Creature Design - Church Cat and DmC

[Mass update from over Christmas (broken into sections). I now have a Wacom Intuos Pro tablet which I am still learning to use properly, but it is much better for brushes as it can recognise the tilt of the pen.]

Creature Design #2

Overview

I wanted my creature design to add something new to Bloodborne, whilst keeping within the unwritten game rules/lore. The idea was a cat-like creature forcibly made by the Church, the highest authority in the game. Church enemies have mask-like faces, heavy robes, and vary in size and weaponry.

The design process used was based on concept art in the DmC: Devil May Cry artbook. Creatures like the Hunter, and Rage, had sketches that showed their whole bodies, and then sketches specifically for working out the design of each creature's face. It seemed interesting to do, as each headshot gave a different feel to the creature, and faces are typically focal points on any given thing, requiring a lot of thought.

Research

• Images from the DmC artbook. I have also played the game before, so I knew how a lot of the creatures came across in-game, which of the concept art applied.
• Images of Bloodborne Church enemies, and their lore (in the Collector's Edition Guide).

Process

Initial pen sketches. The largest image was actually fairly close to the final design, as I referred to it when I felt lost in design decisions. The smaller images explore poses. 

Applicable text reads:

"Church cats - they get rid of the rats in the walls. Rarely seen. Feared. Hunters have dogs, Church have cats. Slightly like Sphynx. Crested."

 

For painting I did basic sketches, put the basic colours underneath, and then detailed on a layer over the top of both. It was a fast and effective process.

The construction lines are based on something Feng Zhu often did, figuring out perspective and making sure the image was in proportion. It's a good technique to keep the image in line and get a sense for its size with the horizon line.

Decisions had to be made about the creature's final design. The front-facing images didn't have the same sense of imperiousness I wanted the creature to display; I wanted the cat to be arrogant, an apex hunter that knew of its skill, a creature spoilt and worshipped by its creators.

The image in the coat gave a strong visual link to normal Bloodborne Church enemies, but again didn't give the right impression. Even if it attacked by being on all fours, there was no sense for it to be on its hind legs if it didn't mean something.

Thus, I chose the bottom image as a base for the final design, as I liked the idea of the spiky mane and the visible, cat-like spine. I envision it having a slow, languid pace until it spots the player, upon which it breaks into a cheetah-like run. Additionally, the side-on pose displays the change in anatomy, from human-esque to cat. The visual link to the Church enemies, instead of the cloak, is now in details; skin colour, empty black eyes, and a church bell swinging from its short tail:

Final design. Experimented with the layout - the limbs furthest away are faded, to give an instant sense of depth in the image. Also, the lighting is visible in the background, even though it's simple.

Reflection

• Working out a design with sketchy, coloured headshots gives a great sense of character, of how the creature would come across - multiple designs together show just how a small difference might tweak it better than the original plan
• Not using neat lineart, just colours, for detailing the sketches made the process a lot more fluid and changeable
• The design changed unexpectedly - reference images were needed to make the final decision, making sure the creature was unique but still linked
• Limited colour palette was useful - final creature looks strong, icy and unassailable, due to the cold colours used
• Background on final image made it appear a lot more realistic - I will keep trying new things on how to present the final layout
• Headshots are extremely useful for fleshing out a design's personality quickly, without bothering redoing the whole body