The Dawn of the 'Birdmonkeys'!

Above: My BirdMonkey sketch ( Howler & Tawny Frogmouth) Coloured pencil on brown Paper.

Above is one of my many Bird/Monkey combinations. It is a combination of a Howling Monkey and a Tawny Frogmouth. I initially started drawing the silhouette of the Howler and thought a large mouthed bird would fit nicely thus creating my Howler Frogmouth. This creature feeds on fruit and insects and is very territorial creating a howling screech when others invade its patch.

Function Considered - Reaching food in high places and successfully eating them.  

My reasons for designing these 'Birdmonkeys' is that the creature has incredible manoeuvrability when climbing through trees, long tails for balance and birds heads and beaks for breaking open hard shelled fruits, and breaking away tree bark to reveal sap and insects. I have designed several sub species including a Green Pecking Marmoset and an Owl-Utan.

The main test here was using coloured pencils on brown paper as well as light and shade, which again i quite like as it gives the image more perspective and makes it more interesting to look at.

Avatar's Hammerhead Redesign

Above Top Image: My Redesign of Avatars Hammerhead Concept.
Above Bottom Image: Breakdown of changes.

Based on my discussion in my SM2 Research section about Avatars Hammerhead Creature this is my redesign of how i believe the creature would look in 'real life', considering functionality.

The first thing you will notice is i have got rid of those unnecessary spare parts (the extra 2 front limbs), as i believe they are not needed for this creatures survival. I have taken away the shoulder armour and given my redesign a full spine armour suit, from its hammerhead horn to the tip of its tail it now has solid impenetrable, over lapping plates to protect from debris or spears being thrown under the turtle shell inspired structure on its back. I have given it a turtle shell as it remains streamlined for running at high speed and will prevent snagging as it has no sharp pointed edges. Also if this creature were to compete with other males for a female the shell would protect its upper body from potentially devastating blows of an opponents hammer horn. As the shell clasps to the front of the creatures body i have also discarded the sharp pointed spines, creating a smooth less harmful harness for the hammerhead.

These are only minor changes to the original Hammerheads design, but i believe these changes improve the creatures design from a functionality point of view, which leads me to believe this creature could have been designed with vision as its main consideration, and giving the audiences the 'wow' factor. I believe my redesigned version still does that but without those added visual extras. As i have mentioned before keeping visual representations from animals in existence today helps audiences relate to the creature and almost believe it could exist. Added visuals simply decreases that believability.

Close Encounters!

This weekend i have been away on a visit to the picturesque location of Bowness on Windermere in the Lake District. What an inspiring place it is too. I spent the weekend sampling the local bars, cafes and restaurants naturally, but i also kept my eyes open for inspiration.

Whilst sifting through the Galleries and absorbing the breath taking views, taking as many photographs as i possibly could, i stumbled across a small group of people setting up what appeared to be a selection of bird perches... When i asked they said they had a show of Owls and a Buzzard taking place shortly, naturally i hung around as this was an opportunity not to be missed, to see these amazing birds up close and to gather more photographs (see photography).

I was also given the opportunity to hold a Barn Owl and a Common Buzzard, they where shockingly tame as i was able to stroke them with ease and also received a snuggle from the Barn Owl. They where lighter than i originally expected and their feathers so soft and weightless it was at times difficult to work out if i was actually stroking them! Fascinating experience and definitely the highlight of the holiday.

Also whilst in Bowness i took the opportunity to visit the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction, and photographed some familiar characters which i have discussed in my Inspiration section of this Blog.

I used to spend hours when i was younger watching the Beatrix Potter Videos and reading the stunning little books, all curtisy of my Grandad Brookes who introduced me to the world of Beatrix at his cottage in Wales where i used to spend many holidays. I believe this was possibly where my fascination with animals and nature began. Id spend days with him fishing in the nearby streams, walking through the endless fields and forests collecting leaves and pine cones for me to draw back at the cottage. So visiting the attraction at the weekend felt like a step back in time for me, revisiting where i feel my creative career began.

From the Photographs i took of these birds of prey i played around with one in particular in Photoshop. Cropping, selecting and simply altering brightness and contrast and playing around with the colour levels and hues, to produce these pieces below. I particularly like the first one, where during experimentation some fascinating colours appeared creating a staggering painted effect, and also creating an atmosphere within the piece.

