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He’s not the step dad- he’s the dad who stepped up 🫡
Each time I see her, my heart skips a beat. She is so truly wonderful and confident, I really wish I could be like her.
As promised, welcome to
Fun biology in TOTK’s designs
I'll keep this post updated as I go through the game. I'm going to skip the more general identifiable things like apples (they're based on apples!) because there are tons of more unusual species to talk about.
Overall, the really interesting thing I've noticed is that many of the more unique Earth-based lifeforms in TOTK are super ancient, like predating dinosaurs ancient, which is a really cool tie-in to the overall time-hopping plotline of TOTK. Specifically, they're found in the new areas (caves, depths) while the surface remains a bit more normal.
(There will be no plot spoilers in this post, and also I've barely gotten into the plot because I'm spending all my time wandering, so shhh no spoilers in the tags for like a month please.)
PLANTS
Bryophytes my beloved. Bryophytes are among the earliest land plants, waaaay predating flowers and even seeds. In our world, they’re small by necessity—they lack vascular systems to help move water around like other plants, so they have to stay small and moist (hence their frequency in caves in TOTK—though they do need some light in real life.)
In TOTK they’re quite large and I think that’s very sexy and art directors should give us big bryophytes more often
Anyway, there are three types of bryophytes: mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Left image is a moss, right is a liverwort. Those red-brown and palm-tree-like structures, respectively, are their reproductive structures.
Not yet spotted: Hornworts! Did they forget the third bryophyte sister :(
I think these next guys are probably lycopods (specifically club moss, which is not a true bryophyte moss, thanks science.) Very old, but vascular, so they're a bit more evolutionarily recent than bryophytes.
All the enormous curly-topped trees in the depths: Ferns! Another very old plant, though younger than bryophytes and lycopods.
Brightblooms and some of the other giant plants in the depths: Possibly based on a cycad? Again, a very ancient plant lineage. At this point, evolutionarily, they've developed seeds—that giant cone in the center is called a strobilus, and that's the seed structure.
These next few plants are angiosperms, meaning they produce flowers. Angiosperms are a more recent evolutionary lineage—still many millions of years old, but it took a while to develop flowers as a reproductive tactic.
Sundelions (left) are a fun recolor of a lily. I wanted to point out that the artists did a nice job with the overall accuracy on the shape and parts—though they only have 5 stamens instead of the lily's characteristic 6, but hey, fantasy. There are also some scenery lilies in various places—I found these (right img) in the depths but near a lightroot (which gives them literal and thematic connection to the surface.)
These next ones are Peruvian lilies/alstroemeria, just used as a scenery plant but a very fun inclusion. Fun fact, not true lilies, so they're not deadly to cats like true lilies are.
Real photo © Dick Culbert, Wikipedia
Plum trees: These are also called out as plum trees in game! There's a journal in Kakariko that refers to the plum orchards.
Okay I'm a little proud of figuring this one out. Bomb flowers blend a few botanical references. Superficially, the fruit resembles a type of seed pod called a capsule—specifically it's very similar to a poppy capsule. The little red thing in the center is a nice addition to resemble both a flower stigma (reproductive part that leads to the ovary) and a bomb fuse. Now, poppy capsules disperse their seeds via wind, but there are other plants who do explode their seeds outwards as a dispersal tactic! This is called explosive dehiscence.
There is one tree in particular called the sandbox tree, AKA monkey-no-climb or dynamite tree (yes, really.) Their capsules look more like little pumpkins, but are known for violently exploding when ripe—they can launch seeds at 150 miles per hour (250 km/h) and spread them roughly 200 feet (60 m) away. The photo comparison is a poppy capsule but you should def go look up dynamite tree videos.
Real photo © PommeGrenade, pixabay
Fire fruits (and the other elemental fruits) grow on the same generic plant that looks kind of like it has grape leaves. Fire fruits resemble a specific botanical thing too though—the black netting is a papery calyx (part of the flower) seen in a nightshade genus, Physalis (golden berries, tomatillos, etc.)
