KW
Inspiration
When trying to come up with the basic fundamentals of the creature I looked at many exisiting creatures in order to beinspired by their designs and shaping. This allowed me to see the successful results that inspired me when producing the designs for my character. I had elements that I took from my research that I needed to include within the design, however I combined these with visual inspiration to help me to create the cohesive, realistic result. These are the images that I found in my research that summarise the style and provide structure and shaping towards the character that I wish to create.
This was the mood board that I put together when I was trying to create the original idea for my folklore character. I had a general idea of the style of creature that I wanted to create, however looking at exisiting creatures with effective results, helped me to understand the structures in the face that work well together.
These remaining images I found were inspirin, however I had not found them when creating the mood board and are therefore separate from the others. An important thing to consider when designing the makeup it to take note of the human underneath the makeup. The makeup cannot fundamentally alter the shape of the human underneath therefore it must be contrained to the human anatomy. Thus making the design relatively humanoid.
Creature Concepts (2014)[Online Image] Available From: https://www.pinterest.com/renderen/creature-concepts/ Date Accessed: 17/03/2015
Textures in Every Day Environments
This photograph is of a texture that I found in an old mug of tea, I thought that it would prove very interesting for my design, through the cracked portion of the character. I have looked at the broken fragmented structure to see how the pieces all work together and have taken mental note of the shaping. I will implement this shaping in the design of my character to create a more realistic final result. The areas which show more of the darker tones would work perfectly to portray the blue inner rock through the cracked stone. It provides a large enough area for the colour to come through and portray the effect succesfully. I am really pleased that I am beginning to notice textures and details in various objects and places, it helps me to develop my sight for unique textures and shapes. in everydady environments.
Small Troll (2015) [Online Image] Available From: https://uk.pinterest.com/wackykate28/pmp/ Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Troll: from Book One of Astromythos (2015) [Online Image] Available From: https://uk.pinterest.com/wackykate28/pmp/ Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Dungeons and Dragons Troll (2015) [Online Image] Available From: https://uk.pinterest.com/wackykate28/pmp/ Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Anatomy of a River Troll (2015) [Online Image] Available From: https://uk.pinterest.com/wackykate28/pmp/ Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Noah- kh Rock Creature (2015) [Online Image] Available From: https://uk.pinterest.com/wackykate28/pmp/ Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Creature Concepts (2014)[Online Image] Available From: https://www.pinterest.com/renderen/creature-concepts/ Date Accessed: 17/03/2015
Creature Concepts (2014)[Online Image] Available From: https://www.pinterest.com/renderen/creature-concepts/ Date Accessed: 17/03/2015
There are certain features in these designs that I have picked up upon for inspiration concerning my creature design. I want to utilise my research to produce the most effective resuly possible. Particularly the rock creature above has an interesting structure, the way in which is conveys that it is rock is an important featuristic that translates the story and location of the being. It is important to consider the surrounding found in the location of the creature. I also like the structuring of the faces, the large noses and the general attributes found in each design. These are all important to consider for inspiration as the minimal features combined together create a powerful image, if one section does not work well, the others will all look wrong aswell. I have used all of these images in the ispiration for my project, noting the elements that I really like and the parts that I am not fond of.
I found this makeup advertised in the pages of the Makeup Artist Magazine and I thought Id include it as I felt although it looks interesting I do not like the final result. The concept is interesting and some of the sculpting is engaging. My main issue with the makeup is that the actor would not be able to emote through the makeup, as the prosthetic is clearly very thick, with a set expression there is no room for development in the character itself. I think that the moss has been unevenly placed and does not balance out. I like the purple colouring around the eye, but I do not see how it fits in with the overall makeup. Overall I thought it important to look at makeups that I did not like alongside those that I do like in order to deduce the elements that I do not think work successfully.
