Dissertation Plan

This will be a brief post outlining the topics within the dissertation and attempting to fill in sections so as to make it easier when it comes to actually writing it.

Title


Abstract

Creatures are rife within the mythology and folklore of all cultures throughout history, and remain a prevalent area of interest within modern media. Though modernised creatures may not directly link to those within mythology and folklore, their very existence is due to such tales and it is therefore important to recognise the deep roots that permeate the culture of creature design. This project looks at these roots and aims to provide a practical response to the modern media that has arisen from them.

Introduction

• what is the project about? 

           - key questions/statements
              - interpretation of existing ideas is a key part of creature design within modern media. How does mythology play a part in this and to what extent is it utilised?
              - how do mythologies affect the methods used in creating media?

• aims (what do you want to achieve?)

           - more in-depth knowledge of real-world animal anatomy and how it can be applied to fictional designs; focusing in particular on creatures that can attain flight.
           - a greater understanding of the relationship between mythological and modern creatures; aiming, in turn, to better appreciate all designs, no matter how far they may stray from the original source of inspiration.

• objectives (how are you going to achieve the aims?)

           - extensive research into animal anatomy, utilising as many sources as possible.
           - research into methods used by practitioners within the field of creature design when applying real-world anatomy to fictional designs.
           - explore mythology as a concept and study examples of creature designs, both successful and unsuccessful, that stick to their origins, as well as those that diverge. 

Literature/Contextual Review

• the importance of mythologies

           - what is a mythology?
           - wine mythology
           - why is this important to the project?

• mythology within creature design

            - 3 states of creature design in regards to mythology

1 - straight interpretation of creatures from mythology
      - attempt to stay true to the established lore
      - modernised take on established lore
        - key example: dragons
           - sources with modernised takes: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Pokemon
           - sources with traditional takes: Dragonheart, How to Train Your Dragon (Toothless),
                                                           Spirited Away (Haku)
      - what do modern innovative designs mean for an artist and the fate of tradition?

2 - creatures inspired by, but not directly linked to those from mythology
         - Evolve (Kraken), Monster Hunter (Zinogre), Dark Souls (Basilisk)
      - when innovation pays respect to tradition, whilst having an emphasis on innovative design. 

3 - creatures almost entirely unrelated to mythology
      - Giger's Alien (most alien creatures in general)

            - interpretation of literature
               - Creatures with little description: Lord of the Rings (Balrog)
               - Creatures with plenty of description: Artemis Fowl (Troll)
               - relates back to artistic licence - audience expectation (understood but not explored) 
      
            - why is all this important to the project? 

• mythology within technology

            - books vs phones/tablets etc.
            - traditional methods vs digital

Methodology

• traditional methods

            - pencil sketches
            - copic markers
            - research gathered from books and first hand

• digital methods

            - scanning images
            - using Photoshop as an aid to plan tone in an image
            - enhancing, cleaning up images in Photoshop

• results of methods combined

            - final book, traditional format, created digitally

Evaluation

• reflecting on the research outcomes of the project

• reflecting on the practical outcomes of the project

• if the project were to continue . . .

Conclusion

Progress Presentation 4

I recently had my fourth and final non-graded presentation in which I was able to discuss how far my project had advanced thanks to the breakthrough that I had had. As with the other three non-graded presentations, I shall go over the slides, what I talked about and conclude with a reflection on the experience and the feedback gained from it.



I began by introducing the new working title that I have currently developed, 'a modern look at the adaptation and interpretation of creatures derived from mythology and folklore' (still an absolute mouthful, I will need to change/shorten this).

I went on to explain about the breakthrough I had had; discussing how mythology had been circling around my project, always there but never in the limelight, until it suddenly clicked that it was the absolute crux of my entire project. I explained my theory of how modern imaginary creatures derive from mythology and read out the vision statement I had created for the project; as shown in the image below and discussed in a previous post.

Feeling good that I had explained my breakthrough well, I then went on to discuss the feedback I had been given at presentation three and how I had improved upon that. The last time I was told that there was concern my work didn't include enough digital process, so I explained how I had been using digital methods to assist the traditional ones; seeing it as an indispensable aid. I showed the images below, explaining the process of using Photoshop to create tonal versions of the images that would make using the markers in the project easier. I also discussed the use of Photoshop to clean up and enhance images.

Moving on from this, I went on to explain about my plans for the final outcome of the project; the art book, and what its contents are intended to become. As seen in the image below, I layed out the contents in bulletpoints so as to be quick to read for both myself and the lecturers present. I also included a quick sketched image of what the layout of the pages might be like, just to give them a visual clue as to what I'd be aiming for.

