a little summary: defensive adaptations, offensive ones ... urrr, I'll have to get my notes. Ah, here we are. I usually refer to it as 'G.' Some things associated with it:

-Antitelegastronomics (which is actually controlled by a separate specialized organ called the synch-engine) & various sorts of obfuscation to telegastronmic 'sighted' organisms (more akin to telesensation, as in touch, or proprioception). Also included in the category: emotional auras, visual illusions, physical barriers, and PG illusions.
-said telesensation/telereception/teleperception, including things like 'fault synch,' 'unch beam'
-levetation
-crude telepotration
-animal group coordination (also controlled in part by the synch-engine whish, in part, can sense & respond to the 'telegastronome'
-etc.

Thanks for catching the typo XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-05 16:47:11 +0000 UTC]

Interesting, so it's a whole suite of psychic survival adaptations! I love it...The book Deathworld by Harry Harrison explored a similar idea, though not taking it nearly as far as your PG creatures.

I've always wondered if there might be some degree of connection between evolutionary selection and the development of psychic phenomena--either selecting for or against. i.e. might telepathy in fact be disadvantageous to social organisms such as humans where so much of our cultural behavior is based on concealment and deception, even among our allies?

I hate to say it--God, I feel like one of those pedantic spec bio @$$holes even pointing it out--but that Hundredth Monkey effect is something of a New Age myth:

[link]

It actually really bummed me out when I discovered it was specious, because I love all that Sheldrake/morphic resonance stuff.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-05 19:05:34 +0000 UTC]

naw, no worries! i'm actually kind of glad to hear that it's prettymuch not factual .. it's a little creepy

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thomastapir In reply to whalewithlegs [2008-12-05 23:52:21 +0000 UTC]

Isn't it?? A little too "Childhood's End," methinks...

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whalewithlegs In reply to thomastapir [2008-12-06 06:53:07 +0000 UTC]

ah, that was a great story. i keep meaning to read all the books you mention, by the way!

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