04/25/2022
This is one of a few concepts I did for a sophontic biquad species that evolved from large grazing prey organisms and reached sapience through an evolutionary "intellect-arms race" with a now extinct predator-descended species, whom the Ourtk wiped out during the species' bronze age. The Ourtk are often entwined in civil wars, and many cultures have an underlying theme of paranoia and cruelty -- especially towards the undeserving Boogeyman of predatory species, the "intelligent monsters" that they eradicated.
Here we can see one retracting their eyestalks.

The initial inspiration behind the Ourtk was how most "violent" or "scary" alien species tend to be predatory in media, but in nature herbivores such as hippos are fucking awful.
Also, I wanted a biquad species in my alien sophont lineup.