With the overview of the main 'goings on' explained, I could move on to discussing the content I had been creating. Here I talked about 'Evolve' and the fact I was creating my own creature, just as a reminder from the last presentation. I went on to discuss the problems I have been having with my scanner issues; explaining that I can't get it to replicate the original image and its colours.

Continuing on, I said that if they had any ideas as to how to fix this issue, I would very much appreciate getting that in the questions once I had finished presenting. Here I also showed the final Shepherd image I have created, in its pre-coloured state.

Moving into the newer territory now, I began by discussing the notion of realistic Pokemon and showed what I had been working on so far with them. I explained that I had chosen dragon types in particular and that I would come to discuss the reason for this soon. As can be seen in the slides below, the cartoon sprites are the original designs, placed alongside my own sketches. Only now do I realise that I have two of the same sketch of Axew in the top right . . . oops . . .

Continuing on, I said how my aim when designing these Pokemon is to follow the background/lore that they each have. I gave the example of the Deino evolutionary line on the left hand side of the image below, explaining how dark it is with a creature that is completely blind and only lives to eat and destroy.

In my second to last slide, as shown below, I explained as to why dragons had cropped up so frequently in my project. I discussed the fact that they are an intrinsic part of mythology and modern media and that I am interested in the comparison between the 'classic' dragon aesthetic and the moden interpretation. To add to this, I noted that one of my project goals is to be diverse in design. I then condenced the big text schpeel that I had placed at the bottom of the image below, which essentially describes how an artist can design a creature in any way they wish and define it as any sort of creature they deem it to be. Using Pokemon as an example, I made a point in that Goomy is a dragon, whilst Charizard is not, even though their appearances would suggest otherwise. I went on to say that I believe that as longas the classic archetypes are respected and learned from, there is no lasting damage in creating new and innovative designs.

My final slide has the cutest wee motivational potato on it ever. I don't know about anyone else, but it makes me feel better!

And so onto the feedback at last. The lecturers seemed happy with what I am working towards and they're glad I have found a solid new direction for my work that still stays on more or less the same path as before, just a far clearer one. Unfortunately they didn't have any suggestions for my scanner problem, so at the moment I am still in the dark about this (not true anymore! see blog post on scanner issues). Discussing my final book, they showed some concern about the amount I was giving myself to do in the time that is left to us. Though I feel skeptical about the advice to cut down, I know deep down that they probably will be right. Some might say that I'm just too stubborn to actually admit that at the moment! This was the last presentation before the final assessed one in May. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm sure I can manage it; after all, I have a tiny potato that believes in me!

Scanning Issue - Now resolved!

A problem seems to have arisen with which I cannot find a solution for; a rather worrying situation I must say!

So, I bought a new all-in-one printer/scanner as my old one was giving me serious jib and I was fed up with it. Now I have come up against a new and possibly worse problem!

A major part of my process is to scan in images that I have coloured using my Copic markers, but I have come across the irritating issue that my scanner won't pick up certain colours; namely a pale blue that I am partial to using. Shown below is the key example I am talking about and the main culprit on top right with the pale creature concept which should have an overall blue tinge, but is majoritally white.

Hopefully I will be able to find a soultion to this problem, otherwise I feel I'm rather scuppered! Stressful indeed . . .


UPDATE!
So I bought a flat-bed scanner with the recommendation from professional artist Adrian Smith that that is how he gets his images into digital format. A sound recommendation indeed, as I have rescanned the aforementioned offending images and they've come out perfectly. There was something incredibly satisfying about how well it works, can't even describe the sense of relief I feel that this works.

  
So huzzah! But it isn't exactly time to celebrate yet, we have a long ways to go yet!

Dragons . . . again.

So, after deciding that mythology and folklore would be the crux of my project, I looked back over my work and what I was planning to do and found that dragons played a prominent feature throughout in one way or another. Now, I don't want all my final outcomes to be dragons, otherwise it wouldn't show a range of creatures as I intended, however, dragons are so important to mythology and folklore that I feel making them a main focal point will give the project some more direction and aid the dissertation. Thus, I have written out a chunk of thoughts and ideas that will be used, though probably somewhat reworded, based on the reasoning for choosing dragons as a key area in the project.


Why Dragons?

