Creature ramblings

At this point in time, the whole 4th year massive self driven project thing has really managed to become a scary reality. I know fine well that I want to do creature design, but as to where to take it or what to do with it, I really don't know. It's all rather confusing what with wanting to figure out which media to try to focus on for the creatures (games, films, books etc), but being told my focus should be on coming up with questions that will help practical process. I understand the questions thing and I do get why it's being asked of us, but I just don't know what questions to be asking. I feel like I really need to have some sort of goal, otherwise I'm just meandering about getting nothing achieved.

I did get a few books for this project through, one of which in particular will be incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, half of the ones I got just didn't have the content I expected them to have and are of little use to me. The book that I think will be the most useful is Animal Anatomy For Artists: The Elements of Form by Eliot Goldfinger. While it doesn't go through every animal in the world, it certainly goes over a fair few in detail, showing muscular and bone structure, as well as the difference in proportion between similar species. I think it will be very important for me to start drawing references from it every day, noting the names of muscles and such, just to get into the habit of it. It will be very important for me to be able to understand animal anatomy much more thoroughly if I want to be a serious creature designer. As my creature design idol, Terryl Whitlatch says,

'It takes dedication and constant practise to be a competent animal artist and creature designer. Like everything else, it must be practiced, struggled through, and thought about every day. Just as Mozart still had to practice his harpsichord and piano daily, I draw and practice animal anatomy each day as well.'  Terryl Whitlatch, Animal Real and Imagined, p.59

In my perusing the Internet for useful things for this project, I have found four of the Gnomon Workshop tutorials that will be perfect for me, as they are by none other than Terryl Whitlatch herself. I certainly think they will be worth the investment, as the book of hers I have, Animals Real and Imagined, is very insightful, and it will be great to see her actually producing work and hearing everything she has to say. Here is a link to the first one:

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/421/Creature-Design-with-Terryl-Whitlatch-1#.VCMiyBZuVGQ









I have also discovered a tutorial workshop with creature artist R.J. Palmer who goes by the handle of Arvalis on deviantART.com.

Here is a link to his official website: http://rj-palmer.com/

And a link to his deviantART.com page: http://arvalis.deviantart.com/

I have one of R.J. Palmer's books, Realistic Pokemon Volume One. I love his artwork, it's really detailed and clean, with great use of lighting, design and colour. The tutorial I found can be bought from here:

http://www.skillshare.com/classes/design/Utilizing-Reference-Images-Create-Believable-Creatures/414561409?teacherRef=8440401&utm_campaign=teacher-referral&utm_source=ShortUrl&utm_medium=teacher-referral

I definitely think this will be another worth-while investment, as those who have taken the class have said how much it helped them and how insightful it was.

On a side note, I also came across a rather interesting interview on a blog with the artist Joseph C. Pepe, who has worked on things such as Alien Vs Predator and Avatar. It's a really interesting read from what I have skimmed so far and I will certainly be looking into it further, but Mr Pepe seems to have really good advice and thoughts, so here's the link:

http://characterdesignnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/interview-with-character-and-creature.html

Returning to my point earlier of buying a bunch of books, I was mainly focusing on getting myth and folklore books. I did manage to get what i can only describe as a dictionary of such things, which should be helpful for finding creatures and their descriptions. It is known as Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth, by Carol Rose. I really do like folklore and of course the creatures associated with it, so I would love if I could take this thought somewhere on the project. It might be an idea to start just sketching creatures that sound interesting based on their descriptions in the book I got. At any rate, I shall ramble some more another time, for now I shall leave this post with a sketch I did of a creature based on my Monster Hunter research. It's intended to be a cute creature that isn't the standard annoying/appealing to children sort of thing and is also a 'gentle giant'. I based him on Slow Loris' and peacocks, with a few other animals used as reference for a couple of parts.

I don't quite know what to call it yet, but will hopefully think of something! Until next time.

Creature Emporium Part 1

This post is going to be entirely for inspiration, showing creatures that I find interesting, unusual or just plain damn cool. Along with any other little bits of awesome stuff that appeals to me.

