Spec Bio - Tumblr Posts
A centaur from the Shess ethnicity poses with their clan's small flock of Tep, a livestock animal that is farmed for its meat and cheese-like edible silk. To their right are the hens of the flock with their large silk glands and spinnerets, in the centaur's arms is a distressed yearling newly weaned off silk, and to their left is the rooster with flashy (but useless) display spinnerets. In the background is the tough yellow chaparral flora of the harshly seasonal Shess peninsula. Hanging off their fore shoulder and hooked to a belt on their rear waist is a 2 meter long black powder rifle, characteristic of centaur firearms developed before first contact. The shepherd keeps it with them while herding the flock to ward off wildlife that competes with or likes to eat Tep. It's also useful for bagging game meat.
PATREON | STORE | Runaway to the Stars
Another one I’ve never heard of but need to check out now… 🐸
Have you played EXQUISITE BIOME ?
By Caro Asercion
Exquisite Biome is a game about the symbiosis of the natural world. Create an ecosystem, populate it with strange and wondrous animals, and see how they interact with one another.
My elves might be unconventional, but I made them long-nosed/horned bugs. They look mostly human, but are pale, have long noses and ear cannals instead of ears.
Anatomically they have an exoskeleton instead of what we have, so on close inspection you might notice splits on joints of their limbs. They breath through pores on their chest where they also keep their vestigial middle pair of limbs.
I also gave them a culture based in unique identities and their expression. Like many insect species they often communicate in gestures and dances, creating famous elven circles in open fields.
Must also add that my elves are a bit more mythology/folklore based rather then classical fantasy.
Elves (Speculative Biology)
If elves were real, what do you think they’d descend from? Personally I find them being a subspecies to be a little bit boring. Please lmk!! I’m considering for my fantasy world
Looking back on my little speculative bio human mimics! Would anyone like to see them be built upon and updated?
I still have a soft spot for these funnies ^^
I also want to rework the lock-jaw skull-cracker thingy. There’s biology to be learnt.
(Links: Artfight and Toyhouse)
Ok they look angry but its ok cause i just realized how weird the original arthroid looked. Fucked him up fr 😭. Why's he got a butt for a face
Whatever they're getting the chicken treatment now. I might spread the legs out a little far to not be directly under them like how most birds do but i gotta figure out how that will translate into their humanoid look. The thigh gap might be crazy
Anywho heres a slight update. It's still in the works BUT the mandibles actually look like mandibles!! Yayya! I used trap jaw ants for reference cause they do what their name says, they have a lock mechanism!
I ❤️💞 MAKING CRAP UP!
This is near incomprehensible so I'll try cleaning it up soon ^^
At last, the arthroids don't look as stupid. I also might rename them to Parvae. I also made them look kind of cute so ima fix that. They don't get that.
Fun fact: these are the two extremes of the spectrum! Lots of Parvae are some variation between these two extremes, as many are also hermaphrodites or are actively transitioning from one sex to the other. How does that work? Don't ask me that. I'd like to imagine the sometimes random transitioning is the bane of their breeders' existence.
Any critique from more knowledgeable spec bio artists is also appreciated!
I'm putting acid rain and normal rain and low gravity in the Headsplitter world so I can make the sophonts there giant mollusk-proxies and I was gonna call them the Cascadians but that's way too cool. One day I'll come up with something boring instead.
New name: Whistler People! They're called such because humanity knows them for their sound-based technology that often whistles. I'm still working on them but just know I'll keep the mostly in the dark for now, and focus on their pets instead!
Here's a crude drawing of a Whistler Person with a generic pet Parvae on a leash.
I'm putting acid rain and normal rain and low gravity in the Headsplitter world so I can make the sophonts there giant mollusk-proxies and I was gonna call them the Cascadians but that's way too cool. One day I'll come up with something boring instead.
Other funny guys from the same clade as Parvae!
