17 – 23 Feb, 2025 — Donita Kadharusman
Games Art Pipeline 24/25
2D — Creature Concept, Week 1
Mind Map #1
On the first day of the week, we had to form groups of 2 to 4 people to agree on a setting for our character concepts. In the end, I teamed up with YC.
Then, I continued to make a mind map of the chosen themes, but I struggled to choose one. Because of this, I decided to brainstorm every theme to build inspiration. Despite that, I still couldn’t decide on the themes, so I discussed the matter with YC. I noticed that she had a unique preference for art themes, specifically dystopia, so I decided to go along with it. I then suggested several settings and scenarios that could lead to a dystopian world. After some discussion, we agreed on a post-apocalyptic dystopian world caused by a failed nuclear explosion experiment. This experience made me realise how group projects could challenge each of us to step out of our comfort zones and explore unfamiliar concepts. It also enhanced our communication skills, as we had to come to a conclusion while still setting boundaries to have the best and agreed outcome.
With the world setting finally agreed, I was able to choose the themes for my character concept. Since I usually make humanoid characters, I’d want to challenge myself to create the creature. Hence, I chose to go with Beast/Animal creature type, with a background involving experimentation with nuclear substances, like uranium. Furthermore, predator is the motivation factor as its mind and mental state are shattered because of the relentless abuse from mad scientists, followed by severe damage caused by the nuclear explosion. Lastly, a mix of disgust and hunted as the emotions to support its predatory behaviour and enrich its lore (impacts of the experiments and explosion).
Research
Since the theme revolves around nuclear explosions, I decided to do further research on this subject. As I learnt better through visuals, I looked up a YouTube explanation and found that Thomas Schwenke’s atomic bomb functionality video (2024) was truly comprehensive. According to the video, in order to create an explosion from a nuclear bomb, it needs a chain reaction that’s created by elements that are able to do so, like plutonium-239 or uranium-235. This chain reaction is created when a neutron collides with the atom. This reaction will cause it to split and produce different fission products and create more neutrons. This continuous cycle rapidly increases its temperature and pressure which creates the explosion.
(Chain reaction visuals below)
However, the type of nuclear bomb described earlier, known as a fission bomb, was invented a long time ago during World War II. It comes with strict requirements, such as having the right amount of atoms, the right containment shape, and so on. In contrast, the modern nuclear bomb uses both fission and fusion bombs to create even more massive explosions. The fusion bomb’s function is to fuse 2 atomic nuclei to release a neutron. (Schwenke, 2024) This shows that there were a massive upgrade that’s put into nuclear weapons and I believe humans are still capable of creating even more upgraded nuclear weapons. The idea of rapid advancement in nuclear weapon technology backs up the world setting of our character concepts: a failed nuclear bomb experiment driven by human madness.
Furthermore, the video also shows the impact of the bomb itself, such as the excessive heat that can burn creatures alive and light that’s brighter than the sun which can cause permanent blindness. One of the most dangerous aftereffects is radioactivity. It releases fast particles that can break through our DNA, hence, creating cancerous cells or cell death which can lead to death. (Schwenke, 2024)
Besides the human body, the environment will be greatly affected as well. Areas around the explosion will be obliterated, buildings are flattened, plants and trees are wiped out. A massive black cloud forms, spreading across the sky and reaching farther places. This black cloud creates black rain which carries radioactive particles, contaminating and destroying plants. (Schwenke, 2024)
Peer recommendation: other than this video, YC recommended me to watch the final episode of The Greatest Events of World War II in Colour (2019)
The video also highlights the use of atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. This episode shows real-life footage that captures the destructive impact on both the cities and their people. It shows how scary the impact of the explosion on the human body is, which causes permanent blindness, rashes, burns, and death.
I believe these videos’ explanations and visuals are good for my studies and references for my upcoming character concept. They’ll help me accurately portray the damage of nuclear explosions in my character design. Furthermore, understanding the concept of nuclear bombs serves as a great introduction to the world setting, as this can add depth to the narrative and context of the character’s backstory.
Mind Map #2
After both of us had done with our research on nuclear bombs, we created a collaborative mind map where we justified the details of the environment settings.
We decided to go with a semi-organic and inorganic appearance for both our characters to reflect that the world is not set too far in the future. Moreover, we both listed down the effects of nuclear explosions according to our research, which could be implemented in our characters to support their lore, such as burn, red skin, blindness, dead skin cells, cancer cells, and DNA damage/mutation.
Mood Board
Far Cry 6
As we were discussing our collaborative mind map, she (YC) recommended Far Cry 6 (2023).
Peer recommendation: “there’s an aggressive experimented chicken in Far Cry 6 (2023) that’d constantly attack the player.” -YC
In Far Cry 6 (2023), there’s a flock of chicken that was experimented on to become more aggressive for chicken fights or cockfights. And I realised that chicken would be one of the most suitable animals for my beast concept character, because of its high population. I thought with that high population, humans would not have to worry about their extinction, which could lead to excessive experimentation on them.
As I looked more into this game, I noticed that the chicken’s aggressive behaviour was complemented by its territorial nature. They’re seen to attack the player who entered their nests. This element complements the chosen theme, predator, where my character would prey on whoever enters its territory (the lab).
Furthermore, I noticed the patterns of how the chickens attack the player. They often make themselves appear larger by spreading their wings and making loud noises to intimidate the enemy. Then they proceed to attack with their feet, either pinning the opponent down or scratching with their sharp claws and then pecking countless times. These behaviours could be set as a reference to be applied to my chicken beast.
Tooth Wu
According to my previous research, people who had contact with the explosion suffer severe skin damage and burns. I imagined that creatures would have some of their flesh exposed and I found a great reference just for that from Tooth Wu’s illustration. I’d want to combine both bones and flesh into my creature just like in his Blood Dragon (2019) illustration. Not only that, he uses hanging flesh which looks like it’s been stretched out to add to its horror element. Hence, I will incorporate these aspects into my chicken beast to enhance its disgusting characteristics caused by the explosion.
Character Silhouettes
As the unit progressed, it was time to develop some quick sketches by using silhouettes to create clear and bold characteristics of the concept. I learnt that creating silhouettes is crucial for making characters easily recognisable. Just like how Mickey Mouse has unique shapes and structure, hence he is easily differentiated from others.
In this class, we were tasked to create each silhouettes in just 2-3 minutes. This exercise was a struggle for me, since I wasn’t sure and clear enough of what kind of image of the chicken I was aiming for. Additionally, I was also too focused getting it anatomically correct, this made the silhouettes look more like a regular chicken instead of a beast. In the end, I wasn’t happy with the result, so I sought for advice.
Feedback: Add more horror elements, such as dangling skin or flesh like the reference you chose (Blood Dragon (2019)), add blood and spiky (triangular) elements to intensify it’s predatory look.
Pokémon: The First Movie (Mewtwo)
As I struggled with creating quick silhouettes, I decided to look for more references and do additional research. I looked into another character reference, which was Mewtwo from Pokémon: The First Movie (1998). The lore of Mewtwo being an experiment in this movie is quite similar to my creature concept, hence I take inspiration from its design. The tubes/pipes and mechanical/robotic elements connect and highlight its lore of being an experiment inside a lab. I will use elements (like laboratory tubes/pipes, syringes, flasks, etc.) that could show hints of the lore inside the character design itself into my character.
The reason my character incorporates experimental lab elements in its design is because of DNA mutation caused by the explosion’s radiation. It causes the chicken’s DNA to fuse with its surroundings, which is the experimentation lab, making it into a whole new species of mutated semi-organic and inorganic chicken beast.
花先舍
Another amazing artist I took references from was 花先舍. Their workflow involves taking references straight from real-life objects which can be mixed and turned into a character with interesting designs. This interesting technique could significantly help my workflow in creating silhouettes and further developing the details of my character.
During class, our tutor also introduced us to shape language as a way to further develop and highlight the character’s personality and behaviour through shapes. As this was still an unfamiliar approach to me, I decided to do more studies in understanding shape language through 花先舍’s character design in order to apply it to my own silhouette more effectively. However, the more I looked into it, the more I realised that their character silhouettes were not as visible and deliberate even if the designs and details were complex.
