Metamorphosis

. . . Creepy, isn't it?

This is an example for one of the artistic challenges I posted in the FAC forums. The challenge was to design and draw out a transformation/metamorphosis sequence showing a human being changed into a different, nonanthropomorphic species of creature. For this drawing, I chose a hydra. Not a 'Hydra' of mythological proportions, mind you; something similar, and yet different.

I did this mostly as a design exercise, and as such it didn't turn out entirely like I would have hoped. Let me be the first to say that the sketches sorta sucked, and decent shading can't make up for bad sketches. Let me also say that the result even freaked me out....

But that's not really important. You probably want to know what this is all about, right? Well then, sit down and listen to a story....

This picture fits into a fantasy-style universe I dreamt up, where transformation is certifiably the most powerful magic in existence given to humans and the other 'ruling' races (dracans, catpeople, etc.) . So powerful, in fact, that they were given only a very limited, distilled form of the transformation magic, one with countless restrictions and safeguards built in to prevent its misuse. It's not actually that much of a spell... but more of an enchantment that can be imbued into certain artifacts (which, if successful, are called "talismans" regardless of what the object originally was). The end result of the enchantment is a magical artifact enabling its user (only its user) to change their body into that of a different species -- and to change back again, both completely at will. Under normal circumstances, the physical transformation process occurs in a very short time frame, about 1~2 seconds maximum. The magic also shields the user from the pain produced as their body undergoes massive physical change. The enchantment was also designed to magically preserve whatever clothing they were wearing, so that they wouldn't have to worry about being 'naked' when they change back.

However....

Regardless of how many safeguards and rules were built into the enchantment of transformation, this still doesn't change the fact that the magic itself is extremely high-energy, and thus inherently dangerous. Should anything go wrong . . . all bets are off!. The magic may be almost foolproof, but it's not 100% failproof, and if it fails, it does so in a spectacular (read: catastrophic) fashion, its effects ranging anywhere from traumatic to debilitating or even lethal!

That's essentially what you see here. A human posessing the power of transformation, their chosen animal form being a hydra (which just so you know is a taboo, for other reasons). Something went wrong with the enchantment, and the magic takes its toll on him by forcibly, slowly, painfully, and irreversibly metamorphing him into his hydra form.

Such is the risk of transformation in this fantasy realm. It's an extremely rare risk, but a deadly and horrifying one.

Medium: Colored & 0.7mm pencil
Time: About four hours
Size: 60px/in