New Experiment, #585

[AngharadTy]

New experiment pet!

I adore this. I don't know what to do with myself because I adore it so much. There is a definite possibility that I need the scribble one in my life.

[Ontra]

The anatomy on this is so poorly thought out, I have to wonder how anyone thought this pet was ready for release.

The creature's limbs are obviously meant to resemble a spider's, but the artist clearly didn't look at an insect or arachnid before attempting to draw them. Instead, we get six poorly-positioned legs with clearly canine anatomy, withered to the point of uselessness. There's no believable way this clearly mammalian creature could support its own bodyweight without snapping the bones in its legs.
The reason an insect or arachnid can support its body with such spindly limbs lies in the positioning of those limbs and the creature's exoskeleton. It's very clear when looking at a photograph of a spider, ant or honey bee how insectoid limbs are built, which leads me to the conclusion that the artist is suffering from a case of "didn't do the research" (a pretty common affliction in Subeta artists these days).
Insectoid "thighs" do not point straight down; they are angled away from the body, and the limbs are splayed to distribute the creature's weight evenly.

The pseudo-insectoid limbs are also poorly positioned, and the legs on the far side of the body don't seem to be properly aligned, so much so that the lower half of the image is a confusing clutter of malnourished limbs. The scribble adds to this dissonance; where the scribble pet has limbs that are clearly paired, the limbs of the common don't match up at all.

That is, at a first glace they look fairly aligned:


Until you follow the lines of the canine thighs and realise it's actually like this:


The face also suffers from that aforementioned lack of research; the artist clearly doesn't understand that a spider's fangs and pedipalps are two separate structures. In fact, it looks as though the artist initially drew a short, canine muzzle, then hid that behind the pedipalps- that would account to the awkward angle of the pedipalp on the left (while neither pedipalp is properly aligned, the one on the left at least acknowledges that it is not a fang).

Additionally, the creature's spine seems very poorly aligned with the skull.


The image on the left is the actual line of the skull and neck; the image on the right is a more natural curve. Spines don't work this way, even in humans (which are bipedal, and therefore have a completely different skeletal structure to the generalised dog anatomy this creature uses).

...Remember when Subeta was Neopets' biggest competitor by virtue of its superior artstyle? What on earth happened to that?

[Jessi]

Wow... Ontra, it's an EXPERIMENT. The entire point behind an experiment is to... experiment with whatever you want to, art-wise. I watched Lindsey draw this - not only did she look at plenty of spider pictures, I even helped her find some for reference for the colors!

First, it's not just a spider - it's also a crocodile and some random whatever thrown in there. Second, it only has six legs, not eight - so trying to compare it to an actual spider kind of falls short right there. Third, saying it has "dog anatomy" doesn't really matter here... since it's an experiment, and not just a spider. (Actually, hilariously enough, it started out as a pig thing and turned into a spider thing instead).

If it was meant to be 100% spider, your argument would be more valid but.. it's an experiment. It's FUN.

[Fullmetal Dragon]

Wow, yeah, for real? It's not SUPPOSED to be perfect spider/insect/arachnid/anything anatomy. It's a weird experiment pet and it's supposed to be freaky and mismatched. I'm not sure why you felt the need to go completely crazy on ~anatomy redlines~? It's not that I "didn't do the research" -- it's that that is how I wanted it to look.

Basically, the anatomy on this is not supposed to be ~correct~ to any particular thing. I'm sorry you dislike this experiment's anatomy. It isn't supposed to match any earthly creature -- it's a product of a scientific experiment gone wrong.

[Silverevilchao]

I love this pet. FINALLY another more insectoid, freaky pet! I've been waiting for more of these for soooooo long! >w<

[Iggy]

This fits a character I created in RP about four months and my boyfriend and me laughed a lot, because my character is a 1/3 spider, 1/3 earwig, 1/3 dragon timeline eating abomination named Gina.

And we were all GINA, IS THAT YOU?

I love the scribble one a lot. Someone made a "look, i killed all of the bugs because i love you oh god what are you doing with that shoe" type of comment and this is exactly my feelings about that pet.


Overall, if I decide to bring Gina on Subeta, this will be my choice for color/specie, not because it's my only option, but because it looks great!

[TCStarwind]

I'm just going to sit here lamenting the fact that this is an experiment and not a regular pet because HOLY BEANS would I love to see this in other colors. And lookit its cute little face. <3 I want one.

Also, can I just point out the fact that just because it's an experiment doesn't necessarily mean that it has "gone wrong" and needs borked anatomy. Experiments can be successful, too. This looks like a fairly successful experiment, like the 8001 or 333, rather than an experiment that HAS gone horribly wrong like the 1102, 164, 404, or 8471. Personally, I do think this would look better with splayed legs, and they are kinda confusing with the way they're positioned, but it really doesn't bother me too much.

[Rah]

You know, there is giving critique, and there is being so condescending I do wonder sometimes if we're being trolled or you have something personal against the artist in question.

As Subeta artists, we're expected to be masters of all anatomy, land structure, every kind of item, clothing, layout, colour theory and more. When someone comes along that maybe knows a little bit more on a particular subject than we do, we're spoken to not as human beings that are still growing and learning (and happy to learn, mind you - I will never stop learning!) but as ignorant idiots who have obviously gone out of our way to disappoint everyone.

Saying you have some issues with the anatomy is fine. Hating the pet is fine. But when you present your argument with invalid assumptions and downright insult us, how can we take something like this seriously and think to ourselves 'Ahh, interesting comments, I'll learn from this and improve next time!' The only thing I've learned here is to not pay attention to your posts, Ontra.

