Semester 2
4th February 2012
To start this semesters research i am going to start by looking into how 'well' existing creatures are designed. There are hundreds of creatures out there in both TV and Games but are they really designed well? Can they actually survive in their environment? Can they do the simplest of things effectively, such as walking, with out tripping over its other seven legs... can it feed or do those terribly threatening tusks stop it getting anywhere near its dinner? In my research i will be analysing these creatures and working out if they are well or poorly designed using my knowledge of anatomy and natural history gained from last semester.
I aim to discover these mistakes and avoid making them myself to ensure my creatures are thoroughly thought through. Along the way i will gain a knowledge base of 'does and don'ts' that i will bear in mind while i design.
Star Wars Creature Reviews
Wampa
(Google Images)
At first glance the Wampa appears to be a large,white, hairy, yeti creature with a humanoid structure roughly 2-3 adult men in height.. It lives on the frozen planet of Hoth which straight away explains its colour, it has white fur suggesting this acts as a camouflage whilst amongst an snow back drop. This further explains why the Wampa appears to have a large amount of hair upon its body, this would suggest it used this to keep its body temperature up so it could with stand these sub zero conditions.
So far the Wampa seems to be well equipped for its environment, and this is further supported by its large flat feet, my guess here is that it has large feet to increase its surface area meaning this large creatures body weight would be supported on the snow decreasing the chance of the Wampa's feet simply drowning in the snow increasing its maneuverability despite weather conditions. The Wampa appears to have a stocky body mass probably for fat reserves to keep it warm further suggesting that it may not be particularly fast but it would sneak up on prey then chase it down and use brute force to bring it down. I don't believe the Wampa would be able to run for long periods of time, as its large structure would suggest it would soon tire.
The Wampa also appears to be a carnivore, equipped with sharp angular teeth and upon its finger like hands long sharp claws and the same can be seen on its toes. Having hands suggests this creature grasps its prey before giving it a lethal bite from its powerful teeth lined jaws, before using its claws to tear into the prey once caught. This size of this creature alone would be a threat to most.
The only criticism of the Wampa i have is the use of its horns either side of its skull, these could be there to further intimidate its prey or could just be an added extra to differentiate it from the myth that is the Yeti? They may get in the way when the Wampa feeds face first but if it lifts its food into its mouth with its hands this would not cause an issue.
The Wampa appears to be a well thought through design considering an important factor - its environment, without its fur, fat, structure and colour this creature wouldn't be able to with stand cold, capture prey or even exist at all. This is clearly another very important issue to consider when designing my creatures -
Where and how is it going to survive in an environment?
Rancor
(Google Images)
This creature seems to be inspired by a rhino or elephant because of its bulky structure and its clearly noticeable rhino like muscular hind legs although the further you look up the body of the creature it also appears to have reptilian inspiration looking at its clawed fingers and carnivorous teeth lining its mouth. The large hind legs will also provide power and support for the Rancors top heavy structure.
It to seems based around a humanoid structure making it appear more threatening to an enemy although its arms appear to be abnormally long in proportion to the rest of its body structure. This seems to work for the Rancor as it uses its long fore arms to support it whilst standing and id imagine it could also run on all four limbs for extra balance.
Its long fingers appear to be used for grasping prey as its primary source of attack, its muscular arms suggests it could then lift its prey with ease into its mouth where it would deliver a lethal bone crushing bite. I also believe the Rancors secondary means of attack would be to slam its fists at the ground to either crush enemies or cause them to fall down.
Its nostrils have been positioned unusually high on the head but this would be beneficial to the Rancor when it feeds as it will be able to inhale air whilst having its head in a carcass for example.
The Rancor also appears to have a thick armour plating running from its face, down its neck creating what appear to be shoulder pads before continuing down its back to the tip off its tail. This is a sign of good design as while the creature is being attacked at the front the armour would act as a barrier of protection from damage from behind.
The Rancor also seems to be a well thought through design, although it appears top heavy and could struggle with balance in reality, this has been overcome by providing the creature with longer than average muscular arms to help it support itself. These arms also help the creature attack more efficiently than it would with smaller arms. Another point to consider in my designs -
If the design appears anatomically unstable, can it support itself effectively?
Dewback
Left: Climbing Tauntaun (Google Images)
Its streamlined body suggests speed but a few issues concern me, one again being the extra two limbs which from an anatomical point of view are simply just an added extra with no real need or purpose, if felines today needed the extra limbs to help it achieve higher speeds when capturing prey effectively they would have simply evolved with them. On the other hand one possible function for these with a predator like the Thanator unlike the Hammerhead is this,
Example: If the Thanator is chasing down large prey, it will be able to use its front two limbs to grasp its prey whilst being able to support itself with its remaining four limbs until it brings it to a halt.
