Nida sketches (type II)

2006-09-17 02:03:22 am

Okay, so after that cattle call for Metroid artists, I feel compelled to post something not Metroid-related. Rolling Eyes

This is a set of quick expository sketches I did while at work; they're companions to a Gaia RP that's been around since the site's inception. This particular iteration of Nida is a type II, the only form of Nida which develops the physical attributes shown herein.

Because the original RP provided context, several aspects require a moment of explanation (some because they're confusingly expressed in the sketches, others to assuage my ego by revealing that they're not actually horrible mistakes on my part). For starters, the organs have been rearranged to allow for a truly handspan waist. Bone vambrances guard the joints. The outer digits of each extremity are drawn back into full opposition. Four retractable tentacles, each tipped with a trifurcated gripping pod, extend from the upper dorsal surface. The lower jaw is withdrawn inside the range of the upper jaw, receding the mouth to the posterior surface of the jaw; this results in a "trap-jaw", detailed poorly in the final image. The eyes are also more wideset.

A frontal view:

Rest state (minus hair, to show shoulder placement):

Detail shots:

Thread title:

Okay, so after that cattle call for Metroid artists, I feel compelled to post something [i]not[/i] Metroid-related. :roll: This is a set of quick expository sketches I did while at work; they're companions to a Gaia RP that's been around since the site's inception. This particular iteration of Nida is a type II, the only form of Nida which develops the physical attributes shown herein.

Because the original RP provided context, several aspects require a moment of explanation (some because they're confusingly expressed in the sketches, others to assuage my ego by revealing that they're not actually horrible mistakes on my part). For starters, the organs have been rearranged to allow for a truly handspan waist. Bone vambrances guard the joints. The outer digits of each extremity are drawn back into full opposition. Four retractable tentacles, each tipped with a trifurcated gripping pod, extend from the upper dorsal surface. The lower jaw is withdrawn inside the range of the upper jaw, receding the mouth to the posterior surface of the jaw; this results in a "trap-jaw", detailed poorly in the final image. The eyes are also more wideset.

A frontal view:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/NidaR/xachtafull.jpg[/img]

Rest state (minus hair, to show shoulder placement):
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/NidaR/xachtaprof.jpg[/img]

Detail shots:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/NidaR/xachtadetail.jpg[/img]

SABERinBLUE

2006-09-17 02:20:14 am

Cook of the Sea

This doesn't have anything to do with that old webcomic, does it?

Nida

2006-09-17 02:23:28 am

Well, tangentially; three Nidas, one of each type, show up early on, though they don't play a major role until season 3 or so.

Not that I've gotten much progress on it in the past year or so. Rolling Eyes

SABERinBLUE

2006-09-17 02:25:05 am

Cook of the Sea

Is it on the interwebs yet?

Nida

2006-09-17 02:31:54 am

Nope. T_T

Unfortunately, RL has done all it can to remind me of its megazazabi status lately. Honestly, I'm kinda shocked that we all survived the past several months. It's been bad.

Athena may become the typical case of a magnum opus that never gets off the ground. :| I imagine I'll have time and energy to commit to the project... oh, I dunno, in maybe five or six years? No guarantees, though, since we're going to be homeschooling (I grew up behind the scenes of the American educational system, so no way am I putting my daughter through that). And I've got to finish my degree someday. Meh. I'm content to just occasionally do throwdown sketches for random RPs.

nate

2006-09-17 10:54:19 am

i think in some cases the us secondary education system can be quite good. just probably not in mississippi.

and cool sketches.

Nida

2006-09-18 12:44:37 am

Quote from nate:

i think in some cases the us secondary education system can be quite good. just probably not in mississippi.

Hell, MS has some individual schools that are - or at least were - phenomenal. The real problem is Bush's "No Child Gets an Education" mandate. Rolling Eyes

Colleges are now seeing a sudden drop in student capability, starting about five years ago and worsening with each new class. Newsweek's latest cover story is about the NCLB requirements being laid on K and 1st graders.

