Captain "Cappy" Baranoca

My first version took me about hour and was just meant as a quick gag. I saw inspired by a headline announcing that Edinburgh Zoo’s first baby capybara in 18 years could be named ’David Attenbara’. But after posting I suddenly wanted to punch it up into a better illustration.

The second version took longer and I was quite happy with it, until this morning when with fresh eyes it suddenly looked like AI art to me! 😱 Have I been subconsciously adopting the AI aesthetic? I hope not, but I am seeing it everywhere all the time. My googling for capybara ref was full of it. Well anyway, I'm not great at character art but hopefully this version looks like it was created by someone sapient at least…

Also, I actually really don't like when aliens in SF are basically just humanoid terrestrial mammals. It's a bit of a pet peeve, if you'll forgive the pun. Buuut, it does feel like a good fit for TAS so I suppose I'll allow myself this one Capybaran as a treat!