Furry creature design

After another round at trying to clarify the bandit design, it still wasn’t visually clear what the character is about. I’ll not post those attempts. After that, I think I started to avoid designing the bandit, and instead went on to design the hounds that inhibited the same environment as the bandit, some of which were kept by the bandits for reasons. I even designed the vegetation and the hound’s prey… all to avoid the painful character design, like I would avoid the pumps and fall back to the familiarity of treadmill for days after a painful training session on the pumps. … not that I’ve been back to the gym, just a good metaphor. I’ll have to decide soon on fur shape and color. I don’t know if this is good, running away from something hard to do to something more familiar. Not that this creature design was a walk in a park. It took days, and I had great trouble twisting it from profile to 3/4 view. It’s much easier to design a creature in profile, but I need to learn much more anatomy to confidently design a full creature.

Thumbnailing – the long struggle

Brief: Near-future sci-fi biker bandits in polar environment who robs transport vehicles with swift hit-and-run tactics. They don’t cross the line from robbery to murder. They name themselves Hail Hounds.

Struggle with fast and numerous thumbnails:

I struggle a lot to make thumbnails. I keep trying to do more faster – say, 20 in 2 hours – and I can’t. One method I’ve been trying since last year is quick, shape-based thumbnails. Here I’m using marker on paper. I would start, then I would quickly fall back to old, safe, slow habit of line drawing so I can see what I’m putting down. This collection of 30 thumbnails took me a total of 5 sittings across 5 days:

• #1-10 took a day.
• #11-14 (I think) took a day.
• #15-24 took a day.
• #28-29, +25 took ~ 5 hours.
• #30 took ~2.5 hours.

I don’t usually do character design. I’ve not done sci-fi either. I would research every time I do a thumbnail, and again every time I revise the aesthetic theme. Confusion while in unfamiliar territories sucks… Each time I make shape-based thumbnails, I had no idea what it is, and all the shapes come out generic humanoid with random lumps here and there, looking like cartoonish clones of Master Chief. Each time I revert back to archaeologically scraping an idea out with pencil lines, I end up with 3 thumbnails after 4 hours that may or may not convey the correct feel for this character.  Current problem is, shape-based thumbnailing makes me very insecure when I can’t see what is in those blobs, because I don’t see it in my head to begin with. However, line-based thumbnailing makes me noodle one drawing far too long, and end up with hodge-podge of many little ideas cluttered onto one humanoid armature that rarely convey a clear theme from each drawing. Both together creates a third problem where I feel like I’m not expressing my aesthetic themes clearly, and I’m also not exploring enough variety in my designs. I’m not sure how to break through this choke point that’s been bothering me since last year, and a choke point I believe I need to break through to improve as a concept designer.

Struggle with clear, good design:

At the beginning I had cowboy and western looks mixed in with the outlaw and biker looks, but that was too much of a mix. Currently it’s simplified to just sci-fi biker bandits. Their setting is the dark, frozen regions on Duality-52, where they leech off the clean water (ice) trade some American corporation is monopolizing. A lot of struggle right now is in how to visually convey all that, especially the “polar outlaw who don’t kill” part.

Staying on track:

I started planning and doing characters because of several portfolio feedback I received encouraging me to branch out from just having creatures in my portfolio, and create more assets that look like they can already belong to existing game titles or studio aesthetics. Now that I’ve stopped bending over the thumbnails and took a step back, I’m worried how well any of these thumbnails match what’s already out there.

 

 

Thumbnail practice – 10

This is from last night! Hahaha 😀 Right after sketching yesterday’s practice I bolted right off to the toilette, then plopped down on the bed. So it gets posted today. The reference last night was an American, 3-tong plug converter, can you tell?

Thumbnail Practice – 09

This is… yesterday’s, since it’s past mid night now. The day before didn’t turn out much, because I gave up half way.

Thumbnail Practice – day 7

Today dragged on a bit just under 2 hours. Reference was a very small pumpkin with skin blemish. I’ve been feeling under the weather the whole day, and couldn’t think of much ideas. I think this is good practice but I’m still having trouble doing just small, 2″ fast shapes, as thumbnails seem to supposed to be.

Also, my good friends gave me a tiny mouse skeleton they found in the wall while renovating their house. The skull was very much in tact, as well as the spine, and femurs. So I took it easy today and sketched the mouse skull.

Thumbnail Practice – Told You So…

I didn’t restrict to 1 hour and stream today, or think analytically about the reference I picked. Result? This 1-page exercise dragged on for nearly 3 hours, and completely defeating its purpose. I was strung between falling asleep in this chair, and thoughtlessly scribbling on the page. Towards the very end I started to think about the design while or just before putting the pen on paper. Had this been in Photoshop, however, I would’ve erased countless times and ended up with 1 sketch…

The reference today was a … black, sharp, devil’s thorn like nut thing my girlfriend and I picked up on one of our hiking trips to Sunken Meadows in Long Island.

Thumbnail Practice – Start!

