: Remember, feedback on artwork is appreciated and encouraged.

: We've made it through our first official VTHU cycle. This is exciting for me,
: because it means you're still interested enough in what I do to keep
: submitting art. So thank you for your continued participation! :)

: As the last round before our cycle resets with a human theme, I've got
: something a little more fun for everyone… our first official Free Round!
: These will be focused less on adhering to the canon and much more on just
: showcasing some of the crazy ideas you guys have rolling around in your
: heads.

: For this first one, I admit I somewhat selfishly chose the subject matter.
: I've been eager to see what everyone creates for it and it's been somewhat
: frustrating having to wait through all the Human, Covenant, Ancients, and
: Miscellaneous rounds to finally hit this one. I hope you guys find it
: interesting enough, and if not, let me know so I can take that into
: consideration for the next Free Round. :)

: Subject:

: Create Your Own Flood Combat Form

: Details:

: Throughout the Halo trilogy, we've seen how the Flood brutally infect and
: repurpose their host's bodies. From a simple human, to a hunched
: monstrosity with claws and wriggling appendages, the only creatures that
: can avoid conversion into a Flood combat form are those with insufficient
: biomass to sustain the massive alterations.

: Yet throughout these transformations, many features remain consistent
: regardless of the host organism. The chest cavity becomes occupied by the
: infection form, so that its sensory appendages can protrude from the body
: at an advantageous angle. One limb typically shows an explosive growth of
: exactly three tentacles or claws, and later, the body slowly decays into
: an unrecognizable mass of gas-infused tissue, leaving behind only the
: creature's legs.

: However, amongst these constants, there are many other variables… enough for
: any artist to run wild! Earth alone has many amazing animals that might be
: fun to reconstruct as a Flood infection form, but if that's not your
: thing, the rest of the Halo universe is littered with amazing life forms
: as well! There's a lot to work with. :)

: Extra Credit:

: Depict an infected African animal from when the Flood landed on Earth in
: Halo 3!

: - - -

: Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! Remember you have two weeks
: to submit your entries.

My stab; don't really have time to finesse it, but the gist is there. Click to embiggen.

So there's a bunch of influences in here. I wanted to sort of bridge the visual look of the classic Flood (spongy splotchy spines) and the Halo 4 Flood (with more armor, exposed areas, and chitin). Personally I hope when the Flood return they take more cues from the classic elements, but that's me about everything practically. Anyhow, I thought about "Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor" and figured that if a Flood host wasn't exactly that dangerous on its own, it might take liberties with the form--in this case, going from that hoof and "deevolving" it back to something a bit more lethal; I sort of took inspiration from some of the cut Bioshock enemies with their outsize limbs.