I shall be focusing on the creatures from the Monster Hunter game series, as it is a perfect example of a game that put creatures at the forefront, and makes every effort to include such a wide variety of opponents for the player to fight. What I love is that it isn't just dragons, in fact, there are very few dragons in comparison to the full bestiary of monsters featured in the games. Another thing that appeals to me is that many of the monsters are simply based off of real life creatures, making them seem so much more believable. I almost wish there was an option to just go through the environments invisible, watching the creatures in their own habitats, not disturbing them. It would be really interesting to watch them interact with each other when their life isn't endangered by hunters. Maybe this could be something that I could bring into my project and perhaps remove people from the situation altogether.

The company who created the Monster Hunter series, Capcom, created a couple of monster size-comparison videos, which are fantastic and show off a number of the monsters interacting with each other.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate size comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TOf53VonL0

Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary size comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3DvbiZmDGo 

And now on to some of the monsters that have peaked my interest in particular. I shall also add videos that I have been watching extensively to study the game play of the creatures more thoroughly. PLEASE NOTE THAT I WATCH GAME PLAY VIDEOS WITHOUT VOLUME SO I CAN CONCENTRATE ON THE MONSTERS BETTER, ALSO, MOST COMMENTARY IS ANNOYING.

 

Gargwa - I love Gargwa as a creature, it's just so endearing the way it waddles about and squawks when scared. I find this works really well as a friendly wildlife creature, as it adds a 'cute' creature without being over-the-top, exaggerated and annoying like a lot of cutesy characters. Though strictly not a Gargwa video, the Zinogre ecology shows what I mean about these flightless birds well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGHbFkuZQp4

Shakalaka -What I like about Shakalaka is the fact that while they are diminutive in size,they pack one hell of a punch with their little swords! I also just really appreciate the sort of over sized carved pumpkin masks that hide their faces, making them seem more menacing, but in a comical way. They add an interesting element to the game, as while the boss monster is thundering about, they can be hacking at your limbs, forcing the player to make a choice of dealing with them and possibly getting stomped by the main monster, or ignoring them and being dealt severe damage over time.

Gendrome and Genprey - Raptors are cool. So giving one large fangs that paralyse the player and jagged head-crests just makes them all the cooler. This is of course an example of a creature based on an already existing (well, now extinct) entity. It works well as the player instantly recognises them as a threat and seeks to avoid/hunt them.

Ioprey - Another of Monster Hunter's 'prey' species.I just love the design of the head on the Ioprey, with the bulging nose-crest and poison gland under the throat. There are normally 3 of each 'prey' species in a game and it works really well as they are instantly recognisable by their colouration, regardless of their similarity in design and movements. Even novice hunters can easily tell the difference between them at a glance; knowing that Genprey cause paralysis, Ioprey cause poison, Giaprey cause ice damage and so on.

Kecha Wacha Subspecies - Kecha Wacha is a great monster, it's just so weird and somewhat comical. What makes it great though, is the fact that it is clearly based off of creatures such as flying squirrels, monkeys and strangely enough, elephants. This really gives it the look of a creature that could actually exist. Another reason I like Kecha Wacha so much is because it's a mammal, as opposed to the plethora of big scaly monsters in the game. I believe it is important to have variety in a game to show off that there is more to the world than one type of creature and the Kecha Wacha is the perfect example of maintaining the style but changing the creature completely. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmvW4ZGALds

Caeserber - What can I say? It's a giant beaver! If that's not enough reason to think it's wonderful, then I don't know what is. But it's creatures like this that are perfect for my idea of monsters in their own habitats, minding their own business. One of the environments you fight Caeserber in is on the river bank of what clearly is a massive beaver dam, which just adds so much authenticity to the monster, making it all the more believable. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64ZWP6pIO2g

Tetsukabura - A giant ferocious toad with tusks and a penchant for crushing boulders in it's jaws to damage hunters from the shrapnel. Tetsukabura is again, a very different creature to most seen in the game. While it is big and scaly, it is amphibious, not reptilian and this creates a whole new way of movement and attacking. Mostly using it's large jaws and tusks, as well as leaping, the creature attacks in exactly the way you would expect it to. This shows a successful creature design in that the player can quickly anticipate what they are up against and what they need to do to defend against it. The rock-crushing attack is a surprise to the player, but not unbelievably so; it's easy to see that that massive maw could happily scoop up boulders and smash them apart. Again, a believable monster due to it's basis on real life creatures. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnMmBk3_qTU&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=8

