Ninjas of the animal world

[El Dingo]

Ninja Octopus

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

way cool! thanks! Arthur C. Clarke wrote a short novel where the octopi were the "alien threat" of the story. I can't remember the title of the book, though...

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Bad, CGI, bad.

Look for the subtle color shift as the photoshop effect goes to work.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Looks real to me. I ain't no expert. HK? Whaddaya say?

[Haggis Killer]

I think it's real. The color shift when it turns visible is a bit jarring, but heck, isn't Nature wonderful? The things that would be hardest to nail in a shot like this would be the motion, both of the octo and the ink release. That stuff's real, for certain. Taking the shot as a whole, I don't see any way to reverse-engineer the octo into the proper shape on just any happened-by-it rock from some piece of footage. To do it this well would take a ton of planning, and that isn't generally in the shot. It's just sorta mosey-along the ocean floor video footage and seeing something cool.

I buy it.

[Drunk Monk]

http://flickr.com/photos/75875031@N00/181074032/

Note wikipedia's info on octopus defense:

Defense

Three defensive mechanisms are typical of octopuses: ink sacs, camouflage, and autotomising limbs. Most octopuses can eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. They also have specialized skin cells, called chromatophores, for both color changing and light reflection and refraction. They use this ability to blend into the environment to hide, communicate with other octopuses, or warn other octopuses. The very poisonous Blue-ringed Octopus becomes bright yellow with blue rings when it is provoked. When under attack, some octopuses can autotomise their limbs, in a similar manner to skinks and other lizards. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators; this ability is also used in mating. A few species, such as the Mimic Octopus have a fourth defense mechanism. They can combine their highly flexible bodies with their color changing ability to accurately mimic other, more dangerous animals such as lionfish and eels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus