CAP 31 - Art Submissions

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ausma

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Final Submission

cap31 final sub png.png


This design is based off of an Egyptian deity known as Amun-ra, known as the chief of the gods, the creator of the universe, and the god of the sun. Specifically, the Amun half of Amun-ra is associated heavily with rams, being infamously depicted as ram-headed. Despite its nuanced inspiration, its design is still easy and clear to interpret and enjoy. Due to Amun-ra's Egyptian origins, I played heavily to a desert and pyramid aesthetic as well, which also aids in its design justifications. In particular, my design for CAP 31 explores Amun-ra's status as a creation deity, as it can draw from the power of the sun and the desert to rapidly generate diamonds and aggressively fire them in combat. It can sometimes take a more benevolent approach, instead using its construction abilities to make fine jewelry and sandy armor that it adorns itself with, both for intimidation factor and to take hits better.

Ground
  • Sand and desert affiliations directly play into the Ground-type
    • Sand has existing precedent to be used as Ground-type justification in the context of canon Pokemon
      • Palossand + Sandygast
  • Pyramids are made of sandstone, or highly compact sand that form a sturdy, brick-like foundation.
    • This take on CAP 31 has sandstone laden all throughout its design
    • Even without sandstone, the sand "attire" around its waist that flairs into a sun-like shape is straight up sand.

Diamond Storm
  • Pyramids and tombs inside of them often are filled with jewelry as a signal of respect for the deceased.
  • Amun-ra, being a deity, often wears jewelry and refined clothing as a status symbol.
  • Amun-ra is particularly a creation deity, meaning that it generating diamonds and jewelry for itself to use is a pretty solid point of connection.

Water Absorb
  • Sand and sandstone are extremely resilient to water, compacting and "absorbing" them, which increases their density.
    • Palossand and Sandygast already explore this with their unique signature ability "Water Compaction".
    • Pyramids are proof of how resilient sandstone can be to water, holding up for millennium even with rainfall.
      • This resilience also fits the flavor of this design as well, being meant to be a Pokemon that builds itself up.
  • Amun-ra has a "sun boat" known as a solar barque. While not directly being used in the water (though it's fairly fitting), solar boats are often seen as a highly resilient ritual vessel that can move both Amun-ra and others through extremely dangerous passages not normally tread, which is fairly fitting for a Ground-type interacting with Water-types.
  • Desert animals have greatly adapted themselves to optimize water usage and intake. While rams aren't necessarily desert animals, the desert flavor does further compound the justification for Water Absorb.

Serene Grace
  • Being based off of an Egyptian god and the term "grace" being able to refer to the honor of one's presence, this secondary ability fits my take on CAP 31 solidly well.

Stat Spread
  • This CAP design comes packaged with bulk, but a frame just conducive enough to really justify a decent Speed stat.
  • This take on CAP 31 mostly reinforcing itself using sandstone and sand not apart of its body plays more directly to the defense focused bulk as opposed to that of HP.

Supporting Material
 
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Sunfished

fisch
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Final Submission

frog + oni + afro.

Supporting Material
This design has undergone so much revision, (visible through all the posts ive made here lmao). The basic gist of this design is that it's based on two base concepts: the australian horned burrowing frog, and a classical oni from japanese folklore. The hair on it seems silly at first, but it's intended to represent the wily hairstyles that oni tend to have, especially those that are more prominent in media such as anime and videogames. Now to the justifications!

Justifying Diamond Storm is easy, it has horns made of some black gem, maybe onyx. When it uses the move, I'd envision it just performing a huge swing of its arms or something.

To me, ground typing is much more lenient on what a design needs to have to really justify it. Lots of mons don't really seem to be apparently ground type, such as barboach, the garchomp line, etc. So not to limit myself with options, I just picked a frog since it fits water absorb, (more on that after). In order to at least make it feel like a ground type, I slapped on some colors ive color picked from some ground pokemon. For a physical representation of the type, I've enveloped my design's arms in a hardened mud that also visually looks like a kanabo, which are those huge baseball bat weapon things that oni tend to use as weapons or something.

