If you combined paint and scarring, you just might get primitive tattooing, eh? Also, what sort of superstitious connotations are you talking about? I'm curious because this is the only Focco so adorned. Oh, another thing- do all Focco have four nipples and if so, what size 'litters' do they have? And just to get one last question in, is there any partcular reason they don't have tails and do you have any documents written out detailing history, culture, biology, and/or other such things? Did I miss a FAQ somewhere? Most excellent art and invented species by the way!

Well, you would get primitive tattooing that way, but nearly all focco have black skin, so it would not catch on.

As for superstitious connotations, these people are very primitive, so probably something about magical thinking. Belief that a sight of a penis would strike all preadolescent boys dead and its deadly effect negated by a particular species of seashell, or something like that.

Focco have two to four nipples, but they usually give birth to a single baby, sometimes twins.

I do have a sheaf of loose sketches, notes and concepts on the focco, but I have not published much. I plan to make a separate section on the web site for such slow-burner projects, just for fun.

As for why they do not have tails -- it's because I designed them that way. ;)

Thanks for the reply! Mind if I ask a few more questions? Here they are- Even with a peaceful first contact and a prosperous intermixing to follow, there usually are areas and/or people that wouldn't quietly accept the changes that this would bring about. So, do you have anything like that planned for stories set in this universe (or at least a galaxy or two ;) ) that you've created? Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, they don't appear to differ greatly from humans in external physical features (besides the obvious) and I was wondering how their reproductive morphology (male and/or female) might compare to that of humans? I think I struck the right point between decency and clarity of speech, but what information you feel comfortable discussing is, as always, up to you. Anyhow, I'd like to finish by saying I really enjoy looking at all the little details you put into your drawings, each time I look at them I might find another detail I hadn't noticed and that's pretty dang good for an observant guy like me! Makes for an enjoyable time perusing artworks, thank you.

Glad you like the drawings and the concept!

Of course there will be resistance to changes, on both sides. Strife makes for good stories, wouldn't you agree? I do have some ideas, but for such a slow-burner project it can take a very long time.

As for not appearing to differ greatly from humans... that's a trick: superficially they are very terrestrial, but dig deeper and you'll find big differences. It is a mammalian body bent into a biped, like human being's, but the starting point is different and the result is different. (It's less visible in this particular picture, because it uses a slightly older model with the chest that is a little too wide.) So there are lots of subtle and not so subtle differences, reproductive morphology included.