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.