Somewhere, in a Tropical Marine Research Station... ... a tireless team of marine biologists is trying to preserve the creatures of the Earth's oceans. The team is about to release a trio of shark species into the wild, and an Administrator from Head Office has visited the site, just to check on the final preparations. Chief Technician Bobby shows her around the facility, and takes her to see the smaller holding pens of the Aquatic Containment Facility, where some Blue Sharks and Oceanic WhiteTip Sharks are restlessly circling their tanks...

Then, Bobby takes the Administrator down the next level to the Viewing Wall, which looks out into a far larger tank, where a Whale Shark awaits release...

Yes, months in the making, the first Shark Attack Pack is now launched! This first set (of two sets planned) is now available in the DAZ Premier store.

Hmm, do I recall a comment somewhere about needing a bigger boat?

Yup, methinks they're thinking a bigger boat would be A Good Thing right about now...

Now that they're released from their pens, here's a bit more info on each: 1. the Whale Shark - Rhincodon typus - the largest fish in the world today, adults range from 8m to more than 15m in length. They can be found in all the tropical oceans of the world, and wander huge migratory paths. Some have been known to follow the warm GulfStream waters up to the shores of the British Isles from time to time. They spend most of their time out in the open seas, but do come in close to shore as well. Friends of mine recently swam with them on a diving eco-tour just off the Galapagos Islands. They are quite approachable, as tiny swimming humans rarely pose a threat to them...

Whale Shark 2...

continuing our marine biology lesson: 2. The Blue Shark - Prionace glauca - is a slender, moderately-sized shark (up to 4m) of the open oceans. Named for its beautiful colouration, it is a very attractive and efficient killer. Its large eyes help it to see at depths of up to 350m as it hunts its prey of fish and squid. Widespread, it is found in all tropical, sub-tropical and temperate oceans. It can be dangerous, especially when excited or in a 'feeding frenzy' but it is not generally considered a threat to humans. The female bears live young, in litters of typically 25-50, sometimes many more.

Blue Shark 2

...and finally, rounding out the biology lesson for today... 3. the Oceanic WhiteTip Shark - Carcharhinus longimanus - a moderately-sized shark, up to about 4m in length, it is nonetheless one of the most dangerous of all. It has no fear of humans, and is utterly unpredictable. Recognizable by its huge dorsal and pectoral fins, this denizen of the open tropical and sub-tropical seas is the shark most likely to appear at an accident scene. Do not confuse it with the smaller, less dangerous WhiteTip Reef Shark. An opportunistic feeder, the Oceanic WhiteTip eats mainly fish, swimming seabirds, and seaturtles - oh, and 'carrion.' Females give live birth to litters of up to 15 pups.

Great promo images. Would a hammerhead be included in the 2nd shark pack? How about a stingray?

Yes, a Hammerhead is DEFINITELY going to be included in Pack #2 - it's already modelled, just not 'tweaked' to my liking yet! No stingray planned - I'm sticking to 'sharks' for these packs, even though I realize they're closely related. But who knows? If these packs prove popular, I could just keep going and going and... Cheers!

These look very nice. Definitely in my wishlist. (I already blew my Poser allowance for the month. Whaaaa!) Is there going to be a replacement/upgrade for the ancient Great White Shark that Daz currently has? I suppose it was a good model at the time but by current standards, it's got issues. Aside from the truely horrible Poser 3-era mapping, there's some wierdness in the geometry around the gills. (The mapping is really, really bad. If you use an authentic looking color scheme and paint the tops of the pectoral fins dark grey or blue, the color carries right accross the underbelly - sharks in bikinis, oy.) And the only other decent-looking shark (until recently, of course :) ) was Sharkey's free shark, but since he seems to have dropped off the net a year or so ago, I don't think it's available for download anymore.

That's up to DAZ really - their ancient shark certainly has issues, by current standards, but in simplest terms, ANY Great White is better than NO Great White. I wanted to go beyond that - there are roughly 100 different types of sharks, I just wanted to provide more choice. I was getting tired of seeing that model used whenever someone needed a poseable shark, and regardless of what sort of shark is appropriate! There's a lot of variety among sharks, and I wanted to provide a bit of an alternative with my 2 packs. I was under the impression, though, that someone had already made a remapped version of the DAZ GWS, with better UVs. I don't think -I- have it though, so I'd be curious to hear from anyone who does... But, as I said above, if these packs prove there's a lot of demand out there, I might revisit the old GWS at some point in future! Cheers!

These look like a nice addition to my aquatic colletion. I'm going to have to sort through my sharks, I have the new one too but my fles are so messed up not sure who the creator was.

I must remember to remember what it was I had to remember.