Design an Organism

https://mackenziesdragonsnest.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/delvila-1861317.jpg

Summary:
          You know and love all the classic mystical creatures. If you look closely at each of these mystical creatures you can see pieces of things we actually have alive right now. For example for a unicorn it would be the horse and for the dragon a reptile or bat. It is interesting to think its could be possible to make a unicorn like horse through evolution or a giant dragon like reptile. Organisms you think of can be anything for plausible to insane but you will usually see pieces of the real world organisms within those images.

S&EP: Asking Questions Defining Problems:
       The creature I have been working is called the Pingo-Uck. It is as a female an aquatic bird that is colorful on one side and camouflage on the other. We added some crazy things to this creature but when you draw if back they all have good reason and purpose. For example it has big bug like multifaceted eyes. This is not just to look cool but to give it high perception of its surroundings. Then it has an umbrella like feathered structure atop its head to be able to protect it from the consistent rain. Every detail we had to ask why it was important and why the species would even evolve to have it. The best formula to determine the purpose of each piece of a organism that would be able to exist but not be this over powered beast is quite simple. First ask is this possible. This eliminates any crazy thoughts like magic or teleportation. next ask if its useful. Like rainbow hair that goes all the way down to the floor what would the purpose of that be. if it is just for show and would not assist in any way such as mating of survival then remove it.

XCC: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: When creating an organism you need to know when enough is enough. You need to sometimes put practicality above good looks or cool features. For example if you had a whale would it be practical to give it bright shiny skin? Well of course not. Also think of things like size. if you were to have a real life dragon as something like a house pet you wouldn't want to make it skyscraper big. It must fit its environment. That is the point of selective traits to fit nicely with the environment and increase survival.Just always keep a rule of thumb that whatever it is it must be able to survive in its environment.