Earl Lan
Hence, I decided to look into another artist, Earl Lan. I studied his Creatures of Horrors (Lan, 2024) character concepts and found really fluid and bold shape language in his designs. It made me realise how it could significantly impact the character’s flow and behaviour. For example, the triangle shape highlights its danger and predatory traits, the circle shows the elegance and fluidity of the character, and the square enhances its defensive traits. Furthermore, I noticed how he occasionally bends these shapes to create a more fluid pose of the character, it’s as if they are stopping mid-motion. By understanding the fundamentals of shape language, I aim to implement these shapes in my chicken beast. I’ll use a triangle as the main shape to highlight its predatory nature as an abused experiment while incorporating a rectangular as a secondary shape to show its territorial and defensive traits then circles to add to its fluidity.
Creatures of Horrors (2024)
Hunterian Trip
The Hunterian trip was refreshing as I got to see more references and ideas that I could implement into my character design. Whenever I came across something relevant, whether it was an object, concept, texture, or pattern, I’d sketch it down as a reminder to include it in the future. For example, a diathermy pencil that has a syringe at the end of the pipe could be useful for my character concept design because of its backstory being an experiment, or a hyacinth bulb with its dangling and tangled roots which could be added to enhance the disgusting design of the chicken.
Another handy reference I discovered during our visit was the skeletons of a flightless bird, which shares a similar skeleton structure to a chicken. This set as a reminder for me to study the skeleton and muscle anatomy of a chicken since I aimed to create a mix of flesh and bones chicken beast.
Character Concept
With all the research I did, I could finally come up with a solid character backstory for my chicken:
Earth, with its growing stockpile of nuclear weapons, suddenly experiences a catastrophic failure during an experiment that causes a groundbreaking enormous explosion. The explosion strikes a lab where scientists have been experimenting with creating a nuclear weapon using chickens. The idea was to deceive their target with a harmless and small-looking creature, when in reality the chicken is the nuclear weapon itself. The intense brightness and temperature of the explosion permanently melts and blinds the chicken, forcing it to rely on its hearing. Furthermore, the already altered DNA of the chicken was mutated once again by radiation, causing it to fuse with nearby laboratory equipment and organic matter, while swallowing the deceased scientists in the laboratory to satisfy its hunger and wrath.
Description:
- A big final chicken boss which preys on whoever enters its territory in the lab
- Moves fast and make itself appear big to haunt its prey
- Blind due to the brightness of the explosion, so it relies on its sharp hearing. Which can also be a weakness, as chicken is generally afraid of loud noises
- Relies on the uranium fused within its body as a form of doping
Refined narrative here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IZcatDNE2q0E2CmgaqVtcHsbUueqD2yFitv4p-NR7N4/edit?usp=sharing
Bibliography
花先舍 (2024) ‘Tea Flower Painting NO 1’ [Artstation]. 9 January. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xD0Dwr (Accessed: 1 February 2025).
花先舍 (2023) ‘茶花绘-第三十四周’ [Artstation]. 19 December. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Zamm1R (Accessed: 2 February 2025).
花先舍 (2023) ‘茶花绘-第三十一周’ [Artstation]. 28 November. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/n0q3We (Accessed: 1 February 2025).
‘Hiroshima’ (2019) The Greatest Events of World War Two in Colour, season 1, episode 10. Available at: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80989924 (Accessed: 19 February 2025).
Lan, E. (2024) ‘Creatures of Horrors’ [Artstation]. 1 December. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rJNgAL (Accessed: 22 February 2025).
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama. [Movie]. Tokyo, Japan: Toho.
Thomas Schwenke (2024) Atomic Bombs / Nuclear Weapons – How they work! What they do! (Animation). 7 June. Available at: https://youtu.be/C_3Xv0I2YPc?si=4stLwNaZh4q2_T-d (Accessed:18 February 2025).
Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Berlin (2023) Far Cry 6 [Video game]. Ubisoft. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2369390/Far_Cry_6/ (Accessed: 17 February 2025).
Wu, T. (2019) ‘Blood Dragon’ [Artstation]. 29 January. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qAo3n2 (Accessed: 20 February 2025).