A bipedal alien mount
Added 2026-01-07 22:12:21 +0000 UTCGenerous patron S. H. came knocking again with a concept for his expansive sci-fi universe:
Gaodu β Tall omnivorous bipeds renowned for speed and agility. Domesticated lineages have served as primary riding animals for millennia, shaping travel, warfare, and trade.
Here's the general body plan of the dominant phylogenetic order that includes the Gaodu: bilateral symmetry (descended from radial ancestors), 8 limbs (posterior limbs modified into tail structures), max 2 digits per limb, endoskeleton...
I love concise and clear descriptions like this. I set to work right away and drew sketches for four wildly-different body-plans.
We combined different bits from each concept to create a final composite:
This final sketch formed the basis of the full ink drawing:
Scanned composite, and screen-toning followed:
And finally, colours and anatomy!
Thank you all for your commissions, and support on Patreon and beyond!
This holiday season I received a record number of commissions - and am steadily working through them all. Thank you for your patience with the process - things are taking a bit longer than usual, but it's only because I am giving all your creations my absolute best! <3
Comments
Thanks John - really nice to hear from you! :)
C. M. Kosemen
2026-01-08 20:29:10 +0000 UTCDaaaaaammn! Those things are β¦ disturbingly alien! And without looking like either a crab or a bug or a starfish. That seems to be what happens whenever you ask someone to imagine a non-humanoid alien, something truly alien: always ends up looking like a crab! π [Or insectine, or squidlike, or something else terrestrial.] This β¦ this has just the right combination of "insectlike" and "not insect" to make it really, really __alien.__ Also unsettling, but that may just be me. π
John Weiss
2026-01-08 11:28:17 +0000 UTCGreat that you liked it! Looking forward to more!
C. M. Kosemen
2026-01-07 22:39:26 +0000 UTCIts Perfection!!! Great work as always :D Excited to work with you again.
Seth Howard
2026-01-07 22:15:53 +0000 UTC
