Something’s Happening Here…

by preaume on July 2, 2015 at 10:02 AM
Posted In: Development

It’s pretty obvious that there is a fair amount of work happening around the site right now.  Many of our pages have the ”Under Construction” splat on them.  Why?

The Underground is a very complex universe that we’ve spent the last 18 years developing.  The site was meant to introduce our followers to the farthest corners of that universe.  Much time has been spent the last couple of months in organizing/compiling years of insect information.  With all of our facts, write-ups, and artwork in one place, we are ready to bring it all online.  

There’s alot information, and it’s going to take some time to get it all into place.  The groundwork has been laid though, and bit by bit we’ll be implementing these updates throughout the site.  Today we changed our homepage, what’s next? 

You’ll just have to stay tuned and see!

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The Assassin Bug

by preaume on July 2, 2014 at 12:12 AM
Posted In: Creature Creation

While few of our readers may recognize this insect by name alone, I’m bettin’ we’ve all seen them around our homes.  The Assassin bug is something that I’ve been particularly interested in for some time now.  At first my fascination came from the name alone, I mean seriously, anything with ‘assassin’ in its name has to be pretty freakin’ cool.  Well this insect sure lives up to the expectations set by it’s namesake, and I can’t wait to find a way to include him in the story!

The Vile Assassin

The Assassin bug gets its name from the way it stalks its prey; pouncing on the unsuspecting victim and impaling it with a needle-like snout.  Sound pretty nasty? Well it gets better!  After piercing the victim’s body, the Assassin bug injects it with a venom that liquefies the poor bug’s insides.  What’s left is a tasty protein shake that the Assassin is happy to slurp up through it’s needle nose.

That’s the assassin bug that I’ve grown to appreciate.  But thanks to my cousin Racquel I’ve have been further educated in the vile nature of these hardcore bug assailants.

Certain types of Assassin bugs are known for decorating their bodies with the hollow carcasses of their victims.  They do this for a couple reasons (I was surprised to learn that ‘looking wicked awesome’ was NOT one of the reasons), the most obvious of which being that by building a mound of bodies on their backs the assassins will look exponentially larger than usual.  This can dissuade any would be attackers.  Furthermore, if a large enough creature decided that the assassin looked like a tasty treat, the body part parka can be ditched to make for a quick escape!

I still think that looking wicked awesome should be the main reason for engaging in this type of behaviour, and with that thought in mind I started working on this rendition of our not-so-friendly neighbourhood Assassin bug!

 

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An Archive Recovery!

by preaume on February 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Posted In: Development

Most recently on our Facebook page we’ve been updating our Insect Benchmark album with a growing image of our various creatures.  The different insects have all be drawn to scale in order to maintain a visual reference of how they compare to one another.  It’s a concept that I’ve been really excited about, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed the process.  It is quite the process though.  In order to keep this benchmark concept consistent, each insect and character in the story should be drawn to the same scale, same angle, and so on.

A light did shine through the tunnel of artwork to be completed however!

While organizing the archives (with over 15 years of work put into the story, we’ve got quite the accumulation of material), I found the character illustrations from The Small Press Idol 2009.  While we took part in the second round of the contest we were asked to provide full characater rotations (images of the character from different angles; straight, profile, and a 45degree or rear if necessary).  For The Underground’s submission  I chose Cyrus, Styx, Queen Azulon, Prince Loxyn, Admiral Cree, and Baron Tarq.  This was my favourite part of the contest, as it gave me the perfect opportunity to really solidify my handle on drawing the anatomy of insect characters; and in an unprecedented display of foresight, I drew them to the same scale and angles that I’ve been using for the current characters! This means the images are ready to transfer into our growing benchmark image, without the need for resizing or redrawing.

So stay tuned to our Facebook page as these characters stand up next to the other insects from our Creature Creations.  And be on the look out for more discoveries from our hefty tome of reference materials, and concept art.

