#fantasy species

[t00thpasteface]

here's something stupid: the catcatfish

some quick facts:

they're nocturnal and tend to roam around while awake.

they have keen senses of smell and hearing, but terrible eyesight. despite this, they also have a tapetum lucidum, making their pupils "glow" in the dark.

their fur is short, dense, and oily to waterproof them.

they prefer a diet of mostly meat and are attracted to strong-smelling food like fish, cheese, and anything fermented.

the elongated dewclaw on each front paw is sharp, flexible, and nonretractable. it injects a venom that causes respiratory failure and cardiac arrest in prey and, in extreme doses, humans. veterenarians typically remove the dewclaw venom glands during the neuter/spay procedure.

they grow to an average of 1m and 23kg (3ft and 50lb) but can reach up to double that length and triple the weight!

#drew these bad boys in ichthyology lecture 🐟 #art #sketch #orig #meme redraw #cat #fish #catfish #blue catfish #fantasy species #original species #hybrid #animal hybrid #speculative biology #catcatfish

[cireks]

You're drunkenly stumbling home one night and from the duckboards through the booze haze you see the most scrumptious ass teasingly glide away deeper into the dark swamp. You follow, legs getting heavier and orientation more difficult by each step.

How many times that scenario has played out in Ditovo is not easy to calculate but it's likely not zero. The more sober locals will tell you that the slamreta, also known as "harlot of the lake", is not a malicious creature, it wants nothing to do with you in fact. This animal uses inflatable sacs on its hind legs to float on the water's surface perfectly still as it looks for fish or other small things to eat. It hunts using its sharp vision and plunges its long neck to reach prey. It's long tail is curled up to act as a stabilizing anchor. At sign of danger the slamreta can deflate the hind leg sacs to dive and swim away. It spends most of its time in water and will build a nest in-between reeds or other shore vegetation.

#pls don't bother him he just wants to fish #original species #worldbuilding #world building #creature design #fantasy species #fantasy animal #fauna

[cathchicken]

Finished

Gouache on watercolor 12’’x18’’

#art #my art #painting #creature #griffon #bird #owl #gouache #watercolor #cathchicken #fantasy species

[world-in-progressish]

Needed a large ruminant for the marshlands and combining an eider and a moose seemed reasonable! It grazes on submerged boggy plants and aquatic invertebrates, using its long legs to wade and even swim. They’ve lost the ability to fly but retain small vestigial wings that are used for display and swatting flies. They’re hunted for meat and their highly valued supersoft insulating down, but prove to be a formidable foe.

#worldbuilding #pen and ink #fantasy species #creature design #speculative biology #world in progress #eidermoose

[rustic-space-fiddle]

Some sketches of mountain Grazers, which I have dubbed “Āpeks”, and the cattle they guard. 🏔️✨

#original art #original species #fantasy art #fantasy species #cows #art #digital art #character design #species design #sketch #procreate art #artists of tumblr #rustic space doodles #LBWD

[cripplecharacters]

How would I go about portraying an autistic character in a world where there wouldn’t be the terminology for that sort of thing? It’s a fantasy novel that mostly surrounds fairies, and I’m considering having her family think she’s a changeling (something I know has ableist roots and could be shown to be wrong as she’s just an autistic human)

Hello, thanks for your question!

Using pretty direct Autistic coding would be your best bet for making the character as obviously Autistic as possible without having the in-world terminology for it. This could include showing the character stimming, having distinct speech patterns from the rest of the cast, experiencing shutdowns or meltdowns when relevant, fixating on particular interests, keeping a regular routine (and getting upset when it's disrupted), and reacting more strongly to sensory input than the rest of the cast, among other things. Readers who are Autistic or otherwise familiar with Autism will probably clue in quite quickly if you depict these kinds of traits.

While the idea of changelings being equated with disabilities--and Autism in particular--has grown in popularity over the past decade, I would still advise a lot of caution in associating Autistic characters with changelings. While some Autistic people (especially those of us outside of Europe where changelings originated) do identify with changelings due to feeling othered by society, many of us don't because of the negative context of the original changeling stories. I feel that the real-world history behind the stories should be taken into serious consideration before drawing any direct parallels between disabled people and changelings.

Though it's absolutely plausible that the changeling stories did potentially originate as ways to explain the presence and development of disabilities in children as many theories argue, the changeling stories themselves don't frame changelings in a positive or even neutral light--changelings are creatures you absolutely do not want in your home or family and are seen as undeserving burdens on a family's hard-earned resources. There are documented historical instances of people--adults and children alike--being beaten, abused or murdered just on suspicion of having been changelings. I feel that this context is often lost outside of Europe, as we don't always realize that changelings were taken very seriously, especially in rural communities, and were not just harmless bedtime stories.

Because of this, I would suggest that, if you go the changeling route, you take the time and effort to portray it as a particularly dehumanizing and potentially dangerous form of ableism, and approach the subject with delicacy. Otherwise, if your portrayal of fairies in your story is not negative the way they tend to be when associated with creatures like changelings, you could keep the foundations of the changeling story--a human replaced by a fey creature--but tweak the perceptions your character's society might have around them, and perhaps change the name to something that doesn't evoke the same connotations as the changeling.

Other Autistic people are welcome to add their thoughts!

-Mod Faelan

#anonymous #mod faelan #autistic representation #fantasy species #tw ableism #fantasy setting

[lycanthrop-ee-art]

giant beast! everyone come get your giant beast

#art #my art #animal art #sketch #pencil art #creature design #creature concept #spec bio #speculative evolution #speculative biology #fantasy art #fantasy species #fantasy

[saffitaffi]

How does she look I’m new to furry characters

#art #artists on tumblr #digital art #artist #oc #furry #furry art #anthro #VxLI #original character #monster girl #monster #cute #fantasy #fantasy art #fantasy species

[psychedelicsees]

Wanted to try making some comics featuring my original species as a fun way to explore some world building concepts!! no established characters just a random viamrus.

