Very nice Lindz, I really like her!  I want one to play with!

 

hello my fellow monster lover. i am in love with the new sculpt. it is. very very eye gouging-ly nice. but, i will be the evil bad guy and crit as well.....bah humbug. i am curious as to the movement of the Vinek....more importantly as to the how with the elongated neck and highly curved spine affect/enhance the speedy movement. so actually i guess i am more questioning how she moves than critting...be careful with large heads and skinny necks as well...though this is pushing the edge, i think it works realistically. you are getting too good at this....makes me wanna sculpt....hmmm...
 

Hmmmmmm...respectfully dissagreeing with the thin kneck comment. Just look at birds for examples. nature is brilliant at designing lightweight skulls with large muscle attatchment areas. Dinosaurs are a good example. T^ Rex has a huge skull but it is incredibly thin in areas with honeycomb texture to the thicker areas. (see upper and lower maxilla of giganatosaurus for evidence of this). Lindz....trust your instincts hon.....dont let "gravity" interfere with creative design.
 

and a retort. look at birds for example. the walk and run different than any 4 legged creature, particularly a dog. that said, their head bobbles when they run in a heavy jerky way (osterich). this can be applied to your dinosaur theory as well, 2 legged structure t-rex, even though there is only speculation into their movement and speed and muscle and skin etc. i personally can't think of a 4 legged creature with an extremely long neck that runs with any efficientcy. thin necks with less muscle, with a large heavy head, with a neck than can reach the ground, and couple that with the jerking and bending and inertia of the body part, including the head. the neck itself structurally is tied to the front legs. and if you watch a dog run, you will see the potential problems with this design. but again, this is all crits to think about when designing creatures with specific functions and realistic movements. and i never said don't trust your instincts, i personally like the overall design, fluid and sleek, realistic looking and a potentially perfect creature. i just gave an honest crit which most artists appreciate.
 

....my impetus for my original response to you was probably too veiled for you to see. I really just wanted to suggest we celebrate a marvelously shaped peice of sculpey...........pull your neck in mate.

 

 

Whoa now!  I think that is exactly what a crit is all about, people giving their opinions on a piece and quite often disagreeing on those opinions.  All of the points made are quite relevant and I appreciate them.  As far as the length of the neck and size of the head, I had considered these points.  I think the size of the head is deceiving for a couple of reasons... first of all it's mouth is wide open and as you can see from my original drawing, (with both open mouth and closed positions) it does make quite a difference.  Even it's jowels are inflated as if bellowing and the position of it's lower jaw being pulled so far back.  And if you take a look at the pic below, it's head is actually quite thin when viewed front-on:

And as far as the way it runs, here's a drawing of how I had worked that out:

Now of course it doesn't mean that it's POSSIBLE for a creature to be able to run this way with a head and neck like that.  However, I think this is the risk we all take when struggling to bring creatures to life that are completely new and different to what we see in reality.  I agree that it must be based on the anatomical knowledge we have gathered from real animals, but if you can stretch the possibilities a bit and make it believable, I think you've succeeded.  Thanks very much for your insights, I always take them with me and consider them when beginning a new creature...

 

Thankyou Ricky!  That means a lot coming from you, really.  And of course I welcome crits, hell it's something I definately miss from school.  So about it's movement.  It's spine appears to be so curved because it's in a crouched position, in defensive mode.  If she were to stand up straight and walk it's body would appear very much like a greyhound (I was indeed inspired by my sister's dog!)  I don't know if you've seen one, but their anatomy is strange and they can't even sit down properly.  They only stand or lay down because their legs are so long that it's uncomfortable to sit. (Especially the highly bred with extreme bodies)  Damn I have to run at the moment but will continue this soon...
 

Holy hell, you're talented.

I am so friggin impressed.

 

Beautiful stuff lindz. The new sculpt especially.....in response to the previous comment about the neck, it looks very much how a velociraptor would rest in an upright position. You have a spooky natural insight into animal anatomy. Cant wait to see it painted.
 

holy shit i'm adding you..

hello my name is michael!

great work!

 

Does it like grapes? Fucking badass yo!!!
 

One word....AWESOMENESS!