Project Brief
This project was a self produced brief, where I was planning to design a collection of creatures to fit within my high fantasy world of Rotunnis. This is the Red-Faced Glider.
The aim was to create 2D creature sheets for each creature. I made sure each were unique, however fit within the same world well. The Red-Faced Glider is a creature located in the Dequelian Kingdom.
Moodboards
For this creature I wanted to look at Ice Age animals. They are all so massive in size to accommodate for the freezing temperatures. As well as having very thick fur.
I also had a look into some birds that are in the coldest parts of the world.
Combining features from different animals, I created a few sketches with my ideas.
Iterations
The Wings
The wings were heavily inspired by Pterosaurs, they have a really unique bone structure which seemed to work for what I was thinking, as well as them being humongous, fitting with that part of the creature.
I also had a look at Ankylosaurus' for the head shape and beak. I wanted the creature to be able to ram things, and this was a much more unique look than using a bull for inspiration, as well as it being fitting for a bird.
The Deliverables
I made a character sheet, featuring orthographic views, a colour pallet, and a posed illustration to show the personality. I used a leopard leaping as a reference for the body, drawing the different elements of the creature on top.
I blocked out the colours over the sketch, then blocked out the basic light and shadow with orange on soft light, and light blue on multiply. I kept adding highlights and shadows to add depth, as well as using some texturing brushes to make sure the feathers looked right.
The Red-Faced Glider
The Red-Faced Glider is a creature that roams the Kingdom of Dequiele. It lives in the pine forests atop snowy mountains, with average temperatures of -20 degrees celsius. They are about 4.5m long (rear to beak), 4m tall (top of head), and a wingspan of 12m, weighing around 300kg.
Hulking over your average person, they are only a mid-sized creature of the North. Many of the creatures there being unimaginable large to accommodate for the extreme temperatures. They easy to identify thanks to the red feathers adorning their face. The skull beneath the red is very thick and strong, accompanied by horns allowing them to ram into trees and predators, as well as being used to battle one another. Their body is covered in snow white feathers, to blend in on the mountains, with brown wings to blend in with the trees.
They are omnivores, digging for mushrooms and climbing trees for berries, however climbing high enough gives them a great advantage. They have impeccable eyesight, allowing them to see predators from miles away, once they have locked onto their prey, they will jump across the trees, until they are able to take a massive leap, gliding down with their wings, crushing their prey. They hunt alone, however they may bring impressive meals to another to try and secure a mate.
They build rather large nests out of very large sticks and logs on the ground within the forests. They typically only live with a mate and any young they have produced, until the young are old enough to venture on their own. They are very territorial, often mating for life and protecting their nests from any intruders. Spending much of their time curled up sleeping to preserve their energy, they also frolic the snowy pastures, dancing with others in their younger years.
Final Designs
