but-what-if-realism-spoilt-this:

iguanodont:

Revisiting fairies/pixies. Their family includes all the smallest members of the wyvern clade. These lil’ cuties build communal nests in a sheltered site such a tree hollow or the walls of an old house. The warmth and humidity of so many little bodies combined with the grass bedding and guano creates the perfect conditions for the growth of a toxic fungus related to ergot. Consumption by most other animals causes confusion and hallucinations, but the pixies themselves are immune. It readily grows among their winter stores of grain and berries, making it a nice symbiotic deterrent to thievery by other animals, particularly rodents and some insects. The spores collect as “pixie dust” in their fluff to be spread to future nest sites.

Long story short: do not eat the fairy fruits.

A wonderful reimagining of a mythological creature. The inclusion of a believable symbiosis with ergot really brings this concept to life. Ergotism (A.K.A. St. Anthony’s Fire) was a big problem in the middle ages and has been linked to witchcraft paranoia.

Although they don’t state it, it looks like they have zygodactyl feet like parrots too, which is a nice touch since it allows a lot of object manipulation.

but-what-if-realism-spoilt-this:

iguanodont:

Revisiting fairies/pixies. Their family includes all the smallest members of the wyvern clade. These lil’ cuties build communal nests in a sheltered site such a tree hollow or the walls of an old house. The warmth and humidity of so many little bodies combined with the grass bedding and guano creates the perfect conditions for the growth of a toxic fungus related to ergot. Consumption by most other animals causes confusion and hallucinations, but the pixies themselves are immune. It readily grows among their winter stores of grain and berries, making it a nice symbiotic deterrent to thievery by other animals, particularly rodents and some insects. The spores collect as “pixie dust” in their fluff to be spread to future nest sites.

Long story short: do not eat the fairy fruits.

A wonderful reimagining of a mythological creature. The inclusion of a believable symbiosis with ergot really brings this concept to life. Ergotism (A.K.A. St. Anthony’s Fire) was a big problem in the middle ages and has been linked to witchcraft paranoia.

Although they don’t state it, it looks like they have zygodactyl feet like parrots too, which is a nice touch since it allows a lot of object manipulation.

iguanodont:

Ophis Pterotos, the double-winged serpent:

Tiny, colorful dragons native to the Arabian Peninsula are known to swarm around Frankincense trees in early spring, possibly attracted by the scent to form mating swarms. The males die shortly after mating, and may be fed on by the females as they prepare to migrate to their nesting sites. The Egyptian ibis is said to have a particular taste for these tiny creatures, which often die of exhaustion after laying their eggs near the Nile.

These strange beast were first documented by the Greek historian Heredotus, who wrote of Arabians burning “smoke of the storax” (another aromatic plant) to disperse their swarms in order to harvest resin from the trees.

i-draws-dinosaurs:

i-draws-dinosaurs:

i-draws-dinosaurs:

Ok so, here’s a funky fact: in the early evolution of fish, the claspers (reproductive organs still present in modern sharks) actually began as a genuine third pair of limbs. Sooo what if instead of becoming purely reproductive, the claspers instead developed into full on legs.

Basically what I’m saying here is six-finned fish -> hexapedal early tetrapods -> hexapedal temnospondyls -> hexapodal tiny weirdo arboreal dendrerpetids that develop membranes to glide -> amphibian dragons

they have little grabby hands and spurt venom out of their mouths and they are my precious new babies

Speaking of the arboreal proto-dragons, here’s the little guys!

My entire design aesthetic with these fellows is “little dudes I want to hold” and I for one think it’s working!

Good tags :)

iguanodont:

Alright first redraw: the Ahuizotl! Brushing up on its lore I found some theories that it may have been inspired by the opossum, known locally as tlacuache. Considering south America’s rich history of marsupial diversity, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine one of them taking on a more aquatic niche (before moving north to Mexico).

The ahuizotl comes from a tree-dwelling lineage that developed fleshy pads on its tail to make gripping tree branches easier. The tail of the ahuizotl now functions as a lure, twitching enticingly in the water to attract birds, young caimans, and other prey to be grappled and drowned. Though not necessarily out to get humans, they are aggressive when handled, and may have the strength to hold young children underwater.

foulserpent:

The legendary Kip Cali-Kíl, a historical figure and culture hero to the peoples of the central western steppes, here depicted during the Raid of Clan Czekíl as she drives the demigod Great Ram

Keep reading

draconym:

gallusrostromegalus:

draconym:

gallusrostromegalus:

draconym:

I can’t stop thinking about how much mole skeletons remind me of whale skeletons.

We’re all familiar with Space Whales but nobody ever talks about Space Moles. Or Desert Whales. Or Giant Ocean Moles. And that’s terrible.