For stats, I focused more on making sure it fit high attack, so I made the arms really thick. Special defense was next, so I chose a fruit shaped body since fruits kind of look like theyd have high spd.

Abilities were the hardest to really justify, but I'll just say that frogs really like water, (they're 75% water!), so this guy probably absorbs it. It's arms also are made of mud and mud is at least 8% water which is a reasonable amount to allow it to sponge up more water. Serene Grace is very hard to really justify so I'm going to ignore it. Dunsparce has it and my guy has almost the same eyes so there's some connection there.


TLDR;
uses mud kanabo, (oni clubs), for ground typing
has gems embedded into its kanabo + hair for diamond storm
frogs are 75% water = water absorb
uses conditioner = serene grace
 
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Zephyri

put on your headphones and burn my city
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Final Submission


King (of diamonds) cobra, changed the snout a bit from last time but yeah everything else is mostly the same haha. Really happy with this one; learnt a ton about design and rendering from this CAP and i hope that came through with design. s/o the cap flavor chat for design feedback and bing images for teaching my how to shade rubies <3
 

Bloopyghost

guging
is a Pre-Contributor
WIP


Yo it's been a hot minute, hope you aren't tired of sand and pyramids just yet! The only real change I've done design-wise was adding yellow gems inspired by Libyan desert glass, the idea being that this fella can rapidly heat and compress sand to conjure Diamond Storms (also Overheat justification!). This is definitely rough since I'm trying to get back into the groove, but I'm pretty close to finishing up I think. I mostly wanna figure out how to attach the limbs and how to design the pyramid's "entrance" since those are a tad boring atm. I honestly think I did a better job with the posing in my last iteration and I'll prolly just use that as a base for the final render if I can't come up with smth better. The other thing I gotta worry about is colors, since they're duller than I'd like and the gem rendering could def be improved upon. Hopefully I'll get all that sorted out this week.
 

Shadowshocker

It shall rest here in peace. Forever, if you wish.
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WIP



So this guy is chugging along - steadily, not slowly, and hopefully in time. Changes include increasing the size of the feet, thickening the limbs to support the BIG, MEATY CLAWS better, and replacing the gem indicator lights on the claw cannon drill things. The initial colour scheme was initially meant to simply be... well, earthy, with some blue to break up the browns and oranges while referencing the blue "lips" sometimes seen on clams. Per Pipotchi 's suggestion I tweaked with some Hue/Saturation and this seemed to be the nicest.

I'm still not 100% sure what's better, chevrons look cool but tacked on, and so for now I'm sticking with a coloured meter. The eyestalks have also been armoured to suggest binocular zoom functions and extendability, because that's how I see this guy doing Power Whip. Everyone in his family can do that!

Supporting Material
Other versions - Includes some colour testing with different joint schemes and different claw patterns. Thanks also to Gravity Monkey for chipping in on this.
 

Gravity Monkey

Que des barz comme si jtais au hebs
is a Top Artist
Final Submission

Here's my design for this cap iteration!

Supporting material

Ground
- This design is based on desert rose crystals. As Wikipedia explains, "The rosette crystal habit tends to occur when the crystals form in arid sandy conditions". Additionally, the main place this crystal originates from is the Sahara. As such, it has a strong connexion to themes of desert and sand, two themes usually bound to the ground type.
- It is also inspired by saloon madams which also tie in the theme of desert by virtue of far west associations.

Diamond Storm
- As mentioned previously, the material for most of the non-skin growths is desert rose crystal (all the orange and red parts). Although its not diamond in the most strict sense of the word, desert rose crystal is still, well, a crystal, with properties akin to the ones of precious stones.

Water Absorb
- Another property of the desert rose crystal is that it looks very organic-like, hence why it's named like the flower. In the pokemon universe, plants are understood to resist/brush off water attacks. As a conceptual pun, its understood on the design that the crystal carries some of the properties of actual roses.
- The non-crystal parts of the body are understood as dried-up roots, which emphasizes the link with actual flowers without undermining the relevancy of a mono-ground typing. It also helps to justify another aspect:

Power Whip
- It makes sense for a pokemon with arms made of dried-up roots to use power whip.