Also; when chasing down particularly fast prey, if the Thanator is able to catch up to it, it could again grasp the prey whilst still running at high speed with its remaining four limbs,
Which counters the argument as you could say that felines today, if they where to loose grip of their prey in this situation it would probably get away as the feline would lose momentum. So here the extra limbs appear to have a function which i believe could assist the Thanator unlike the Hammerhead.
Although so far the Thanator seems ok but, with the use of felines as inspiration i would have thought the simple function of retractable claws would be a must, but no. The Thanator has long slender finger-like paws but are accompanied by long slender claws, which when running at high speeds through mixed terrain stand a good chance of simply snapping off. If however retractable claws replaced this the Thanator would be able to gain more speed
with ease without the uncomfortable feeling of bending, breaking claws and retract them at the exact point of attack.
The Thanator also appears to have an interestingly placed air passage at the base of its neck and no nostrils on the skull, to be fair these passages are cover with a operculum which is a flap of skin which will cover the passage when the Thanator is not taking in air, similar to how the gills work on a fish. This seems well considered but running at high speed the Thanator will need to take in air more often which makes me wonder if it is charging through the forest surly the low level air passages are just asking for dust, stones leaves and other debris it churns up to enter them causing the Thanator to choke, and possibly cause infection.
Also considerations if it where to go swimming these air passages would be completely submerged so would need to shut off completely to prevent the Thanator from drowning instantly. This would suggest that its primary source of air intake would be its mouth, but what if the Thanator has a large carcass in its jaws whilst swimming, would this cause difficulty breathing?
What have i learnt -
The Direhorse
As its name suggests its main source of inspiration is clearly a horse and in the film its main purpose is to transport the Na'vi people. This backs my previous discovery of considering purpose before design and looking to existing animals which also do the desired purpose to help achieve believability . It too has the similar features to the previous evaluations, 6 limbs and an hair hole situated in its chest area. The only reason i can see for these added limbs would be to imply the creature is fast and needs the extra limbs to power its body. I personally believe like with the other evaluations of the extra limbs that it appears to be a purely visual adaptation, to achieve the 'wow' factor from its audiences. I further believe another reason for these creatures having the extra limbs is a method of portraying a visual family to the audience. Audiences seeing not just the Direhorse but the previous creatures i have reviewed, all having 6 legs will see this as a trait of the creatures of Pandora. Other than this i can not see a purpose for the legs from an anatomical point of view as all of them are hoofed so the extra legs couldn't assist the Direhorse in grasping something. Which leads me back to my earlier comment, if the extra legs are there for extra speed and power then wouldn't they have been best situated at the rear of the creature? - the main driving force. I also believe as a rider, the extra limbs at the front would cause discomfort as the elbows of these limbs would hit the riders legs. Which i believe further backs my point that these extra limbs are more of a visual feature as apposed to a design feature.
(Google Images)
At first glance the Dewback has the appearance of a kind of lizard. Upon closer examination of the image above the pencil sketch top left of the image very much resembles the anatomical structure of a horse. The function of this creature within the Start Wars was to transport a rider or used as patrols by the military or security personnel. This also could have fuelled the creatures design, looking at what function it must do and look at existing animals which do that and design based on it as it obviously works and is effective.
As its obvious t see the Dewback, although has a similar anatomical structure of a horse it has been adapted to fit in its world, as Star Wars has very far fetched creature designs having a horse in there doesn't seem quite right, so here the designs have been pushed to create something new. As it resembles a horse and its purpose is to be ridden like a horse it is easy for the viewer accept it as it can be related to and existing animal in the real world, an interesting point to consider.
Its hooves have been replaced with talon like claws upon reptilian feet, the tail has been enlarged into a chunky reptilian tail, a lizard like skull and obviously the scaly green skin tone. The Dewback also appears to have gained some extra body muscle making it heavier which is why i am unsure if the claw like feet would be ideal on soft hot sand.
Dewbacks live in the deserts on the planet Tatooine, and it is claimed to be able to store fluids using special melanin's within its hide... which is a good job as there is nothing immediately visible which suggests it could store fluid for long periods of time this would be my main criticisms of its design. Unlike that of a camel which can survive long periods of time in desert conditions because it can store necessary fluids in its hump.
As reptiles are cold blooded the warm conditions would best suit it in the day as it will be able to warm itself in the sun drained conditions of the desert.
