ILLUS-3924

CREATURE LAB

Faculty: Lars Grant-West

Course Level: Junior, Senior, 5th Year

3 CREDITS

This class is designed to train students in the art of creature creation/design. Students will be studying animal anatomy and physiology with a focus on adaptations to meet specific environ- mental pressures. Following a structured process to design beasts for a variety of genres, the class will explore the genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror. Also featured will be class discussion regarding the psychological implications of different aesthetic choices using crea- tures from film and literature as case studies.

From ancient mythology and folklore to today’s high-powered movie and video game industry, the creation of fantastic creatures is a well-established and revered craft. This class builds on that long legacy. Expect to the depths of your imagination to shape your creations, flesh them out using the rich palette of real-world animal adaptations, then breathe life into them with your own personal style. Class discussion of the natural world will kickstart your out-of-class re- search as your beasties are captured in realistic renderings using media of your choice. Each assignment will deliver a specific set of parameters within which students must generate multi- ple sketches. A strong emphasis will be set on finding real world reference which will inform the creation of fantastic creatures. Students will be responsible for their own creations but are likely to need to make edits that come up in class critique. Some of these edits will be “suggestions” (as they generally tend to be in class critiques), while others will be mandatory (with the instruc- tor playing the role as art director/employer in crit situations). Students will design inhabitants for specific fantastic environments or genres, illustrate creatures from literature and folklore, re-envision classic critters, and create plenty of others from scratch. Whether your interest is in concept art, sculpting in clay or pixels, or finished 2D illustration, arrive ready to create!