Another random sketch (this from ancient ages past; much lower quality than I'll tolerate these days) to justify this post as almost on-topic:

A different type II Nida, this one without the alternate form (as of this drawing, anyway).

There are only a few reasons I can bear to post this sucker:

I don't have much preexisting in my Photobucket album to post, and I don't have scanner access ATM;
I'm relatively pleased with the boots;
The clothing folds are so unrealistic because I actually copied them from real clothes, rather than just making them up;
One of her hands is actually sized correctly. -_-;;

[quote="nate"]i think in some cases the us secondary education system can be quite good. just probably not in mississippi.[/quote]

Hell, MS has some individual schools that are - or at least were - phenomenal. The real problem is Bush's "No Child Gets an Education" mandate. :roll: Colleges are now seeing a sudden drop in student capability, starting about five years ago and worsening with each new class. Newsweek's latest cover story is about the NCLB requirements being laid on K and 1st graders.

Another random sketch (this from ancient ages past; much lower quality than I'll tolerate these days) to justify this post as almost on-topic:

A different type II Nida, this one without the alternate form (as of this drawing, anyway).
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/NidaR/NidaASDF.jpg[/img]

There are only a few reasons I can bear to post this sucker:
[list][*]I don't have much preexisting in my Photobucket album to post, and I don't have scanner access ATM;
[*]I'm relatively pleased with the boots;
[*]The clothing folds are so unrealistic because I actually copied them from real clothes, rather than just making them up;
[*]One of her hands is actually sized correctly. -_-;;[/list]

13M13

2006-09-18 12:55:34 am

l'appel du vide

What's a Nida?

Nida

2006-09-18 01:05:21 am

One of me, of course. extra_smug

Combination alter-ego, RP character, random art subject, spiritual focus, and self-identification. (There are a few generally coincidental circumstances which the superstitious might construe to indicate that there actually are Nidas around, or that I'm channeling something, but the most likely explanation for these occurences are self-originating and projective in nature.)

I have a couple good Nidas in my sketchbook - a dancer from an old FF RP that's still going, and the one in the above image, now with tentacles and prosthetic legs (but otherwise normal in appearance). Of course, the monitor to my desktop is blown, and my scanner doesn't have Mac drivers that I've found. T_T

nate

2006-09-18 01:21:05 am

i remember in cx debate in high school me and my partner had a borderline squirrel case the year of the 'substantially improve education' resolution that we called 'anti-federalism', basically blaming federal standards/grants for all of the problems in the american education system and demanding an immediate and complete withdrawal of the highest level of government from their unconstitutional (see amendment x) meddling in the affairs of the angelic local districts. the idea was that the negative would have no evidence that the federal programs were doing 'substantial' good, while we would have plentiful 'fed bad' cards.

i had no idea it all would ever seem like a good idea.

Aedious

2006-09-18 03:46:48 pm

Wow. You're quite the artist, Nida. :)

SABERinBLUE

2006-09-18 04:11:28 pm

Cook of the Sea

Huh, I just noticed the hair schtick looks like your old avatar. But you didn't draw the old avatar, right?

Nida

2006-09-19 12:36:51 am

The old avatar:

was indeed drawn by someone else. It was a representation of my Gaia avatar, which, in turn, was modeled after a type II Nida. I nearly ruined a perfectly good pair of pants when I saw the hair they had for the avatar - it was like they'd stolen it right out of my character bible. (Given that L0cke stole almost all the other things which made Gaia what it was in the beginning, I wouldn't be surprised. Rolling Eyes

)

And Nate - I'm a firm believer in the removal of the Feds from most things. I'm alternately a strong libertarian, a misanthropist, and a terrorist in favor of returning to the Paleolithic era. :3 My grand dream is to live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, raising my kids, taking care of my family and friends, playing bass and drums, and stockpiling ammo.