As Above, So Below
Throughout most of the year, the nighttime skies of planet Veteris are illuminated by a vast, brilliant nebula. Tiny photosynthetic organisms multiply during the daylight hours, and after sunset the surface waters become a thick soup of predators ascending from the deep to feed on them. Any creature seen from below will be silhouetted against the glow of the sky above. To prevent becoming easy targets for predation, many blend in by producing their own light. In their swarming multitudes, these billions of incandescent swimmers create biological nebulae beneath the waves. Massive filter feeders like the ghostly white Niveus have no need for such camouflage. Their immense size and surprising speed are enough to keep them safe as they cruise these starry seas.
New ideas for the Headsplitters incoming! I was thinking there would sort of be different breeds with different abilities occupying Earth. I have no idea what I'm doing but it's a lot of fun!
In the meantime I realized I never showed the (outdated but still useful) lore here so here's the full guide!
The only thing that's outdated here so far is the art and the fact the nonhuman headsplitters are called Arthroids (they're Parvae now) , so you can read it and be up to date! They are an extremely adaptable and diverse race for the purpose of people making their own ocs with them!
(Image ID: Four sketches of speculative biology creatures.
The first image is a few sketches of headsplitters and parvae, aka human-imitating aliens.
The second image is sketches of a baby fringid, a bipedal sophont that lives in cold weather. It looks like a mix between a baby chicken and a mammal.
The third image is a baby fringid being held in the arms of a human much like a hen would be. It is slightly bigger than a hen.
The fourth image is of a whistler person (the sophont on the headsplitter's home world) going to work, with its two children trailing behind it and a parva on a leash. End ID)
Headsplitters and Parvae are from one open species creation and Fringids are from another! I know I haven't posted the latter on here since I haven't been working on it actively but if you would like to see more of that, tell me!
Spy's Spec-Bio Essentials
I honestly didn't mean to write a full-on essay, but I couldn't help myself -I love specbio, and the recent revival of interest in it makes me very happy. If you wanna just get right to the meat: normal links are highlighted blue, YouTube links are highlighted red.
Speculative biology has its roots as far back as Pliny the Elder and his Natural History, though most consider H.G. Wells to be the true grandfather of the genre with works such as War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and Man of the Year Million. However, any speculative biologist worth their salt credits Dougal Dixon as the father of specbio as we know it today –especially since he is the man who coined the term! Dixon's books After Man, Man After Man, and The New Dinosaurs are considered the foundational works of modern specbio. So too is Wayne Barlowe's book Expedition.
While the original printings of these books are very expensive to acquire, After Man recently received a Kindle version, and Expedition has a very good documentary adaptation available in totality on YouTube. Another important work of early speculative biology was the Discovery Channel limited series The Future Is Wild, a documentary show exploring the possible futures of life on Earth in several million years' time.
With the rise of the internet, people interested in speculative biology –those few and far between– could share their thoughts and amateur works with each other. Online specbio hit its first height around the mid-aughts to early tens, featuring many notable works that were very influential to me personally when I joined the scene circa 2014. Unfortunately, right around when I joined there was a notable "mass extinction" –many of the more active and prominent figures of the specbio community left the web behind for various reasons, and thus the golden age ended.
In recent years, partially thanks to certain YouTube video essays on the classic projects, interest in speculative biology seems to have increased dramatically! I've taken to calling the current era the "specbio renaissance," and it makes me so happy to see new, younger people interested in this unique facet of creativity. In light of this I've created this master post of my personal recommendations of essential specbio works for new "speccers" to enjoy!
The specbio community has congregated on forums for decades. I personally joined the community via DeviantArt right around when the old ZetaBoards forum underwent a massive host shift and never participated on the forum all that much, but fortunately the old Speculative Evolution Forum is still up and still active!
For those who'd prefer a simpler way to keep up with current events in the specbio community, Astrovitae is a free e-magazine dedicated to contemporary spec. A product of the recent specbio renaissance, Astrovitae only has a handful of issues thus far but is already becoming a staple publication in the field.
I made this post to provide what I think is key information and important resources, but the SpecBio Wiki is a far more thorough companion to your journey into the world of speculative biology. As always, though: beware ye old Wiki Rabbit Hole!
Biblaridion's Alien Biospheres video series is an excellent entry point for anyone looking to learn the basics of specbio. It's a demo xenobiology project, with a heavy focus on the scientific concepts used in building up the world and its ecology.
Curious Archive's Alien Worlds video series is an excellent collection of bite-size examinations of various specbio projects, including several on this list!