Dragons are an intrinsic part of mythology and folklore, as well as being addressed often within modern media. As such a distinctive creature, it is interesting to see the way in which media represents them, in particular those that stray from the 'classic' aesthetics that are so well known to many of us. There are a multitude of films, games, television series etc. that have dragons play a key role and so there is a wide variety of designs and artistic choices to contrast and compare. This is important, as it will help the practical side of the project to be innovative and hopefully push designs further so as not to get caught in the cliche archetype aesthetic of dragons. Two examples are shown below: the left is a Western dragon; the right is an Eastern dragon.

Western Dragon (Left); Eastern Dragon (Right)

Through visual research, a set of criteria has been decided upon to determine if a dragon's design diverges from the 'classic' Western aesthetic and, if so, by how much. This has been done by cross-referencing multiple sources, that have enabled a body of qualitative data to be formed. These sources focus mainly on classical pieces such as religious paintings and heraldry, but also looks at modern media for examples that coincide with the determined aesthetic. The dragon designs that diverge from the determined criteria are particularly important to the project, as they help to show an artist's vision, as well as creativity and being unafraid to explore new avenues; challenging the status quo.


Pokemon in particular shows this challenging attitude that the project seeks and as such, is a prominent reference point, especially when it comes to the practical side of the project. Being in an anime style, it is of course somewhat a given that the designs will not be of the standard Western dragon aesthetic, however, Pokemon takes this further by creating creatures denoted as 'dragon-types', though they bear very little resemblance to any kind of established dragon design at all. To give an example of this, the Pokemon 'Goomy' (pictured below left) resembles little more than a slimy, pink, spherical, slug-like creature. 'Goomy' does however eventually evolve into 'Goodra' (pictured below right), which looks far more like a dragon, but still maintains the slimy pink aesthetic that 'Goomy' originally exhibited. This example is key to the project and it's philosophies: to be diverse in designs; seeking to make a distinctive mark within the area of creature design; and to put forward the case that the artist has the final say in what a creature is because they created it, brought it to life, not the viewer. 

Goomy (Left); Goodra (Right)

In a way, this creates a new mythology behind dragons, and all creature design when it comes down to it. It implies that imaginary creatures can be designed in any way seen fit by the creator; no matter the style, the tone or even the skill, all creature designs should be accepted. It is a mythology that revolves around breaking the rules, looking outside the box and questioning the need for things to be so restricted. If the Pokemon 'Goomy' can be defined as a dragon, why should any design not be defined as such, as long as the artist has a clear vision and good intentions. That is not to say that the archetypes of any creature design should not be noted, appreciated, respected even; no, instead they should be studied, used and dissected to create new, innovative designs that show passion, creativity and love. 

Realistic Pokemon: Combining Digital with Traditional Methods

I have decided that as part of the project, I would like to look at designs that challenge the normal pre-conceptions of how a creature would look. This notion has come about from looking at Pokemon, with its stylish designs and interesting categorising choices. I have been inspired by the likes of artists who create realistic Pokemon, such as R.J. Palmer and Jamie Flack, for some time now. Below are examples of the respective works of the two artists.

I have decided that I would like to take forward a number of the dragon-type Pokemon to which I can attempt to apply real world anatomy and add to the growing trend that is realistic Pokemon. It is also an intention to not look at or study the works of the aforementioned artists whilst creating the designs for this project, lest their designs heavily influence or even be copied to some extent in the concepts being produced.


I created a list of dragon-type Pokemon that I might see to fully realising. I have two groups currently that I have been working on; the first group features Axew, its secondary evolution Haxorus and Bagon. Below are the initial sketches as well as pieces done using Copic markers and one that I have taken into the digital realm and used Photoshop to attempt to enhance it.

Axew original design taken from Pokemon

Fraxure original design taken from Pokemon

Bagon original design taken from Pokemon

Axew and Fraxure sketched concepts

Fraxure and Haxorus sketched and rendered concepts

Axew revised concepts

Bagon sketched and rendered concepts

The concept of Bagon above was taken into Photoshop to try different techniques on it to hopefully improve it further than where it stands with just the Copic markers alone. As shown below, a background has been added to give more of a sense of environment. The aim was to create a sort of icy tundra with the wind swirling snow around and the pale sun gleaming through the gloom. Bagon itself also has had areas darkened and other parts lightened to help up the contrast in colour. I think the outcome is alright, but I have so much to learn when it comes to the digital realm; it's hard to know when to stop with an image before it becomes a case of muddying around and not improving it in any way.

Bagon concept taken into Photoshop

Conflict scene and further Axew concepts

Bagon anatomy concepts

I decided to create a small sketched conflict between the fully evolved form of Axew, Haxorus, and the fully evolved form of Bagon, Salamence. This was just for a bit of fun rather than to take the ideas forward.