Barroth - What makes Barroth cool, apart from it's design, is it's ability to roll in mud and provide itself with a sort of armour that it can shake off at players to cover them in mud and slow them down. The other cool part about it is that it has it's nostrils atop it's head in the form of armoured pipes. It uses these like a snorkel so that it can fully submerge itself in mud (apart from the nostrils) and lie in wait for unweary hunters or any other creatures it deems a threat. As expected from it's design, it also lowers it's armoured head and charges at players, causing devastating damage. It is very reminiscent of dinosaurs and is a sort of cross between and ankylosaurus and an allosaurus. Barroth ecology video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX_0dRYFFIs   Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XydYwkPsNn8

Steel Uragaan - Uragaan is an awesome creature, it really is. It's main weapon is that massive armoured lower jaw that it smashes into the ground to stun players and seriously damage them. But that's not what makes it truly awesome. All those flattened spines on it's back allow it to curl up in a ball and roll about. It's so strange seeing such a huge creature being able to do something like that, but it's made believable by the fact that the entire length of it's back, from head to tip of tail, is covered in these ground-down spines and when it's curled up, it isn't distorted in any way, it just tucks it's legs, arms and head in and brings it's tail round to create a wheel shape. It's so inspiring because it's so weird, it's so out there, but it works. Game play video of regular Uragaan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTLWKavMLpc&index=102&list=PLA6lMyUZK0HJdpTk90Xua_LQgBGCfav6T

Deviljho - A massive set of jaws on legs, the Deviljho is a truly terrifying monster that will eat anything, even attacking creatures far beyond it's capabilities. There is nothing that strikes fear into the heart of a hunter when seeing a Deviljho turn up in the middle of a quest, without warning and charging straight for them. Another great monster design, as it does exactly what it's supposed to do and looks fantastic to boot! Clearly based on a sort of large carnivorous dinosaur, like tyrannosaurus rex, it is another very real creature that can be imagined to be wandering around, terrorising everything in their path. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPD5Uu_qT4o&index=87&list=PLA6lMyUZK0HJdpTk90Xua_LQgBGCfav6T

Brachydios -A very interesting and dangerous monster, Brachydios is a strange combination of insect and dinosaur. It also have slimey saliva that explodes when it builds up. It uses it's massive pounding fists and horn coated in this slime to punch and head-butt players, covering them in the volatile material. Brachydios looks awesome, what with the blue shiny carapace similar to that off insects, and the bright green slime coating it's fists and horn, but there's just something about it that doesn't seem natural. There's no particular environment it fits in to properly. It's main habitat is a volcanic region, but it's colouration just doesn't suit that at all, what with the reds and browns of the area clashing with it's blues and greens. This doesn't stop me thinking that it is an awesome creature design, but I just feel it requires a slight palette overall so it fits into the areas it's supposed to live in. This is a good example for me to learn from, as it shows that no matter how cool a creature's design is, it can be made seem unnatural due to it's colouration. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GfSYtWvsLw&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=28

Zinogre - A large wolf-like creature that uses lightning as it's main weapon. There is just something so majestic about Zinogre. It really is a creature that you feel respect for as it just puts across a regal attitude that can turn instantly vicious when provoked. I love the Monster Hunter ecology videos, as they give a glimpse into the creatures acting in their own time, without hunters disturbing them, and the one for the Zinogre just shows how amazing it truly is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGHbFkuZQp4 
What makes that video even more interesting is that the Zinogre seems like quite a slow heavy creature, and yet in game play it is clear that it can be incredibly fast when it wants to be. It shows a lot of contained power and energy. It is clear from it's hulking form that it can hit hard, but it's speed is somewhat unexpected. This manages to make sense to the player by the fact that it draws in energy and uses lightning as a weapon, suggesting that it would indeed be 'lightning-fast'. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X-zZdTXfyk&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=21

Zaboazagiru - Literally a land shark, Zaboazagiru is a shark with legs. What makes it especially cool is that it has 3 'forms'. It has it's basic form of course, but then it has it's armoured form where it is covered in jagged ice as shown above. It's third form is it's most unusual where it expands it's stomach like a balloon and uses it to roll about and crush would-be attackers. What makes the the third form so interesting is that it looks very muscular normally and extra dangerous when covered in ice armour, but it looks rather comical when it makes itself bloated. I have noticed that a lot of monsters in Monster Hunter seem to have obvious abilities and then a surprise move that catches the player off-guard and makes them realise that they're playing a whole different game. It's almost like fighting two completely different monsters and yet it still works as being the one creature. This is an interesting thing to keep in mind when I am designing my own creatures, depending on their purpose of course. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1L-r1bdJuQ&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=14