Real photo © Helene Rogers, Alamy
MISCELLANEA
Cup lichen! Lichen is not a plant, but a symbiotic structure of an algae + a fungi. Cup lichen is just a type of lichen formation that has a kind of vertical cup-like structure.
ANIMALS
Sticky lizards: Based on Diplocaulus, a very early (now extinct) amphibian! Their skulls are wacky. We're not sure whether the long sides stood out separately or were smoothly connected to the body by skin flaps, but the separate arrow-like shape is the most popular rendition.
Deep firefly: Might be a stretch because it could just be a multi-winged fantasy critter, but I think the "wings" and antennae are very reminiscent of anomalocaris, an ancient aquatic arthropod.
That's all I've got for now! Will add more as I keep playing.
Sharing another older design. X-Key in flight gear, she wears her hair differently with this outfit.The mask for this outfit is also a little different in the final version. Because she often changes her looks I try to use little touches on the designs and symbols to represent X-Key. #illustration #instaart #drawing #sketch #draw #comics #manga #anime #otaku #artist #ink #rad #arte #dibujo #graphics #wacom #cintiq #digitalart #creative #art #oc #style #xkey #teamxvisual #pencil #awesome #cintiq22hd #photoshop #color #design https://www.instagram.com/p/4KcD-pDALj/?igshid=19dwh8owb0tph
Hey all! Sorry for not posting lately, I’ve been really busy with class and work but we’re still working on X-Key’s comic, Rebellion. The fourth issue is just about done and needs to be uploaded.
Anyway thank you so much for liking X-Key and remember to check out Rebellion at highoctanerevolution.com
Here’s a quick color pencil and ink doodle of X-Key!
Kick, kick, punch, punch! Jonathan practiced animating X-Key’s fighting style with this little cut.
Love it! Thank you so much for doing this, I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.
Just some fanart of @TeamxVisual’s oc X-Key! Love using my neon colors
(I take all requests)
X-Key using her multi-gun.
Hey guys this was posted on our instagram. Posting it here for higher quality. A rendering of X-Key in camouflage. This is the outfit that she wears on Rebellion issue 03's cover. I love the red eyes on this outfit.
Lilith in the wastelands. this is a colored version of a sketch of posted earlier. The original was drawn with pencils. Then inked with micron pens and colored in Adobe Photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq drawing tablet. #illustration #instaart #drawing #sketch #draw #comics #manga #anime #otaku #artist #ink #rad #arte #dibujo #graphics #wacom #cintiq #digitalart #creative #art #oc #xkey #teamxvisual #artwork #hairstyle #style #awesome #sketchbook #pen #pencil
Working out some things with Jam. This was drawn in Adobe Photoshop using a Wacom Cintiq 24.