Stats
- The high attack stat is justified by the presence of oversized claws alongside its fake nails.
- The bulk is conveyed though the round body shape of the pokemon.
- The special defense in particular is conveyed through the "grace" of the pokemon. Some of the pokemon with the highest spdef are very elegant, i.e. florges, blissey, milotic, gardevoir-mega. They all have very evident feminine features like dresses and layers of materials which something I tried to replicate on my design.
- This pokemon has a body shape very similar to the one of Liligant. As such, its makes sense for them to share the same speed stat.

Swords Dance
- It has blade-like claws.

Unaware / Serene Grace / Own Tempo / Moxie / Mirror Armor
- In the event one of those abilities is chosen in the coming stage, this design doesn't particularly need any changes, as it already fits plenty for most of them. Since they're still only theoretical, I wont go into too much details (this has already taken way too much time), but I will update the justifications if one of them eventually gets picked.
 

DougJustDoug

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SUPPORTING ART WIP

Here's some concept art for my Spanish gunslinger design that I call "El Vaquero":



----------------------------
The design pulls from a mix of western gunfighters, spanish cowboys, flamenco dancing, and even a little bit of Zorro. My wife is a Mexican-American and I speak Spanish well, so I'm having fun peppering this submission with Spanish influences.

This concept art started from some pencil doodles as I was playing with design elements and experimenting with poses. Although none of these concept sketches are completely consistent with the proportions and details of my main design (the one I posted earlier), I like how these show some of the little things that can't be seen in the main design. Things like how the arms connect to the torso with a root-like base, or the little diamond "spurs" it has. Like I said, these sketches were mostly experiments (that were then cleaned up a lot), but they were fun for me to make and hopefully fun for others to see!
 
WIP

Held off on posting updates while the stats were in progress. Now that they're here, I'm debating between two different designs, one being the original diamond dino and the other a wild west/cactus/horned lizard. I feel both work thematically, though horned lizards and the wild west seem to be a recurring theme in this thread. Which one should I pursue?

cap_31 concept.png

The "cacti" on the horned lizard's back are made of diamond, btw. Ties in with the desert/Water Absorb
 
WIP

Held off on posting updates while the stats were in progress. Now that they're here, I'm debating between two different designs, one being the original diamond dino and the other a wild west/cactus/horned lizard. I feel both work thematically, though horned lizards and the wild west seem to be a recurring theme in this thread. Which one should I pursue?
I would suggest that you continue with the dinosaur. While there may be a great many desert lizards in this submission thread, making one for yourself would only mean yours wouldn't stand out, i fear.
 

KoA

Sorry, I thought anteaters were real
is an Artist
Final Submission




Supporting Material
Full body when not traversing via sandy cyclone:

https://i.imgur.com/2ECCtwf.png



This CaP is a Dirt Devil/Thorny Devil/Actual Devil/ Desert Bandit hybrid. Phew. Basically I wanted the feel of a mon with attitude, and that old Aladdin feel to it, and voila. These desert brutes may look fearsome, but they have a strong desire to help the Pokémon in their territory, so they spread the wealth from their plundering trips to spread goodwill, as well as fostering strong bonds with neighboring poke-neighbors. While they aren’t above an easy pinch, they live by a code of honor that only marks the wealthy or the disrespectful for robbery.

Once a victim has been summarily relieved of their burdensome treasures, these guys hoard the bulk of it in their ruin base camp and dole out the rest to their friends, keeping sure to keep the best of the loot themselves. Since it’s very heavy loading loot around, they make the process simple and more fast by spinning up the sand and ground into a cyclonic frenzy and creating a sandy cyclone they can ride across the vast desert with their goodies. The jewels on their heads are actually a status symbol, as it is believed in this species that whoever has the largest gem on display will be blessed with more fortune.

