A Change of Direction!

Over the past few days i have been pondering over ideas in my head and this morning i was set on researching into how animators and designers start creating a character, and the uses of basic shape initially...

THEN... I received a book i had ordered called Animals Real and Imagined by Terryl Whitlatch, and i was blown away by possibilities! The Book is filled with amazing Creature Design work and she too has included skeletal and muscle drawings to help build a better feel for the character.

The idea of 'mix and match' animals to create new creatures, using inspiration from one animal but applying it to another really excites me.
Before i received this amazing book i had also been reading about creature designer Bobby Chiu in Issue 72 of ImagineFX Magazine (Aug 2011), which also started the 'Creature Design Cogs' turning, and discovering Terryl's Book was the icing on the cake.

Below i have put together a simple flow chart just to explain to you my thought process so far and in green i have circled my next area of research...

Creature Design!!!

I aim to find out what the Creature Designers out there do to gather Inspiration.

The Haze is Starting to Clear...

Since starting out on the Ma Ladder it has been quite baffling....
Where to Start?
What Next?
But is that Right?

BUT...

Finally i feel as though i am gradually getting some direction in this First Semester. I have decided over the past few days that for the time being i will continue to work with a Lions Anatomy, become more familiar with it and once i am satisfied, i will then work on simplifying it down to the bare minimal basic shape of the Lion whilst still keeping it identifiable.

If you check out my "Research" section of this blog you will discover images to help explain my thoughts.

Later i plan to do the same for other animals/creatures so i will end up with a Library of simple shape animal mannequins.

Lion Anatomy...

Over the past few days i have been looking into Animal Anatomy particularly focusing on the Lion for now. Here as you can see i have started practicing drawing the Lions Skeleton and its Skull.

I will continue to practice drawing the Lions Skeletal Structure and also look into its Muscle build up in order for me to grasp where the Lions joints are and how they move.

I will be able to apply this knowledge later when i come to animate my characters.

Animals!

As i am fascinated and inspired by animals of all kinds, and i enjoy and love to draw them i have decided that my next step is to bring them to life.

My main goal when i first started my BA in Games Design was to bring my characters to life through animation. So now as an MA Student this is my Goal!

First i thought to become a truly good animator i must study in depth the "make up" of an animal, its bone structure and its muscle build up, and also study its behaviour as every single creature out there is different!

So my next step on the MA Ladder is to study Animal Anatomy and Animal Behaviour...

A New Start!

Hello!

Welcome to my Blog, and i can honestly say at this moment in time i am not entirely sure how this works but i will give it a go!

I have set up this blog as a way of updating you all on my progress in my Masters Games Design Course.

My first day on the course was on Friday 16th September 2011, and what an exciting day it was! So much to look forward to and so many Possibilities! So from here its down to some serious work!

My Starting Point... Character Design and Animation...