Flora & Fauna Design Discussion

[OYWM]

Perhaps the corn on Trocken is subject to some sort of fallow syndrome in which the soil of Trocken
is not rich enough in phosphorus to support natural corn growth, which would provide a good reason
 for the greenhouses and maybe even specialy prepared soil.

or the soil of trocken may be host to some sort of fungi that has a tendency to attack corn roots
 and vascular systems and cause a form of corn rust/rot.

[jodee_ferrari]

so, it's been a crazy week & i haven't put a buch up here, BUT ...I have a bunch of things that I will post detailed descriptions & sketches of at some point this weekend.

Among them-

the jumping crustaceans  I described earlier

Something of a cross between a fungus & a flower that grows into a natural "greenhouse" that can regulate temperature & airflow to cause condensation inside of itself. Comes in handy when you're on the edge of the desert. It feeds on small rodents and the like & has a symbiotic relationship with some other plants & animals. It's also going to be farmed by man as a highly nutritious  food source.

Flying creatures. Think of a cross between a bird & a fish. I want to avoid too many "earthly" references to animals, becuase life here has a completely different evolutionary path, but at the moment that would be the best way to describe them. The low-g environment would lead to a lot of airborne plants & creatures. these will have large mouths for scooping food out of the air, much like fish.

so, ya, that's what I'm working on. Comments and such are welcome!

[FichtenFoo]

I was waiting to see if anyone else wanted to respond since I already talked to you about these except the fungus plant. They sound good and I'm looking forward to the sketches!

[FichtenFoo]

Here's a few creatures I sketched last night while watching "Spirited Away". First is a small rodent, the "whippert" about 7 inches long from nose to tail. It lives in grasslands and on the desert's edge living on small seeds, grain and insects. It's powerful legs enable it to jump 5-6 feet in the air. The fan-shaped fur on its tail enabels it to propel itself forward when whipped back and forth and/or to make corse corrections mid-flight.

Flora & Fauna Design Discussion

The second is called the "needlenose" and is similar to a squid. This creature however lives in the air and floats using 3 gas-filled sacks on it's body. To propel itself it uses the fan-like fins on the ends of its tenticles whipping them back and forth to create momentum. It can reach very high speeds and uses the sharp pointy end of its head as a syringe propelling itself into floating lanterns and drawing gasses which it uses to replentish its own. It also uses it as a weapon to spear other flying creatures which it then grasps in its tenticles and devoures.

Flora & Fauna Design Discussion

Thoughts?

[G-Sentinel]

you watched spirited away on CN right? I watched it too! Nagasaki has some great designs. i love the whippert. its pretty darn cute! my specialty in drawing is animals so ill see if i can draw anything that might be able to be to your liking!

[jodee_ferrari]

Hey everyone, here's a couple sketches and ideas. Any feedback, lemme know and I'll develop a little further.

Flora & Fauna Design Discussion

The "birds" of Trocken

These winged creatures populate the skies of Trocken. While there are many different species in most parts of the planet, they all have some similarities. Their bodies are covered in tendril-like "scales". The scales on the wings, especially, are long and flexible. They are connected to tendons in the wings so they can flex them and change the shape of their wings, making them highly manueverable in their low-gravity environment. Unlike the birds of earth, they don't have beaks. Instead, they have wide mouths for scooping plant and animal life out of the air. As I said, these can come in a wide variety odf species depending on their environment.

Flora & Fauna Design Discussion

These strange domes grow on the edges of the desert.
The hollow structure of this fungus-like plant is hollow, with a trunk/branches supporting it on the inside. The flaps open and close to regulate the internal temperature and "breathe". When it is cooler at nite and the air is more humid, it opens to draw in the moist air. When the sun comes out it closes again, quickly raising the temperature and condensing the moisture in the air. Since the days are so short on Trocken, it manages to collect a good bit of water every few hours.

The inside of the plant is like a greenhouse. It not only supports  itself, but other plants also manage to grow inside of it, consuming the waste produced by the plant and converting it back to substances it can use. The skin of the dome changes color, from dark to semi-transluscent to regulate light and temperature as well.