The design itself is just a fun mix of a few different concepts that happened to mesh well together. It retains the desert warrior look I wanted to incorporate, looks reptilian yet devilish at the same time, and also has a smidge of Tazmanian Devil in there too. I'll update this post with supporting art I'll try to finish while the thread is still open, but aside from that, this is my obnoxious lil desert demon! Best of luck to everyone else also submitting!
 
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Shadowshocker

It shall rest here in peace. Forever, if you wish.
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WIP



Getting quite close to final submission, and I'm hoping that the final poll before art - secondary ability - doesn't result in mandating radical changes. Thanks to Mos again for his timely advice on shading, and the Discord for being a font of wholesome motivation as usual.

Supporting Material

How the big meaty claw works to propel Diamond Storm - plus a little Water Absorb explanation
Lying in wait - Power Whip justification and a little hunting on the beach
Power Whipping
Pressuring Zapdos - Funnily enough the episode that this scene comes from is called "Pressure". It's fate!
 
Final Submission

CAP_31_final.png

The mud-cake dino is here! Wasn't sure about this guy at first to be honest, but after seeing the stats and your feedback, I'm confident in him. Thank you guys for your feedback!

There are a LOT of good contenders in this thread, so best of luck to everyone in the polls!

Supporting Material
The design is based on the Mokele-mbembe, a sauropod-like cryptid from the Congo River Basin. I chose this as a basis because Mokele-mbembe is an aquatic creature (hence Water Absorb) and because the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world's top diamond exporters (hence Diamond Storm). The "layer-cake" mud "shell" resembles a slab of earth and communicates how diamonds are formed in real life (i.e. under pressure), is muddy enough to absorb water, and corresponds with a high Special Defense. There's also some ankylosaur and Shunosaurus mixed in to help bring the design together.

This Pokemon gathers mud on its back over its life, and can lie dormant in riverbanks for weeks or even months at a time. Its earthen body helps to form the diamonds that it uses for eating and battling. Though mighty, it is a gentle giant, and will occasionally offer to help other people and Pokemon cross rivers. Sometimes, people will give it offerings and ask it to block or change river flow with its body, usually to help grow crops.
cap_31 conceptfinal.png
 
WIP

53448CB6-A9AA-4ACD-8D09-5518E3945D22.png


It’s a cave salamander inspired by the mythical hunter Orion. It defeated a legendary Pokémon, based on the prehistoric armadillo doedicurus, and made armor from its body, including a club from its tail and a shield from its shell. Each gemstone corresponds to one of the stars in the Orion constellation, forming a magical ward that protects it from special attacks.
 
Don't think I have time to make a submission, but here's my thoughts on some designs!

Very fun, especially a fan of Spinosaurus as the specific dinosaur due to its aquatic nature. My only thought it that it could perhaps resemble its modern reconstructions more (ie, posed less like a t-rex, tail less simple)? Ironically I think making it more like the actual appearence of the animal would make it look less like a cartoon version of spinosaurus (since a lot of people dont actually know it looks more unique than a regular therapod.

Final Submission
Damn, that's genius! A great way of including both its ground typing and the very gem/rock-heavy influence that diamond storm brings. Pouring itself out is a very cool idea, though I don't see much of its water-absorb (and unless serene grace is the secondary I don't see too much from Moxie/Mirror Armour either).

Final Submission
Very cute+powerful looking, with a lot of fun personality. I do wish that the gems were something other than brown to look less like just regular horns, and maybe the face could be a little wider/more frog-like but other than that it's super fun.

Final Submission

Amazing! 100% an improvement over the already great previous version you had shown. King of Diamonds is such a great way to include the diamond theme without risking the design looking too much like a rock or ground/rock rather than its pure ground. It has a lot of personality distinct from the other royal snake pokemon serperior. While I don't see much water absorb I can 100% see any of the secondary options fitting.

I'll edit this with thoughts on the other submissions when I can but everyone is doing great here!

