Love (Sort of) Beneath the Waves in a Collage for LMAC #98
LMAC Round #98! We are almost ready to celebrate our centenary edition. Every time @shaka offers a template picture for the community to manipulate, there are surprises. The surprises come from us. That is the joy of creating, of making something new, something no one has ever seen. The template this week is a stunning underwater scene.
There was no way I could make this image more beautiful, so I settled for telling a sort of story. The story? Two underwater creatures of rare (actually unknown) species meet, fall in love, and propagate. This is the way of all life, and so it is in my collage.
But, is it really the way of all life? While all life has the urge to reproduce and pass on DNA, physical contact and the sharing of genetic material is just one way of doing that.
I wondered, as I wrote this blog, if it was more common to have sexual reproduction (exchange of genetic material between partners) or asexual reproduction (one creature reproducing a sort of clone of itself). It turns out that not only is sexual reproduction more common, but it seems to give a species an evolutionary advantage.
Spawning
We've all seen pictures showing millions (hundreds of millions) of salmon spawning.
Salmon in a Spawning Bed
Image credit: US Fish and Wildlife, public domain
As most of us have seen in dramatic photos (and in the photo above) sexual reproduction can occur without partners having direct physical contact. This happens most often in aquatic environments. Eggs are laid in water and fertilized by sperm that has been deposited in the water. In the case of my collage critters, there likely would not be a physical union but a more impersonal exchange of genetic material (because my critters live in water).
White-barred Goby (Amblygobius_phalaena)
Image Credit: Haplochromis. Used under a 1.0 generic license. There are five goby species that spawn monogamously.
However, even in the case of spawning, or seemingly impersonal external fertilization, there may be a relationship between partners. Some aquatic species that spawn are monogamous. The puzzle of why some species are polygynous (male sperm fertilizes eggs of multitple females) or monogamous has a lot to do with environment. Always, the form of reproduction is an adaptation to favor long-term survival of the species.
Since the critters in my collage are imagined, I imagine them to be monogamous for life. Isn't that the kind of love fantasy humans prefer? My critters may, in fact be like the seahorse. Seahorses join together in order to mate, and stay together for life. Not only that. The male carries the offspring.
Seahorse Mating Dance
Image credit: Gulf Specimen. Used under CC 3.0 license.
I thought I wouldn't be able to make a collage this week, because I was plagued with a backache. Then I realized I could use my iPad to draw on @shaka's template. In this way my critters were born.
There is something about the sea that suggests life to me, propagation. After all, it is said that our earliest ancestors emerged from the sea.
Besides my critters, I wanted to populate the environment. Where better to find fascinating creatures but in #LIL, the LMAC image gallery. #LIL offered me two fanciful animals contributed by @artsugar and a lovely imaginary umbrella contributed by @justclickindiva.
The animals:
#1
And
Paint 3D was used to arrange the elements and make frames. I used Gimp to make layers and create color in the final animated collage.
I've made a decision to use no images besides those I can create on my own and those I can borrow from #LIL. It's fun to find ways of operating within these boundaries.
Image credit: (public domain) @quantumg, LMAC's master coder
Everyone on Hive is invited to contribute to #LIL, and everyone is invited to borrow from #LIL. Those who contribute will receive support from the LMAC community. Procedures and rules for participating are described here.
As for this week's collage challenge: the rules and template photo may be found on @shaka's blog here.
I hope readers not already engaged with LMAC will be tempted to join our community. We are welcoming and extremely interested in engaging with creative Hivers. Connect with us on Discord.
As always, I thank @shaka for doing all the work maintaining the community demands. Please, everyone reading this, be safe and peaceful. Always have fun.
Thank you for reading my blog. Hive on!
Hello. I love the underwater movements of the sea creatures. It livens up the entire image. I appreciate you including one of my digital images in your theme. When you say that:
It's a lovely thought. Can't wait to see what themes will emerge. Also, don't forget all the prior contest photos that make awesome backgrounds. I'm thinking on the same lines to see what I can come up with without relying heavily on outside sources.
Feel better soon from the backache. I understand as I have arthritis in my back and can't sit at computer for long hours. I've started taking more time away from the computer so I won't stiffen.
Take care, and have a good rest of your week.
I love your artistic contributions to LIL. They always have a touch of the fantastical and they are always beautiful.
Thank you for your kind comment and your good wishes. After we pass a certain age threshold, the way forward is to get around these little annoyances when they pop up. There may not be a more stubborn person on earth than I am, so I press on as much as possible.
