Final Major Project Update – 11/2/20

I have started working on the predator design, who has been named Thymexodon (a combination of different specie names). Initially, I began with silhouettes, and immediately felt this was too static a way to start the process. I moved to my sketchbook, and using references I just started loosely sketching ideas. Mostly heads at first, and then I started studying lion anatomy. I wanted the predator to have a hunter form. I also chose to use beetles and bugs as inspiration. The spiky forms are interesting and aggressive looking.

Once I found a general idea I was happy with, I moved back to photoshop to start narrowing down the best design. I created a few sheets of head designs, filtering the best ones into the next sheet until I found one that felt best. I chose this head because it looks aggressive and has a unique shape.

I started working on iterations of the body, changing the surface detail, silhouettes, and proportion. I made the shoulders and neck very bulky to match the ramming attack implications of the head structure. I kept the back half of the body lean and agile. I wanted the feet to not too closely resemble cat’s or dog’s paws, so I made them a bit longer and skinnier, and added details like dew claws and webbing. Here’s what I wrote explaining the general anatomy of the Thymexodon:

“The Thymexodon hunts primarily in the forested and wet areas of its habitat. It has webbed toes to aid in paddling through rivers etc. and a chitinous exterior to protect them and harden their attacks. The serrated head piece is made of bone and chitin and can be rammed into larger prey to stun them, hence the large built shoulders and neck. Thymexodon has a jaw with two pieces similar to the long maxillary canines of a Smilodon, which go up the skull above the eyes. The back has a leaner agility-focused anatomy. Thymexodon runs fast and hits hard. Extra dew claws on the front legs allow it to hook its claws into prey that tries to escape. They are also helpful for gripping onto trees when climbing to higher vantage points. The serration on the fore-legs is also useful in this action.”

I aim to render the Thymexodon next and create a material call out page.

Final Major Project Update – 4/2/20

I have now started making progress with the creature design, and have nearly finished the design for the main character’s mount. I started by making a page of silhouettes, using my rule-board as a main point of reference. I wanted a creature that looked strong enough to hold weight and travel for a decent amount of time. Something hardy but not predatory or too low in the food chain either.

After the first batch, I created another set of silhouettes, using the features that worked best from the previous batch. I decided the boar look was quite interesting. I also considered using the proportions of the Sichuan Takin. I also really liked how the fluff/spiky/bushy rear looked. It could be a place where spines are hidden, to poke any large predators that dare try to take a chomp out of it. Or just something to make the creature look bigger.

I started sketching to determine the body shape I wanted, as well as the head/face. After making a few small head sketches, I moved onto Zbrush to really get a good idea of what was going to look good. I sculpted a basic head using my sketch as a reference. After, I had another look, and decided something with more exaggerated features would work better, this time using a boar’s head photo as reference. I made the tusks bigger and made the snout bumpier, and the nostrils bigger, using a horse nose as reference.

That’s all for now, next will be properly determining the body size, shape, and anatomy as well as the harnesses and saddle.