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Nature's Wonders Sneak Peek Thread
- Thread starter Ken Gilliland
- Start date
Dreamer
Dream Weaver Designs
Haha hey you! Still getting one foot in front of the other and some days the even are going the same way!
HA HA ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
Snakes (and spiders) are on my list. I'm not a huge fan either having been bitten by Black Widows (as a termite inspector crawling under houses) and even a Western Diamondback (while rock climbing many years ago). I do like the two-line racers we get in our yard. They are welcome in the yard, the diamondbacks aren't. Link to Critter sightings in our yard and birds.
McG.
Enthusiast
Thanks for showing off your critters, Ken. You have some I've never seen before, neither in Houston or up here in the panhandle. There are a greater variety of birds in SE Texas than up here. More trees and wetlands. The cutest shot has to be the Skunk Family! 
In SE Texas there is a greater variety of just about everything. We have the common mammals like you do. The Bobcats are more clearly marked I think here. We see the occasional gray wolf here, and Puma show up regularly. Specially around the cattle yards. There are a lot of those here too.
I've seen a few kites here, Mississippi Kites seem to stay around here on the plains. We have the big Ravens, Grackles, Brown Headed Cowbirds, a few Cattle Egrets. Never see the bigger long neck wading birds here.
I used to get out more with the DSLR and bag of gear. My phone takes the same size image though, so that has become my full time carry one.
I ought to find someplace that will let me upload to an album. Means I need to snoop around here a bit more eh?
In SE Texas there is a greater variety of just about everything. We have the common mammals like you do. The Bobcats are more clearly marked I think here. We see the occasional gray wolf here, and Puma show up regularly. Specially around the cattle yards. There are a lot of those here too.
I've seen a few kites here, Mississippi Kites seem to stay around here on the plains. We have the big Ravens, Grackles, Brown Headed Cowbirds, a few Cattle Egrets. Never see the bigger long neck wading birds here.
I used to get out more with the DSLR and bag of gear. My phone takes the same size image though, so that has become my full time carry one.
I ought to find someplace that will let me upload to an album. Means I need to snoop around here a bit more eh?
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McG.
Enthusiast
BTW, the ONE family of arachnids I like are the Salticidae. The Jumping Spiders. Their venom is NON-human active. And they don't like to bite things way bigger than they are. The Phidippus Audax (Bold Jumper) may be the sole exception to that biting rule. Those ones are the biggest and have a bad attitude to go with it. Meanwhile, if they are relaxed, having a nice day, they will slowly approach you and sometimes even get on your arm to play in the hair. Like a jungle gym, to them, I think.
ALL Jumping Spiders have the same type of eye arrangement. Two big ones facing front, those are focusable by moving their retina. Their vision is excellent, and they have greater acuity and color ranges than we can even dream of. They are active hunters, do not spin a web and sit in it waiting for prey to get caught. They DO anchor a safety line before every jump. They also weave a hide for molting, and females often lay eggs in one. Pretty smart little animals too. Remember, the Jumper FAMILY are human safe. They are the only ones with that eye/face arrangement too. The tiny eyes on the sides/top are for detecting light/shadow changes.
ALL Jumping Spiders have the same type of eye arrangement. Two big ones facing front, those are focusable by moving their retina. Their vision is excellent, and they have greater acuity and color ranges than we can even dream of. They are active hunters, do not spin a web and sit in it waiting for prey to get caught. They DO anchor a safety line before every jump. They also weave a hide for molting, and females often lay eggs in one. Pretty smart little animals too. Remember, the Jumper FAMILY are human safe. They are the only ones with that eye/face arrangement too. The tiny eyes on the sides/top are for detecting light/shadow changes.
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AM is Alessandro Mastronardi, and yeah, he does a lot of the animals over at DAZ. He's also one of the people behind the LAMH hair system, so a lot of his critters are (or used to be) furry. Although he does have a fairly wide range of alligators and crocodiles as well.
His modeling has improved a lot since the days when his critters used displacement fur, but I still think Chris and Ken's is better.
His modeling has improved a lot since the days when his critters used displacement fur, but I still think Chris and Ken's is better.
I have to agree, which is why I'd like to see Ken "eventually" do a crocodile, or alligator.
McG.
Enthusiast
I have the old EF Critters Crocodile and the older CP Alligator. I have several CP reptiles, very few DAZ animals. Well, the Dragons. But Kens Crocodillians would be a welcome inclusion! To say the least. Komodo dragon? Australian Monitors? Guyana? I don't know what that would mean in extra modeling work, but would definitely mean a lot of texture work! I have the AM Macrochelys, which ain't that bad, but...I'm in a collecting humor.
I've not entirely convinced I can do it but my original plans for my lizard did include the Komodo Dragon... I think it's a possibility since I manage to get a decent Gila Monster out of the mesh-- if not, the Lizard could be hybridized into a Komodo standalone model and maybe gators . But again, I'm getting way ahead of myself... I still have over 500 birds to upgrade to the new format with Iray and Superfly materials as well as a number of other projects I've promised (Sage Grouse, Peafowl, Potoos)
. But again, I'm getting way ahead of myself... I still have over 500 birds to upgrade to the new format with Iray and Superfly materials as well as a number of other projects I've promised (Sage Grouse, Peafowl, Potoos)
well, I started with about a 1,000 to convert... so at least I'm about halfway through now lol
And for those of you who think I've done about every bird possible...
there are over 10,000 DIFFERENT bird species
And for those of you who think I've done about every bird possible...
there are over 10,000 DIFFERENT bird species
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McG.
Enthusiast
Guinea Hens! Them cantankerous NOISY walking talking alarm clocks! but they're beautiful and eat LOTS of BUGS! And city folks get all kinds of exercise thinking they can catch em.
And in case anyone gets the idea I'm a city slicker, here's a pic of MY Houston, Tx.!
( pssst! The city is behind me! )
And in case anyone gets the idea I'm a city slicker, here's a pic of MY Houston, Tx.!
( pssst! The city is behind me! )
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