Ukanlos - Some monsters just need to be blunt and Ukanlos is one of them. So large and powerful, it swims through solid ice, using it's massive shovel chin and jagged stream-line body to churn through the dense material with ease. Ukanlos is perfectly adapted to what it does and is clearly designed in a way that shows this off. This type of monster helps to show that, whilst having a trick up the proverbial sleeve can be useful for a creature, sometimes all it needs is it's main ability to show off it's purpose and power. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqrByybi-xI

Daren Mohran - A giant whale-like monster that only attacks hunting ships that would seek to challenge it. Daren Mohran lives in the desert and swims through the sand with it's massive knife-like nose. I really like this monster as it really is a gentle giant that only attacks when provoked, otherwise it would happily just swim about and mind it's own business. I think it's important to have creatures like this, as not all of them are malicious man-eaters that will attack people on sight and almost makes the player feel bad for being sent to hunt something that isn't really causing any harm. Of course, humans have a way of getting what they want by hammering through and putting nature second, so killing this monstrous creature is no problem to them and put across as 'for the good of the people'. This reminds me of the game 'Shadow of the Colossus', where it really isn't clear if the player is going around slaying monsters because they are dangerous, or just in fact killing innocent creatures for some reason. This is good for perhaps making an environmental point with my work. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebO4yx1mceQ&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=27

Lao Shan Lung - Lao Shan is awesome, because it is literally a mountain dragon; it is the size of a mountain and as such, is incredibly ponderous and not particularly aggressive. The quest to slay Lao Shan is interesting because your goal is to defend a fortress from the rampaging beast, but it turns out the reason it is attacking the fortress is because it is actually running away from another dragon, a proper dragon, Fatalis. Strangely though, Fatalis is far smaller than Lao Shan, but far more ferocious, actively seeking out living things to attack and inevitably kill. What I like about this is that it just goes to show that size isn't everything, so it makes for an interesting point that even such a huge creature could actually be terrified of something. It's even better for the big bad Fatalis, as it really builds up to how horrifying this monster must be if it chased a Lao Shan from it's home. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUjwv5iVO38

Yama Tsukami - Another phenomenally massive monster, this creature is so strange and different to any other creature in the Monster Hunter series that it doesn't have a particular category, though has been placed in with the Elder Dragons simply to give it somewhere to be. Yama Tsukami is like a giant air-filled octopus with four large tentacles and is covered in vegetation and ancient trees that grow all over it's back. It just works so well as a creature design as it is very other-worldly and yet fits into a world like ours perfectly. Another example of extraordinary creatures made believable through simple design choices. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Po8U1ud-fM

  

Yian Kut-Ku -The first true wyvern monster faced in the series, Yian Kut-Ku could be akinned to a big reptilian chicken in both it's appearance and the way it acts. It is a really cool monster for the way in which it is very inquisitive and playful, trying to make itself seem scary by fanning it's large ears and flapping it's wings. It can of course be dangerous, but it's playful nature is somewhat endearing (up until it spits a fireball into your face that is). It's great to see a monster that looks realistic and yet has such cartoony qualities to it. A lot of Kut-Ku's charm is indeed in the way it behaves and makes the player wish that there could be friendly monsters like it that could be ridden for example. This shows me that not all monsters need to be serious and it's worth taking the time to create characters and personalities for the creatures as opposed to making them all stupid killing machines. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdy0bCwihs

Purple Gypceros - If Kut-Ku is the chicken monster of Monster Hunter, then Gypceros is the turkey. It's just the body shape and they way it walks that reminds me so much of a turkey. Gypceros is a cool monster though, as it has an elastic tail, spits poison and, rather surprisingly, the knobbly horn on it's head can be sparked to create a bright flash, dazzling any would-be attackers. It isn't the most dangerous of monsters, but can certainly take out an unwary player. Most of it's attacks are annoying, rather than deadly, and it's the slow build up of these attacks and the player's frustration that could make it a tough fight. Creatures like this are important to test players' cool and still make for a fun fight. I also just really like the design of Gypceros, it just looks great, especially the purple subspecies shown above, where it's natural form is a greyish blue. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXQGTovWtI&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=31