Mod edit: removed quoted images
 
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Final Submission


Supporting Material


Main design motifs: Peat bogs, Coal and Diamonds, Kelpies, Druid

So the main idea behind this pokemon is the common misconception that with enough pressure, coal can become diamonds. As peat becomes coal, felt like a natural progression to show the stratification all the way down to diamond hooves which, naturally, slap. Also, thought the idea of a swamp kelpie would be cool -- it'll take you into the bog if you try and steal its gems!!

Ground typing justification: while this pokemon does look maybe a little rocky and maybe a little grassy, that's kind of the idea! The process of peat to coal (and theoretically coal to diamond) happens underground, as organic material becomes more and more like inorganic stone. Ground feels like a happy medium, and combines well with the prehistoric and druidic vibe of this pokemon that many a ground type tends to have.

Diamond Storm Justification: [Insert supporting art of horse rearing up and throwing some diamonds your way]

Water absorb justification: Dried out peat bog! Also based on the Kelpie

Secondary Ability Justification: Moxie - Kelpies in myth have a penchant for 'defeating' people, Serene Grace - Druidic vibes, Mirror Armor - uhh diamonds are shiny~
 

Brambane

protect the wetlands
is a Contributor Alumnus
Final Submission
globemonfinalsub1.png


The globe golem wakes!

Ideally the globe portion of the body would rotate, with the head. legs and arms remaining in place as it spins. But ya boy ain't got time to animate that, busy busy.

A benevolent force of nature, the forces of the planet resonate with this Pokemon. While generally peaceful, its molten core contains an unbridled rage towards those who harm its friends. Its gems were a gift from a crystalline princess, who the globe golem acts as sentinel, escorting her on a journey beyond her domain of diamonds.
 
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Quanyails

On sabbatical!
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You have 48 hours left to finalize your submissions! The CAP mod team will perform a legality check of final submissions posts before the deadline. If you receive a message requesting changes to your post, please make sure to update your post to avoid being disqualified!

To see what this deadline is in your time zone, check out this link.
 

Shadowshocker

It shall rest here in peace. Forever, if you wish.
is a Top Artistis a Smogon Media Contributor
Final Submission



"Can you do this? Everyone in my family can do that! Everyone - EVERYONE in my family can do that"

CAP 31 for me started out as a crab combined with an assault vehicle, using a gem-studded clam shell to lure in unsuspecting victims combing the beach before it reveals itself and its terrifying big, meaty Diamond Storm-launching cannons. It absorbs seawater to power its launching mechanisms while generating its crystalline features from components extracted from tidal deposits. Furthering its capabilities are its periscopic eyes which extend from its clamshell opening, allowing it to scout out potential victims and deliver a powerful wallop, while its true body is contained behind a mouth-like hatch similar to the small visors seen on tanks. What inhuman thoughts lie behind that hardened, +2 Defense exterior? Why does the plate on its chest look like it can fall open like a hatch through which an army can march out on a beach operation? Why does Shadow give everything fake eyes and rocket launchers? Those foolhardy enough to try and find out have never come back...

Thanks to the Discord as usual for their kind feedback - Mos, Pip, Bice, and others when it comes to my worst enemy: effective shading. Good luck to all those who submitted this round, as usual!

Supporting Material

How the big meaty claw works to propel Diamond Storm - plus a little Water Absorb explanation
Lying in wait - Power Whip justification and a little hunting on the beach
Power Whipping
Pressuring Zapdos - Funnily enough the episode that this scene comes from is called "Pressure". It's fate!
Fire coverage + Serene Grace - I am okay with the secondary ability that has been approved currently.
 
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Final Submission

A gargoyle decorated with pink crystals holding up a pot of supposedly infinitely flowing sands and gems. I chose this idea for the design after thinking of what might convey water absorb and chose gargoyles and the Aquarius constellation, though the pot it holds is filled with precious gemstones and stardust rather than any water. I ended up also going back to the more bulky design I had for the gargoyle due to what stats ended up being decided since a thin little mon doesn't particularly give off the vibes of being reasonably tanky.

I'll be trying to make some supporting material in the time left. Good luck to everyone submitting!

Supporting Material
Full Resolution Version
 
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