Tweet

Darren Naish

Follow @TetZoo

2 Dec, 14 tweets, 4 min read

OK, watching #AlienWorlds now. I assisted with creature design, a really fun project :) Follow me as I livetweet thoughts...

Having recently watched whole run of Nurse Ratched, pretty interesting to hear narration from Sophie Okonedo :) #AlienWorlds

With SO many possibilities for alien life, we began with a set number of possibilities for planets AND opted to explore a given set of body plans for our creatures...

We begin with a tidally locked planet orbiting a red star. Has a hot side and cold side. We meet pentapodal organisms that have specialised, one hot-adapted, one cold-adapted...

Here are some hilarious early concept sketches :) We deliberately wanted to explore body plans different from those of vertebrates. Radial symmetry, mouth on apex of body is possibility inspired by echinoderms...

I actually forgot that we were going for polymorphism with the pentapods. Wind dispersal results in wide scattering of the babies, the form of the animal as it matures depending on local conditions...

On Earth, a phenomenon called resource polymorphism means that organisms can look different as they adapt (as individuals!) to conditions or lifestyle...

There's also caste polymorphism, famously present in social insects. One species has capacity for individuals to end up as so very different...

In a planet with large dark areas, or periods of darkness, we speculate that light-emitting behaviour might have evolved. Has done so 10s of times on Earth, nearly 30 times in fish alone...

We imagined springtail-like pseudo-arthropods that are light-emitting, found feeding around thermal vents. And we imagined our predatory pentapods feeding on them, themselves using light-emitting tentacles to direct movement of the pseudo-arthropods...

It should be obvious that this is a planet of animals very different from vertebrates. Our initial creature designs were more obviously arthropod-like (some looked like whip-scorpions), but we decided to start from scratch one day and went with things more alien...

OK, there ends ep 1! I thought it was great and do feel we succeeded in both exploring some cool evolutionary stories and showing some weird imaginary aliens. I'm not going to talk about the other eps now but will do in the future...

I'll also be writing about #AlienWorlds at TetZoo. Here are some early sketches of aliens from other episodes... OK, signing off :)

Update -- because I'm an idiot, I started watching at ep 2!! Sorry for those watching the tweets and expecting me to start at the beginning...

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @TetZoo

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

2 Dec

@thejohnconway

Just did more organising of #TetZooMCon with @thejohnconway, we're aiming to launch website today. #Paleoart event will HAVE to have limited places (sorry!), but we're anticipating most interest in the talks. Still more to get sorted, but I can confirm some speakers... (thread)

@LeMoustier

Ok, we definitely have Becky Wragg Sykes @LeMoustier - author of #Kindred - on #Neanderthals, Natalia Jagielska @WryCritic on #pterosaurs, David Lindo @urbanbirder on supposedly extinct #birds.... #TetZooMCon

@arvalis

We also have THE RJ Palmer @arvalis on matters of creature design, a BRITISH BIG CAT discussion event involving me, Rick Minter and others... #TetZooMCon

Read 4 tweets

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

15 Nov

It's #TetZoocryptomegathread time, in which I take a VERY long, detailed look at a monster-themed photo, or photos, or bit of film. This time, we look AGAIN at photos alleged to show a monster carcass: the 1937 Naden Harbour #Cadborosaurus sea monster carcass… #cryptozoology

As usual, my aim here is to cover the story in all its twists and turns, and to look at the evidence critically and sceptically but to ALSO look at the case as it was interpreted by those who accepted it as a valid bit of monster evidence… #monsters #seamonsters

Some minor backstory before we get to the photos themselves. European colonists of coastal British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA claimed – from the 1880s onwards – to witness a large sea monster in the region’s coastal waters…

Read 202 tweets

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

21 Oct

We’re here for another #TetZoocryptomegathread. Once more, we’re looking at images of a supposed dead cryptid, not a live animal. I refer to the MINNESOTA ICEMAN, the claimed carcass of a recently deceased hominid implied to be a ‘prehistoric man’ or #bigfoot-like creature…

As per usual, this is a VERY LONG AND DETAILED look at the story which involved me looking at, and checking, numerous sources, all of which I’ll discuss as we approach the end… #cryptozoology #bigfoot #monsters

And because I discuss both sides of the story, its various twists and turns, please remember that it might sometimes seem as if I’m presenting things from just one of those sides. In reality: stick around, the take from the ‘other side’ will get covered too…

Read 159 tweets

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

4 Oct

Time for another #TetZoocryptomegathread, in which we examine the backstory to a photo or film said to depict a cryptid, or monster. This time, we’re not looking at a photo claimed to be of a live animal BUT at photos which depict a very dead one: a rotted carcass, in fact…

I am of course talking about the ZUIYO-MARU CARCASS: the large, decomposed body of a sea creature, ‘captured’ by accident in the nets of the Japanese fishing vessel the Zuiyo-maru on April 25th 1977 while they were about 48km off the east coast of Christchurch, New Zealand…

The name ‘Zuiyo-maru’ has been written in several ways in the literature (as ‘Zuiyomaru’ or ‘Zuiyo Maru’, for example). I’m here going to follow the style used in the 1978 report on the carcass (Zuiyo-maru). And the Zuiyo-maru carcass will be called the ZMC from hereon!

Read 99 tweets

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

19 Sep

Time for another #TetZoocryptomegathread, again a #LochNessMonster one, again on one of my favourite #Nessie photos: the Peter O’Connor photo of May 27th, 1960. Follow this thread as we take a VERY DETAILED look at the story behind this case…

The O’Connor photo – a single black and white image – is one of the ‘best’ #Nessie images, by which I mean that it shows an object which looks something like an animal, and shows it at close range and at reasonable detail. #cryptozoology #monsters

The photo was taken in darkness, from close to shore, and (supposedly...) as the camera was held less than 1 metre above the water surface. The flash illuminates the scene, and is bouncing off wavelets as well as what looks like the body of a large animal…

Read 126 tweets

Darren Naish

@TetZoo

16 Sep

@TheNMMC

Today saw HRH the Princess Royal visit our #MonstersoftheDeep exhibition, years in the making, at @TheNMMC #Falmouth. I'm guest curator & worked with the museum's Stuart Slade, @tammy_horton of the National Oceanography Centre - and others - in bringing it all together. Thread...

#MonstersoftheDeep weaves together medieval beliefs about sea monsters, the scientific discovery of deep-sea life, the cryptozoological movement, and modern exploration and discovery. We have LOADS of stuff on display, much of it for the first time...

We open with a section on medieval maps... did people of those times believe in the sea monsters shown on maps like the Carta Marina, or were other forces at play? Jenny hanivers, mermaids, sea monks, sea bishops, sea unicorns and more occupy this part of the exhibition...

Read 9 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Share this page!

Darren Naish

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @TetZoo

Darren Naish

Darren Naish

Darren Naish

Darren Naish

Darren Naish

Darren Naish

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Like this author's thread?