Above: Small Owl. My photograph with added va va voom!

Above: Small Owl. Black and White version.

Comparing Techniques

Below shows two images of the same creature. The white paper version is the original i designed in my sketch book, the brown paper version is my second attempt at it to discover any differences if any.

I believe the results are obvious, the brown paper version seems more professional and life like, its display of light and dark colour tones provide greater insight into the creatures structure and appearence. The white paper version seems flat and lifeless in comparison. Also the quality of line on the brown paper overall appears much stronger.
Comparing a design like this has helped me realise the differences between using different materials and i will continue to experiment throughout my creative career, as until i try i will never know!

This creature has been designed as part of a mini brief i set myself based in my findings in my research section. The brief was - to consider purpous before design which was "Speed & Defence" but this Rhino/Snapping Turtle inspired creature is actually a sub speices of the main outcome.

Experimenting with New Materials

My Toucan sketch, (brown envelope, pencils around 30mins)

Today i was in search of a brown sketch book to practice my traditional art skills but on a different type of paper. Traditionally i have always worked on white paper when it comes to using pencil, but after seeing a recent inspirational piece by Norman J. Schureman where he uses brown paper i thought id give it a go as it seems to give his drawings energy and life, and i believe this is because of the ability to create light and shadow markings on the page. I will be incorporating this technique in my designs in future.

But as you may have noticed my quest for a brown paper sketch book failed and so i discovered the next best thing... a 25 pack of brown envelopes... Creative i thought! I am also enjoying being able to stick my drawings up around my work space, rather than ripping it out of a sketch book! The picture above shows my Toucan pinned to my notice board.

Inspiration... Via Facebook!

Inspiring words via Disney Pixar on Facebook. Believability being my main goal this year.

Alchemy Experimentation

I discovered Alchemy at a recent Degree Show at Uni, and then was reminded of it when id seen it on another blog, so i decided to give it a go and see what happened.

It is a really interesting programme, at times difficult to get your head round but others you can really discover new interesting shapes which lead to things you probably wouldn't have initially thought to do. The above image was the result of about half an hours worth of messing around, using the mirror effect is great for producing front facing images, you really get the impression you are looking directly into the eyes of this beast.
This creature appears to be a form of insect with a bird like head and aquatic tail, and was simply inspired by shapes i created. I also really like the roughness of this programme, the use of line is random but yet you can still recognise basic outlines of form.

Below i have included the stages of this creatures creation, from initial shape to adding colour.

The further images below are more experimentation's i did prior to the above.

Robotic Structure

Dragonfly

Pig faced Monster!

Excising Creature Redesign

Whilst i have been reviewing creatures from Star Wars (see SM2 Research) i have so far discovered that these creatures seem well designed considering the creatures purpose before design, looking at animals today that successfully fulfil that purpose and looking to them for inspiration.

I have so far found little to fault with what i have reviewed, but i did see an opportunity to slightly redesign the Dewback, as i spotted a few things i believed could improve the functionality of its design. If you read my review you will discover that my main issues with the Dewback where its feet and a visibly successful way of storing necessary life giving fluids needed to survive in its desert environment.

Below i have drawn and redesigned the Dewback slightly, with notes explaining the changes i have made.

Step 1 Analysing Existing Creatures...

My first step for this semester is to look into existing creatures and workout if they are actually an accurate well thought through design.

With this in mind i didn't know where to start as there are hundreds of films and games with creatures of all kinds but finding a solid starting point was the hard part... So i began sifting through my hard drive of inspirational images when i stumbled across Star Wars.

I have started analysing some of the creatures created for these legendary films and discovering just how well or badly they are designed. To see these reviews please see my SM2 Research section of this blog.

Whilst doing this i have also been continuing sketching in my sketch book whatever creature i dream up at the time :p including a Pelican Eel inspired mammal, a Black Scorpion Fish inspired reptile and a Horn bill inspired Dinosaur :)

I have also discovered during many Spider Diagrams that FUNCTION and PURPOSE seem to be the main focus of this semester so far...