13M13

2006-09-19 12:51:01 am

l'appel du vide

How many types of Nidas are there? And what's the difference between them?

Nida

2006-09-19 01:25:04 am

Ohlawd. --;; Here's some copypasta for your amusement.

Quote from The Nida Compendium:

There are over four hundred confirmed Nidas in existence. Almost without exception (and these exceptions are merely degrees of mundanity), any given Nida falls within three categories:

Type I. Generally blue-eyed, with shoulder-length hair (or longer) and a jaded disposition. Most Ones have an aptitude for magic, energy manipulation, or the spiritual. A very small segment are skilled at chi reading and control. Very few of these originate on a Terra/Earth world.

Type II. Almost exclusively green-eyed and bob-haired, Twos are creatures of extremes. They have strong emotions, display greater physical strength than their frames should indicate, and pursue huge dreams and harebrained plans which more often than not fail in flames. Most have either naturally sharp or filed cuspids and bicuspids. Almost all have tentacles, and many have a further bestial form with exaggerated features and build. The majority are capable rippers, though some are more prone to rip failure than others. Only Twos can rip. They are the most common Nida, and frequently arise from a Terra/Earth home.

Type III. Blue-eyed, with a mix of hairstyles, these Nidas also have the widest range of skin tones, heights, and builds. Many are vampires, real or affected, by choice or by curse, blood-drinking or otherwise; all display some sort of elongation and sharpening in the cuspids. A small few are so morphic that they can shift their very flesh into disturbing forms, creating weapons or tools from their skin and muscle (though none are known to be able to do the same to bone). Type IIIs are frequently cheerful, introspective, and self-conscious; they originate from a wide variety of worlds, about half of which are Terras/Earths.

And an explanation of Type II ripping:

Quote from The Nida Compendium:

Transdimensional transport. Nida possesses knowledge of a three-dimensional coordinate equation which allows her to "rip" a portal to the transitive 12-brane of Limbo, which is coterminous with our own 4-brane, as well as create a path back. Due to a brain defect, only type II Nidas are capable of performing this equation in their heads; all other known entities must utilize supercomputers, magnetic field generators, and static points of egress; also, ridiculously high amounts of power are required for "artificial" ripping (type IIs use a form of zero-point power, drawing on Heisenbergian vacuum energy). While Nida can rip from Limbo to reality with precise placement, she cannot predetermine her point of entry to Limbo; she will always land at a random point on the brane. Ripping is primarily useful as a shortcut tool; two-dimensional Limbo movement vaguely corresponds to three-dimensional real-world movement, usually at a 1:5 ratio, meaning that very little energy need be expended to move great distances. All Nidas - not just type IIs - can instinctively align their movements on Limbo to obtain the desired real-world results.

Nida can maintain the rip for a period of time so long as she does not pass through; it automatically closes behind her. During this time, any number of objects or entities may pass through (both ways). All inertia is halted on the far side of a rip; Nida could safely fall to terminal velocity, open a rip beneath her, and drop gently to Limbo's surface. The surface area of a rip can be extended through manipulation of the equation; however, wrapping one's consciousness around the variables requires considerable discipline, something most type IIs lack in great quantity. Rips have varied appearances, ranging from a nigh-invisible heatwave shimmer to a black sucking wound in the universe.

Limbo is an inhospitable place, loaded with nasties of variegated form. The ground is a lumpy, spongelike rock, and the sky is fire, due to Limbo's shared border with Gehenna. Since Limbo is more of a planar surface than a planet, it has no horizon other than that provided by convergence. This is more disorienting than the average planet-dweller might think.

There is an approximate 1/6 chance that a rip will fail, causing various disturbances in real physics for a brief time. These can include ambient light shifting to negative scale, local gravity going haywire, all glass within a thirty-meter area shattering, a sudden rainshower of toads, and so on.

Ohlawd. --;; Here's some copypasta for your amusement.