I want to get better at making inspiring concept designs – focusing on creatures and monster now. I’ve no idea how to get better at making cooler stuff though. Right now I’m trying to get used to regularly putting out ideas in thumbnail form – a practice previously never done and much feared here.

What’s happening with these practice is that I’ll pick 1 reference or inspiration source – a photo or an object – and just squeeze out designs based on that 1 thing. To give this practice more focus than that, I figured I might as well make all these thumbnails related to the world of Duality-52, in this nice, cheap, fresh sketchbook (it was an excuse to break open a new sketchbook….). The exercise is restricted to 1 hour only, and will be streamed on sywork.tv to make sure I stay in line.

So here are kelp thumbs for the Kelp Forest from Day 1 and 2, followed by Day 3 – today – which is a Black Prairie inhabitant. All these names are kind of temporarily thrown out there so I can name and categorize things. I probably should have a proper discussion about naming things with Johanna, in case she wants to call it Miso Maze and Meadow of Hell or something, haha! 😀

Also been practicing how to sculpt thing in 3D Coat while free trial lasts. The results so far, however, are ….. premature for sunlight. *cough*

Duality-52: Fungal Thrall

These little rodents live in the Fungal Forest along side the Queen’s Hat. However, instead of a symbiosis, the Fungal Thrall is completely taken over by the parasitic fungi. The fungi colony takes over parts of the rodent, and maintains the body so the host often ends up “living” longer than its natural lifespan, with no will of its own. When the host body finally breaks down enough to become immobile, the fungi colony will sense this, and morphs into hibernation mode. When a new, suitable host comes near and triggers the hibernating colony, it’ll spring back to life, infecting any suitable hosts within range.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship. ​

Duality-52: Plains Hunter

A fast runner and a tireless hunter on the dark purple grass plains towards the shadowy side of Duality’s Goldilocks zone. They live along side the Red-Eye Drake, which they also prey upon if they can catch one alone. The Plains Hunter have a powerful crunching bite that can crack any shell. They sometimes do put their bodies flat down beneath the top of the tall, purple grass to hide. They are the last thing you want to encounter on the plains.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.

Duality-52: Gardener Crab

These large crabs-like creatures is another example of a symbiosis way of life that seems common on Duality. These prowlers are roughly cow-size, but appearing taller with their lumpy shell, which grows taller than a human. They roam the Kelp Forest, nibbling away at young kelp that hasn’t grown out of their reach yet. Their rocky shell catches kelp seeds, and becomes carrier of those seeds and seedlings, along with other hitch-rider. They don’t seem to like humans, and would charge and knock people down with their horn if they feel their “personal space” is being invaded, and yet they seem to keep truce with the giants of the Kelp Forest – Rupprovka’s Moby – and can be seen grazing nearby each other.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship. 1200

Duality-52 : Red-Eyed Drake

This large lizard is comparable in size to a wild hare. They open the skin flaps around their neck to reveal vivid red shapes, and wiggle the bright yellow “whiskers” under their jaw to signal warning and aggression. They have a nasty bite, and chirp before actually lunging at their target.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.

Duality-52 : Ruprokva’s Moby

These brilliantly rainbow colored kelp eaters towers over the rest of the fauna in the valleys of Duality-52. They get the top picks of the crop, and their size gives them protection from most dangers. They seems mindful of the little creatures on the ground, as they are often seen taking literal steps to go around the small human explorers in their direct path to avoid trampling the people. Their first discoverer named them after, and for, her literature-loving wife.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.

Duality-52 : Kelp Stalker

They found the dead scout first, crushed and punctured, then the Kelp Stalker found them – a group of camping prospector who saw profit in the dense forest of floating kelp in the valleys of Duality-52. After a few more injuries, the group escaped with their lives, lost another friend in the hospital, before returning to the Kelp Forest – to hunt.

​Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.

Duality-52 : Longhorn Scuttle Stad

The aptly named Longhorn Scuttle Stad hails far, far away from both Texas and Spain. It’s about the size of a medium horse, and has a mild enough temperament that some bored or dared homesteader on Duality-52 eventually strapped a saddle to its back, and rode it. Ever since then, these long-suffering jumbo shrimps have had their unicorn horn sawed off to accommodate many riders of many temperaments. They might spit mightily in your face a mucus that does not wash off. It is nick named “The Spitting Shrimp”.

Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.

Duality-52 : Queen’s Hat

Named first by a British explorer. According to her, the large, flourishing fungi fruiting bodies that always accompanied this species resembled the outstanding hats always worn by one of her nation’s past monarchs. The fungi and the creature lives in some kind of symbiosis and one cannot survive without the other for long. This mild-mannered grazer usually grow up to be the size of a cattle, with its mushroom bloom reaching a wide variety of height and width.

Duality-52 is a world-building project being developed by the very skilled and art-loving Johanna Rupprecht, and yours truly. Duality-52 is a fictional alien planet that is tidal locked, and these are the creatures that live within its habitable band zone.

This is an assignment done for Anthony Jone’s Robotpencil Mentorship.