Forokururu - I love this monster because it's so avian in appearance and because of it's bright colour scheme. It's great to see creature designs where they aren't just dingy or bland colours, as so often those darker schemes are used for realism, even though there are a plethora of brightly coloured creatures in our own world. The Forokururu really does resemble a giant tropical bird of prey and for that, I find it inspiring. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04kywiMtvGc

Basarios - Basarios is one of my all time favourite monster in Monster Hunter. I just love it's design and the fact that in game, it's hidden with most of it's body buried underground, only it's rocky, mossy back protruding and you have to find it amongst clusters of similarly shaped and coloured rocks. I guess the only unfeasible thing about Basarios is it's ability to fly, when it's body is so heavy, especially with wings that size. And yet somehow, the wings look great on it and not out of place. There's something so natural about Basarios too, it just looks like it would be so peaceful, slowly wandering around it's environment, eating vegetation and resting most of the time. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaCC8LZfJ5A

Meraginasu - This wyvern has a drill on it's nose and a jack-hammer on it's tail, what is not to like? It is also mostly blind and uses it's massive ears to detect movement. What I like about Meraginasu is that it uses a classic nature colour scheme to imply that it is dangerous; yellow and black. What's more, the colour scheme also ties in with it's horn and tail being similar to human power tools in the way that they work, as often these bits of equipment are coloured in such a way to make them stand out and, again, make it clear they are dangerous. Meraginasu's design makes for a good point however, that inspiration can be taken from technology and in actual fact, almost anything, as opposed to just creature anatomy. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VtWHU-3DtQ

Tigrex - Like Basarios, Tigrex is one of my all time favourite monsters from Monster Hunter. It's just one of those monsters that I love to fight. I think everyone who plays Monster Hunter has a monster that they just gel with. It's an exciting battle against a rampaging beast that pounds towards you, jaws wide open, and just when you think you've dodged it, it's skidded round and coming back for more. It doesn't have any elemental attacks; it can't breath fire or anything, it's just pure brute strength and there's something about that verses a warrior considerably smaller than it, wielding a massive sword that is just so appealing. It's the sort of base-runner for this type of wyvern as well, as there are others that follow in a similar vein, all based on other big cats, such as Nargacuga being a panther-like wyvern and Barioth being an ice element sabre-toothed cat variant on the design. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYSXYyUG8Y&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=24

Hyujikiki - I could only describe Hyujikiki as a hedgehog wyvern. Most of it's attacks are based on it using the spikes that are all over it. It can even curl up in a sort of ball like a hedgehog and unleash a full 360 blast of spines. It also makes for a very interesting fight game play wise, as the more you hurt it, the more dangerous it becomes, it's spines soon being able to induce poison, sleep or paralysis at random. What makes this interesting is that most fights get easier when the monster is about to be killed, as they are tired and fail to perform their attacks to the best of their abilities, but this one is one of the few that actually gets harder. This is good insight for me as it will help me to design my creatures with a more open approach to different styles of how they would interact, should I be creating creatures for games, and utilising the idea of them becoming more deadly when they are threatened. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1HRAllLYws

Chameleos - Chameleos is such a bizarre creature, but then again, so is the creature it is obviously based off of. A chameleon dragon is such a good idea and they've used the real creature's main assets as prominent game play features, such as it's ability to turn invisible and it can use it's incredibly long tongue as a weapon and to steal items from players. I think it really pays to look into the stranger creatures of our world, especially those with extraordinary abilities that might very well influence the creation of an imaginary creature. Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLnnhRlWck

Gore Magala - This is truly an awesome monster! A creature that can easily kill a rampaging tigrex as shown in this cg video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suLCVMK19sI This creature literally oozes death and can actually resurrect monsters brought to near death by infecting them with a deadly virus that, whilst reinvigorating them, also makes them far more aggressive and dangerous. All this is awesome, but my absolute favourite part of Gore Magala is it's wings covered in fur; they look like a long cloak billowing behind it. The way it stalks in combination with this cloak effect and the darkness swirling around it gives it such an air of menace that is just perfect for a monster designed to be so malicious. What's more, this is only the juvenile form . . . Game play video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzxPgQaNb-Y&list=PLVWP6wwen5G98pXKwKKnGTE9UcRuuff_a&index=19

I couldn't possibly put up all the monsters that I like, as there are far too many and I would run out of things to say about them, but from all this I have certainly uncovered some ideas and bits of info that should certainly help me in the creation of my own creatures.

