off-the-edge-of-the-horizon

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Fishing splashing with mama*

*Jellybugs have weird alien genders so in this context “mama” is just being used as an affectionate term for guardian/parent

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Sunbathing with mama

I’ve been enamored with the “[x] with mama” memes going around lately so I decided to draw one with one of my spec bio creatures

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Very vital and serious character studies

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Fig. 1

Fig. 2

I haven’t referenced my height chart in months and my sense of scale of my own aliens is getting so skewed lmao

The little ones just keep getting littler and the big ones just keep getting bigger

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I haven’t referenced my height chart in months and my sense of scale of my own aliens is getting so skewed lmao

The little ones just keep getting littler and the big ones just keep getting bigger

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Maybe I should use legos to design speculative architecture/technology

Hm. Thoughts

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Ough. She is a (fictional) mythological figure with thousands of different depictions and characterizations between several continents and several millennia. And she’s my blorbo

A bit more lore about our dear God of Consumption here:

In Fireback mythology Consumption is an ancient character present in many different regions, cultures, and time periods. Partially because the Firebacks’ homeworld has little habitable land, so they can only diversify so much - but also because Consumption’s a very important god. There is little more important in Fireback daily life than fire, and being the one responsible for it her stories get passed around the most.

Also, she was born mortal, and had a long and winding path to godhood. There has always been plenty of room within her wandering tale to just make shit up. People just make up short stories about her all the time, and will insert her into other stories as a little cameo just as often. There are a few hallmarks to her story that are widely agreed upon, but because there’s just so much written about her a comprehensive timeline of her journey is kind of impossible to construct.

It’s agreed upon that:

Consumption was born mortal, and born a tricksy little thief.

She got herself into trouble with at least one of the original gods, and as punishment was exiled into the sea.

She spent a years at sea having little adventures and getting into trouble (most short stories about her or cameos happen at some point during this time).

She was forced to return home for… some reason. It varies from tale to tale.

She stole the Sun and ate the original gods, leading to her giving the people fire (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not).

She’s also usually credited with acquiring the very first armor (the scales on Firebacks’ backs that give them their names), though when and where that happens varies a lot.

Fun fact, more about Fireback culture than Consumption herself: she’s almost always depicted with her magic fire and exclusively referred to as “Consumption” or the “God of Consumption” - regardless of if the story is set before or after her actual ascension to godhood. This is because it’s seen as a sign of disrespect to depict her as any lesser than she is, and - depending on the region/time’s beliefs - ranges from a way to invite her wrath, to just not properly invoking her name (which means you won’t earn her favor).

In modern times most Firebacks don’t actually believe in her as a literal presence, and so they refer to her much more casually. It’s still incredibly rare for her to be given a mortal name or depicted without SOME allusions to fire, it’s just not really taboo anymore.

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GOD OF CONSUMPTION

An illustration of one of the many gods in @off-the-edge-of-the-horizon - still a major wip because I came up with her yesterday.

She’s the major god of the Firebacks (an alien species from OEH), and essentially she’s the oldest benevolent god, having killed and eaten the malicious gods before her. She stole the power of the Sun (which is what turned her into a god herself) and used it to destroy and consume the previous gods, as well as bringing fire to her people and teaching them how to wield it.

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The Kooci Umwelt

The umwelt (plural umwelten) is the perceptual world of an organism - the slice of reality that they can sense.

The Kooci Umwelt is dominated by distance. Being migratory desert creatures they spend their lives navigating far-flung horizons, and as such their senses are tuned to vastness.

Smell is the Kooci’s most worldview-defining sense. Smell interprets information carried from vast distances on the wind, and seeping up from beneath the sand. Kooci use this sense to detect food and water, and either chase it down or dig it up from underground - among many other things. Kooci can also sense storms, competition, landmarks, and each other. They can identify another Kooci’s pack, sex, age, and many things about their health by scent alone.

Sight and electroreception are also notable senses of the Kooci, and both are inextricably linked. Kooci are far-sighted, and have very limited color vision. They have a wide field of view, but they still have fairly good depth perception thanks to having multiple fovea (focal centers) in each eye. Electroreception is handled by a small sensory organ on the top of the head. The input from this electroreptor is combined with input from the eyes, meaning the two senses are experienced as one by Kooci. They can literally see and navigate by the magnetic field high in the sky. Severe storms and magnetic ore deposits can have a faint glow as they develop their own electromagnetic fields.

