Progression walk through and creature design...

Werewolf (Halloween special) progression.

As it was Halloween weekend i produced a Werewolf portrait (which i will be creating a body for :p) so i thought I'd show you guys basically how i did it and how my work tends to be unfolding at the moment. A few weeks ago i was introduced to silhouetting out creature shapes, grey scaling in light rendering and finally working in colour using either a 'color' or 'overlay' layer. This so far is working great for me as i am able to figure out light and dark values easier than working out which is the correct colour tone, it is opening my eyes to shapes i 'accidently' stumble upon generating randomised creature silhouette's and most importantly i have discovered this method is a lot quicker!

Good news all round! I strongly recommend using dark silhouettes when trying to discover a new creature design to develop. I also advise flipping the canvas horizontally to view the imagery from both angles helping your eye not to get lazy and spot potential rendering mistakes.

After several kills during the moon lit hours this creature finds itself feeding upon decaying flesh of its victims for days afterwards (if other scavengers haven't beaten him to it) leading to the harbouring of bacteria within the saliva which acts as a poison or venom when delivering a deadly bite to prey. Some can die from what wouldn't usually be considered as a lethal bite due to the harmful levels of bacteria... This creature relies on this to feed its hunger during the day time, replenishing its energy ready for the following nights rampage.

Wolf by day, crazed Werewolf by night... All creatures fear the Werewolf. 

Crowned Ray creature design.

Continuing with the silhouette method i; Selected, Developed and Finalised another creature design. Based around a Manta Ray and a Cat Fish with a head piece twist i named this guy the Crowned Ray... 

However this 'crown' is not just to look good and flash around at potential female mates, it is used to blend within its environment; a dense coral bed filled with a wide range of corals and sea plants, the Crowned Ray buries itself under a layer of sand between these corals and plants assisting this predators camouflage. The 'crown' fully erects and sways in the sea current and also has the ability to change colours to attract prey. The dorsal fin also sways in the currents but this has a primary purpose; to pick up on movements in the waters nearby. Filled with sensory pours the Crowned Ray can identify predator and prey movements nearby and also changes in water current. Its long tail houses a fin for extra speed and agility but also comes to a stinging point; its only defence against predators. Its 4 barbs mounted on its head and those mounted on its anal fins assist locating creatures below the surface of the sand and also help detect movements nearby. The colouration of both the males and females are similar, variations in colour patterns can be seen but these are entirely random, the blue, green and yellow hues and the black pin striping help in blend with the natural colours and shadows which occur in shallow sea waters. During the mating seasons males flush their crowns with colours of the reef to attract females.

Selected shape of interest from rough silhouettes (Bottom image).

Detailing from rough silhouette selection.

Selection, development, Finalise.

Above shows the entire process i am working to at them moment.

Rough silhouettes - 5-20minutes each max.

Silhouette detailing - 1 hour max.

Rendering, detailing and colouring - 2-4 hours max.

Working roughly to a time frame will help me speed up and produce more in less time.

MUST CONTINUE!