Pucker and Bloat #5: Eunice

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Pucker and Bloat discuss the newest member of the band TÜN-O-FISH. Eunice doesn’t bring a lot of musical talent to the group, but she does offer a lot of allure to the patron’s of their favorite pub, The Aristotle’s Lantern.

Bobbit Worm

In real life, the bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) is a resident of the mudflats around the Philippines and Singapore. At night it rises up from its burrow, jaws spread wide, waiting patiently for prey to wander by its snap trap mouth. They also sometimes arrive as unwelcome hitchhikers inside live rock and can grow to several meters ensconced in the protection of a reeftank. While naturally drab in color, their chitinous cuticle refracts the light, giving them a rainbow of hues that make them popular subjects for underwater photographers.

The mouths of marine worms (polychaetes) are often weirdly complex. In the case of the bobbit worms, their mouths turn inside out when they protrude, or evert, their jaws. The muscular apparatus that does this is called the buccal organ. It can be a powerful instrument of doom for small fish and crustaceans

Process

I am still using Illustrator to make these comics. It may not be the best choice, but it is as much about learning Illustrator as it is about making something (mildly) amusing. The biggest challenge this time was getting the rainbow gradient right along Eunice’s belly. Drawing the punk snappers was also fun.

Additional links

• The annotated budak: Eunice aphroditois
• wildsingapore on Flickr: Giant reef worm (Eunice aphroditois)
• leslieworm on Flickr. Her photostream is a trove of polychaetey goodness.
• University of Sydney: A Survey of Selected Polychaetes and Their Feeding Mechanisms – MUSCULAR VENTRAL BUCCAL ORGAN B

Wrack Lines is a recurring series on this blog, featuring some of the artwork and designs I’ve created in Illustrator and Photoshop. In real life, a wrack line is the strand of seaweed and other debris washed up along the beach and usually indicates the high tide mark. But here it also refers to the vector-based lines of programs that I seem to be racking my brains against. I am a recreational graphic designer and amateur photographer. If you have constructive criticism, questions about techniques or additional resources you’d like to share, please contact me or leave a comment below.

Tagged as: art, bobbit, comic, echinoderm, Illustrator, octopus, polychaete, worm