POTENTIAL PASTS: Blurring the line between speculative evolution and palaeontology, I'm designing a selection of hypothetical taxa that could have existed in prehistory! A close relative of Aquilops, this animal is an aquatic bottom-punting generalist with nostrils placed high on the nasal horn.

Given the chance, would you rather travel to the deep past or the far future (many millions of years either way)?

My attempt at a more biologically grounded Groot, re-imagined as a species of lumbering insect-cycad creatures that eat wood. The official design, while iconic, is not alien enough for my taste. And yes, I am hopelessly addicted to Marvel Rivals.

I'm kret, and I draw #aliens, #speculativeevolution, and #dinosaurs Here's Allan from #smilingfriends re-imagined as a species of one eyed flounder-headed reptilian biped. Like all critterzoans, the head is flat with eyes on one side and respiratory orifices on the other:

SPEC EVO DESIGN TIP: When creating large organisms, it is not enough to just linearly scale up your little creatures. Big animals have robust limbs, weight saving adaptations, larger guts, thicker skin, etc., to deal with a huge increase in mass.

SPEC EVO DESIGN TIP: This is Snood, the little mammal-thing I've been using in my speculative evolution design tips. Let's give him a face lift by collecting reference materials from nature. The more detail you add to your creatures, the realer they will look.

SPEC EVO DESIGN TIP: Once you notice the "sausage with legs" design, you cannot unsee it. It's a common speculative evolution creature design trope. In nature, animal bodies are organized in segments. Ditch the sausage: group limbs together, and add more detail to torso/abdomen/joints.

Lorrainosaurus, a new pliosaur from the Middle Jurassic of France.

Portrait of Brachiosaurus, my favorite dinosaur. Let’s continue building the paleoart community on here

Perucetus colossus, the newly discovered super-chunky Basilosaurid.

Realistic Pokémon! Lotad, a small pseudo-mammalian aquatic herbivore. Its most distinctive feature is a broad dorsal crest. This air-filled structure serves two purposes: boosting buoyancy as Lotad skim for vegetation, and serving as a lily-pad disguise for befuddling potential predators.

Speculative evolution concept: woodpecker-pachycephalosaur. This stout dinosaur pulverizes rotten bark with its chisel-shaped skull, probing the cavities for wood-boring insects. Thick arms and a flat torso give it an ideal build for shimmying up tree trunks.