The plant is carnivorous! The pods inside the dome produce a full, sweet aroma that small rodents are attracted to. Once inside, they are overcome. The aroma is from a spore toxin that, in the concentrated doses that are found inside, are lethal to small animals. The animals die and are broken down for digestion on the floor of the plant.

The pods on top will one day be plants as well. Once they grow to maturity, they fill with gas and break off, tumbling away with the wind until they find a resting place to take root and grow.

In the wild, they usually grow up to 4-6' high and 4-5' across. Humans quickly found that, with great care and by feeding them large amounts of water and a nutrient rich diet they could grow them up to 20' high! They also found the large, meaty spore pods were a nutrient rich, although pungent, food source. The toxin that it produced wasn't harmful if it was properly prepared, and it kept well for weeks without refrigeration and held a lot of moisture inside it's flesh as long as it was sealed. This makes it an ideal food source for desert life.

"Pod farmers" quickly sprng up on the outer edges of the desert. Farmers would cultivate dozens of pods, harvesting the spore pods from inside. In order to work inside the toxic domes, the farmers wear protective gear & have specialized tools for gathering the pods from inside. They then have to prepare them for consumption, which is a process of cleaning & boiling in a special mixture. The toxin isn't harmful in low doses, and would only make an adult human nauseous in larger doses. Breathing it is dangerous, however, as it attacks the respiratory system.

[FichtenFoo]

Very iteresting. The bird is like a frog/fish/bird... neat! Some species should have the frog tounges! I love the idea of the scales being the "feathers" on them. The only part that looks odd is the bird-feet. I'm not sure what to replace them with as they're a necessity but look off for some reason. Color maybe?

As for the pods... they eat whipperts! Nooo! Poor cute whipperts! :cry: Very intricate though. I wonder if one had the proper respi-gear if the larger ones would make a good temporary shelter in a sandstorm. Hmmm... makes me wonder if dried dead ones would make good "tents" or even junker homes. What's the lifecycle? How long do they live for?

Nice work.

[jodee_ferrari]

Thanks!!

Ya, the feet coloring may be off now that you mention it. Like i said, there will be many different species, i like the tongue idea!!!

Interesting points about the pods being used as shelter, etc. I envision the lifecycle being 2-3 years to grow to full size, and somewhere around 8-10 year lifespan. I imagine the short days would make for a rapid metabolism which would burn the plant out quicker than, say, a large tree here. MAke sense?

Whipperts...mmmmmmmmmmmm  

[G-Sentinel]

Here are some of my works that I drew, there both animals and have there similarites to there eathling ancestors.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/G-Sentinel/scan0003.jpg

I can't think of a name for this one, but I have some info on it. A decendent of the morning dove, it is a little smaller and has larger wings. Because of the lower atmosphere, it's wings are dome shaped and larger so that it can literaly push the air behind it. The Males are a greenish yellow and the females are a more pale green color.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/G-Sentinel/scan0002.jpg

This is a complete mess! This was a 2 minute drawing in the middle of math class so its pretty bad. once i get more time, i'll start making this more detailed. But basically this is supposed to be a land version of the puffer fish. It has camouflage to make it seem more "mean" as my friends called it. Anyway all comments welcome!

[mtomczek]

So I have been sitting here reading through all the Minimal G stuff and it really got my brain working.

I have this idea for a sand worm type creature. It would be large (about the size of a common 18 wheel semi) and nomadic, something that roams the open deserts creating large burrows underground. As it burrows, the tunnel behind it is left filled with pockets of gas that get deposited by the worm. As the worm moves through the sand, the sand is turned into a glass like substance.The worm exhales gases that get trapped in the glass and preserved. The gas can then be "mined" from the glass, but it is often a dangerous and life threatening task.

The sand worm (to be named) would be relatively docile, except when hungry/feeding and when something enters it burrows. Then it becomes rather hostile and will sometimes burst out into open air and attack.

I am going to start sketching up some ideas today and then hopefully get some designs posted up soon.  

[fulcy]

So I have been sitting here reading through all the Minimal G stuff and it really got my brain working.