The Dewback has good and bad points of design in my opinion. The good being that its purpose in the film is clear and connections can be made to horses today, its anatomical structure supports this and thus making the audiences accept this creature as believable. Although i am unsure that the Dewbacks Claws are the best design for walking on hot soft sand, surely a flat more broad foot would have been more effective? Looking at the design of a camels hoof which has a larger surface area may have suited better and possibly incorporating a visible form of storing liquids may also have been a feature to incorporate, thus making audiences identify further with the Dewback. What have i learnt to consider -
Using an existing animals anatomical structure and building upon that can help audiences relate.
& Considering purpose before starting the design.
Tauntaun
(Google Images)
When i study the Tauntaun i see a dinosaur crossed with a sheep or goat also known as a 'reptomammal' in the film which appropriately describes this creature.
I believe the appearance of this creature came about by researching purpose as i highlighted above. Sheep and Goats tend to survive well in cold conditions due to their mass of fur and their especially evolved hooves adapted for climbing cliff faces, i believe this was a starting point for the Tauntaun but the Tauntaun appears to be designed for general environment mobility as it has large clawed feet. I believe the Bighorn Sheep could have been a main source of inspiration for the Tauntauns design as it has the obvious sheep skull equipped with the large front curved horns which i assume would be used in a similar manor to that of the Bighorn Sheep, to compete against other males for the females.
Like the Wampa it also lives on the cold planet Hoth, and has also been designed to fit into this environment, with its fur covered body, a white/grey colour tone to enhance camouflage in its icy environment, large feet with three well spread toes to give the Tauntaun a greater surface area decreasing its chance of losing its footing in the snow and also falling through thin ice.
The Tauntaun also has a long reptilian tail to help it balance its blubber filled upright structure.
With closer examination i have noticed the Tauntaun has a jaw filled with flat teeth which helps me make the assumption that it is a herbivore, as the flatness of the teeth provide the Tauntaun with the ability to grind down its food before swallowing, further suggesting that its body wastes less energy digesting food and uses more energy keeping the creature warm.
My only criticism of the Tauntauns design is that reptiles are cold blooded which this creature is heavily inspired by, which would suggest it wouldn't be able to keep warm, unless of course it has especially adapted the warm blooded function of a mammal aka the Bighorn Sheep.
Right: Glacier Tauntaun (Google Images)
I have also discovered this creature has many different evolutionary adaptations of itself. Which further shows a good, well considered design process, providing a Tauntaun for every needed purpose or function. These include a Climbing Tauntaun, Glacier Tauntaun, Giant Tauntaun and a Scaly Tauntaun.
From this review i have discovered further importance and possibilities of a strong design, adaptations of a creature all with an individual purpose makes the design stronger. What have i learnt -
Considering Sub-species further enhances a strong creature design.
Avatar Creature Reviews
After watching Avatar for the first time i was, like many others.. blown away. I personally really enjoyed the film and its storyline, colourful environments and increadible creatures, but are these creatures as well designed as i once thought?
The Hammerhead
Above: Google Images.
At first glance it is clear to see where the inspirations for the Hammerhead originated, those being a hammer head shark, rhinoceros, bull and turtle. As i have already discovered in my previous reviews this further backs my point of looking to existing animals to gather the vital inspiration and knowledge to create new ones.
Upon further inspection of the Hammerhead it appears to have a colourful head plumage mounted upon its rather extravagant horn structure which rapidly flares out when i assume the creature is threatened by an enemy as a warning to back off. I would also guess that this display would be used to attract a mate, possibly those Hammerheads with the most colourful displays are most likely to attract a female. As Avatars environment is filled with the most exotic plant life i believe designers chose to keep their creature in keeping with this, thus looking into birds of paradise today for the plumage inspiration, as they too are well known for their extravagant colourful displays.
The general colours of the hammerhead seem dull in comparison to that of the plumage, but i believe this could be due to it keeping some camouflage from predators as its general greens and greys help it blend into the backdrop. Again i believe the plumage would come as much more of a shock to an enemy because of its general dull complexion.
The structure of this creature implies strength and power, heavily built like a Rhino, with its similar skull structure (minus the obvious horn swap) and its muscular body and chunky flat footed limbs. So far the Hammerhead appears to have been designed to charge through and destroy the forests of Pandora... it is also equipped with a turtle shell like armour mounted upon its back and around its neck, which i can only assume is to protect the vital organs from being punctured by falling debris caused by that gigantic hammerhead horn structure. BUT... surly when this creature was charging away through the countless amounts of foliage, those nice flicky spikes on its protective shell armour could become tangled in branches, leaves and not to mention the vines?! How embarrassing for the hammerhead whilst in hot pursuit. Of course i would imagine the Hammerhead would break most of them with its brute strength but some may be that little too difficult to break through.