What is a Mole, if not a Tiny Dirt Whale? they’re really rather like sperm whales, hunting invertabrates by thier vibrations in total darkness.

Or perhaps a Whale is a very Large Water Mole, with it’s vibration-sensitive organs behind a vibration-amplifying balloon?  

The only real difference I can think of between them is that moles don’t have a built-in sonic weapon to the best of my knowledge.

Considering some moles can swim I expect it will not be very long before they become very large and start using echolocation.

YES

MASSIVE CLAWED WHALE

NASAL TENTACLES AS LONG AS A MAN

GIANT SQUID COMMENTS: “the Sperm whales were bad but this is just fucking offensive.”

draconym:

gallusrostromegalus:

draconym:

gallusrostromegalus:

draconym:

I can’t stop thinking about how much mole skeletons remind me of whale skeletons.

We’re all familiar with Space Whales but nobody ever talks about Space Moles. Or Desert Whales. Or Giant Ocean Moles. And that’s terrible.

What is a Mole, if not a Tiny Dirt Whale? they’re really rather like sperm whales, hunting invertabrates by thier vibrations in total darkness.

Or perhaps a Whale is a very Large Water Mole, with it’s vibration-sensitive organs behind a vibration-amplifying balloon?  

The only real difference I can think of between them is that moles don’t have a built-in sonic weapon to the best of my knowledge.

Considering some moles can swim I expect it will not be very long before they become very large and start using echolocation.

YES

MASSIVE CLAWED WHALE

NASAL TENTACLES AS LONG AS A MAN

GIANT SQUID COMMENTS: “the Sperm whales were bad but this is just fucking offensive.”

Looking for fellow creatives for a fantasy project!!

Hi all! I’m looking for other people who might be interested in collaborating on a hobby world-building project. !!Please help me find people by reblogging this post!!

[ID: Sketch of someone waving cheerfully at the viewer. end ID]

This world is designed to be the basis for a magic-based, multiplayer platformer fantasy game similar in ways to Maplestory and Fantasy Life, where the player character travels throughout various cool and magical realms. If you want to learn more about the world, please check out the information under the “read more” (I didn’t want the post to get too long).

Some stuff about me: I’m a Thai-American genetics student/researcher with heavy interests in evolutionary biology and Southeast Asian culture. I like to draw/design in my free time. I’m looking for people who are interested in contributing (to any degree), especially those who have an interest in biology, ecology, or sociology/anthropology. I would love to be able to work with other people from cultures that are underrepresented in the fantasy genre (though ofc not a requirement). No skills necessary!!! I’m able to handle all the art and visual design load on my own, I’m just looking for anyone imaginative!

I tend to be very realism-focused, so I’m hoping that input from others will help this world blossom into a more fantastical, wondrous setting. You don’t have to commit to anything–if you want, you can just hang around a bit and see if it interests you, or just provide input once in a while.

This is currently just a fun side-project that I work on in my spare time. I want to make it clear that even though I’m designing it with a videogame in mind, there really is no guarantee that it would ever get to that point, and I don’t want anyone to join with the hope that it would eventually pay off monetarily. I’ll make sure that anyone who contributes heavily will get a say in where the project eventually goes, if it turns out to last long.

Please contact me on Tumblr or Twitter to get involved! I plan on making a Discord server to keep all our collaboration in one place, invites given by PM.

[All images described in alt-text]

The premise of the world is that flora and fauna are not separate beings, but instead that all animals start their lives as plants, turn into animals, and then at death they create seeds which sprout into new plants. People also go through this life cycle–when they start out life they’re the huge, slow-growing plants that provide the structure for complex ecosystems (pine trees, kelp, huge cactuses), and then when they become people, their community cares for the ecosystem in question.

–MAIN GOALS–
      - To build a work in the fantasy genre that rejects the overwhelmingly common eurocentric and often colonialist setting, as well as incredibly popular westernized systems of fantasy morality (light v. dark, demons v. angels, etc)
      - To portray fictional cultures in a way that highlights the incredible diversity of IRL cultures without stereotypes or homogeneity
      - To show the interconnectedness of everything, including showing different groups of humans as being connected with each other and showing humans as part of the environment; actively rejecting contemporary notions of “mastery over nature”

!!Everything below here is subject to change!!

Since I’m heavily interested in evolutionary bio, I built the biology of this world on the premise that life evolved much like it did on our world, starting from a single organism and blossoming out into different branches. Humans, or rather “people”, evolved multiple different times whenever a complex, dense ecosystem arose. Here are the groups of people I’ve come up with. The player chooses which species they want to start out as, and the dominant weapons or magic style of that culture determines the combat style they first learn to use. (Each group of people has multiple different subcultures, but there would be one “main” subculture that players start out in.)

