Creature Design
This Thirteen-part series brings together top industry professionals to reveal the art and science behind designing creatures for entertainment. Each workshop demonstrates how the most imaginative designs are grounded in reality, from fantastical beasts to alien lifeforms, monsters, and animals. Beginning with a deep understanding of zoology and the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth, creature designers draw inspiration from nature to invent believable new species that inhabit imagined worlds.
The Creature Design Path features artists who have helped shape many iconic projects, including Avatar, Men in Black, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Prometheus, and Star Wars. The workshops provide a rare insight into how professionals merge biology, storytelling, and design to create unforgettable creatures for film and games.
Introduction to Creature Design: Volume 1
Blockbuster creatures and monsters all start somewhere: With a sketch. Senior Character and Creature Concept Artist Kyle Brown demonstrates the industry-proven workflows he’s mastered through working on high-profile creature designs for film, television, games, and advertising projects...
Kyle Brown
Photoshop
Introduction to Creature Design: Volume 2
Kyle revisits the original reference used to create imagined shapes in Volume 1 and this time puts them to work to show how to apply color and texture to designs. Taking the final creature concept from Volume 1, Kyle’s first color demonstrations reveal how to rapidly ideate using different color combinations and materials to flush out design options...
Kyle Brown
Photoshop
Elephant Anatomy Vol. 1: Drawing Skeletons & Musculature
This comprehensive workshop series by industry veteran Terryl Whitlatch focuses on the anatomy and paleontology of real elephants and their prehistoric relatives. Terryl’s in-depth teachings provide the firm foundation necessary for designing elephant-inspired imaginary creatures with ease, authority, and believability...
Terryl Whitlatch
Photoshop
Elephant Anatomy Vol. 2: Prehistoric Studies & Imaginary Concepts
Volume 2 focuses on Prehistoric species of elephants, including the Mammoth and Mastodon. The second portion of Volume 2 dives into the design of imaginary, elephant-inspired species...
Terryl Whitlatch
Photoshop
Creature Design with Terryl Whitlatch Vol. 1
In this first title of a series, Terryl demonstrates how to create a fantastic yet utterly believable creature based on one of the most commonly known animals, the domestic cow. After drawing a study of an actual bull, she shows the process of designing a realistic...
Terryl Whitlatch
Creature Design with Terryl Whitlatch Vol. 2
In this second title of a series, Terryl Whitlatch demonstrates how to create a vicious avian alien based on an actual exotic bird – the Greater Indian Hornbill. Starting with rough thumbnails and ending with a fully rendered illustration...
Terryl Whitlatch
Creature Design with Terryl Whitlatch Vol. 3
In this third title of a series, Terryl Whitlatch demonstrates how to create an aquatic equine based on horse anatomy. Starting with a detailed study of an ordinary horse and ending with several fully rendered illustrations, she shares her techniques and tools—pencils, markers, and tracing paper...
Terryl Whitlatch
Creature Design with Terryl Whitlatch Vol. 4
In this fourth title of a series, Terryl Whitlatch demonstrates how to create a monstrous villain, the Toad-Ogre, as well as other assorted creature characters suitable for film, animation and video games. ...
Terryl Whitlatch
The Art of Iconic Creature Design
There are many approaches for designing characters for the screen. Industry veteran Aaron Sims details two of his tried-and-trusted workflows for creating iconic concept designs for film and TV, using Photoshop and ZBrush...
Aaron Sims
ZBrush
Keyshot
Photoshop
3D Creature Design: Alien Rock Grubber
In this lecture, Jerad Marantz shares his creature design techniques in an extensive lecture and demonstration. Beginning with a brief description of the creature, Jerad begins the design process with some loose sketches on paper. These are scanned as Jerad then discusses traditional and Photoshop techniques for executing a rough concept...
Jerad S. Marantz
ZBrush
Keyshot
Photoshop
Creative Creature Design
In this workshop, Neville Page shares his creative development process, starting with a script and ending with a resolved design and presentation. Neville discusses philosophies regarding creature design and techniques that allow for new ways of seeing...
Neville Page
ZBrush
Keyshot
Photoshop
Art Direction for Film: Creature Design & Development
Ehsan Bigloo demonstrates how he designs creatures for the entertainment industry. Whether you’re a character or creature designer, concept artist, digital sculptor, or simply interested in developing your storytelling skills, this workshop is a fascinating insight into Ehsan’s complete workflow...
Ehsan Bigloo
ZBrush
Keyshot
Substance Painter
Photoshop
Unreal
Maya
Arnold
The Making of “RED MYST”
Maarten Verhoeven is known for his dark and mysterious character and creature concepts. His optimized workflow allows him to sketch, sculpt, and post-process his signature designs at an impressive speed...
Maarten Verhoeven
ZBrush
Keyshot
Photoshop
Marvelous Designer
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