Now to my main criticism, it has got to be the 6 limbs, are they all really needed from a functionality point of view? do they actually improve this creatures performance and its ability to charge? or are they simply there as a visual, to look more appealing and different to anything the audiences have seen before? In my opinion i believe they are just that, if 6 limbs was truly 'funtionable' and of any advantage then i can't help but think why we don't have 6 legged mammals today. Some may argue that those extra 2 front legs will provide the Hammerhead with the extra power resulting in producing more speed, but surly if that's what they where after the extra limbs would benefit more at the rear of the creature, the driving force? I personally think they would get in the way and ad extra unnecessary weight to what appears to already be a heavy creature.
As this creature appears to be adapted to live in a forest environment, i would think that huge hammerhead horn structure would prove testing for the creature when it simply wants to graze on the foliage becoming caught on trees and even not being able to walk through certain areas of forest as it simply wouldn't be able to fit through. This would cause unnecessary stress and would mean the majority of the time it would have to charge through areas to get through, which makes my wonder if this is truly the environment for the Hammerhead? Possibly open plains would suit better, it could use the hammer structure to absorb sunlight and heat, and males could use them to compete against each other for a female via fighting or even simply sizing each other up whilst flashing their plumage displays.
I do like this creature as an initial idea, but i would have tweaked it a little differently which i will be experimenting with like i did with the Dewback. What have i learnt -
Environment is vitally important, designing a creature and just placing it in an environment doesn't mean it will work. Considering How it would be in that environment builds a greater picture of where it is best suited.
The Thanator
Above: Google Images.
Upon first glance of Avatars Thanator it appears to have a feline body structure and seems to have been created with inspirations from birds of paradise again in the head plumage and a panther because of its slender streamlined body.
Similar to the Hammerhead i believe the head plumage would flare in a huge display as the creature attempts to threaten an enemy or prey. Another possible similarity is that it could use this plumage to blend within the foliage within the forest, possibly allowing it to get closer to prey before revealing itself.Its streamlined body suggests speed but a few issues concern me, one again being the extra two limbs which from an anatomical point of view are simply just an added extra with no real need or purpose, if felines today needed the extra limbs to help it achieve higher speeds when capturing prey effectively they would have simply evolved with them. On the other hand one possible function for these with a predator like the Thanator unlike the Hammerhead is this,
Example: If the Thanator is chasing down large prey, it will be able to use its front two limbs to grasp its prey whilst being able to support itself with its remaining four limbs until it brings it to a halt.
Also; when chasing down particularly fast prey, if the Thanator is able to catch up to it, it could again grasp the prey whilst still running at high speed with its remaining four limbs,
Which counters the argument as you could say that felines today, if they where to loose grip of their prey in this situation it would probably get away as the feline would lose momentum. So here the extra limbs appear to have a function which i believe could assist the Thanator unlike the Hammerhead.
Although so far the Thanator seems ok but, with the use of felines as inspiration i would have thought the simple function of retractable claws would be a must, but no. The Thanator has long slender finger-like paws but are accompanied by long slender claws, which when running at high speeds through mixed terrain stand a good chance of simply snapping off. If however retractable claws replaced this the Thanator would be able to gain more speed
with ease without the uncomfortable feeling of bending, breaking claws and retract them at the exact point of attack.
The Thanator also appears to have an interestingly placed air passage at the base of its neck and no nostrils on the skull, to be fair these passages are cover with a operculum which is a flap of skin which will cover the passage when the Thanator is not taking in air, similar to how the gills work on a fish. This seems well considered but running at high speed the Thanator will need to take in air more often which makes me wonder if it is charging through the forest surly the low level air passages are just asking for dust, stones leaves and other debris it churns up to enter them causing the Thanator to choke, and possibly cause infection.
Also considerations if it where to go swimming these air passages would be completely submerged so would need to shut off completely to prevent the Thanator from drowning instantly. This would suggest that its primary source of air intake would be its mouth, but what if the Thanator has a large carcass in its jaws whilst swimming, would this cause difficulty breathing?
What have i learnt -
Giving creatures similar features, e.g. head plumage, helps audiences recognise this as a trait of creatures from the same area/world.
When considering extra limbs, make sure the creature has a use for them, e.g., grasping prey, increasing believability as they don't seem to be there for visual purpose only.
The Direhorse
Above Images: Google Images
Like the Thanator the Direhorse also has air holes at the base of its neck i believe this has been inspired by an illegal method sometimes used in the horse racing industry, where it has been known that people cut a hole in a horses neck. This increases the horses air intake whilst running at high speed enabling it to run faster.
What have i learnt -
When considering purpose, ensure limbs do not raise the question of function.
What have i learnt -
When considering purpose, ensure limbs do not raise the question of function.