[quote="The Nida Compendium"]There are over four hundred confirmed Nidas in existence. Almost without exception (and these exceptions are merely degrees of mundanity), any given Nida falls within three categories:

[color=darkcyan][u][b]Type I.[/b][/u]  Generally blue-eyed, with shoulder-length hair (or longer) and a jaded disposition. Most Ones have an aptitude for magic, energy manipulation, or the spiritual. A very small segment are skilled at chi reading and control. Very few of these originate on a Terra/Earth world.[/color]

[color=seagreen][u][b]Type II.[/b][/u]  Almost exclusively green-eyed and bob-haired, Twos are creatures of extremes. They have strong emotions, display greater physical strength than their frames should indicate, and pursue huge dreams and harebrained plans which more often than not fail in flames. Most have either naturally sharp or filed cuspids and bicuspids. Almost all have tentacles, and many have a further bestial form with exaggerated features and build. The majority are capable rippers, though some are more prone to rip failure than others. Only Twos can rip. They are the most common Nida, and frequently arise from a Terra/Earth home.[/color]

[color=indigo][u][b]Type III.[/b][/u]  Blue-eyed, with a mix of hairstyles, these Nidas also have the widest range of skin tones, heights, and builds. Many are vampires, real or affected, by choice or by curse, blood-drinking or otherwise; all display some sort of elongation and sharpening in the cuspids. A small few are so morphic that they can shift their very flesh into disturbing forms, creating weapons or tools from their skin and muscle (though none are known to be able to do the same to bone). Type IIIs are frequently cheerful, introspective, and self-conscious; they originate from a wide variety of worlds, about half of which are Terras/Earths.[/color][/quote]

And an explanation of Type II ripping:

[quote="The Nida Compendium"][i][u]Transdimensional transport.[/u][/i] Nida possesses knowledge of a three-dimensional coordinate equation which allows her to "rip" a portal to the transitive 12-brane of Limbo, which is coterminous with our own 4-brane, as well as create a path back. Due to a brain defect, only type II Nidas are capable of performing this equation in their heads; all other known entities must utilize supercomputers, magnetic field generators, and static points of egress; also, ridiculously high amounts of power are required for "artificial" ripping (type IIs use a form of zero-point power, drawing on Heisenbergian vacuum energy). While Nida can rip from Limbo to reality with precise placement, she cannot predetermine her point of entry to Limbo; she will always land at a random point on the brane. Ripping is primarily useful as a shortcut tool; two-dimensional Limbo movement vaguely corresponds to three-dimensional real-world movement, usually at a 1:5 ratio, meaning that very little energy need be expended to move great distances. All Nidas - not just type IIs - can instinctively align their movements on Limbo to obtain the desired real-world results.

Nida can maintain the rip for a period of time so long as she does not pass through; it automatically closes behind her. During this time, any number of objects or entities may pass through (both ways). All inertia is halted on the far side of a rip; Nida could safely fall to terminal velocity, open a rip beneath her, and drop gently to Limbo's surface. The surface area of a rip can be extended through manipulation of the equation; however, wrapping one's consciousness around the variables requires considerable discipline, something most type IIs lack in great quantity. Rips have varied appearances, ranging from a nigh-invisible heatwave shimmer to a black sucking wound in the universe.

Limbo is an inhospitable place, loaded with nasties of variegated form. The ground is a lumpy, spongelike rock, and the sky is fire, due to Limbo's shared border with Gehenna. Since Limbo is more of a planar surface than a planet, it has no horizon other than that provided by convergence. This is more disorienting than the average planet-dweller might think.

There is an approximate 1/6 chance that a rip will fail, causing various disturbances in real physics for a brief time. These can include ambient light shifting to negative scale, local gravity going haywire, all glass within a thirty-meter area shattering, a sudden rainshower of toads, and so on.[/quote]

Yoshi348

2006-09-19 12:16:40 pm

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