Concept Art Part 6

Here we see an evolution of the creatures main forms, with the distinct shapes becoming more defined. Remembering the Sathanas back from my design research I'm trying to design it so that the creature can be broken up into its big distinct shapes, and that those shapes are easy to read and help to create a distinct silhouette.

I'm pleased with where the design is going, and I feel that in these concepts It has started to take on both the more creepy aspects aswell as the more graceful aspects of the earlier designs.

Although I will need to move onto creating the character in 3D very soon to make sure I have the time.
However first Id like to do a few more sketches and a close up, detailed concept of the creatures head.

Concept Art Part 5

Things just got creepy!
Yes, in these images the design has definitely taken a turn for the darker and more disturbing. Mainly due to the fact that I have been using a lot of references from Dead Space, and one particular image is what inspired the original design. Anyway these were meant to serve as a demonstration of the creatures mouth, and how its head splits open to reveal it. The mouth itself was based on the Gulper Eel, a huge maw that's capable of devouring large prey.

Now I aim to refine this direction a bit more and try to blend it with the more graceful aesthetic of the previous images, as that was kind of the point of the creature. A graceful elegant creature with a hidden, more disturbing, face. Although these concepts have given me ideas for design solutions aswell as successfully giving me a direction for the more creepy aspects to this creature.

I found some new reference going forward, one of which is the Glaucus Atlanticus slug. Its a very beautiful creature and is part of my design reference now aswell for this project.
Also referencing the Fringe Head fish. I do believe they provide some useful solutions for resolving the design of this creature.

Concept Art Part 4

Continuing to evolve the look of the creature, with more garish colours this time.
This piece has helped me to visualise some of the finer points in the design of the creatures head & neck structure. Particularly just how its "hood" wraps around the form. Also nailed down a few other aspects of the design, such as the eyes and how the head & hair flow back into the neck/hood structure. The front of the neck is becoming clearer aswell in this one.

Concept Art Part 3

Two images this time, one of the creatures underwater, illustrating how they should look graceful when in motion. Also, hopefully, showing off the subtle bio-luminescence present within them. Although this is further illustrated in the second image, in which the creatures are washed up on the beach. This is somewhat inaccurate, as these creatures are able to walk on the land.

Concept Art Part 2

New concept figuring out a design for the mouth of the creature. This is a somewhat creepier design as it look like a lot of its flesh is rotting away. However the mouth is a kind of general idea of what I want to go for, although I would like to make it more so that the tentacles are in fact jaws, and the entire creatures head opens up to reveal its mouth.

I do prefer the design of the one on the right, however I feel like the left one has some ideas that are worth exploring, perhaps in sketches. As the arrangement of tentacles is similar to that in sea anemones, so that could be looked at as a viable way for the creature to manoeuvre food into its mouth.

Concept Art Part 1

Concept art, I'm pretty pleased with this as I put what I had learned last semester to better use in order to create this. Functionally though it serves a purpose as it clarifies to me just how certain aspects of the creatures anatomy will work and how they will interact with each other. The most important part to me was figuring out how the "arms" will look and how the four of them will work with the body and the tail. I can also start thinking about the material of the creature itself as-well as the colours it will employ.

I need to create some more concepts however in order to further refine the ideas present in this and also to nail down certain aspects such as the double-face as-well as the skin texture/material.

Designing, Researching and Referencing

At this point I was trying to nail down a clearer design, as well as pulling research and references from different sources.

I like to start by doing side on silhouettes, its a habit picked up from watching the Gnomon masterclass. I feel like particularly for this character, since swimming will be a big part of its design we need to be able to see where about on its body the particular appendages related to this activity are. Its easier to plan the design as a whole from the side.

This are two of the Kaiju from "Pacific Rim", Im using them to reference the way that their skin covers their body and how it folds and stretches across the underlying muscles. Although the skin on my creature I will want to be a lot smoother (akin to a dolphins, for aerodynamic purposes).

Thinking a bit about the locomotion of the creature, I had the initial idea of having flagellum-like appendages that would appear like another set of arms, but instead of fingers have flagella. A way to assist with swimming and manoeuvring underwater.

Diagram of the various configurations of flagella found on bacteria in nature.

Eventually though this morphed into becoming something more like what Slattern has, a sort of series of tentacles/tail-like appendages. I referenced Slattern because he moves in a similar way to how I invision this creature will move, a kind-of dolphin kick.

So here we can see how I'm trying to make the design look sleeker and more graceful than it was previously, aswell as thinking about how it would mechanically work.

Also thinking about how he looks from the front, a lot of design issues were resolved around about this stage, mainly how to make him look graceful as-well as retaining a sense of purpose for the design. I wasnt really fond of the tail that echoes a kind of shawl or cape in this image.

And so I had a further look at how to solve this issue and I decided on a combinat

So here I started trying to practice drawing a more slender body for him, trying to find a more graceful look. I also started experimenting with the idea of the skin that forms his tail be somewhat of a membrane between his arms as-well, akin to how a bat's wing works.

 

Really starting to play more with this idea here, I kept going back to references like Manta-Rays as they have shapes that could support the sort of silhouettes that this would form. However I wasn't too happy with where it was going at this stage. As the main issue was that the second set of arms would always get in the way of the membrane when the first set was raised in front of the creature.

This is where I feel like I solved it, by having the folds attached to both sets of arms, and removing the flagella on the second set. So that the creature has these arms that dont quite have a membrane between them but this area of skin that, when he is swimming can be folded around his body to create a sleeker more aerodynamic shape.

A more in depth look at how the arms would look and how they would work, just trying to clarify it to myself. From this point onwards I want to take things into Photoshop and starting painting up better concept images of the creature, aswell as thinking about colours and materials.

I remembered this guy after I had thought up the design for the wings, a "Precursor" from Pacific Rim. The way his arms work with the flaps of skin is sort of what I am aiming for.