[thelonetiel]

I like the fact that this pet exists, but I'm more on Ontra's side of the anatomy. I like realistic anatomy in my pets. No, it doesn't have to be a photopainting of an insect, but I don't know how this thing stands up.

The face is super detailed and well done, I think that part of my problem is the legs have so little detail in comparison.

I also stand by, if something looks like it is meant to be something, but has anatomy mistakes, I don't think "Creative license," I think "Poor planning". I guess I have a low suspension of disbelief tolerance for cartoons. =P

Maybe that is entirely your intention Lindsey, and you consciously chose to fuse the facial parts of spiders into a single unit (or perhaps used a more obscure reference, or what have you), but we as users don't see any of that thought process, only the end result. And when something looks a lot like a spider, but doesn't have accurate spider anatomy (the face specifically here), that's not how I expect my art to work, even on pet sites.

I dislike the wings, and quite a lot of other anatomy features, on most Neo and Subeta pets for similar reasons - this isn't at all exclusive to this experiment. The #3485 makes me cringe every time I see it - squid don't have mouths there! And the recent Transparent Jubjub is also absurd to me - vital organs should be behind skeletal structures lest death ensue! And complaining about anatomy and other poor decisions is half of what NC is.

I'll also say that scribble is adorable - this amazing mix of an adorable happy puppy and spiderface. The actual pet is pretty cool, more bug stuff is always nice.

[Silverevilchao]

IMHO, any anatomical problems for the pet could be fixed by improved shading on (its) right side of the body (like, making those legs darker) and possibly making the underbelly thinner (possibly like the anatomy of a greyhound, which also has thin limbs and a relatively large body?)...but that's it. It has a tail, for crying out loud, there's no way that's an uber-realistic bug.

[Ontra]

Wow, yeah, for real? It's not SUPPOSED to be perfect spider/insect/arachnid/anything anatomy. It's a weird experiment pet and it's supposed to be freaky and mismatched. I'm not sure why you felt the need to go completely crazy on ~anatomy redlines~? It's not that I "didn't do the research" -- it's that that is how I wanted it to look.

I neither want nor expect perfection; nor am I telling you that your creations must draw from nature 100%. What I am saying that, in creating a creature that draws obvious inspirations from real animals, just a tiny bit of applied realism will actually improve the impression that the creature is supposed to be a freakish mutation.

The misalignment of the 585's limbs doesn't give the impression of a freaky, mismatched creature. From an outsider's perspective, it looks as though you had trouble fitting them all in- do you draw your pets on a square canvas? I don't mean any offence by the question, I'm simply curious.

Honestly, when I first saw this creature, I was immediately reminded of Aywas' insi.
There are a lot of things wrong with aywas' art, but the anatomy issues notwithstanding, the insi is at least a believable creature. It's a disappointment as a bug pet, but it's also clearly neither an insect nor a mammal, but a blend of features from both species.

As Subeta artists, we're expected to be masters of all anatomy, land structure, every kind of item, clothing, layout, colour theory and more. When someone comes along that maybe knows a little bit more on a particular subject than we do, we're spoken to not as human beings that are still growing and learning (and happy to learn, mind you - I will never stop learning!) but as ignorant idiots who have obviously gone out of our way to disappoint everyone.

I do not expect Subeta artists to be "masters of anatomy". What I expect- from any website I play and/or pay for- is a little effort and attention to detail. And I am very sorry to say this, but from an outsider's perspective it seems like these things are slowly being forgotten.

I do apologise for my earlier comment about Subeta being a serious competitor to Neopets. There are a myriad of reasons why Subeta doesn't compare to Neopets as a petsite anymore, and it was not my intention to single out the art department about it. I'm sure you're all doing the best you can with what you have.

[Ierosbats]

Good grief. At what point can we erect a "Don't feed the trolls" sign and call it a day?

Aaaanyway, this experiment reminds me so much of something (in a great way) but I can't for the life of me figure out what. At first I thought maybe it was a combination of Hei Bai from A:TLA and Mr. Peppy from Futurama, but neither of those really held up. I hate the "it's on the tip of my brain" feeling. I can clearly visualize the way it moves, so it must be something from a tv show or movie. Ah well. Maybe it will come to me.

[Marah]

I like it, I have no idea about general spider/crocodile/whatever anatomy so the face thingies look perfectly fine to me. Well not fine as in, I don't ever need to find that in my bedroom, fine, but finely drawn. (Am I even making sense, probably not.)

The legs however, fantasy beast or not, look a bit spindly and wobbly to me. They are rather thin and look like they could break easily, except the middle one on this side. That one is a bit fluid, like a tube?

But I love the little cheeky snout, the face reminds me of the probiscis monkeys I saw in Malaysia. Except this little guy has two noselike additions, so it also reminds me a bit of a baboon. And now I think it is time for me to stop before I drag the entire animal kingdom in here.

[Sunwolf]

Dang, this thing is unbelievably cute! I love the colors and croco-tail! But the spider-fangs look like it's about to stab itself in the neck, and the spindle-legs look way too fragile.

[Seerow]

I want to like him, I really do. I love the top half of the pet to death. The face is adorable, even if it looks like the eyes are coming out of the fur and not attached to the skull. The snout/mouth/pincers are oddly endearing and he looks so happy.

However I can't make heads or tails of the legs and their arrangement. I honestly thought he had six legs all in a row and no pairs at first, until I saw Scribble. Even knowing they are paired up and some are behind I just can't make sense of them. I think they could have been positioned better to match of the pairs and maybe shaded more so they back ones don't seem to be in the foreground with the rest of the legs.

I just want to hug the Scribble version though and give him a cookie.