To give you an idea of just how many monsters there are in Monster Hunter, here's an awesome picture with loads of them together:

. . . and that's not even all of them!

Creatures in Games

I have decided to look into creatures in games at this point in time, to expand my research area, though I shall still be updating the previous post once the books I ordered arrive and I have had a good look through them.

As stated before, creatures are very important in a lot of games. Many games, such as Spore and Dark Souls make creatures the primary focus. These sorts of games appeal greatly to me, as they often allow the player to become the creature, using their inhuman abilities to traverse their environment and, often, hunt human characters. There is just something about being able to control something with such abilities that is so enjoyable. An interesting point that I have noticed is that where I would much rather play as a creature, one of my friends, who I often play games and discuss such topics with, would rather play as a human character. This shows to me that it is quite often a good idea to cater to both tastes in game play. The afore-mentioned game, Evolve, does this very well, with 4 vs 1 player combat, the single player taking the role of the creature, the team of four assuming the role of the human hunters. Here is a link to a game play footage video of the player using one of the creatures of the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR-AaNrOC9s

Of course, playable creatures are all very well and good and truly awesome, but what about non-playable creatures? Well, they're just as important when it comes down to it and they all have their separate roles, whichever category you place them in. Often these categories will overlap however, but that just adds extra layers of meaning to their importance.
- enemies 
- wildlife
- hostile
- friendly
- interactive
- non-interactive

So if I were to use an example, the slogs from the Oddworld series (see picture below) are an enemy, they are also incredibly hostile and they are interactive in that they will most definitely try to eat the player.

Oddworld series - Slog

Another example would be the Popo from the game series, Monster Hunter (pictured below). They are friendly wildlife that can turn hostile against the player if they are to antagonise them. They are also interactive of course, as the player can attack them, be hurt by them and carve from their corpses.

Monster Hunter series - Popo

Of course, then there is the interesting case of creatures such as the birds in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. They are wildlife of course, but they are neither friendly, nor hostile. They are non-interactive creatures. What makes them so important is that they add life to the environments. They also make contextual sense, as they are there when the player investigates an alien craft having crashed or landed in woods. Of course, the aliens have no interest in killing simple birds and such wildlife, so it makes perfect sense that they would still be there. Just small things like that adds so much to a game and brings an otherwise 'dead' environment to life.They also provide the player with small scares when they flit across the screen, causing the player to lose concentration on the task at hand.


With all this in mind, it is therefor down to the artists to create creatures great and small; from full on bosses, to background wildlife. Therein lies the challenge artists must face with the conflict between 'rule of cool' and practicality. What i mean by this is that the most successful designs, in my opinion, are those that serve their purpose best. It's all well and good making something really cool, but if it doesn't work game play wise, surely it's not a successful design? Or is that the down to the actual designers to make it work? In the same vein, it wouldn't make sense to make less important creatures anywhere near as cool as the main ones in games. The game Dark Souls, for example, focuses the majority of it's attention on bosses. It wouldn't make sense to have a basic enemy outshine something that the player is supposed to gape at in awe or find terrifying. An example of this below would be two creatures from the same area: a basic enemy, the Basilisk; and the boss, the Gaping Dragon.

Dark Souls - Basilisk

Dark Souls - Gaping Dragon

So where does this put me at this point? This thought process has helped me to see the importance in all creatures, so when it comes to designing whatever it is I end up with this year, I don't just focus on the 'cool' things and spend equal time on the less up-front creatures. I will continue to study the topic of creatures in games and update this post with more information as it arises.

There and Back Again

Somehow time has managed to fly by and plonk me straight into the start of 4th year of Computer Arts. It's been quite a journey up till this point, but this really is the year of years; the big one, the one we've all been waiting for!

