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Oh, so basically what I thought at first. That makes more sense than them being all ears. So this evolution, the shape of its "fan" would be like a Dimetrodon sail or--?

I was thinking more like the wings of draco lizards

That's a Beach Cheekhorn descendant, isn't it?
It's remarkable how many times triangle-formation eyes have turned into single-line eye configurations. I wonder if the position of its eyes is related to a strengthened lower jaw to support the cheek-horns.
They don't seem to have hooves. Is this a juvenile, or is it somewhat neotenous and holds onto that trait of milk-claws?
The artwork looks nice. I like the musculature.

In this case I figure the single line formation works with the assumption that the skull is overall like that of an ungulate. The face is very long and the braincase and jaw muscles don't need to be taking up a lot of space. With the size of the eyelids, bunching them close doesn't work as well in this specific case.

The hoof to toe ratio is altered for life in the desert (flatter, padded toes are better for walking in sand). It's not neotenous, just modified. The more claw-like look is an artifact of their modification. I might smooth them out a bit, though.

Making a bit of a callback to velishroot, descended from opportunity shrew:


Thinking of calling it something like velocitoon

Making an exceptionally ugly and wrinkly giant mostly naked argusraptor for the prompt. There's not a lot one can do to make a creature that screams "barlowe" and is still plausible, but boy does that man love oversized naked fauna with wrinkles.


(bonus: skull is intentionally slightly shrinkwrapped)

Oh, that is very good lineart. It's like a coloring book.
For now, I plan a Sealkey descendant. There's plenty of opportunities to make them Barlowe-esque.

This is the sketch for the Dune Dundigger, for the Dixon Dunes. I haven't finalized the mouth yet, because I want to know how strong the jaw should be. Its diet would overlap with the Pink Scrambler, so it makes sense it would specialize in something Pink Scramblers don't eat, or don't eat as much.
Any input on the pose or proportions? It's based on a black-tailed jackrabbit, with proportions adjusted so it wouldn't be too much of a jump from the Dundigger, although, given Dundigger life history, I probably could afford to change the proportions more in a single jump.

Yes, I know it has rather short hands for a Dundi, despite my attempts to lengthen them. It's hard to alter the hands for running in open habitats but keep them recognizably spindly for the lineage. In later stages, I plan to add some calluses or pads to the palms.

The pink scrambler is a generalist. A specialist of anything won't have anything to worry about from it.

Oh, that makes things easier. My biggest concern was actually whether the proportions are plausible. I'm well aware of the mistakes I've made with the legs and feet of Dundis.

@OviraptorFan?

There is.....alot wrong with this sketch...

Here is the redraw of its ancestor, as a comparison


The hind feet look awkward and seem to be missing the third toe. Also why not have one of the spurs act as a reverse hallux for support since it looks like the spurs get really close to the ground? I think that may be because your critter suddenly becomes plantigrade even though its ancestor and close relatives are all digitigrade.

The head is probably the biggest problem though. The dentition is completely absent which makes no sense since they have a hyper specialized grinding surface formed by their two buck teeth. They should also stuff have a bulbous snout that is moderately flexible, since it helps with the grinding of food. All descendants of the Treedundi have a really good grinding system with their two buck teeth.

If you want I can make a sketch of how I think it could look for what your going with, but I will have to do that in 2 days.

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Oct 25 2021, 12:03 PM

At the time, I had left the mouthparts not finalized. (see previous message.) That's why it looks bad.

I knew about the third toe, but assumed it wouldn't be visible from this angle. I could re-draw it to just barely fit it in.
In fact, I used your Dundigger sketch as a reference. The Dundigger is drawn as if it's plantigrade, or at least has its sole and the tips of its toes in contact with the ground. If the latter, flattening the footprint seems plausible.


On second thought...the bones are supposed to be a modified digitigrade form, right? I assembled the digitigrade form into something that looks fairly plausible as a back-of-the-napkin calculation, though the angle of the lower bones seems off. If it has a fatty foot cushion on the heel, it would appear plantigrade, much like how elephants' actual foot configuration is disguised by fatty tissue.

Plent bones are not tetrapod-like and should not be treated as such. In particular, their joints almost certainly do not work like tetrapod joints.

The foot pad on a dedicated digitigrade organism can look like a heel as pictured. Theropods are like that.