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Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Naga
Size 712 x 1100
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najarati !!!
najarati !!!
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Naga
Size 712 x 1100px
File Size 886.1 kB
Listed in Folders
Gorgeous in every way;
The lighting is tremendous with the strong top-light giving an ethereal glow with the warm candles coming from below fill out the space. Excellent colours as well, her purple top is unmissable, and little details like the glow through her naga hood are just wonderful.
The lighting is tremendous with the strong top-light giving an ethereal glow with the warm candles coming from below fill out the space. Excellent colours as well, her purple top is unmissable, and little details like the glow through her naga hood are just wonderful.
The "real criticism" here appears largely aimed at the character design, over which I have control, rather than how she was rendered, over which the artist has control. As such, suggesting the artist not "overkill" it with extra arms and breasts would've gone directly against my wishes. It's fine you don't like how the character is designed, but criticizing the artist for following my instructions is silly. Aside from that, you sound quite taken with the artist's skill, stating "the art style is epic," the background "highly detailed," and the piece "well-composed overall." I agree. Spectrum did an excellent job.
Unbelievably gorgeous! *o*
The scales are amazing, as is the background, but the real thing I want to comment on is this:
IS THAT SUNLIGHT SEEN THROUGH HER HOOD!? WHY HAS NO ONE ELSE COMMENTED ON THAT DETAIL?!
That's the best, most reality-cementing part of this picture! (Just to be clear, I mean on the underside/front of her hood, we see an orange glow amongst the scales, presumably because the sun from above is beating down on the back/top of it)
The scales are amazing, as is the background, but the real thing I want to comment on is this:
IS THAT SUNLIGHT SEEN THROUGH HER HOOD!? WHY HAS NO ONE ELSE COMMENTED ON THAT DETAIL?!
That's the best, most reality-cementing part of this picture! (Just to be clear, I mean on the underside/front of her hood, we see an orange glow amongst the scales, presumably because the sun from above is beating down on the back/top of it)
Yashira possesses the natural ability to change the coloration of her hood interior via bioluminescence, which (along with body language) is how she expresses her mood. This is to help compensate for the fact her face is rather rigid and therefore has limited capacity for expression. After all, she has the head of a cobra! On a side note, she can also use her bioluminescence to create shifting mosaics of color and hypnotize those susceptible to such things.
Having said all that, the lighting in this piece does make it seem like the ceiling illumination is passing through her hood, which is also a cool effect in its own right.
Having said all that, the lighting in this piece does make it seem like the ceiling illumination is passing through her hood, which is also a cool effect in its own right.
Ahh, very cool. :}
Yashira is a sublime creature, nice work on her design! <3
I've often lamented how a naga's face (at least in this snouted and scaly style I like) would be rather rigid, indeed, so the bio-luminescence is certainly a good solution. It reminds me a bit of the colour-changing abilities of an octopus or other cephalopods. I believe cuttlefish do that same mesmerizing-shifting-colour hypnosis thing. Anyway, it's a great ability, and I love seeing it nicely implemented upon a lovely serpent. One could say this is a slightly more realistic way to get the 'hypno-eyes' concept that snakes are sometimes given, in art.
I do wonder if Yashira has her hood always spread / extended, though. I mean, a real-life cobra only has it up/out for a threat display and couldn't/wouldn't actually keep it there forever. But if Yashira uses hers to express herself, is it that she's always flaring it out? Or is it actually a permanent fixture / structure of her body, that is naturally there, on either side of her head and neck?
While I am guessing you know how it works, many people with cobra-anthros or nagas seem to assume it's a permanent part of the body, and I stopped trying to even occasionally bring up that they are not, some time ago. In seeing you talk about the finer points of the realities of a snake character and the way they would work, it made me think about it again.
I suppose I'm thinking 'Najarati must have made it a perma-hood, because it's core to the character' I mean, since so many other cobras get away with it, why can't you?
Also, before you replied, back when I thought it was just sunlight coming through the hood to make the skin between the scales glow orange, I kinda thought that Spectrum had perhaps missed the fact that there would also be shadows/voids in the sun-glow, from the ribs. But now I see that wouldn't matter, but the question remains, now that I'm thinking about cobra-hoods in a more realistic fashion: Does she have ribs in her hood?
