Each lesson touches upon a specific important aspect of what turns just an average creature into a great one. Advice is also given on what to stay away from, in order to steer clear of making a bad design or just a dull creature in general.

Over the six chapters, you'll gradually obtain a reference library stretching from the basics in animal anatomy to much more complex ways of exploring what is actually possible and plausible, or what would be considered thinking "outside the box”. There really are no limits to what is considered a conceptual creature; there are only distinctions between naturalistic designs (which are generally more plausible designs based upon rules) and what would be considered alien or even magical creatures (which are endless in the limitation of ideas).

CONTENTS

Chapter 1
In the opening chapter we cover the basics for all creature design, discussing relative anatomy to that of mammals, fish, insects, dinosaurs, vertebrates and invertebrates. Both existing and extinct animals are considered, as well as the relationship between various sized animals and how they all fit into designing an imaginary creature.

Chapter 2
In this chapter, we explore how to create naturalistic, imaginary creatures by drawing on similar aspects of design and anatomy that exist in real-world animals. A naturalistic approach to creature design abides by certain rules to coincide with that of true animal anatomy. Naturalistic creatures are unique and original designs, but they stick to the traits of each class type, be it mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, insect, crustacean or arachnid.

Chapter 3
This chapter covers a quick design process for producing a group of thumbnail sketches and refining one of them, before moving onto weight distribution and how the size of an animal or its design structure affects how its body plan is laid out.

Chapter 4
This chapter looks at the head of a creature or animal, which is the most important because it contains the essential elements that the creature needs to survive, show emotion and it also builds character. Some of the most vital organs, such as eyes, ears, the nose and mouth, make up the head of a creature. It's through the manipulation and plausible construction of these elements that you give life to an interesting design.

Chapter 5
The focal point of this chapter is on the variation between body types and body structures. Each design can be categorized into its own sub-category in which the creature can contain a similar body type but the structure may differ from one to the next. An example of this in real life would be apes, monkeys and gorillas. They all follow a similar body plan but each have their own distinct body structure, with their own unique skeleton and muscle design.

Chapter 6
The final chapter of this eBook covers how color and patterns affect the aspect of design and the original idea behind the concept. We also look at a few step by step shots on the finalization of two fully colored, rendered and detailed creatures.

For a preview of this ebook, simply click the pages of the book below.