Since I don't compete in the contest, I think it's more reasonable for me to limit my resources than it might be for someone else. Coming up with ideas is never a challenge. Realizing them in an actual work of art--that's hard.
Hope you are enjoying the autumn season. Autumn reminds me to get outside and grab the moments while I can. Have a great afternoon.
Yes, enjoying and getting ready for the holidays. A senior citizen myself, I totally understand.
!LUV
<><
@agmoore, you've been given LUV from @justclickindiva.
Check the LUV in your H-E wallet. (1/5)
This is a delightful collage rooted in the ancient dance of DNA. Sexual reproduction is not only more common than asexual reproduction, but possibly more fun, imho, though it takes a lot effort. I'm particularly thrilled about the different ways in which members of a species try to beguile each other by showing their potential reproductive fitness. Insects and flowers are the masters of this delightful dance. Underwater creatures are sensous in their courtship. And humans... hmmm, well I'm afraid with humans it's all monkey business. 🐵
Thank you for appreciating the whimsy. The sea and life, origins propagation...they all go together for me. My little critters were fun to make and it is the first time I ever drew anything on the iPad. Didn't know that was possible. Might be good to acquaint myself with more adaptive technology as my body falls apart 😂
Apparently, the extra energy required from sexual reproduction pays off in the long run (survival of the species). I guess there are precious few shortcuts in life.
I appreciate your visit and your, as always, clever comment.
I enjoyed the illustration and the concepts you discussed. I haven't drawn on an iPad because I don't own one, but I understand it's pretty good for drawing. I really enjoy the feel and mystique of watercolor painting, but there's no question that digital technology can be more adaptive and makes some things easier.
I think that without sexual reproduction, we wouldn't have achieved the current sophistication of our nervous systems. Asexual reproduction is too fragile and can quickly get out of hand if the wrong mutations happen. By combining and recombining our DNA, then we probably achieve greater resistance against mutational errors, allowing us to obtain greater degrees of bio-mechanical and psychological complexity. Then again, I also believe in aliens, so who knows? :)
Very beautiful, the effect of the lights enchanted me. The stones and the fish moving give it that spectacular touch.
Thank you so much @eve66. I let myself relax with this one. A little bit of humor, a little bit of insight. It was truly fun. I did like playing with the lighting. Did that a few times to time it just right.
Hope you are having a wonderful day.
Nice creative collage...
Thank you very much. I love making these. It's an addiction :)
Hello friend I hope you are well, your animation of the collage and the content of the species and the type of reproduction are excellent.
Hello friend @cetb2008,
I did let my imagination travel, didn't I? This was fun. No art talent but a lot of whimsy and little bit of science. I really like science as much as I like art.
Hope you are well also and enjoy the autumn with your family.
How beautiful and fun this underwater dream is, dear @agmoore!
Color and joy, a bit of madness. Just what I need right now.
I couldn't finish my collage.... It's painful. However I keep hope to finish the mermenids I started today. They were quite monstrous and I was having quite a bit of fun. Then came the call from work and....
I'm grateful for the opportunity the LMAC artists give me not to end the day with my eye empty.
Thank you my friend. Rather audacious. I used my finger to paint the little critter on the picture. As they moved, one of them lost a tooth, but no one notices, thankfully :)
I'm sorry you couldn't finish, but I never think creative exercise is wasted. It's all part of us and we will use it somehow in the future.
I appreciate your support and your kind words. I hope you are well and not working too hard.
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
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Awesome portrayal of courtship in the sea water A.G. @agmoore. The whole scene comes alive nicely with the flashes.
Hello my friend @redheadpei. I thought the flashes were a good accent to the emotional content 😄 of the scene. Thanks for your visit and your really generous assessment of my simple concept.
Here we have everything that makes a romantic scene. A romantic place, a couple and a lot of love.
I immediately realized that your collage is about an act of love between two beings.
Well animated, a very good idea and just barely not classifiable as FSK18/R18/NC-17.
A great composition of love, art and science. :-D
Good job! :-)
Hello @quantumg my friend. I did wonder out loud (to my husband) if I should caution readers about the content 😂.
I had to go back to basics and make a squiggle (because I was drawing with my finger ) to illustrate my idea. Nothing more basic than love and transmitting DNA.
Thank you for your appreciation and your visit. I do love making these collages. Never know were they will take me.
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