I envisioned it as having some features from echinoderms like sea lilies and starfish (with pentaradial symmetry) mixed with some octopus and lamprey elements. Its internal skeletal structure is calcite with calcite teeth and tooth-like knuckles protruding at the apex of the top tentacles. It has a water vascular system which it uses to move its limbs.
Its bowl-like dorsal area is used to trap small sea creatures and passes through its straight digestive tract with food being broken down and digested by internal calcite protrusions in its stomach.
The creature has 5 stalk-like appendages with 2 pronged toes which it can use to attach to surfaces on the ocean floor. Its tentacles are also pronged and covered in tube protrusions. These protrusions have the appearance of eggs which attract fish that become entangled and fed into its dorsal bowl.
I could keep going on about the creature but I think you get the idea
Technical Info software etc…
I completed this project in about a week, the creature was primarily sculpted in zbrush, with the tentacle tubes being made in Blender. Texturing was done in substance mixed with some procedurals in blender. All renders were done in cycles, with some light retouching in photoshop. These renders were rough due to the volumetrics in the water, and bubble particle systems.
Hey thanks! Yeah the rigging took a bit. Wasn’t too bad since I was just trying to pose it - the rigify plugin helps a ton but I didn’t name any of the bones so fixing the weight painting was a bit of a nightmare!
Thanks! No geo nodes on this one, just used the hair particle system with collection instances for the little tentacles, and a regular old particle system for the bubbles.
Ugh… Instead to forbid swimming on beach with warnings - threats , they can just post picture of this cutie, with info that this species live in this water.