When it came to deciding what it was that I wanted to focus on for this year, a couple of things stuck out to me; namely graphic novels and creature design. The graphic novel part gives me a place to bring the creatures I would create truly to life and give them context, whilst giving me the choice of developing my own story or basing it on an already existing idea. Creature design in itself is a huge topic, but perfect for a 4th year project, as it allows so much free reign. I am also quite keen on fitting in album and book covers into the project, as those are avenues I would like to see myself in in the future.

 But of course, the first question I need to ask myself is why creatures? Now, I prefer to work via lists and create a train of thought through that, before rounding it up in a sort of conclusion; it's just the way I feel works best for me, as opposed to mind maps and the like. So, back to the question of why creatures?
- creatures add vibrancy to a world and bring it to 'life'
- many creatures are relatable to our world, making them believable, even if imaginary
- there's an almost complete freedom with design
- creatures find a part in most media: games, books, films, etc.
- creatures are just the most appealing thing to me to want to create and I want to focus my 4th year towards something which means a lot to me and will show my talents off in their best light

The graphic novel part of the project is not set at this point in time, it is just something that I am very interested in (having created my own one for my Advanced Higher Art in 6th year of high school), and gives a platform to place my creatures on. The advantage of the graphic novel idea is that I can use pre-existing stories focusing on creatures so that I can put most of my effort into the design and concepting side of things rather than the story side. This leads me to my next thought, which is that I am interested in folklore and would be keen to study into it and gain a lot more than just my base knowledge as it stands. Folklore often involves creatures of some kind, so in this way, it seems like the perfect way to start, as more often than not, the creatures in folklore are loosely described, leaving much open to interpretation. For example, dragons could be described as reptilian creatures with four limbs and two wings, but other than that are very adaptable to the creator's needs. Further still, dragons can then have off-shoots into the sub-species of wyverns and wyrms etc.

At this point in time I like the thought that one of my end products would be a sort of bestiary, a monster manual if you will. I am very fond of art books and especially books that focus on creatures of course! At this point in time, I think it would be good to look at my inspirations and influences that I have attained over the years, before I delve deeper into the topic I have chosen to research. My main influences for this project include:
- the American artist Terryl Whitlatch
- games such as Monster Hunter, Pokemon and Evolve
- films such as Pacific Rim, Avatar and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,
- books such as the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and the Edge Chronicles series' by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

What I love about creatures in books is that they are left open to the reader's interpretation, just as characters and environments are, and how a creature looks will be different from person to person. For example, The Hungarian Horntail dragon from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has been imagined in two main ways: firstly by the original cover of the book; and secondly by it's rendition in the film. Looking at the two versions, you would never be able to tell they were taken from the same description (although I would complain that the movie version is most definitely a wyvern, not a dragon, which seems to be a common faux pas in films these days).

Hungarian Horntail comparison

So which is better? Well, that depends what you're judging it on: closest to the book description?; technical detail? In both these cases I would have to begrudgingly say the film version is better, but I do have a certain nostalgic attachment to the book version, what with it being one of my favourite books and inspiration for how I first properly got into drawing dragons. Regardless of which is 'better' however, both still have equal value as a rendition of the creature and that is my point; it doesn't matter how the creature looks, as long as it appeals to the audience and shows creativity from the artist.

At this point, I would like to take the opportunity to create my own rendition of the Hungarian Horntail based on it's description:
'It has black scales, and is lizard-like in appearance. It also has yellow eyes, bronze horns and similarly coloured spikes that protrude from its long tail. The dragon's roar is a yowling, screeching scream, and its flame can reach to about fifty feet.'

Hungarian Horntail sketch

I based my Hungarian Horntail design off of actual horned lizards for a more realistic look.

This leads me back in a circle to the interest in folklore I was speaking of, where the creatures have an original description, but have been moulded and altered to fit in with artist's needs for images, films, etc. Every country has it's own folklore revolving around creatures, so this is where the new research comes in. I will start by looking at Wikipedia (though I know it is not a reputable source for quoting in essays, it is never the less useful for finding out information quickly and perhaps leading me to other external sources.), through various folklores that take my interest. To this end, I have ordered a number of books that look into a variety of folklores, so hopefully they will be helpful and fruitful in assisting my project along. In the mean time I shall continue to look for more books and research more into the graphic novel aspect of my project, as well as tutorials from Terryl Whitlatch that look as though they will be really insightful:

http://talesofamalthea.com/