 

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Dragonfly

by preaume on February 16, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Posted In: Creature Creation

We’ve all seen them darting through the sky, or hovering in place.  They are stealthy predators amongst insects, yet so beautifully whimsical to watch.  They are the Dragonflies, and if I’ve learned anything it’s that anything with ‘dragon’ in it’s name is bound to be awesome!  I love to see these insects in person and after reading more about them they became the obvious candidate for our next CREATURE CREATION.

The Odonata

(Taken from their scientific classifcation)

The Odonata prefer to live around shallow waters, or marshy areas.  In order to use them in The Underground they’ll be found beyond the borders of the Mainlands (meaning they’ll be outside of the ‘backyard’).  There can be seen flying swiftly just above the water’s surface, in search of prey.  Maybe that’s where they get their name from, they certainly behave like mythological dragons.  I”m sure the other insect inhabitants would view them that way as well…if only they could breath fire!

The smallest family of North American Dragonflies I could find information on is the Banded Pennant, measuring in with a length of 38 millimetres.  While many other families show a length more than twice that size, we felt that this smaller group would be easier to utilize in the story.  Not to say that we won’t introduce a much larger, devastating cousin to the Pennants later on.  In our research we found that evidence of prehistoric Dragonflies with wingspans measuring more than 30cm has been recorded!  Sounds like that one would be a predator of the Man-Beasts rather than the insects.

And speaking of predator and prey, the Odonata doesn’t seem to be too picky when it comes to its diet.  They have been introduced into different environments in order to control mosquito populations.  We have plans to use mosquitoes as an airborne-mount for another insect species, introducing the Odonata as a natural predator to these riders will make for some awesome inflight battles.  Beyond the mosquitoes though, they will also prey on ants, bees, aquatic larva, and just about any other insect they can wrap their spiky legs around.

Even the dragonfly larva are vicious hunters.  They use their retractable lower jaws to grab their food, and pull them back into their waiting mouths.  With all this great imagery, it’s really hard NOT to find a place to fit this species into our story!

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Mosquito

by drocha on February 12, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Posted In: Creature Creation

The creation of the mosquito is an absolute must in The Underground universe.  They are an easily recognized pest, and they are very common throughout the world.  But what purpose do these blood-suckers serve in the story?  How do they impact our carefully crafted world, and how will they influence this constantly evolving epic? There’s only one way to get to the bottom of it all, and that is today’s CREATURE CREATION!!!

Enter The Culix

(Taken from the family classification ‘Culicidae’)

The point that stands out the most to us about the mosquito is its preferred food type…blood.  Whether it is humans (Man-beasts), dogs, deer, or horses this scrawny insect doesnt care.  They are one of the few creatures who prey on creatures that could easily kill them; which leads us to believe that they are not very smart.  Certainly not intelligent enough to be one of our more ‘sentient’ creatures, and not fearsome enough to be predators.  No.  They will be beasts, pure and simple.

As a species the mosquito does not form colonies, or follow any sort of social structure.  They live with no further purpose other than to feed…to graze.  As nymphs they feed on algae, and bacteria found easily in their water-homes.  Once they reach adulthood, they head out into world in search of bloodmeal.  With no defining social direction here, they are really coming across as simple blood-sucking-cows.  And therein lies their purpose within the Underground.  They engorge themselves on blood, which can then be harvested for use throughout the Underground.  Bloodmeal is also sought out by Assassin bugs, mites, ticks, and fleas, making it a decent commodity if properly gathered.

Physically, the mosquito has a few traits that help further define them for our purposes.  They measure in anywhere from 6.5mm to 16mm, which make them pretty long by comparison.  Their compound eyes, and antennae lined with tiny hairs give them enhanced senses of sorts.  Lastly, their nimble bodies make them quite maneuverable.  Looking at all of these points as a whole, we’ve decided to also use the mosquito as a ‘mount’ of sorts to be ridden by smaller, more daring insects.  Come to think about it, a long needle like ‘nose’ could surely be used as a sort of lance!

That settles it.

Here we have the Mosquito, or the Culix as we will be calling it.  The crazy blood-sucking-cow-horse of The Underground universe!

 

 

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