#mantis :]

[humansbgone]

Lots and lots of little (but very necessary) fixes had to be done this week. As for the animation...well, I decided to take a break week to focus on studying and improving my animation skills before I move ahead. I feel like I've plateaued for a while, and I think it's worth a week's delay to up the quality.

Meanwhile, @sinclairedelune (on Instagram) is moving right along with the final sequence, and it's looking gorgeous!

Here, we see Sophodra being gently deposited.

Next week, we'll be back on schedule. Hopefully just another two weeks for the animation, plus a third week for Gregorsa's stuff. Maybe another week to give the animation thorough attention, and it still looks like we'll be done before Christmas! Until next time!

[tardigradebutt]

[pigeon-feet]

🏇

[critter-creature-or-beast]

By Natalie Field, CC-BY-NC

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

[frogyjones-art]

buggy study.

[wanderingmind867]

My Justice League Canada ideas may not be perfect, but there's too much writing on my part for me to completely ditch it. So I'm going to reblog some of my old notes, repost some of the old ones, and then just share all my new ones. Just really try to work on finally sharing it all. Because I never actually have shared it all, and I feel like that's my bad. So I'll try to correct that. Because my team concept had Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel/Shazam, Mantis (yes, that vietnamese celestial madonna from marvel), and a whole slew of original characters (who I didn't actually put extensive detail into, but who had enough detailing). Oh, we also had the crime syndicate, an original villian who gave people influenza, and Guy Gardner.

[darklight-owl]

People who like mantises but aren't that into entomology are always "orchid mantises" this and "orchid mantises" that. Overrated. Can we talk about Toxodera integrifolia for a minute:

(Image links because as much as it pains me I've never seen one of these beauties irl: 1 2 3)

Like how are these things real. Girl what is that thorax shape. Why are you wearing eyeliner. And the colors? Absolutely fire. This is a 10/10 insect if you ask me.

[botherbug]

mantis mouthparts source

[smugpugchimera]

Have been on a quest to better understand insect mouthparts, here're breakdowns I did on mantis, but a lot of the basic structure applies to most insects with chewing mouthparts Here's also a very nice video that covers all adaptations and names all the individual parts:

[herpsandbirds]

Red-and-yellow Slender Flower Mantis (Toxodera integrifolia), female, family Toxoderidae, Malaysia

Photograph by Chien C Lee

[onenicebugperday]

Snake mantis, Kongobatha diademata, Nanomantidae

Photographed at Airlie Beach in Australia by Steve & Alison1

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

[cryptic-forge]

with summer come the bugs. but this one might be sweet.

i will have to reprint the spiky claw parts because their range of motion is not quite what i meant it to be, but i was eager to still paint this first version. making insect girls is fun, and i have a few other bugs in progress to greet the terrors [heat & light] of summer.

[single-serving-jack]

He was a skater boy...

[0uchmp4]

Couldn't sleep, the hopeless romantic in me won't let me. So, I finished this early!

[hellsitegenetics]

TRICK OR TREAT...

TRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!