On a visit to the Natural History Museum I cam across this rock which I thought perfect inspiration for the project. This is an Opal within the rock that it was buried within. I particularly like the colouring of the blue inners, contrasted with the relatively dull stone colour. I want to include this styling in my creature due to the interesting variety of colours and the powerful effect that it has on the viewer. As my creature is very ancient and has now gone exstinct it is highly possible that the creature was born in the time when Japan and Australia were connected. Folklores tend to not have a date set to them, therefore the creature can be timeless and the fantasy element of the concept would work really well with these colourings along with my idea for a concept.
Perini.M, Mountain Beast Skull Anatomy (n.d) [Online Image] Available From:http://digital-art-gallery.com/picture/14993 Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Zbrush use in films inspiration for 3d designs
The thing
'Benitoite is one of the most beautiful of all the rare gems, with the color of fine sapphire and the dispersion of diamond! It was discovered in 1906 and first thought to be sapphire. The dispersion is usually masked by the intense blue color. Benitoite is one of the most desirable, attractive, and scarce of all gemstones.'
One of the most distinctive features of benitoite is how it looks under a UV light, where it fluoresces a brilliant color reminiscent of glowing blue chalk. What's strange is that, even though it was first described at the turn of the twentieth century, and we've known its chemical composition for decades, the origin of its color and its fluorescent properties still aren't well understoodBenitoite Stone.
I think that this element of the stone being used under a UV light could be really interesting, I could try to incooproate this into the design so that I could add another dimension to the design. The stone is very rare, however it is found in these places in Japan: Hashidate, Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture. The rareity of the stone makes the fantasy element more powerful, the connection of the gods being all powerful and having access to the most beautiful elements of the earth.
Benitoite Value, Price and Jewellery Information (2015) [Online] Available From: http://www.gemsociety.org/article/benitoite-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/ Date Accessed: 07/04/2015
Rock Troll (n.d) [Online Image] Available From: http://posercontent.com/creatures-for-daz-studio-and-poser/rock-troll Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Kargaad (2014) [Online Image] Available From: http://www.seannittner.com/actual-play-trollocalypse/l Date Acccessed: 07/04/2015
Japanese Chonmage Haircut
This very particular haircut was an inspiration for my design through the its representation through the horn shaping. I wanted to echo the shaping in the horn itself
Chonmage (Samauri Haircut-Black) (n.d.) [Online Image] Available From: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bakasu-Chonmage-Samurai-Haircut-Black/2483947?id=2483947&slug=Bakasu-Chonmage-Samurai-Haircut-Black Date Accessed: 14/04/2015
Samurai Haircuts (2013) [Online Image] Available From:http://becuo.com/samurai-hairstyles-men Date Accessed: 14/04/2015
Chonmage haircut sported by Samurai men and Sumo wrestlers. With the Chonmage, the hair was styled on the top to a tight hair bun, sometimes shaving parts of the top of the hair to indicate the status of these Japanese men.
This definition of the hairstyle shows the traditional way in which Japanese men wore their hair. It was from this hairstyle that I got the inspiration for the horn to grow out of the head into the back of the skull and pierce the rock creating the cracks in the stone. I think that this subtle use of Japanese imagery in the design will make the overall effect much more powerful. To combine elements that are not obvious, yet have connotations of the Japanese style and tradition.
Rogelio, The Samurai Hairstyle [Online] Available From: http://www.manlycurls.com/2013/04/samurai-hairstyle-curly-men-hair-bun/ Date Accessed: 14/04/2015
Mulan and Shang (n.d.) [Online Image] Available From: http://www.animatedheroes.com/shang.html Date Accessed: 14/04/2015
 Brick Wall |  Brick Wall |  Brick Wall |
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 Brick Wall |  Brick Wall |  Brick Wall |
 Brick Wall |
These images are some of the reference images that I used for the colouration of my makeup and the shaping that I involved in my makeup. I based the ear shape around the flint stones that I found on the uni campus. The large rock is primarily my main focus for colour upon closer examination of the rock you can see that there are slight blue and green tones in the rock. I really like this effect as it adds a sense of fantasy into the design. Using the colour scheme from this rock has allowed me to create the final design for my makeup. I will utilize all of these colours to create the more dynamic and indepth character that I can. At the bottom of this segment I have also included some photographs that I took of a brick wall near my home. I thought that the cracked textures in the rocks worked really well. They are clearly natural cracks therefore work brilliantly as primary research. I think the shaping is worth considering for the cracking at the back of the skull, if I try to imitate this style of crack I will be able to achieve a naturral finish that looks really effective on the makeup.
