Selective Sketches from August

Hmmm...
The only one out of those I like is the design for Goth (the inked bat on the right) from Kennith Oppel's Silverwing trilogy. But these sketches weren't suppose to have hours spent on them, just idea jotting or doodling things that pop into the head. There are more, but these are the best (nit-picked).
I'm curious where the inspiration for the ferret and the butchers knife came from though...

Terror Bird of Paradise (Dropped)

This thing has been hanging around for the better part of a month now and I frankly just want it over and done with. I spent far too long on the research, that was the problem. So when I made the mistake of putting a pencil sketch directly onto a texture I didn't have the heart to do another again. Problem was the sketch wasn't dark enough on the scan. I fiddled around and the only thing I could think of was to you "Colour Dodge" filter to bring out the dark lines; then flatten and then do a "Colour" layer above that. Didn't work. So, I'm dropping it.
Maybe one day I'll come back to it...who knows.

Terror Bird of Paradise: Part 2 (Thumbnails for Final Outcome)

Thumbnails just to start thinking what the Final outcome would look like. I am very drawn to the second-top with a panoramic landscape behind. However, I wanted to show a predatory side to this bird as was described in my made-up brief.

"Requirements of the Brief:
* The Bird must keep a carnivorous profile, ie eyes of a hunting bird and beak to match. I might help to consider what it may hunt

(as you can see I was thinking of island creatures like Galapagos tortoise and even Dodos.)

* There must be some sort of spectacular plumage of a warm colouration (reds/yellows ect)

* Though the creature itself is fictional, it is still prehistoric. Keep this in mind. Don't put a modern species in the background. "
( Tortoises have certainly been around for a long time, the Dodo I'm not sure of. If I ever go with that idea I can always make it into a fictional relation of the Dodo, like an ancestor.)

To have the Panoramic version might make the Terror Bird seem less predatory. BUT, the features (beak, ect) should speak for itself.

At the moment, the Panoramic and the "Tortoise Meal" are at level pegging. I still need to gather research into what a Terror Bird would look like feeding, either by watching Nature Programs like BBC's Walking with Beasts or looking at modern carnivore birds like Eagles and those African Secretary Bird who eat snakes.

Terror Bird of Paradise: Part 1 ( Thumbnail Sketches)

Just some thumbnail sketches for my new project, Terror Bird of Paradise. The first one was to see if there was a good basic shape I can work with. The second was to take a detailed look at the head. I particularly like the one on the top right with the rough saber-beak. The chicken-like one on the middle-bottom is also strangely appealing.

Iscribble Doodles #1

Just chilling on Iscribble, thought I'd try to visualise some of my characters from my novel. These are Quez, leathery Pterasaurid-like creatures. Top Left, is Namad, as an example of the male of the species with his red crest. Below him is Sunstripe (the protagonist) with Samillio the mouse. On below her is her mother, Sunspot, who dies in the prologue.

Rejected Joker Cards

Here are the cards that didn't make it onto the final picture (shown in July's post, "Burning the Deck") These were only rough concepts, just to see how they would look in card format and to consider if they'll look good in a smaller scale.