nereid worms (Alitta sp.) prowling the tidal mudflats
nereids and other predatory polychaete worms (such as bobbit worms) are related to earthworms but have a more complex brain, leg-like parapodia, eyes, antennae, and sharp retractable jaws for grasping prey. I think of them as marine centipedes.
normally they stay out of sight buried in the mud, so I was a bit surprised to see these ones crawling out in the open, various smaller invertebrates scrambling out of the way to avoid becoming the worms’ next meal.
Crazy that I thought this would be a tame fandom when I first wandered through because the robots make a point about being creatures who can’t reproduce sexually. Haha… heh… crazy……
utterly adore that photo of the three giant marine isopods having their fun with a bag of doritos, and i decided to redraw it with hive worms because i just. feel like this is something they'd do. i swear these guys are like, my fav muse atm asldfghgfd. they're so fun to put in situations hehe!!
i actually started on this last year, promptly gave up but kept it for when i felt more motivated to return, and eventually i did! and these last few days or so i've been really hamming at the shit outta this thing. i've kind of come to realize that this is the kind of art i love making- busy, highly colorful, time-consuming and detailed. imperfect but close to my heart and sparking great joy regardless.
i hope everyone enjoys the result as much as i do 💖💖💖
details
✦ painted worm markings and curtains to create both blending and fading
✦ original jumbo chip bag design, "SOL CHIPS, 5g!!!" (i might make an individual vers of this later bc i had so much fun with this)
✦ asymmetrical linework here and there
✦ borders upon borders for layering and fun
✦ glowing worm eyes
✦ asymmetrical half-background checker pattern
✦ signature aligned to flow with the curve of the curtain border
✦ stars. so many stars.
✦ no worm stripe pattern is exactly the same!! snowflake worms. they're also emoting differently but each are excited for this wonderful, free bounty.
✦ outer dark border only open at the blue gaps. not sure why i did this, just felt right ykwim