I kinda wanted to try lining this and colouring it replicating the Bone comics style but I'm toooo lazy . picture it in your mind instead

#original species #creature design #fantasy species #world building #fantasy worldbuilding #artists on tumblr #loud reverberating fart sound effect

[hornyharpy]

Finally started to draw ref sheets for my chicks

#artists on tumblr #small artist #my art #digital art #avian #harpy #reference #original species #species sheet #fantasy species #bird #aves #world building #original setting #silly bird people

[t00thpasteface]

🐈🐈🐟!!

#art #orig #fish #catfish #cat #fantasy species #original species #hybrid #animal hybrid #speculative biology #catcatfish #poll

[cireks]

As if "swallowed by the earth" is a way to describe someone who's gone missing without a trace, particularly in the woods, but in Ditovo it may be more than just a saying. At least if you believe the many legends and folktales about giant plumsaina, or as they're more commonly known "earth belly". The plant does exist but usually it is only big enough to catch small vertebrates, which it does when prey step onto its camouflaged trap door and fall into the pit of the plant filled with digestive liquid and downward pointing spikes preventing escape. The roots of the plant are for storing nutrients and other substances, as well as firmly anchoring the plant in the ground when prey is thrashing about inside it. In order to reproduce the earth belly sprouts a red flower above the surface, a red flag that may perhaps save the life of one who recognizes it.

#original species #worldbuilding #world building #plant design #fantasy species #fantasy plant #flora #cursed papaya looking spud

[bengaly]

Different layers of a xoy's ornaments. The face is shaved and the fur is trimmed in angular equally leveled cuts. A yellow pigment is used on the face, then red is used to create patterns following the flow of the facial muscles. The horn carvings are painted black and red. Earrings are then added and a neck piece is balanced. The neck piece is tied on the horns, with a heavy long haired knot on the back. This piece is crafted in a way that it resembles wings and the xoy's movement and dance will cause it to move in assymetric ways. The piece relies on the balance and distribuition of different weights to stay in place, which makes it looks like its flying. High res & separate files on patreon Commissions | Patreon | Ko-fi | Other sites 

#artists on tumblr #tumblr artists #BRart #brazilian artists #latino artists #brazilian artist #BRartist #latino artist #furry #anthro #humanoid #anthropomorphic #fantasy #fantasy art #original #species #original species #fantasy species #xoy #xoywren #portrait #brazilian #headworld #worldbuilding

[cathchicken]

New specimen: Frederick (greater tufted slurper)

Part of the slurper class, this little fella is a lot more docile compared to its typical vicious cousins. It lives in groups near the northern poles of the planet, which are still only a semi crisp 50-30 degrees. Eschvéu does not get particularly cold. This fluffy fella possesses a down that is unusually deeply rooted, and while very nice, is hell to try and harvest. Unfortunately though, in modern Neodani society, these aliens are endangered, from mass poaching for their skins. An unusual feature about both the greater and lesser tufted slurpers are their feelers, which are uniquely bare. Most cool climate vertebrates have a velvety covering over their feelers, but not Frederick. Instead, the feelers blood vessels work similarly to that of a penguins feet, to help better control heat loss.

Overall, very stout little fellows. Highly recommend

#digital art #spec evo #alien species #alien art #speculative biology #fantasy species #speculative evolution #xenobiology #Eschvéu #cathchicken

[yippi-art]

𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮…

#my art #original character #Upero and Utora #digital art #artists on tumblr #art #fantasy species #fantasy #bat wings #fangs #unsettling imagery #oc #oc art

[cripplecharacters]

do you have any tips about coming up with "fantasy disorders," or disorders for fictional species that affect parts of their biology we don't have?

in my case, i have some original characters based on the splatoon games - where the main species are squids and octopi that have evolved to be very similar to humans. some of the major things that set them apart from humans are their ability to produce ink and the ability to switch between their humanoid forms and a smaller, stealthier "squid/octopus form" at will. i was thinking of giving one of my main characters a disability that affects these unique features (and ofc side characters and a lot of other characters in the world would have these kinds of disabilities too), ex. some kind of ink deficiency or ink over-efficiency, or a disability that can sometimes prevent the character from changing between their two forms.

do you have any tips on how to get started researching for this kind of thing? obviously it wouldn't be a good idea to just make up a disability from nothing, but i'm not even sure where to begin, considering nothing like this exists in real life.

sorry if this is a really out-there question!!

Thank you for your ask!

For the ink disability, you should think of what the ink is used for. Is it purely defensive? Does it aid with switching forms? Does it have any other role within the body or culturally? In real life mucus production is tied to ink production in squids, and while humans do make mucus you can also decide if a squidKid would have mucus act similarly to another bodily fluid. In marine animals mucus is used to gather food and lubricate the body, among other things, so something similar in humans might be sweat, saliva, tear glands or other water production. Real life examples of these glands being over/under active exist, so I’d look into those! You don’t have to copy them, but it’s a great place to start.

For the changing form disability, you need to decide why they can’t shift forms. Is it due to stiffness or paralysis? Are they too exhausted or weak? Is changing too painful or tiering to do for them? Is it because of an issue with their ink production (I haven’t played splatoon myself but I believe those are tied in game)? And if they’re unable to transform, does that affect their transportation (not sure if the ink transportation is just in battle or also used day to day, sorry). Once you decide what makes shifting form difficult then you can research similar issues in the real world.

Basically decide how it affects them, where it affects them, what is the closest real life equivalent, and research from there.

Have a nice day!

Mod Rot

#anonymous #mod rot #fantasy disabilities #fantasy species #fantasy setting