Sagan 4 Forum [Menu]

Necroweb (Liquescens ukonde)
Creator: Future Tyrannosaurus
Ancestor: Tidal Dangleweb
Habitat: Ferret Anchialine Cave (Photic) , Ferret Anchialine Cave (Aphotic)
Size: 60 cm (Full Size of Webs)
Support: Soft-Bodied (Cytoskeleton)
Diet: Trapping Carnivore (Krobold, Cave Crestgill, Caveknight, Spardiflies, Blood Spardi)
Respiration: Passive Diffusion
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Cell-Level Binary Fission, Large-Scale Fragmentation, Sexual Fruiting Bodies

A Tidal Dangleweb that got blown away by strong winds ended up in the Ferret Anchialine Cave. There, it found its common prey, knightworms, but not as much as on land. However, they did find a larger fauna-the Krobold. Split from its ancestor, the Necroweb is a terrifying predator that lives in caves. It became four times the size of its ancestor to hunt bigger fauna, which is the Krobold. It hunts Krobolds firstly by putting a piece of the web on the floor almost like a sensor trap. When a Krobold steps on it, it sends messages through the cells and will fall all at once onto the Krobold. It then starts releasing digestive chemicals, surrounding the prey, melting it alive. Once finished, the Necroweb slowly rises back up to the cave ceiling and hangs from stalactites where it effectively can fall onto prey. It doesn’t only eat Krobolds, but also eats the Caveknights. When it eats a Caveknight, it doesn’t trash the exoskeleton; it keeps it and attaches it to the part of the web that is left on the floor. It uses these exoskeletons to “bait” Krobolds and Caveknights, mistaking them for prey/mates. They also produce a foul, rotting smell that lures in said prey. The smell causes Spardiflies from above the cave to come into the cave, which sometimes poop before they get caught and die. These poop, although rare, piles up and become substances like guano. The Caveknight eats these and keeps the caves clean, but it may leave some floral niches available for the future. These Spardiflies from above can also become food of the Krobold once they get lost in the dark.

The image on the top, which seems to be the main image, lacks a Generation number. Although Sagan 4 accepts a range of styles and levels of skill, this image is so lacking in depth cues and realism that it is hard to interpret as a snapshot of the organism in its natural environment. Irregularities and a lack of depth cues within the lines of the web make it seem less like a net or spider and more like a scribble or pencil-sketch shading.

The easiest solution is to add a bit of rocky grainy texturing the floor and walls, with the smaller grains closer to the wall for the floor, make lines inside the stalactites wrap all the way around and look round, make the stalactite lineart a little wobbly, design the background part of the net first and color it black, and then design the second, foreground part of the net as a slightly lighter shade of black.

I’ll get back to this later.