The Rancid Reptilus

Contest entry for 's contest.

Fennedible (c) =Drayok
Meroe (c) *meroe1313

To skip to my process, scroll down until you find a star.

What is a fennedible?
Created by =Drayok, the fennedible is the answer to predation in a world where animals are as intelligent and thoughtful as humans. A fennedible is a plant that possesses animal features and abilities, but it is still just a plant. There are numerous species, all with different shapes, sizes, colors, and features, but all of them have one thing in common: dinner.

The Rancid Reptilus

The rancid reptilus, most often called by its slang name "grillasaur", is a legendary fennedible for its size, ferocity, and, most importantly, its taste. This species was once common in every tropical region and even worshipped as a deity of bountiful harvests, but overharvesting and encroachment from civilization has led to a sharp decline in the population. The remaining individuals now only grow in the deepest jungles and rainforests, where few people dare travel, but tales of a “giant, man-eating fennedible” lures adventures and fennedible connoisseurs to seek the rancid reptilus despite the dangers involved.

The grillasaur is characterized by its rough, holey "armor", fibrous yellow insides, and the colorful giant flower on the head supporting a huge, thorny berry on a thick stalk. The "flower" is actually less like flower petals and more related to animal scale, in that the petals are tough enough to repel most attacks, and the plant’s yellow insides are capable of bunching together and spearing out of the body for defensive purposes. While normally a peaceful fenndedible that spends its time lazing about gathering sunlight and water to nourish its giant, twelve-foot frame, a grillasaur will use the lengthy, segmented appendage sprouting from its back (often called its tail) to snatch up small and medium sized creatures to supplement its nutrients. Once bitten, the mouths spew a costic liquid that slowly dissolves the victim, allowing the fennedible to feed. For reasons unknown, all manner of other plant life grows from the pores in the tail end, attracting prey and camouflaging the dangerous mouth. Also, from the grillasaur’s two mouths, a sweet scent like blooming flowers and various ripened fruits lures more insects and creatures close, but when the grillasaur is threatened, the odor becomes incredibly pungent, like rotting meat marinated in sweat and slathered in rotten egg. This horrible stench is where this fennedible earned the name “rancid reptilus.” The odd, spiked berry on the head is the source for reproduction. Only one time a year, the berry turns a deep crimson and juices engorge the fruit. The berry then drops off its stalk and is carried by the grillasaur and exchanged with another of its species. No one has ever seen what happens next, nor has anyone discovered a grillasaur sprout since this fennedible dies quickly in captivity, but when the same wild specimen is spotted again after trading its berry, it is growing a new berry on its stalk.

In dangerous situations, the grillasaur pulls its berry into the protective petals of its giant flower and fights ferociously with its jabbing insides, biting tail, acidic spit up, and claw-like vines which extend out of the body on long lines of its yellow insides. While the body of the plant is slow, its tail and arms are blindingly fast and it seems to not recognize any damage to its body, making it reckless and relentless. This fennedible also possesses strong senses, thanks to the feelers on its jaws, and a strange kind of intelligence that allows it to manipulate its environment and even set traps. In most cases, the grillasaur only wants to eat anything attempting to harm it, but there have been cases of rogue grillasaurs trapping and killing anything they see for no reason other than they can. If the enemy is too tough and the grillasaur isn’t as rash, this fennedible will shriek and take off running at high speed with its vine-like arms writing overhead. It grasps and chucks anything, object or creature, behind it to slow down its attackers. Of important note is that other grillasaurs have been known to gather when one starts shrieking. Some adventurers think it smart, then, to use an injured grillasaur as bait, but many travelers have perished after being run down by a herd of thrashing, stampeding grillasaurs.

Amateurs who get lucky and slay a rancid reptilus will go straight for the abundant body meat, but while it is high in vitamin D and other beneficial nutrients, the grillasaur is tough, stringy, and bland and watery like unsalted lettuce—hardly worth the battle to acquire it. Expert chefs and fennedible connoisseurs know that the real prize is the grillasaur's berry. If one can somehow break through the venomous barbs on the shell, the meet inside is juicy and moist with a flavor like a finely marinated, grilled, prime cut of beef, and the two nuts inside are very high in protein with a flavor like rich dark chocolate. The trick is to clip the berry from its stalk before the grillasaur becomes aware of danger and tucks the fruit into its protective flower. Once tucked in, the berry does not reappear until the grillasaur is completely at ease again. Should the grillasaur perish before the berry is clipped off the stem, the poison barbs on the shell invert and jab into the berry, tainting the meat. Even licking a tainted berry will stop an average sized man’s heart in three minutes. There are stories, though, of a rancid reptilus who, after receiving gifts and praise from locals, would give its berries away to anyone who asked. This has led some to suggest that simply asking for the berry will cause this fennedible to relent. This theory has yet to be proven. For now, the rancid reptilus remains a mysterious and legendary fennedible with many secrets.


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Animal base: komodo dragon, gorilla, anaconda. Plant inspiration: strangler fig tree, rafflessia, orchid, liana (monkey ladder, vine), passionflower, passion fruit, bromeliad, heliconia, and the spiky seed pods of a tree around my house… that I don’t know the name of right now. XD

Corel Painter Essentials 4 with Wacom Bamboo Fun Medium tablet
Time: 36+ hours
Tools used: pencil tool, felt point pen brush, airbrush, burn/dodge

*scrapes her brain matter from the walls* I actually started planning this thing in April, but I chickened out and didn’t start this until May 10th. I “waffled” about it, mostly because it was such a huge idea I had in my head, and the prize list is so small. I almost didn’t make it… anyway, I have always loved the rain forest, so I knew I wanted a rainforest/tropical fennedible. The problem as WHAT I wanted to design. The rainforest has so many plants! After playing with a collection of designs, which included a chicken and a pitcher plant frog, I found this “gorilla/dino” design. Originally I had it with the giant flower and a tiny body, so the fennedible could hide under the flower, but I scrapped that in favor of the bigger shape simply for the awesome factor. Plus I like how the giant flower over the face gives the fennedible some character. I still don’t think it looks “right” compared to Drayok’s cool designs, but my stuff always has a “pokemon” look to it. Can’t change what we grew up on, lol. After the design was set, it it was just a matter of… doing the artwork.

There’s 36+ hours in this thing. I lost count after 24, as it was taking me three hours to do one piece (three on one foot, three on one leg, three on half of the body, another three for the second half, three for half the tail… blah blah blah). It took me three days on the background alone, and the rest of the time was spent on coloring (and recoloring) the fennedible. While I do love my tablet, Corel Painter can be a bit fussy with layers because of the stupid “blank space=white space” thing it does. So I actually had to paint most of this ON ONE LAYER. And I had to redo parts of it because I learned better techniques as I worked which made the pieces look different. Everything was airbrushed, mostly, with a felt pen brush used to get finer edges and the burn/dodge for details. Everything was done by hand as well, no “auto textures” or fancy brush textures. The most difficult part, I think, was just getting myself to sit down and do it. It was so intimidating, especially since I haven’t done much big digital stuff, but once I got into the groove it wasn’t so bad. I got a bigger headache just trying to get Meroe to look right! His face and skin tone always throw me off, but I wanted to include him for me and because I wanted a size comparison in there.

Even if I don’t place in the contest (so many entries!) I had so much fun doing this, and I learned some great digital techniques. Plus it’s always great to create something and put Meroe in it. Enjoy!