Nemo Ramjet (C. M. Kösemen)'s Life on Snaiad is universally considered a classic work of speculative biology, started in the early days of the golden age of internet specbio. Snaiad is an alien planet, in its early days of human habitation, filled with strange lifeforms bearing two "heads."
Kösemen's other well-known classic work is Alltomorrows, a short ebook exploring hundreds of millions of years' worth of possible human evolution. Readers, be advised: this work contains extensive body horror and discussion of human extinction, both circumstantial and deliberate.
Sagan IV, originally created by Hydromancerx, is one of the oldest and most extensive specbio projects. Started as a simple artistic exercise on a forum in 2006, Sagan IV has evolved into a large, highly collaborative vision of an alien world inspired by the works of Carl Sagan. It is still ongoing today, and you can participate in their regular contests and activities!
Gert van Dijk's Furaha is another of the well-known classic specbio projects, and one of the few from the golden age that is still fully active. Furaha itself is an alien world orbiting Nu Phoenicis which harbors a fascinating native biosphere, built upon carefully-researched biomechanics. The site itself is laid out much like an encyclopedia, and the accompanying blog is a treasure trove of specbio know-how and community history!
Sunrise on Ilion, a xenobiology project by @supermalmoworld, is a personal favorite of mine. Ilion is a planet tidally locked to a red dwarf star, and its endemic lifeforms often challenge our expectations for Earth-like ecology. The website boasts extremely detailed information on the setting and its inhabitants, as well as in-universe articles and logs of the various human expeditions to this fascinating world. The project is still active on a very sporadic basis, at least as per blog entries.
Nereus is a xenobiology project created by Evan Black; another reasonably well-known golden age work but one that is unfortunately no longer active. The world of Nereus, orbiting the star Achird, teems with life unfamiliar to the humans which seek to adopt it as their home. Like many specbio projects it adopts a documentarian style, but there are plenty of nuggets of story tucked in the articles.
Serina is a contemporary speculative evolution project created by the legendary Sheather; it is what I would consider the holotype of the "seed-world" branch of specbio. Serina is a planet populated only by the descendants of the domestic canary (and a few other organisms like guppies, snails, ants, sunflowers, bamboo, algae, etc). The project digs deeply into the various unique niches of the world and the organisms that evolve to fill them, and in doing so mixes nature-documentarian style with some of the most compelling and emotionally engaging storytelling I have read in years.
These are just what I think are the essentials. There are numerous other fantastic projects, both contemporary and from years ago, that I would highly suggest investigating! Contemporary honorable mentions that personally inspire me include @alexriesart's birrin, @iguanodont's birgs, @jayrockin's Runaway to the Stars, Christian Cline's Teeming Universe, Keenan Taylor's Kaimere, and my friend Mičkin's Temere!
Some bovids of Lishel.
The western savanna is home to Keerso, Vans impala and, Tapper impalas. Keerso are one of the most populous animals in the area, leading to herds being domesticated for meat. Vans impala are seen as blessed animals, and killing them is looked down on.
The mountainous eastern coast is home Guinin, and Tapin. Both have been domesticated, wild populations still exist naturally. Guinin are often used in hauling due to their hefty builds. Tapin are fast, and sure footed. They can jump along tough terrain with ease and are often used for general transport. These species as historically important to the area.
Rilicai in the rain. Inspired by how rainy it is where I live at the moment. Rain is pretty common where she lives as well, but she doesn’t normally go to the forest - most of her species live in or on mountains.
This year's worth of art
Hakiri!! I haven't drawn any birdpeople in almost a year, it's nice to get back to them. The helmet design is subject to change, though - I might make it a little more Spartan in style. :-)
Character designnnnnnn
Dont know if imma keep xyr, dunno what imma name xyr
Warbirds who live on the NAPPA arc usually are extremely genetically modified with their colors and patterns. Bright colors are considered very attractive to most warbirds, so they are often seen as genetically made super models.
This was also an excuse to make a sparklefur warbird
Before I go for the night I bring a suggestion;
Slugcats, but they have nudibranch egg ribbons. Considering their lifestyle it MAY be unconventional, but Think about it
