Finished The Algebraist by Iain Banks! I drew a Dweller! One of the main alien species mentioned.
This isn’t exactly canon since I have a very bad working memory and had to scrub the audiobook to remember details, and also some details came later after I had started, like them having carapace and couldn’t figure out how to work that into the design aside from the outsides of the “wheels” that make up their bodies.
Most of what I remember is that they have bodies that look like two wheels connected by a fat central axis and that they have frills used for sensory and expressive purposes. They also start out as “delta” or “stingray” shapes as infants and undergo metamorphosis.
They are also like the “elves” of the story in that they’re a very secluded and long lived species, which results in cultural disconnects between them and other species that are a large part of the plot, and shorter lived species see them as aloof eccentrics. Dwellers are also like if elves were an r-selected species, as their young are many and also highly disposable, to other species’ horror.