I have this idea for a sand worm type creature. It would be large (about the size of a common 18 wheel semi) and nomadic, something that roams the open deserts creating large burrows underground. As it burrows, the tunnel behind it is left filled with pockets of gas that get deposited by the worm. As the worm moves through the sand, the sand is turned into a glass like substance.The worm exhales gases that get trapped in the glass and preserved. The gas can then be "mined" from the glass, but it is often a dangerous and life threatening task.

The sand worm (to be named) would be relatively docile, except when hungry/feeding and when something enters it burrows. Then it becomes rather hostile and will sometimes burst out into open air and attack.

I am going to start sketching up some ideas today and then hopefully get some designs posted up soon.  

You been watching too much Dune recently?

[mtomczek]

I started reading the book last night, but havent gotten to the sand worm part.

The sand worms I am imagining would be smaller and less hostile then the Dune ones.

[FichtenFoo]

I'm telling ya... read Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune. All are from Frank Herbert (not his son) and are phenomenal.

The worm idea sounds interesting though... glass walled tunnels... sounds slippery!

[clee-cm]

The sand worm idea is a interesting one, so are you planning to build a scale model? Is it going to resemble the worm in the  Motion Picture Dune? I am looking forward to seeing the sketches.

Anyways, have fun...

I have read Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune all are good books. From what I have heard the Dune novels that Frank wrote later in his life can come across as weird to some readers.

[mtomczek]

I am planning on sculpting out my idea eventually.

As far as it looking like the Dune sandworm, no it will not. :)

[Stkrmkr]

Hello, this is my first post here, although i've been lurking about for a few weeks now.

I very much like the creation of whole new worlds, especially with a steam punk/ post-armageddon feel to it. so i figured id throw some of my thoughts out.

First i'd like to recommend an excellent book called "expedition" byWayne Douglas Barlowe,  if any of you are Discovery Channel addicts like myself you may have seen a show based on it called Alien Planet.
http://www.discoverychannelasia.com/alienplanet/darwin/iv/index.shtml
although the book of course went into much greater detail,  He presented a well thought out eco-system where the primary sense isn't vision or scent, but echo-location and diet is mostly based on sucking the digested fluids(spiderlike) from the prey. the largest "sea" is actually a gelatinous ameobic organism, many of the creatures are Tri-pedal, inline bi-pedal,mono-pedal, floating(gas-sac suspension) and flying thru organic jet system.  im not suggesting that for this world, but i would figure you dont have to be welded to an earth style mammalian predominance, or symmetry. 

this world being fairly desertlike, creatures that fed by sucking things dry would make perfect sense, as would floating gas sac monsters that fed on clouds of some kind of "plankton" like baleen whales, with out skeletons or musculature to weigh them down.  insects could be huge, if the movie "Mimic" was right and insects need lungs to get bigger, nothing says this worlds bugs didnt develop them, and the lighter gravity would mean the exo-skeletons could support bigger bodies as well.

as for plant-life( and more animals), one thing about deserts is that many things try to stab you, sting you, or poison you. cacti, thorn bushes, and scorpions come to mind.  Predatory plants, or creatures that look like plants, would also have a place here.

anyways..thats a few of my thoughts.

[angel_ad]

theres a lot of food for thought there, I think that should spark some new ideas, I especially like the idea of the low gravity alowing small framed beings having larger bodie masses.

Anyway, I have an idea for a creature, It would be a predator, similar to the role of a lion, tiger, puma cheetah. A very fast land based animal that is kind of a cross between the previously named animals and the flying squirrel. Some kind of flesh flaps alowing the beast to glide as it leaps into the air whilst traveling at hight speeds. I dont have it all figured out now, but so far I envision it being a similar texture to a Rhino, or an Armadillo. It will look very menacing and intimidating like all the 'big cats' and I'm playing with the idea of it having an inflatable sack around its neck area that can be filled with air as it leaps to increase the distance it can glide.

I have started some very rough shapes and will post sketches when I feel they are developed enough.

Also I would imagine the alien worlds creatures would have a huge effect on the way the humans build things. E.g. the fences we use to keep livestock are fine on earth, but on a low gravity planet I would imagine a creature could jump a great deal higher resulting in new ways to keep livestock in and predators out to be designed.

Any input or feedback?