caties

Manatee Alien (WIP)

Published: January 4th 2019, 3:31:57 pm

I'm in Florida, so naturally I've been on the lookout for my favorite animal! I love manatees. I got to see some before Christmas, just chillin in a canal off of a larger bay (I forget which one) where the water was calmer and shallower.

I feel like a manatee would make a good base for a gross/cute monster or alien, so I started drawing this one yesterday! They have gills under their front flippers, and they store photosynthetic algae in the cerata on their backs so that they get extra energy when basking near the water's surface.

They need a lot of adaptive gear to be able to interact with anyone out of the water, but they're pretty friendly people. They have weak eyesight but very sensitive whiskers, so touch is an important part of communication. One feature of their out-of-water gear is a touch screen in front of their snout, for a conversation partner of another species to use.