Conflict between fully grown Salamence and Haxorus

The next set of dragon-type Pokemon features Deino, Zweiolous, Hydreigon and Dragonite. I have chosen the Deino evolutionary line for its dark lore and interesting designs, whilst Dragonite was specifically chosen to create an opposing force; a typical good versus evil scenario. Using reference, Deino’s design was based off of a rhino; the better to give it real world anatomy and ground it in the eyes of the viewer to being a believable creature. As with the first set of dragons, this set too began with rough concepts, but also features the use of Photoshop to create tonal images to make it easier when it comes to rendering pieces using the Copic markers.

Deino original design taken from Pokemon

Zweilous original design taken from Pokemon

Hydreigon original design taken from Pokemon

Dragonite original design taken from Pokemon

Deino sketched concept

Deino sketched concepts

Taking the bottom Deino concept shown above, I scanned it in and opened it in Photoshop with the aim of creating a grey-scale tonal piece that could potentially be used to aid when colouring in with the markers. This is because it can sometimes be difficult to know exactly where to place the colours and how dark to make them in certain areas. With a reference like this, the process becomes a lot simpler as the base work has been done for me. 

Deino tonal piece using Photoshop

Zweilous sketched concepts

As with the Deino image, so too did the two Zweilous concepts shown above recieve the same tonal treatment.

Zweilous tonal piece using Photoshop

Zweilous tonal piece using Photoshop

Hydreigon sketched concept

This Hydreigon sketch too was given a tonal version. This also helped balance out which parts of the form would be light and dark, regardless of the actual light and shadows cast upon and by it. As can be seen, it was my intention to make the feathers dark, following in suit of the original anime design.

Hydreigon tonal piece using Photoshop

Hydreigon rendered piece using Copic markers

Dragonite sketched concepts

A Break-through Of Sorts

Though the idea of mythology and folklore has danced around my project without having gone into much depth with it, I have suddenly realised that it is the key lynch-pin for the whole thing! When it comes down to it, all modern imaginary creatures are decended in one way or another from those monsters of old.

To this end, I have come up with a new project title that is still a bit of a work in progress, but never the less is closer than ever to what I've been scrambling around in the dark for:

The adaptation and interpretation of creatures through mythology and folklore.

Now, I might want to re-phrase that to talk more about the fact that I'm looking at modern creatures more, with a historical basis in mythology and folklore. I have also come up with a sort of vision statement too, one that could act as the starting point for the abstract of my project:

Creatures are rife within the mythology and folklore of all cultures throughout history, and remain prevalant within modern media as a tool for story telling. Though modernised creatures may not directly link to those within mythology and folklore, their very existance is due to such tales and it is therefor important to recognise the deep roots that permeate the culture of the creature. This project looks at these roots and provides a practical response to the modern media that has arisen from them.

I'm really pleased with that short paragraph there, as I feel it does sum up exactly what it is I want to talk about within my project and dissertation. Now, I've been reading a lot of the book 'Imaginary Animals - The Monstrous, the Wondrous and the Human by Boria Sax and it has given me a lot of things to think about and delves deeply into the history part of the project that I want to carry out. From my reading, I have created a sort of diagram that should help show and explain everything that my project will look at and explore:

As you can see, down the left and middle paths, I show the research that I will/have conduct(ed), showing the origins of imaginary creatures and discussing their existance in modern media. The right hand path shows the practical responses that I have been/will be working on. As you can see, the practical works all link in well with the lynch-pin of the project that is the mythology and folklore. Going way back to when I was dessigning dragons from Harry Potter, I believe that I want to return to this and look into it far more heavily, making it a crucial part of the project. I will be looking at dragons and how modern media represents them, taking a step away from personal qualms over dragons/wyverns/wyrms and simply looking at the newer innovative designs that we see through games, films and television. It will be good to compare and contrast the modern looking designs with those that aim to keep the traditional 'dragon' look. This will be a good opportunity to discuss things like Smaug from the Hobbit and the dragons in games like Monster Hunter, Skyrim and even Pokemon. Through this, I will be able to bring forward my practical responses of the Harry Potter dragons, but perhaps be more adventurous with the designs this time, mixing and matching between the 'true dragon' image and more modern concepts. I would also like to create realistic versions of some of the dragon type Pokemon, as many of those are highly stylised and do not resemble a 'normal' dragon at all. 

