THE ALZOHR OF BETA GAMMUS UPDATED 4-29-02 (WIP)

[Mentat7]

This is a piece I have been working on for the last week. It is an alien creature known as the Alzohr. When I have completed the image I will provide some background information about these wonderous inhabitants of Beta Gammus. The immage will eventually have more background objects- the view is as if you were standing on Beta Gammus (actually floating as it is a gas giant) looking up. From this vantage point you will see the Alzohr sailing through the murky methane skies. In the distance can be seen Beta Gammus' closest moon Xanady Elipsor which hovers in very low orbit. Feedback on this would be greatly appreciated as I am working with a very large depth of field for the first time. Thanks!

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1016675961pbi.jpg

[Kathy]

Hmmmmmm I can only think of one thing to say;
Continue!

WOW, those colors are awesome and the ships are organic x100.

:tu: :tu: :tu:

[Stonecutter]

I'm not sure I could offer anything in the way of advice at this early stage, Lonnie, but that is a really interesting organism you're designing there, and I'll be watching the development with great interest!
:cool: :tu: :tu: :tu: :cool:

[Mentat7]

Actually Kathy...they're not ships. They're...er...biological organisms. :rolleyes: :D But thanks!

[Kathy]

:eek: My bad. I misunderstood what your wrote. Or more likely interpreted it the through my non sci fi brain.

I still love'em!

[DeeVee]

I am looking forward to the continued development of this project. So far very good!

[Kaluman]

pretty cool :p

Concerning the depth of field, i would had some more green cloud/fog on top of the 2nd creature.

[filament9]

I won't suggest any changes - this is your journey. So far, I like where you've gone with this. Beautiful colors, creatures and background. This image has a sense of gracefulness to it. I like that aspect of it very much Mentat.

[Digits]

This reminds me of a story I once read, I can't remember title or author, about gaseous beings in the atmosphere of jupiter. Could this be them?

[Mentat7]

Actually Digits it IS inpired by Dr. Carl Sagan's discussions on the posibility of life forms inhabiting Jupiter and other similar gas giants and what form they might take! :)

[drjjwow]

well whatever it is i love the color used on these creatures..

[Mentat7]

Here is an update on this image. It is mating season and a small herd can be seen migrating to one of the millions of small asteroids caught in the gravity of Beta Gammus.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1017204587xrc.jpg

[Ron Harris]

looks very good.....wish I was on that small planetoid right now.....that's another story.....love the yellows :tu: :tu: :tu:

[robotalk]

wow the second view is sensational --and the atmosphere in both is astounding --super stuff--better copyright it before we see it in a movie somewhere :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[juandel]

an excellentissimost update, Mentat! i love that soft flare and the flowing movements... gorgeous! :tu: :tu: :tu: and so on

- juandel

[filament9]

Beautiful update mentat. this is what fantasy/sci-fi art is all about: imagination!

[Nova]

I love it mentat!

The aspect ratio you chose suites it perfectly.

[Kathy]

That is gorgeous work. LOVE the perspective and view implemented!

GREAT colors and atmosphere.

Just plain WOW! :eek:

[Digits]

Wonderful! I was hoping this project wasn't forgotten

[JOHNVQ3]

:)Great image,well done too! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[picsas]

W A W ! that is so tranquil, and creative, you have a varied range of styles, thats cool. I imagin this as a large image that you walk pas in a gallery, and then stand back and study it for a while. mmm I can hear whale sounds!

:)

[aurick]

This is simply awesome the way that you've fleshed it out. It's also really cool to see the non-standard dimensions. Very dramatic -- both in content and presentation.

[Indigo Wizard]

Very, very impressive. and gracefull.

:D
IW

[Mentat7]

A small herd of Alzhor can be seen migrating during mating season. One of the females still tows a fetal egg sack as she makes her way to the propagation site- one of the millions of small asteroids that are trapped in low orbit around Beta Gammus. The fetal sack will hatch soon just before the female mates again. Hovering about are the ever present Zymbith- small predators that feed exclusively on the giant Coleesym that ride the currents of Beta Gammus. the Zymbith pose no real threat to the large and mobile Alzohr but the placid and nearly immobile Coleesym are sitting ducks for the "sharks" of Beta Gammus. The Colleesym are nothing more than gaseous bags of methane and hydrogen. They float throughout Beta Gammus at the whims of the gas currents. In the distance looms one of Gammus' small moons Xanady Elipsor. Beta Gammus has a diameter equal to over 10000 times that of Xanady Elipsor but the mass of Gammus is only 10 times as great.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1017286481drk.jpg

[Muvlo]

That's looking very good Mentat! Great modeling, and an original feel to it. Arthur C. Clarke (perhaps who Digits is thinking of?) would like these I'm sure. :tu:

[Stonecutter]

Great conception and execution, Lonnie!
:tu: :tu: :tu: :cool: :tu: :tu: :tu:
This reminds me of an old Science Fiction story as well...Since I have a voluminous SciFi classics library in my studio, I'll do some research... :)
Nice biological back-story also!

