ikrutt - Tumblr blog

[ikrutt]

Legacy Hardbacks are now in my signed bookstore

Cover art by @ikrutt Design, maps, logos and interior silhouettes by Jeff McDowall Size chart, species illos, and some other interior elements by Sarah Cloutier Available in ebook, audiobook, paperback, and hardback :) The hardbacks are so pretty with some extra silhouette art. Iben's covers are spectacular. There's another novella sitting on my Patreon in draft.

[ikrutt]

Do saratoans associate the shades of ashy brown that are natural to their species' skin under the magical pigmentation with death? Sorry for the kinda morbid question, I was just thinking about how controversial open-casket funerals are in some cultures (as one does) and your guys crossed my mind in context with that.

Not generally - it's considered an inappropriate color for say, a saratoan dolly, since that makes it look like a corpse, but shades of gray and taupe are popular for clothes where it's just judged to be a nice neutral tone that their bright skin colors pop against.

It takes a bit more effort to choose accessories that read as symbolic of death to them. Their funeral rites are themed around the color the deceased was in life, mourners bring items of the same color to place by the body, creating a cluttered collection of items of the same color

The symbolism of death is a little more individualized as a result. The color of "goth" for Saratoans is just whatever color they are + excessive clutter

Dressing like this is ironically considered off putting by younger adults and is accepted more warmly by elders rather than being a way to shock and rebel against elder generations.

Elders generally read an outfit like this as "funeral director" which is a role not considered totally necessary to the management of rites, but are a welcome relief to overworked household leaders to have someone experienced available to support them.

[ikrutt]

Here's my entry for the spectacular #Refugium2024 contest, arranged by @simon-roy on the occasion of his comic Kickstarter!

Because there were five different clades to choose from, I ultimately picked the photosynthetic "pentaped". It wasn't my first choice, though, as I love the idea of the crustacean-like "skilloids", but the five-legged plant animals seemed like they could be a hell of a challenge. So here is the Helioceros (aka Cherubic Pentaped), an alpine species that stores and uses sunlight as an energy source and for displaying behavior.

Hope you like it! And hey, do not forget to support the Refugium comic! Not every day do we come across projects as cool as this!

[ikrutt]

Shoulder is starting to feel a lot better. Hope nothing else pops up in NINE WEEKS!

I've started working on my character roster and am currently finishing up the lineup to show the heights of the Kalandakar guys.

I don't think I want to add more than this this year. I think it's a nice selection for all kinds of artists, whether they draw people, monsters, furries or animals.

Only four more months until Art Fight!

I'm so pumped for this year. Gonna make sure to stay injury free and hydrated until July.

I'm even considering scheduling my summer holidays for that month, just so I can have more time to draw all of your cool characters!

[ikrutt]

My original work get little traction on other sites, so I appreciate immensely Tumblr's dedication to enjoying and engaging with people's characters and worldbuilding.

You're the reason why I stick around!

[ikrutt]

Historians, 2024

Ma-Vireva and a slightly more grown up Virak hang out and get excited over a book or something. Nerds!

[ikrutt]

Naked Adreas I did for last year's Art Fight ref. It includes a couple of typos that I can't be arsed to fix.

Read more about Adreas' species here.

[ikrutt]

I just stumbled upon your blog and I think your creatures are so interesting!!

Could you talk a little more about the sexual dimorphism of your bipedal species (Is "Slomen" the right name?), and what the "crop pouch" the females have is that you mentioned in a recent post? And also how the reproductive process works with the "meat egg"? Do the males have an "umbilical cord" like appendage to nurture the meat egg? How does that work?

Okay so.

Sexes/gender

Slomen have two sexes. The females are stereotypically the men of their society and males are stereotypically women. Some cultures have more accepted genders than others. Slomen also apply this inverted human-gender system to animals.

To make reading easier I will use masc and fem for the sexes.

On average, fem slomen are lighter with smaller muscles. They are very noticeable for having big display feathers on their back arms. Few cultures see them as sexual and thus hide them/cut feathers - only allowing fresh parents (they can be used to carry smaller children or the megg) to show them.

Fem slomen also have big air sacks on their chest. These are mostly for personal expression and can be used to signal things like status. With some training, the sloman can also use it in speech. "Lady talk" has many different meanings and uses among cultures.

Deeper within the sack is a food storage organ reduced to only be used during early childcare.