In the animated film Mulan the male lead has the chonmage haircut, however it is a slightly different version that the one shown above. He has not shaved his head to complete the hairstyle.
 Pressed FairiesAlthough all of these fairies have been squashed in their designs there are certain features that stand out and allow for inspiration through the structure. In this design I like the shaping of the face and the nose along with the ears. I think the way the face is proportioned works really well. The nose would work well in the fantasy element of the design. |  Pressed FairiesI have found in my search of fantasy characters that many of the designs have large ears with pointed ends. These ears are generally used to balance out the facial features. I like the idea of creating long pointed ears on my character however that would not feasibly work with a rock troll as the rock would crack off. This therefore means that the troll will have to have small ears that are relatively flat to the skin. |  Pressed FairiesIn this design I really like the shape of the nose and the lips. As the nose is relatively humanoid it has a strong structure. I like this shaping to give to my original design. I also like the tin lips as I think that this is make a strong shape on the face.I would want to experiment with creating lip prosthetics as they are subject to a lot of movement they need to be perfectly created and applied. |
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 Pressed FairiesSimilarly with all the fairies they have large ears and long spindly limbs. They have an overall cohesive design that works as a successful design. I will use these designs to inspire the creation of my character. |  Pressed FairiesI like this design as it has a lot of hair work that creates another dimension to the character. It helps to give a backstory to the individual. I like that the small details add up to create a powerful result. This implies the need for it in my character. |
 LeprechaunI really like the brow in this design as it has a menacing structure that created a powerful shape on the face. Similarly the wrinkling on the brow works really nicely to finish off the design. The large nose and ears balance out the very round face emphasising the necessity for balance. |  LeprechaunThis trifecta of leprechaun have really interesting details on their faces. They have a very comical style, which although suited to the book they appear in, is not the approach that I want to take with my makeup. I like the exaggeration of the features though, I think it could look quite impressive to adapt the facial shape in such a way. |
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After researching the stones found in Japan, I found this creature concept design. I really like the way that the precous gems have been integrated into the design. The convergence of creature and stone works really well. It also creates a great contrast in the use of colour. Similarly on the stomach of the creature there are cracks, and faint colour scheme representing the precious stones. I really like the way that the colours have been integrated into the body of the creature not just where the stone sits. Another element of the design that I really like is the structure of the rock elements, the ay in which they have been designed to mimick the style of muscles found in the limbs works really well.
I found this book with lots of images and sories about Leprechauns and I thought it fitting to have a look at the designs and images. Although the creatures themseleves do not apply to my project I thought I could take some of their design elements and utilize them for the designing process. These were two of the images that I found in the book that I thought would be applicable to the project.
Macnamara, N. and Anderson, W. (ill.) (1999) The leprechaun companion. London: Pavilion.
Jones, T. and Froud, B. (1994) Lady Cottington's pressed fairy book. London: Pavilion.
I found this book called Lady Cottington's Pressed Faiiy Book, which I thought was quite interesting. It is written as though the woman has caught the fairies in the pages of her books. The designs of the fairies are quite interesting, I have displaed some of these below for the reason of their inspiration on my character design.
Nazzaro. J (2015) Seventh Son, Makeup Artist Magazine, Issue 113, April/May, pgs 72, 73
Seventh Son Cracked Makeup
In the Makeup Artist Magazine I found an article that detailed a cracked makeup that was found in the film The Seventh Son. This article shows the sculpt and the concept design, I found it very prevelant for this project in order to create the look of the cracked effect on my character design. The sculpt shows how subtle the cracks are in order to create an effective result. Emphasising the need for small details to make the overall sculpt much mre effective and therefore suitable for film as the minute details are picked up on the hd cameras that are used in the industry.