Also! Looking into the Warhammer universe, there are many creatures featured there that are taken directly from mythology and folklore, such as unicorns, dragons, chimeras, manticores etc., but also unique races and creatures, so it will be interesting to take these images from the world and design them in my own style, but stay in-keeping with the IP as given by Games Workshop.

So! Plenty to think about and get on with, but it looks like I'm much more on track now after that break-through, and what's more, dragons are back on the menu! I don't think I'll ever truly stop drawing them . . .  

Progress Presentation 3

I had my third progress presentation on February 5th, been meaning to document it for a while now but have finally got round to it. So as with the others, I shall go through my slides, followed by a review of the feedback I got from it.

I began with the usual brief intro to my project and then advanced upon this by discussing what I had been up to since the previous presentation. I explained how I had felt like the theoretical research was hampering me a lot and I had moved on to using practical research instead. I went on to describe the practical research process that I was undertaking: deconstructing key media examples from which I could gain qualitative data and then create a practical response based on the data gathered. I also explained that my main focus of this practical research had so far been on the game 'Evolve', but there were other avenues I wished to go down as part of my research (adaptation and interpretation in mythology and folklore and seeking an artistic style through looking at the IP of the company Games Workshop, Warhammer.

From there I delved deeper into my practical research and began this by describing my main focus, 'Evolve', assuming that my audience didn't know what the game was; I figured it would be safer this way, rather than not explaining things and running the risk of unnecessary confusion. My explanation of the game is more or less written on the slide below, so you can just read it off of that. Mind you, if you've been upkeeping with my blog, you'll know all about 'Evolve' anyway!

I was then able to go into the practical research I had conducted, starting with the deconstruction of the monsters from 'Evolve'. I explained that I had based a monster's success or failure on: the correlation between it's appearance and it's abilities; and if it was clear the role it played just through it's appearance. As you can see from the slide below, I gave each of the monsters a rating based on the criteria I had set out.

From the monster ratings, I was able to go on to expand further on my qualitative data that I gathered and sum up what, to me and according to my criteria, made for a successful/unsuccessful design in relation to the monsters' purpose in 'Evolve'. The data is shown in the slide below, so I won't bother typing it out again as it can be read from there.

With the qualitative data explained, I moved on to discussing my practical response to what I had found out: the Shepherd. The Shepherd was to be my monster creation, seeking to create a monster that would not only fit in with the other monsters style-wise, but also manage to tick all the right boxes and be a successful design. My description of the Shepherd and his abilities are on the slide below, so read there for the lo-down.

From the description to the actual practical work, I walked through my process of designing the Shepherd, starting with the silhouettes I had produced. Here I also explained that I like working with such a technique as it means it's very easy to distinguish which designs are working from those that are not.

From the silhouettes, I went on to explain the woes I had had trying to find images of the Carrion Birds from 'Evolve', instead having to resort to watching videos of people playing as the monster to take screenshots whenever they were on screen. From these shots I was then able to sketch out what I believed them to look like and with this information I could design the Shepherd in more detail.

My final slide on discussing the Shepherd shows the sketched designs I created based on the silhouettes I had done, as well as the Carrion Bird research to help influence them. I explained that each monster in 'Evolve' was part simian, part animal and I wanted to reflect this through my own designs. I went on to say that I had a particular preference for the designs on the right, but there were parts of the left hand designs that I was rather fond of and would be taking forward into my final designs.

Last, but not least, my very final slide discussed what my plans were with regards to continuing the project. All the information is, again, on the image below, so it can just be read from there. It;s interesting looking back at this list now and realising that I have indeed been working on these things. I have neglected the mythology and folklore section however, so this is something I would like to rectify and feel that I will be able to tie in with both the Games Workshop portfolio and looking way back at the designing of the dragons from the world of Harry Potter.

Reflection time! The feedback I received from the lecturers present at the presentation was, in general, very positive. My process of practical research was complimented, as was the practical work I had done. A couple of things I was given to think about were that my work might not include enough digital content as it stands; this I countered with explaining that my process would involve digital images and finalising traditional pieces by touching them up in Photoshop would be the end result. Another slight issue was the language that was being used, in that I should learn the more appropriate terminology for methods etc. to better communicate to my audience as to what it is I am aiming to achieve. This I feel I can mitigate by the fact that I will be spending plenty of time working out the creases of my wording in both my dissertation and my final presentation, so will be able to use the correct terminology there when it is most crucial. All in all, another successful presentation I feel and one that has given me a few things to ponder. Reflecting over it has also been useful in helping me clarify ideas in my head as to where I am going with the project. One more presentation before the final one, so hopefully i should have a decent amount of progression to show between this presentation and that one.