Sharing another older design. X-Key in flight gear, she wears her hair differently with this outfit.The mask for this outfit is also a little different in the final version. Because she often changes her looks I try to use little touches on the designs and symbols to represent X-Key
X-Key plays a video game while taking a break in the wasteland. The perfect sketch to match our mood as we take a break post -C2E2. #illustration #instaart #drawing #draw #doodle #artist #artoftheday #creative #sketch #blackandwhite #wip #anime #otaku #manga #comics #pencil #xkey #teamxvisual #rad #arte #dibujo #traditional #artsy #art #artwork #bnw #instafollow #instalike #instagood #awesome
A pic from the final day of C2E2. Chihsuan and Jonathan at the booth with X-Key! #c2e2 #rainbow #chicago #graphics #awesome #instacool #badass #anime #otaku #manga #comics #colorful #creative #color #instalike #instagood #rad #style #cool #instafollow #instasize #artwork #illustration #tweegram #webstagram #xkey #teamxvisual #instahub #instago #nice
C2E2 Day 2! We have some pretty cool items for our Saturday Swag Bag! If you stop by our booth today you can grab a free copy of Rebellion 01. The C2E2 version has a preview of "Days On Edge" featuring Lilith. Our bag also comes with 1 of 5 different wristbands, a poster, a sticker set, and X-Key's "not smiley" button. We will also be sending out Agee of these later to some of our followers as a way of saying thanks for your support! #xkey #artoftheday #teamxvisual #anime #otaku #artist #manga #comics #draw #c2e2 #chicago #free #swag #bag #arte #wristband #poster #illustration #artsy #art #artwork #instaart #wacom #instalike #color #rad #style #colorful #illustration #rainbow
Daniel Sutton (lead web developer and admin for highoctanerevolution.com) at the booth, right before the start of the C2E2. If you are attending and you stop by today you get a free poster of X-Key! #comics #anime #otaku #manga #artist #c2e2 #booth #convention #chicago #illustration #xkey #teamxvisual #rad #instacool #artwork #instalike #instagood #instahub #color #colorful #creative #rainbow #graphics #awesome #style #wacom #free #swag #bag #instafollow
Not Your Average Delivery Vehicle
Just like people here on Earth, astronauts get shipments too! But not in the typical sense. 8,200 pounds of cargo, including supplies and scientific experiments, is on its way to the International Space Station thanks to Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft. This ‘package’ launched out of Wallops Flight Facility on Nov. 2, 2019 at 9:59 a.m. EDT. The investigations aboard the rocket range from research into human control of robotics in space to reprocessing fibers for 3D printing. Get ready, because these new and exciting experiments are arriving soon!
THE SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER
Stars, planets and their molecules only make up 15% of our universe. The rest is dark matter. However, no one has actually ever been able to see or study it. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer -02 (AMS-02) has been searching for this substance since 2011. Northrop Grumman’s CRS-12 mission carries new parts for AMS-02 that will be added during a series of upcoming spacewalks so that the instrument can continue to help us shed light on this mystery.
THE REMOTE EXPLORATION OF EARTH
Rovers operated by astronauts on the International Space Station will attempt to collect geological samples on Earth as part of an investigation called ANALOG-1. The samples, however, are not the important part of the study. Humans experience degraded sensorimotor functions in microgravity that could affect their operation of a robot. This study is designed to learn more about these issues, so that one day astronauts could use robots to perform research on planets they hope to walk on.
WOAH, THAT’S RAD
The AstroRad Vest is pretty rad. So rad, in fact, that it was sent up on the launch of Northrop Grumman’s CRS-12 mission. This vest intends to protect astronauts from harmful radiation in space. While going about normal activity on the space station, astronauts will wear AstroRad and make note of things like comfort over long periods of time. This will help researchers on Earth finalize the best design for future long duration missions.
EVEN ASTRONAUTS RECYCLE
The Made in Space Recycler (MIS) looks at how different materials on the International Space Station can be turned into filament used for 3D printing. This 3D printing is done right there in space, in the Additive Manufacturing Facility. Similar studies will be conducted on Earth so that comparisons can be made.
FASTER, CHEAPER ACCESS TO SPACE
A collaboration between Automobili Lamborghini and the Houston Methodist Research Institute will be using NanoRacks-Craig-X FTP to test the performance of 3D-printed carbon fiber composites in the extreme environment of space. The study could lead to materials used both in space and on Earth. For example, the study may help improve the design of implantable devices for therapeutic drug delivery.
DESSERT, FRESH FROM THE OVEN
Everyone enjoys the aroma of fresh-baked cookies, even astronauts. On future long-duration space missions, fresh-baked food could have psychological and physiological benefits for crew members, providing them with a greater variety of more nutritious meals. The Zero-G Oven experiment examines heat transfer properties and the process of baking food in microgravity.
Want to learn about more investigations heading to the space station (or even ones currently under way)? Make sure to follow @ISS_Research on Twitter and Space Station Research and Technology News on Facebook.
If you want to see the International Space Station with your own eyes, check out Spot the Station to see it pass over your town.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.