[Niva]

Pencil sketch I just made the other day. I'd tried a few times to draw one but this is the first time it worked to my liking. No armor on this guy, just pure muscle and swords.



EDIT: Latest K'Chain creature added check lower post for more details.

This post has been edited by Niva: 10 November 2011 - 07:11 PM

[HoosierDaddy]

Absolutely brilliant.

[Sinisdar Toste]

nuff said

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[Hocknose]

unbelievably great...good job!!

[Sowilo]

That is absolutely class!

[POOPOO MCBUMFACE]

I think you've finally dispelled the long-rooted image in my mind of the K'Chain Che'Malle being a weird fusion of these guys. I'm glad that's finally shifted.

[Aptorian]

That's amazing.

If I had to give you any critique it would be that the depiction of the legs in the stride look... weird. It almost looks like the bird isn't actually moving it's upper leg while running.

[sappers rule]

I,d have always imagined them looking like raptors with swords for hands
but still unbelievable picture mate

[Gothos]

Hell Yeah!

[Grimjust Bearegular]

I like the movement in the picture, it's very dynamic

I agree with Battle P though. I'd extend that leg forwards a bit. I'd also elongate the torso a bit, to make room for the abdomen, and then give it a longer tail to balance it out

[Abyss]

NICE!

[rhulad]

Really nice!

[cerveza_fiesta]

 Niva, on 16 April 2011 - 09:08 PM, said:

Pencil sketch I just made the other day. I'd tried a few times to draw one but this is the first time it worked to my liking. No armor on this guy, just pure muscle and swords.

I dig big-time. Much rep. Motion lines and small effects like the rear foot kicking up dirt to connote a lunge toward some unsuspecting prey are very well done. The skin texture is excellent too and I like the proportion and flow/overlap of the muscle lines. The size of the tail is just about perfect proportionally, considering the animal is using it for balance in this pose.

3 criticisms to improve on in the future - all anatomy related

1- The arm sword things look a little too organic. IIRC from the books, they are surgically attached rather than the K'ell being born with them. You'd expect a more "rough" attachment point. I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish that though. Maybe not necessary. It also doesn't look like there's much of an elbow at the base of the blade there. A small redesign around the base of the blade on the tricep side of the arm would make it look more articulate.

2- It looks a bit strange that the front upper leg (quadricep) is scooped out at the hip. If you check out illustrations of similar muscular reptiles like T-rex or velociraptor, the leg grows thicker toward the hip and narrower toward the knee. The back of the leg looks great, just the front of the leg could be filled out to match.

3- No pectoral muscles at all. Big arms like that would need pectoral muscles to move and swing. Not saying that you need human-like pecs a la Arnold Schwarzenegger or anything, just something laying over the ribcage, roughly between the shoulders and extending a bit down along the centre of the chest. Like a chicken breast but not so big in proportion. Different artists vary in how they interpret that muscle group, but the anorexia ribs are almost always only on the sides of the body with a smoother muscle texture in the centre of the chest.

[nacht]

WoW, awesome.

Hmm, forked tongue (not sure about this) and maybe too long. It might come in between the teeth too much.
Also, the swords dont seem too functional. Maybe they should be able to make a downward/sideways arc wihout hitting the ground, perhaps a longer torso would do that

[Niva]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind comments and the critique.

About the tongue, I gave it a reptile forked tongue like a lizard/snake. Those critters never have problems with their tongues getting stuck between their teeth though usually when the mouth is open the tongue is retracted.

The swords, I made them organic as if grown not attached by surgery. I also always had problems with SE's description of the armor on the KCCM. I envision the armor on them as more dense and metallic scales than actual humanoid armor that you can take on/off. Also, even though SE talks about the swords appearing to be attached I always thought of them as grown. When a drone becomes a Kell Hunter I envision them growing the swords for the function they're designated for. All KCCM start as drones and eventually mature to perform a specific function. There's much less explanation about surgical attachment of swords in the books than about this metamorphosis the creatures go through in their lifespan. The swords can be rested on the ground though, they're very large. There's a scene in the Crippled God where SE talks about a Kell Hunter resting it's swords in the ground.

As far as the legs go, I basically made them look like chickens with tails. Birds and lizards have a lot in common actually. It's suspected that birds evolved from reptiles actually. Generally speaking chickens carry a lot of fat but if you strip away the feathers you'd see muscles that resemble what I drew. If you closely look at a chicken before you eat it you'll see the legs actually taper in at the body attachment. Also for the chicken wings take a look at how they attach to the main torso. You are right about the pectorals though, birds have huge pecs, especially flying birds. I've yet to see a lizard with pecs though. Lizard forward arms have a really weird attachment to the main trunk.

Anyways, it wasn't very well thought out but it finally looked ok in terms of how I imagine them to be. Gave them a more draconic/tyrannosaurus appearance than a velociraptor.

Really appreaciate all the critique guys, thanks for taking the time. I hope my comments don't turn you off from posting more, I've just tried to give some insight into my brain process when I made this concept.

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Don't worry, we all do it

Being picked apart is no fun, but sadly it is necessary...it's the only way you'll get better

[Sammehmander Rake]

That's Fantastic!

[Bonecaster]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Niva]

A possible new breed of K'chain?

I'm not sure why but I keep coming back with more and more ideas for these creatures. This one is blind and deaf in the traditional sense. However, the spikes all over its body function as sensors that more than compensate for their lack of eyes and ears. Each spike is hallow and has a cristalline bell shaped lens inside which is surrounded by nerve tissue. Because the creatures are equipped with hundreds of spikes on their heads alone they can literally feel the environment around them by sensing vibrations.

Oh and they have acid projecting stingers on the tips of their tail

[Sinisdar Toste]

wow, that is unbelievably cool. love your concept. you could be a k'chain matron