[Digits]

This is going to be epic Mentat. I can only image the sounds they must emit while mating! In such a dense atmosphere they may be heard for hundreds of miles!

[Mentat7]

I am going to post a more in-depth treatise on the biology of these inhabitants as well as close up pictures of each in a future post. I may even continue with a series of images covering the various flora/fauna of Beta Gammus as well as several of it's moons. I want to keep this story-line alive. What do yall think of that? Anyone have any special requests?

[Mentat7]

ALZOHR (al’-zor)


The Alzohr are a species of migratory creatures native to Beta Gammus. Reaching a length of nearly 12 meters at adulthood they have a mass of only 45 kilograms. Their bodies are composed mainly of a lightweight but durable spun silica skeleton covered by a relatively thin elastic layer of fibrous muscle tissue. The hide is also of an elastic nature and can stretch to nearly twice its normal surface area. The Alzohr feed on various silica plankton and spores of which the later is produced in great supply by the floating Coleesym colonies. Wherever there are Coleesym the Alzohr are not far behind. Through a bio-chemical process the Alzohr create methane and store it in their bodies. They can expand their abdominal cavities immensely to store extra methane when the need arises. This allows them to sustain altitude and through a simple process of gas expulsion they can adjust altitude quickly and efficiently. The Alzohr have an average life span of just three years during which the females may reproduce up to three times per year. After conception the fetus develops a fetal sack, which is ejected from the female and carried via an umbilical tether. The fetal sack will hatch within five to six weeks at which time the infant Alzohr will emerge. The infants resemble the adult Alzohr in all properties save color. At birth they are a bright iridescent turquoise green. As they mature they take on the colorings of the adults. The Alzohr have been noted to roost on asteroids caught in orbit around Beta Gammus. It is an unusual behavior and only occurs during mating season. Scientists speculate that at one time there may have been larger predators inhabiting Beta Gammus thus necessitating the need for the protection the asteroids may have provided during copulation.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1017374146bcj.jpg

[Indigo Wizard]

What a terrific story and creature. Keep going, I can't wait for more!

:tu:
IW

[Stargo]

Very nice images Mentat :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

stargo

[Mentat7]

COLEESYM (ko-lee’-sim)


The Coleesym are the floating fauna of Beta Gammus. It reaches nearly 20 meters in diameter and over 45 meters in length. Consisting of nothing more than an elastic skin, minimal silica skeletal structure and a small amount of muscular tissue concentrated in the base and prehensile tentacles of the creature the Coleesym appears to be a large floating balloon. The large gasbag that predominates the upper part of the somber giant is filled with methane produced from its digestion of silica plankton and hydrogen, which it scoops from the atmosphere as it floats along. It is incapable of any independent movement other than latching on to the occasional asteroid with its tentacles. The Coleesym reproduces through spores. It will produce a steady stream of spores for it’s entire life, which averages 18 to 20 months. From time to time Coleesym will grapple one another with their tentacles and form large colonies. Scientists speculate this behavior allows them to better navigate the flows and eddies of the currents of Beta Gammus much like a ship’s sail thus enabling them to migrate to currents rich in silica plankton.


http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1017416482syd.jpg

[Digits]

More fasinating stuff, all this would be great background for a book or short story. I do know one thing for sure, these guys got to smell very very very bad :rolleyes:

[juandel]

great additions, Mentat! cant wait to see makro-lens displays of that ominous silica plankton :)

- juandel

[Mentat7]

ZYMBITH (zim’-bith, pronounced with a long I)


The Zymbith or “sharks of Beta Gammus” as they are sometimes called are small predatory creatures measuring just under 30 centimeters in length. They prey solely upon the giant Coleesym. Oddly enough they only eat the tentacles of the Coleesym leaving the gas bag and remaining body intact. The Coleesym rarely die from this and although the tentacles do not grow back the creatures seem to be none the worse for it. The Zymbith moves via a prehensile tail that can be whipped about at high speeds much like a fan blade. The tail has the added ability to open up like a fan giving a greater amount of displacement. They can quickly dart in and out navigating from side to side with fine hair like cilia that line the sides of their underbody. Their mouths are lined with small sharp triangular teeth, which easily can bite chunks out of the Coleesym much like the terrestrial piranha of earth does with its prey. The Zymbith lay eggs once per Gammus cycle. They migrate downwards into the higher density atmosphere and deposit their eggs in meandering ammonia streams. Once they have hatched the fingerlings turn to cannibalization feeding on one another until they grow to be about six centimeters. Only 10% of the original fingerling population will survive to join the adult population. Curiously Zymbith do not feed on Alzohr. It is possible the Alzohr are too mobile and their hides too elastic for the Zymbith to effectively feed on them.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1017434251kzw.jpg

[DeeVee]

Nice update M7, I am looking forward to the final Image, It should be great ! congrats on the contest.

[Kathy]

This is just fantastic. :D :tu: :tu: