Wouldn't it be fun to figure out how a mythical creature like the Hydra would stand on just two legs?
My creative process always starts by writing down keywords for the character. This also helps me to ask questions about them. Are they good or bad? Who or what are they? What do they do? Simple answers to these kinds of questions help me on the pathway of creation.
For this Hydra, I wanted to create an evil entity that is unique to a fantasy world; a creature that is worshipped by the weaker ones, and a demanding being that likes to be treated like a god, or an evil ruler.
Next I start analysing real animals. Their shapes, movements and skin textures inspire me a lot! It's also important to practise your human and animal anatomies and gestures to help make your creatures and characters look believable.
After that, I'll progress through the thumbnail process, which consists of doing small, simple sketches to test all the ideas I have in mind. I think it's important to test the possibilities before rushing to finalise the first idea that comes into my head. I never know what unexpected and pleasant surprises can appear when I mix my studies and research.
You can use any software or tool you like to follow this tutorial, but I personally used Photoshop.
1 Inspiration in nature
Before creating any character, I start studying animal or human gestures and body shapes. It helps me to understand their anatomy, how they move and so on. I aim to feel the movement lines (the red lines seen here) around their body when I'm doing the gesture sketches. I do these quickly and simply, I'm not worried about the details. I use just two layers: one for the lines and the other a flat colour.
2 Analyse the animal
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von ImagineFX.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von ImagineFX.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Jan Wessbecher
Dominic Carter talks to the visual artist about creating his own comic and why sketchbooks are great for creative experiments
Kyounghwan Kim
The Korean character concept artist speaks to Dominic Carter about staying open to ideas and the value of drawing regularly
Slawek Fedorczuk
Dominic Carter talks to the concept artist about what keeps him motivated and the advantages of using physical sketchbooks.
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow
First Impressions
The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world