Embedded Files
Fare Thee Well – Illustration Commission
Completed – February of 2023
Fare Thee Well is a grim fantasy novel by Caleb Robertson.
This project was an early experience in doing freelance client work. The commission were constrained by time and were cheap. But while the final product of the project lacks professional prowess found in other places of my portfolio, it is an exemplar in showcasing my eagerness and ability to develop a project while communicating with others.
Each design involved back-and-forth dialogue with the client to understand their exact vision for the creatures.
DESIGN 1 – G RUBLEECH
DESIGN 1 – G RUBLEECH
THE GRUBLEECH was the first commission for the author's novel. The following brief:
"A bloodthirsty, pale, maggot-like parasite the size of a human hand."
"Creates an open wound using its circular jaw with small, razor-sharp teeth, and vacuums blood out of it by pulsating its body."
"Used by Anglers as live bait for catching monstrous fish in the ocean."
I first starting by throwing a variety of ideas that came to mind to gauge the general vision the author had for the creature.
"I love the last design the most. I think no legs and more segmentation in the body (like a grub or caterpillar) would hit home a bit more. The mouth is 10/10."
Using the feedback I played with two different tail ideas and the scale of segmentation before moving to a finished illustration.
DESIGN 2 – W OUNDFIEND
DESIGN 2 – W OUNDFIEND
THE WOUNDFIEND was designed based on the following brief was provided:
"Slender, yet powerful ape-like humanoids that terrorize woodland regions. They move on all four muscular limbs, but their arms are twice as long as their legs."
"They are covered in short bristly hair colored to camouflage them in the forest."
"Their black eyes are large and perfectly circular with no eyelids. They have a short stubby snout somewhat like a hedgehog’s, but with a row of sharp shark-like teeth hanging down from the upper jaw."
"Their short coat of hair accumulates into a tall crest atop their head that runs down their back. Their feet are like chimpanzees’, but their hands only consist of three long fingers with lengthy, unkept fingernails."
"They are sentient and wear primitive clothing like loincloths and animal trophies (claws, teeth, etc.)"
An early tool I used in this commission was a concept I made to help specify the "type of horror" a creature design would encompass. This triangle was given to the client so they could plot where they thought the creature's "vibe" would land, which gave me a quick starting point.
The three points on the triangle encapsulate the three primary types of fears that creatures tend to be designed around:
BEAST – Fear of powerlessness, made by having a creature appear insurmountable; characters like Godzilla.
ENIGMATIC – Fear of the unknown, made by having a creature appear haunting and unknowable; creatures like aliens.
GROTESQUE – Fear of pain and discomfort, made by having creatures appear mutilated or sickly; creatures like zombies.
A page of first explorations was used to find anything that stuck out to the client.
I then noticed a lack of clarity in the proportions of the hands which was central to the design.
After a final check and a few observations I made the final illustration.
DESIGN 3 –
W YVERN
DESIGN 3 –
W YVERN
THE WYVERN was designed based on the following brief:
"Their most prominent feature is their disproportionate beak resembling a prehistoric Pterosaur (example) attached to a long neck. This maw is filled with tiny razor-sharp teeth."
"The wyverns forearms are one with their wings which are extremely bat-like (example). Their hindlegs are thin, but muscular; followed by a long lizard tail."
"Their skin is made up of segmented fur and scales. It almost seems like thick fur bleeds through the dragon scales. There is more fur than scales around the head and beak. (Think, Shadow of the Colossus monsters: example)"
"Lastly, their eyes always look crazy and unstable. These beasts have fallen far from the intelligence of their ancestors and that should be reflected in their gaze. Imagine the eyes of someone having a psychotic episode; scared, uncertain, and unpredictable."
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