Blue skin? Cool, but how?

Started by Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä, May 20, 2010, 01:20:08 PM

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Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä

I'm not sure anybody asked themselves before.

But why is the Na'vi skin blue?
It can possibly be as camouflage in certain forest areas,
but that would include a major genetical change.
We humans have lived in forests for ages, and still our skin hasnt turned green.
The only reason skincolour changes on Earth is because of the sun.
How did the Na'vi do it? Anyone?

kewnya txamew'itan

Why is human skin various shades of brown?

Pretty much a random pigment gets produced for skin colour which will stay in the species until a mutation comes along that is evolutionary preferential.
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Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä

Yes, but then the Na'vi would be full of the pigment?
Second, the stripes which are covering their body,
would it be the same effect granted like tigers and other animals have?
To break this full lineof one kind of blue, and take care of even better camouflage?

MIPP

Quote from: Mìhìl on May 20, 2010, 01:20:08 PM
I'm not sure anybody asked themselves before.

But why is the Na'vi skin blue?
It can possibly be as camouflage in certain forest areas,
but that would include a major genetical change.
We humans have lived in forests for ages, and still our skin hasnt turned green.
The only reason skincolour changes on Earth is because of the sun.
How did the Na'vi do it? Anyone?

Let's not compare Na'vi people with humans.
Let's think on Na'vi people as animals. Here, on Earth, we have lots of animals who have changed the skin tone to camuflate.
For example, we have Polar Bears. They are white because they live in a white place, so they can camuflate.
Chamaleon can change its color anytime.
it happens because some animals have microscopic natural pigments that product colors automatically.
Other way is by microscopic fibers. Those act as prisms that reflect and scatter the visible color. That way, a certain combination of color is reflected. As an example, the polor bears, have a black skin, but it seems white because it has translucent hair.
Also some reptiles have a layer of yellow skin, and then a layer with blue which scatters the color to reflect the blue color.

By the way, in Pandora, things may not happen as here do. They may be blue just because they are ::)
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Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä

Yes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)
OR have coloured scales. Which has... I think flesh underneath it. (note: chameleons have scales! ... Right?)

The Na'vi and the Pandorian creatures do not have scales or fur.


MIPP

Quote from: Mìhìl on May 20, 2010, 01:41:18 PM
Yes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)
OR have coloured scales. Which has... I think flesh underneath it. (note: chameleons have scales! ... Right?)

The Na'vi and the Pandorian creatures do not have scales or fur.



Well, so i guess Eywa has created all that world, and once almost everything is blue there, they are blue too :D
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kewnya txamew'itan

Quote from: Mìhìl on May 20, 2010, 01:31:00 PM
Yes, but then the Na'vi would be full of the pigment?
Second, the stripes which are covering their body,
would it be the same effect granted like tigers and other animals have?
To break this full lineof one kind of blue, and take care of even better camouflage?

What do you mean full of pigment?

Early in na'vi evolutionary history, their cells were producing blue pigment (possibly as a by-product of some useful reaction), as the na'vi evolved, this later began to collect in the skin where it can be used, like melanin in humans, to prevent tissue damage from UV light.

The stripes are a variant of this to provide some camouflage in the same way a tiger does.

Quote from: Mìhìl on May 20, 2010, 01:41:18 PM
Yes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)
OR have coloured scales. Which has... I think flesh underneath it. (note: chameleons have scales! ... Right?)

Look at the skin on a dog's nose, looks pretty black to me, also, polar bear skin is black not white-pink.
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Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä

Hmm, okay, I just said white-pink because of some things I read in comics :p,

Ah yes, it makes some sensce now, and what about the nose and ears, their nose is black, like a cat,

And well, their ears... are longer and kind of pointy...

Mithcoriel

QuoteYes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)

Errm, what about frogs?
Especially blue poisonous frogs?
Ayoe lu aysamsiyu a plltxe "Ni" !
Aytìhawnu ayli'uyä aswok: "Ni", "Peng", si "Niiiew-wom" !

Kerame Pxel Nume

Quote from: Mithcoriel on May 20, 2010, 03:48:58 PM
QuoteYes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)

Errm, what about frogs?
Especially blue poisonous frogs?
I put Mandrills into the bowl:


Blue enough face for your taste?

Tsa'räni

Well, to start with, not all Na'vi live in forests.  Apparently they're spread over a wide variety of terrain.

But there are plenty of possibilities one could come up with.

One is recognizing that not all coloring has an evolutionary usefulness that we understand.  There are plenty of critters on Earth that we look at and ask, without knowing the answer, "What use does that coloring serve?"  It can be a variety of things or simply nothing currently useful.

It's been mentioned before, but perhaps it's some type of molecule that helps protect them from some environmental factor on Pandora.

Maybe with the different lighting on Pandora (reflections off Polyphemus, frequent auroras, bioluminescence, etc) a blue coloring does end up giving an advantage.

And so on.  There are any number of reasonable explanations that would fit into a sci-fi world such as Pandora.

Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä

Quote from: Kerame Pxel Nume on May 20, 2010, 03:57:36 PM
Quote from: Mithcoriel on May 20, 2010, 03:48:58 PM
QuoteYes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)

Errm, what about frogs?
Especially blue poisonous frogs?
Blue enough face for your taste?

Lol, in this case nature gave this feature to the animal to impress the other genitive.


Kerame Pxel Nume

#12
Quote from: Mìhìl on May 21, 2010, 12:05:47 PM
Lol, in this case nature gave this feature to the animal to impress the other genitive.
However it shows that blue skin colour is totally feasible for a mammal (someone claimed otherwise earlier). Also keep in mind, that in the 1995 scriptment it was mentioned that Na'vi have a completely different colour perception and that the vegetation was not green but more of a purple tint. Originally those elements were planned to be implemented in Avatar, but it was found that such colouring (shifted colour perception effect and purple plants) would be to unnerving to the audience, so it was dropped in favour of a more earth like colouring.

Oh about blue skinned animals and evolution: Australia has blue earthworms, and as it happens those glow in the dark, too. Nobody knows yet, what's the evolutional advantage of this.

Muzer

Quote from: Mìhìl on May 21, 2010, 12:05:47 PM
Quote from: Kerame Pxel Nume on May 20, 2010, 03:57:36 PM
Quote from: Mithcoriel on May 20, 2010, 03:48:58 PM
QuoteYes, but all of Earth animals that have a different colour do have OR a coloured fur, with a white-pink like skin underneath it
(note: the polar bear does too!)

Errm, what about frogs?
Especially blue poisonous frogs?
Blue enough face for your taste?

Lol, in this case nature gave this feature to the animal to impress the other genitive.



That's what happens if you're on a linguistic forum for too long :P
[21:42:56] <@Muzer> Apple products used to be good, if expensive
[21:42:59] <@Muzer> now they are just expensive

El Jacko

Well, I've resisted for this long, but I'm going to post some physics. Stand back!

Now, it is a well documented fact that excess metallic elements (usually silver) can cause blue pigmentation of the skin. In humans, it is a medical condition. However, on Pandora, it may have evolved in.

As you know, Pandora orbits a large gas giant; which brings me to the important point. Solar activity and general goings-on within Gas Giants cause some pretty spectacular radiation storms. Now, due to the minimal damage and rarity of gamma rays in space (the only major source is supernovae), this radiation will come in either Alpha, or beta. Alpha is stopped by a few feet of air due to its size and charge, while beta takes either a very long distance to completely stop or, usually, a few millimetres of metal. So, perhaps such a skin colour could evolve due to the fauna evolving a radiation-resistant skin?
'Look at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam' - Carl Sagan

Muzer

Quote from: El Jacko on May 21, 2010, 01:13:45 PM
Well, I've resisted for this long, but I'm going to post some physics. Stand back!

Now, it is a well documented fact that excess metallic elements (usually silver) can cause blue pigmentation of the skin. In humans, it is a medical condition. However, on Pandora, it may have evolved in.

As you know, Pandora orbits a large gas giant; which brings me to the important point. Solar activity and general goings-on within Gas Giants cause some pretty spectacular radiation storms. Now, due to the minimal damage and rarity of gamma rays in space (the only major source is supernovae), this radiation will come in either Alpha, or beta. Alpha is stopped by a few feet of air due to its size and charge, while beta takes either a very long distance to completely stop or, usually, a few millimetres of metal. So, perhaps such a skin colour could evolve due to the fauna evolving a radiation-resistant skin?


I was told that alpha radiation was stopped by a few centimetres of air and beta by a few metres.
* Muzer is confused...
[21:42:56] <@Muzer> Apple products used to be good, if expensive
[21:42:59] <@Muzer> now they are just expensive

El Jacko

Depends how much beta you've got. A single particle, probably. A storm from a gas giant, probably not. Even the Earth's magnetosphere and distance from any major sources (150,000,000km from the nearest big 'un) still doesn't stop the lot.
'Look at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam' - Carl Sagan

Kerame Pxel Nume

Quote from: El Jacko on May 21, 2010, 01:13:45 PM
Alpha is stopped by a few feet of air due to its size and charge, while beta takes either a very long distance to completely stop or, usually, a few millimetres of metal.
The average Alpha and Beta radiation is stopped by the upper layers of skin. You can shield Alpha radiation with a sheet of paper and Beta radiation with a sheet of tin foil. What's really going deep and depositing a lot of energy then are Proton and Neutron radiation.

Ikranä mokri

you also have to remember that alpha centuari (dont think is correct spelling) is a binary star system, in that it has 2 starts which are much brighter than our sun (or sol as it should be called) the different light could have had an effect





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MIPP

In an interview, they have asked to Cameron why are the na'vi people blue.
His answer has been: "Because it's a nice color. Besides, they have some connection with the Hindu neities which I like conceptually"

P.s. I can't guarantee he has said it that way, because i'm translating this from a portuguese blog: Nume Na'vi
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