That's another reason why I thought naga cobras with hoods was always a weird topic: A naga with a humanoid torso and a long neck above that, there shouldn't even BE ribs up there, you would think. Not from a human anatomy standpoint. But maybe all naga-necks have a smaller set of ribs [even Amethystine's neck - a python-naga, for instance], because it's an inherent snake-structure requirement! O:
Yashira is a sublime creature, nice work on her design! <3
I've often lamented how a naga's face (at least in this snouted and scaly style I like) would be rather rigid, indeed, so the bio-luminescence is certainly a good solution. It reminds me a bit of the colour-changing abilities of an octopus or other cephalopods. I believe cuttlefish do that same mesmerizing-shifting-colour hypnosis thing. Anyway, it's a great ability, and I love seeing it nicely implemented upon a lovely serpent. One could say this is a slightly more realistic way to get the 'hypno-eyes' concept that snakes are sometimes given, in art.
I do wonder if Yashira has her hood always spread / extended, though. I mean, a real-life cobra only has it up/out for a threat display and couldn't/wouldn't actually keep it there forever. But if Yashira uses hers to express herself, is it that she's always flaring it out? Or is it actually a permanent fixture / structure of her body, that is naturally there, on either side of her head and neck?
While I am guessing you know how it works, many people with cobra-anthros or nagas seem to assume it's a permanent part of the body, and I stopped trying to even occasionally bring up that they are not, some time ago. In seeing you talk about the finer points of the realities of a snake character and the way they would work, it made me think about it again.
I suppose I'm thinking 'Najarati must have made it a perma-hood, because it's core to the character' I mean, since so many other cobras get away with it, why can't you?
Also, before you replied, back when I thought it was just sunlight coming through the hood to make the skin between the scales glow orange, I kinda thought that Spectrum had perhaps missed the fact that there would also be shadows/voids in the sun-glow, from the ribs. But now I see that wouldn't matter, but the question remains, now that I'm thinking about cobra-hoods in a more realistic fashion: Does she have ribs in her hood?
That's another reason why I thought naga cobras with hoods was always a weird topic: A naga with a humanoid torso and a long neck above that, there shouldn't even BE ribs up there, you would think. Not from a human anatomy standpoint. But maybe all naga-necks have a smaller set of ribs [even Amethystine's neck - a python-naga, for instance], because it's an inherent snake-structure requirement! O:
Hey Amethystine,
I'm glad you like her. Thank you! Yes, she can flex her hood like a cobra; itβs not a static fixture. However, because it plays such a large role in communication (even more so than a real cobra), she often has it flared to some degree. You're right, though, she'd need to have ribs (or something similar) in her neck to drive the mechanism. Given sheβs a mythical creature and not strictly bound by human anatomy, Iβd say she possesses them.
Another reason you see her hood spread in every illustration is largely due to audience expectations. Many people expect to see the flared hood on a cobra because itβs such a signifying feature. As a bit of side trivia, she takes many of her visual cues from the black-necked spitting cobra.
Anyways, in the interest of not filling up the comment section with discussions of naga anatomy, feel free to send me a note if you wish to discuss further. Iβd be happy to talk.
I'm glad you like her. Thank you! Yes, she can flex her hood like a cobra; itβs not a static fixture. However, because it plays such a large role in communication (even more so than a real cobra), she often has it flared to some degree. You're right, though, she'd need to have ribs (or something similar) in her neck to drive the mechanism. Given sheβs a mythical creature and not strictly bound by human anatomy, Iβd say she possesses them.
Another reason you see her hood spread in every illustration is largely due to audience expectations. Many people expect to see the flared hood on a cobra because itβs such a signifying feature. As a bit of side trivia, she takes many of her visual cues from the black-necked spitting cobra.
Anyways, in the interest of not filling up the comment section with discussions of naga anatomy, feel free to send me a note if you wish to discuss further. Iβd be happy to talk.
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