[idea sketch] Corals and Planktivore

Omg really? so cool XD I'll check both of coral!

pikaole

I'm a coral scientist and I looove Galaxea astreata and Physogyra lichtensteini! cant wait to see what you have planned

Febrianne S

Oh yes they are pretty, both of them! Thank you Becca :D

pikaole

Not sure if these have been mentioned yet, but I find the hammer coral pretty. Also not a coral, but you might enjoy looking up tiny clingfish :")

I'm sorry you've been stuck inside :(

fred

yeah, I also bought a sunscreen that does not harm corals for the same reason. Lately, I haven't been able to go outside because of the virus, and my skin has turned so pale these days, I don't wear sunscreen and I'm just enjoying the sun. For photosynthesis!

pikaole

We're all doing what we can :) I bet your cute illustrations raise awareness. And you always add the Latin names for the animals, which is great because people can look them up if they want to read more :) Sunblock lotion chemicals (the ones ending with "-ene" in English anyway) are really bad for corals so I've switched to mineral-only sunblock, even though it is greasy and inconvenient. I try to use UV-blocking clothing so I don't have to use mineral sunblock as much.

fred

you like sea slug XD Thank you so much David!

pikaole

The white sea slug idea sounds adorable!

David16

Yes, coral is important to the ecosystem, but sadly it is undervalued. I try to reduce carbon emissions and using cosmetics that are free of chemicals that are harmful to corals as much as possible for them, but sometimes I felt all of these efforts are not enough to save them.

pikaole

haha yes they almost look like little flowers :)

pikaole

I was going to request cute baby coral larvae but they are just oval-shaped blobs XD

fred

Yeah, some of those branching fan-shaped ones get really big. And Dendronephthya looks like a weird squishy tree with pink flowers, like an alien planet cherry tree or something. Also, a lot of people don't know there are cold water corals, and their environments are really important to protect because most of the animals there are so slow-growing. Bottom trawling destroys these corals. They also recently discovered a deep water reef in the ocean off the mouth of the Amazon River.

fred

Also, their size looks huge, which is amazing!

pikaole

They look like branches full of flowers XD Thank you so much Good to be Curious!

pikaole

yes yes there are so many so hard to choose for specific one XD Thank you very much Elaori! I'm drawing open mouth fish so you can see finished version soon :D

pikaole

There are so many beautiful corals, I don't know that I could pick one. If I had to choose, I would pick a deep water coral because they're neat and kind of creepy and really really old. Like Paragorgia arborea or Dendronephthya klunzingeri that looks like tentacles.

fred

I adore sea pens and feathers! There's so many beautiful corals out there. Love the happy open mouth fish and the tomato frog :D

Elaori

I understand! In my case, I draw them as simple as possible, but in order to draw them like that, I practiced a lot at first 😂 Maybe depending on the drawing style they can be very complicated to draw... for me, It would be great if I could make them move, for example, but animating anemone going to be incredibly complicated, and I get dizzy just by imagining it imao

pikaole

Ah, I like them too. It's a good idea to include a familiar coral in reef tank :D The tips of them appear to be fluorescent!

pikaole

I'm excited to see you paint corals. I draw almost exclusivity aquatic life, but I've always been intimidated to draw coral for some reason. So I've slowly started practicing some of them over the years. I guess because so many of them are pretty complex-looking like anemones, and some are scary to draw because they are fractal-like (like fan corals) so I never know when to stop 😂

Tony Richmond

Also, that frog is the cutest 🥺💖

Emicontained

Ooh, lately I've been watching a lot of reef tank hobbyists! I really like torch corals, Euphyllia glabrescens. They have the little glowing tips that look really cool under the blue lights

Emicontained

Oh, the pictures of them dancing in the water are so beautiful. I wonder what it feels like to touch them😌

pikaole

Hehe true, frog is everything💕🐸💕 thank you so much Erin!

pikaole

I like pseudopterogorgia corals. They have long sweeping branches like willow trees and I like the way they move with ocean currents.

the frog is everything, also can't wait to see more coral peices there so pretty!