Also, fem often have brighter colors, though limited to browns to yellows with sometimes black or white.

Masc slomen are slightly bigger. They lack long arm feathers and developed air sacks.

On the right side (usually) is a small slit. This is where the "meat egg" leaves the body when fertilized or discarded. If fertilized, the masc sloman's bigger back arms hold it to the body (but cloth "backpacks" are also used).

The megg and other

Sloman are a little complicated when it comes to reproduction. The dedicated organs are in their short necks with transfer happening in their mouth. For most of the year, these organs are hard to feel but at the end of winter, they become active. Until late middle spring to the beginning of summer slomen are more interested in partnering (with many attached traditions). Most cultures have a matriarchal family with one fem (in one generation/partnership) and multiple mascs (who are often not expected to stay for long).

The one fem shares her drops (bigger multicellular seed) with her partners. After a few days the masc slomen have visibly swollen neck side. After that, the meat egg drops out of their neck opening. First, the umbilical stays short, staying close. When its size starts approaching 10cm, it falls to the shoulders and then its growth continues consistently. After all the organs are either used up or reorganized for the baby's shape - right size and weight, it separates from the internal megg wall. The umbilical slowly dies off and the parent stops producing soup.

After a few more days, the baby eats its way out of the remaining megg wall.

By that time the fem sloman already has the "crop pouch" full. Babies use their giant curved tooth to pierce the pouch skin. It heals fast but it takes time to get used to. The pouch content is a lot like the masc sloman's soup.

The unfertilized megg is actually capable of growth even without fertilization as it's a separate haploid organism (just like the drop). But it's rare and unwanted.

Slomen don't have the easiest time reproducing and since it happens basically once a year with a bunch of possible complications, they find large multi-generational families very important. Everyone helps a little with the wave of children. Also yes, twins can happen but it's usually lethal for at least one.

I know this hasn't been very detailed but I hope it explains a bit. I didn't want to go deep into reproduction in case it would be too icky. At some point I will show general vertebrate reproduction (on the sloman continent), with some Kula context likely.

[ikrutt]

Chanta Book 1 is finally available for purchase! Thank you all so much for all your support!

You can buy it through uberpress or norli

[ikrutt]

Three more months, you guys!

I managed to develop a mild AC joint sprain in my dominant arm from climbing. It doesn't really hinder me too much when drawing, but I'm in physiotherapy.

I hope it'll go away until July. Both so I can art fight and so I can climb with a full range of motion again.

Only four more months until Art Fight!

I'm so pumped for this year. Gonna make sure to stay injury free and hydrated until July.

I'm even considering scheduling my summer holidays for that month, just so I can have more time to draw all of your cool characters!

[ikrutt]

Summer Nights, 2024

For @boofybutdeadly for a secret santa.

[ikrutt]

Summer Nights, 2024

For @boofybutdeadly for a secret santa.

[ikrutt]

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.

[ikrutt]

False Valentine Design

The false valentine is one fascinating organism. It spent most of their time buried underground. Upside down with tail barely exposed on the ground exuding sweet vanilla-like scent to draw in stingless bees.

The bees then slowly make their new home on the tail. Exchanging their honey and resin for the false valentine sustenance in exchange for paralyzing substances that it excretes. Enhancing the bees only defense mechanism, their bites. The mandibles coated with the chemical are capable of delivering fatal seizures to lurking dangers.

In very rare occasion a false valentine pair would go to settlements where stingless beekeeper resides in. Disguised as a human with beekeeper outfit by stacking on top of another. They do so to steal the bee colony, all the while leaving convulsed people and animals on their path. Locals believed that the false valentines are enacting divine punishment to humans that are mistreating and (excessively) exploiting the bees.

It's unclear whether the medieval beekeeper outfits are inspired by them or if it's a mimicry in response to the outfit.

*Meant for a long overdue Valentine's day creature design challenge. Trying to implement that not only a patron saint of love but Valentine is also the patron saint of seizure, but because this is false it would be inflicting it rather than relieving seizures

[ikrutt]

Only four more months until Art Fight!

I'm so pumped for this year. Gonna make sure to stay injury free and hydrated until July.

I'm even considering scheduling my summer holidays for that month, just so I can have more time to draw all of your cool characters!

[ikrutt]

Oankali

[ikrutt]

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the nice comments and tags you leave in the reblogs. It warms my entire being and I read and appreciate every single one.