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I’m still obsessed with my aliens and I’m still obsessed with Maldoror from Tiger, Tiger by @pepurika so I drew them again, but as a different alien this time

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First post has been made! I hope you guys like it, I’ve put a lot of thought into the umwelten of my aliens these paste couple months :D

It’s in no way comprehensive, but it’s a good overview of the senses! (Or at least the most prominent ones)

Also yeah I’m not waiting a full week for the poll to end I’m impatient lol - but if you still want to vote, go for it! There’s few enough so far you can influence the order going forward

The briefest, vaguest of descriptions of these things:

Kooci: wolf horses but on lizard hardware

Oxyu: cave salamanders that are also kind of catfish

Bombos: anthropomorphic bees

Jellybugs: swamp cats but bugs

Sunseekers: literal dragons…. but bugs

Firebacks: elephant lizards that light themselves on fire

Wahu: squid pterosaurs

Daremoria: immortal shrimp

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The Jellybug Umwelt

The umwelt (plural umwelten) is the perceptual world of an organism - the slice of reality that they can sense.

Jellybugs are both predator and prey, hailing from sodden swamps and mires where the sun rarely shines in full. Their umwelt is tuned to evade hidden danger and locate hidden treasures.

Jellybugs’ most prominent, umwelt-defining sense is taste. Their mouths are lined with chemical sensors that analyze the water they so often wade in or live near. By taking in mouthfuls of water they can taste everything that water has swept by, and everything that has swept into it. They can sense the presence of other organisms (such as food or predators), nutrients in the soil, other jellybugs, and dangerous contaminants in the water - making this sense excellent for determining if a site is suitable for settlement.

An offshoot of this incredible sense, is smell. The very same sensors in the mouth can sense particles in the air - particularly if they’re bound to the ample water vapor that makes their world so humid. As such, smell and taste are not distinctly different senses for a Jellybug.

The companion of taste is electroreception - the ability to sense electromagnetic fields (which are often produced by animals submerged in salty water). When hunting for prey hidden in muck or murky water, a Jellybug can work out the general location with taste, then when close enough they can pinpoint the exact location with electroreception. For Jellybugs electroreception is almost like an extended touch, similar to whiskers. The sensation is often described as a faint pressure, or a sudden awareness, like proprioception or the feeling of being watched. An invisible certainty.

Other notable Jellybug senses are hearing and sight. Jellybugs hear with facial disks composed of small densely-packed quills, similar to an owl’s. They are always tipping their head to and fro, angling the disks to pick up noises from various directions. Jellybugs’ sight is specialized for low light levels, dense clouds and canopies always whittling away light from their star. They have vertical peanut-shaped pupils, specialized to focus above and below them. This is to better see small prey items under their feet, and aerial predators above their heads.

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The briefest, vaguest of descriptions of these things:

Kooci: wolf horses but on lizard hardware

Oxyu: cave salamanders that are also kind of catfish

Bombos: anthropomorphic bees

Jellybugs: swamp cats but bugs

Sunseekers: literal dragons…. but bugs

Firebacks: elephant lizards that light themselves on fire

Wahu: squid pterosaurs

Daremoria: immortal shrimp

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I drew Maldoror from Tiger, Tiger by @pepurika as one of my aliens because I am obsesseddddddd with its design Maldoror my beloved you make me insane

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Hello, little OEH update!

My computer is died and I just started a new job so chances of me posting a page anytime soon are rather slim (which sucks ass because I was FINALLY drafting the next page).

However, I still think about this damn comic every single day! And write about it more often than not! So, if anyone is still interested in this comic/world feel free to send me asks anytime and I’d love to answer! I’m also thinking of doing little lore/worldbuilding posts to fill the time, so if anyone’s interested in that let me know (please please please I want to infodump so bad)! Goodness knows I have enough worldbuilding rattling around in my brain to tank tumblr’s character limit

If you want a prompt for an ask I would be happy to answer any of these questions

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Found concept art from January in my drafts!

Inspired by THiMBLETEETH on YouTube because I love their shapes

[off-the-edge-of-the-horizon]

Hello, little OEH update!

My computer is died and I just started a new job so chances of me posting a page anytime soon are rather slim (which sucks ass because I was FINALLY drafting the next page).

However, I still think about this damn comic every single day! And write about it more often than not! So, if anyone is still interested in this comic/world feel free to send me asks anytime and I’d love to answer! I’m also thinking of doing little lore/worldbuilding posts to fill the time, so if anyone’s interested in that let me know (please please please I want to infodump so bad)! Goodness knows I have enough worldbuilding rattling around in my brain to tank tumblr’s character limit

If you want a prompt for an ask I would be happy to answer any of these questions