I'm not going to update this thread with my non-oddworld art up to date, because I create waaay to much stuff to cram in here, so I'll just go ahead and start from scratch.
This latest one I made yesterday for conceptart.org's "Creature of the Week" contest, the topic of which was "Cloud Dweller".
The “Jiao”, as it has been called during sightings in East Asia, has remained an unexplained phenomenon for countless years. Sightings have been reported worldwide of this creature, which has mistakenly been identified as a strange object called “ball lightning”:
"Not many people get to see ball lightning, but those who do never forget it. Imagine a glowing orb suddenly materializing in front of you, possibly sizzling or exuding a bluish mist and an acrid smell. The globe may be larger than a beach ball and dart through the air, perhaps hovering occasionally as if considering its next move. The ball may also roll or bounce along the ground, climb utility poles, and skitter along power lines. As it travels, the fiery sphere may destroy electrical equipment, ignite fires, and even singe animals or people."
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020209/bob8.asp
The Jiao’s anatomy is constructed of organic materials transformed by the energy of lightning into airborne, polymer filaments. This fusion of organic material and excited electrons then coils up (much in the same way that DNA condenses prior to cell division), packing a large amount of expendable energy in a relatively small space. A thin membrane forms the skin of the creature, which coagulates around the base material during the first moments of conception. This organic material has insulating properties, which allow the Jiao to collect, store and build up a vast amount of energy used for motion and procreation during its short lifespan. During the course of a storm or any other heightened electrical activity in the atmosphere, the Jiao grows and lengthens through the sky, collecting the released energy given off by lightning bolts. It uses this to propel itself from one collection of clouds to the next, and can even be seen making contact with the ground at times, as pent-up energy is released from its body.
A Jiao normally reproduces asexually, but if by a rare occurrence there is another individual in a neighboring cloud, the collision is usually followed with an enormous clap of thunder as genetic material is violently exchanged. Both individuals “die” during this moment, but from the residual energy and material left over, a new Jiao is formed in the womb of the clouds and the cycle begins again. The duration of an average individual’s life is usually no longer than 20 minutes.
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More art to come soon!
Sapphire's Newest Art
*Is still shocked from the beauty that it possesses*