Merfolk/seafolk:

Perhaps some of the earliest peoples, seafolk start their lives as kelp and inhabit the thick kelp forests that surround many coastlines. They have a love for exploration and discovery, but generally avoid encroaching on land. Their magic generally has to do with water, and the weapons they use are mechanical crossbows and heavy blunt weapons (blunt weapons integrated with controlling/redirecting the flow of water to lend force to blows). I haven’t figured out which real-world cultures to draw on for inspiration for seafolk societies, since nobody IRL lived underwater, of course. This is probably the most open-ended group of people. They’re visually based on fish and salamanders.

Frostfolk:

These people start their lives as conifers and thus inhabit the taiga and tundra. Their magic mostly has to do with ice, cold, or wind, and their main weapon of choice is spears. In this group of people, I want to have different societies: a nomadic hunting/fishing society, a nomadic pastoral society, and a more sedentary river/forest-based society. They’re based visually on dinosaurs, specifically theropods, with perhaps more bird-like features.

(No name yet):

Related to frostfolk but now geographically isolated from them, these people start their lives as cycads and live in the tropics, especially on chains of islands. Some subcultures would be highly seafaring, while some would be more sedentary and involved with metal-working and smithing. For the sedentary cultures, their magic would revolve around utilizing fire, and weaponry would be small blades made from obsidian. They are also based on theropods, but would have more vibrantly colored feathers like tropical birds.

Dustfolk:

Based on carnivorous mammals, mainly cats, foxes, and coyotes, these peoples start their lives as succulent plants like giant cacti. They inhabit the deserts and canyons of the world and live a largely nomadic life. Their magic has to do with wind/sandstorms, and their main combat styles are focused on hand-to-hand combat, utilizing claw or knuckle weaponry.

Plainsfolk/brushfolk(?):

These people start their lives as deciduous trees, generally as part of savannas, or sparse forests on mountainsides. They are based visually on ungulates, mainly deer/antelope, goats, and pigs/boars. I plan to have a semi-nomadic subculture in the dry savanna, a more sedentary agricultural society in the tropical savanna, and a mountainous society. Their weaponry would use a combination of sword and shield, and they would utilize light magic by way of reflective metal or glass.

(No name here either… they’re humans):

Finally, there would be a species of primate-based people that start their lives as broadleaf evergreen trees and inhabit the tropical jungles of the world. Many of their societies would be agricultural, with some fishing river-based cultures. Their magic would be related to monsoons and thunderstorms, especially lightning magic, and they would use long, thin blades for fighting.

—

In addition to the “main” cultures of the world, there would be many cultural centers where multiple peoples meet and trade food, goods, and technology. People will not be divided by nation borders or “species”.

Currently, my idea is that combat is used to battle metaphorical representations of disease, malaise, generally bad and imbalanced things. I haven’t developed this part of the storyline too much yet, I just know some thematic goals I might have.

In addition to combat (either physical or magical-based depending on the player’s preference), players would be able to pursue a few different skills, like farming/breeding using a robust genetics system, tailoring/clothes-making, furniture/crafts-making, smithing, healing, cooking; as well as more “meta” hobbies like making maps and puzzles for other players to use.

Again, if you’re interested in getting involved or have any questions, you can reach out to me here on Tumblr or on Twitter.If people do end up being interested, I’d like to make a small community on Discord to chat with! Edit: We do have a discord server now, you just have to ask to join!

iguanodont:

Our guide rests in the shade of the Vherr-osh, the great sunspires. These glittering towers are composed of thousands of tiny chambers like the units of a compound eye, the inside of each lined with a photosynthetic “retina” protected from the extremes of the subarctic winters and summers.

The units are capped by a convex silica lens that refracts light into the chamber to maximize surface area for photosynthesis, while protecting the delicate living cells inside. The reflective lining beneath the lens thickens at the height of summer to prevent overexposure, and is also responsible creates a striking violet iridescence. The lenses are likely derived from silica spicules in the ancestral species; extant relatives still bear these spicules for anti-predation and structure.

These strange trees grow slowly, taking centuries to reach even 5 feet in height. Accounts from the nomads of the region suggest they can live for thousands of years beyond that. A Tuin clan legend attests that they first grew from the shed scales of a primordial bird as it circled the newly formed world. Mature forests such as this were already vanishingly rare by the time I was lucky enough to lay eyes on one. The inhospitable region where they grow is seldom visited by birgs, though just a few centuries before, these lenses were scraped away by the hundreds of thousands to make all manner of decorative windows, sun catchers, even primitive spectacles and telescopes. To this day, some Twowi nobility covet the iridescent crystals as an exotic and expensive jewelry.

Swooce!!! Birdbug alien cowgirl for @iguanodont secret santa. Extremely fun to do.