Creature Concept Art - Using Animal Classifications & Functionality Realistically

In this short course I will explain how you can use Animal Classifications & Functionality (in the wild and for humans) to come up with realistic yet unique character designs. We will define all of the aspects through comparing animals with animals!
Comment if you'd look feedback on your work from me!
Follow me on my instagram: / ebi_amziss
Follow me on twitter: / ebi_amziss
(This was made as a student assignment for the HKU)
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SUNDAY MORNING by Nicolai Heidlas Music / nicolai-heidlas
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Video

[@Nova-jw6ju]

putting a bear next to an elephent where the bear is the same size, makes bears look a lot scarier

[@HER_Only_sIN]

Perhaps you should make your own creature, a bear with the size of an elephant!

[@cacti6042]

i thought it made the elephant just seem small

[@dragongold63]

i saw it more as a normal bear and a tiny elephant.. so it was actually kinda cute ^^

[@joashbritto]

@@dragongold63 RIP elephant

[@blackdragoncomics3186]

Should see the bears in far cry primal. Scariest thing i saw was a bear the size of a mammoth run up to a mammoth, wrestle it to the ground, rip its throat out, and then roared at me. I nearly wet my self.

[@purplehaze2358]

Me: I haven't done creature design in so long, and I'm scared to get back into it! KZbin algorithm (actually being good for once):

[@tobiassuarez948]

Hold back that dirty chainsaw!

[@imapotato2349]

KZbin: I'm about to help this person's whole future

[@HER_Only_sIN]

Dr Bright, I didn't know you did creature design!

[@purplehaze2358]

@@HER_Only_sIN Now, why wouldn't I do that, exactly?

[@HER_Only_sIN]

@@purplehaze2358 Good point, good point. With all the time in the world you have!

[@hwen4822]

There's one thing forgotten!😅 That is, on the animal features, in order for the animal to have that feature, why does it need it? For example, on the Primate example you gave, it has a big build and thick white/transparent fur for camouflage. But as you said, it lives in a cold climate. For an animal to survive in a cold climate, it needs to stay warm, and fur is not enough, it also needs fat. Especially for such a large animal. So instead of being muscular, it needs to be fat. Why do ducks have webbed feet? It provides them the ability to explore more places to find more food. Why does the Stegosaur have those backplates? So that the blood vessels in those plates can easily be cooled by the cold air and then circulates it when the body gets too warm.

[@theamziss]

This is great feedback, you could cover all of this in an entire separate video really. Interesting stuff nature :)

[@mllscreen8894]

Yay stegosaurs 😊

[@vbgvbg1133]

*_then wtf are platypuses_*

[@charlieterry8506]

@@vbgvbg1133 it's when evolution shrugs. a 5 second google search tells me the answer to "WTF are platypuses?" is "egg-laying mammals that 'lost their stomachs during the course of evolution'" and the and the answer to the inevitable fallow up question of "Why The Fuck are platypuses [like this]?" is "no one is really sure". also they sweat milk.

[@vbgvbg1133]

Charlie Terry Everyone knows they lay eggs, my dude. The question was, *_why the hell they gotta be like dat_*

[@theprivatesector9797]

You should start adding rib cages. They help.

[@keengoon116]

Is it bad that I didn't notice until I read this

[@peeblekitty5780]

@@keengoon116 Me neither... O.o

[@arlo6688]

Flight, Jumping, Running, Swimming... sounds familiar... oh wait, the freakin' Duck Life games

[@StarSailor1343]

Aaaa I love Duck Life!!! I thought I was the only one who knew about it!

[@epochii2756]

@@StarSailor1343 dude!!! Duck life was my childhood!!!!

[@vbgvbg1133]

*_you’ll never beat my duck, it’s literally duck god now_*

[@awesomesillyman]

Duck Life was the bomb back in middle school.

[@durdleduc8520]

Just gonna mention: the idea of an ape the size of a rhino is horrifying.

[@vbgvbg1133]

*gigantopithecus time*

[@mcxopjesh]

@Pr1kly: The Pretentious Prick Rajang has been despatched, ETA October. Conclusion? Prepare for hell.

[@carlagordon31]

@@mcxopjesh huzzah a man of culture

[@sunnyirissohlei7266]

The art style is sooo good! I wish I had a gaint book of animals in this art style.

[@umu-umuumu-umu8942]

Don't worry about art style, just draw. You'll find your art style as you go.

[@umu-umuumu-umu8942]

Don't worry about art style, just draw. You'll find your art style as you go.

[@f3rn436]

Yeah I wish! But I just would actually want figures of it so I could hold,study, and admire!

[@devirped]

Fantastic and well thought out content. This is also easy to follow and the structure of the video is great.

[@theamziss]

Thankyou! I didn't expect such positive feedback :)

[@connecttotheinternet1903]

Wow like no. 499.. Almost!

[@GnarledStaff]

I recommend a channel called Tierzoo for some great ideas on what abilities animals have. For example, humans have high stamina regen, with the “sweat” ability allowing them to catch up to fast moving prey over long distances (as opposed to ambush predators like felines who extend a lot of stamina for a short burst where they must obtain a critical hit).

[@tobiassuarez948]

Since the meta has heated up, investing evolution points is important in such abilities.

[@nabuchodonosormcgalapatram6941]

Can we ban cats pls? They tend to fuck the meta up when they spawn somewhere.

[@kuinoaaa5720]

I have to thank you for introducing me to my new favorite channel 👏✨

[@alexdefariabarbosa4809]

thanks mate

[@emberd-l795]

@@nabuchodonosormcgalapatram6941 Well yeah, but they make sure the Rats don't take over.

[@rainjinsaga1258]

This is an information goldmine. I always had trouble designing creatures for my stories and this was a major help.

[@mediocregamer2484]

I like how there are a lot of subconscious details that we notice that for animals in real life that make us feel something off when those details arent present in drawings

[@MaxJ.ProfessionalLilGuy]

Super professional, well made video! I was a little caught off guard when you said "Ask for feedback and help in the comments, and I'll let you know" because I realized that this isn't a company with a high budget making these, it's just a really helpful and professional creator. Great job with the video!

[@BadTacoKitty]

Amazing content! When I clicked on the video it was packed with information and I will honestly say I have learned something!

[@theamziss]

Glad to have been of help!

[@starthememelord]

I cAN FInAlLY Draw RaTs-

[@mangostien8646]

congRATS- hehe that is terrible

[@AVspectre]

I am not experienced with drawing - only doodling. My favourite thing to draw though is fantastical creatures that merge elements of real animals. This is so useful! Thanks!

[@ItsDarcey]

I found this video just now, and I just had to say that it's GREAT!! It was SO Nicely structured and easy to understand, it was straight to the point and yet showed So Much, Thanks for making this!

[@theamziss]

No problem, I am so glad this helped you and other people out! Never expected such positive feedback, thankyou :)

[@marianaolmosgonzalez9130]

You have a pretty androgynous voice ❤️ (pretty in both meanings)

[@fynnfluff]

Fantastic video. I unconciously thought about most of that before, but it helps a lot to bring structure to it. It's a lot easier to study this way too. Thanks for the great video!

[@noahlundberg3288]

For dog sleds you don't use reins but rather commands, I love this video though

[@Thesivor]

i am half way through and i see you put WAR as a usability but at the bottom and faded. I must say very nice

[@takocake7545]

this is rather simplistic. don't forget, there are animals that are both warm and cold-blooded.

[@theamziss]

True, was doubting wether to go into more detail or keep it simple for the sake of the video! I'll keep your comment in mind, thanks.

[@a_peridox]

This is a wonderful video; I'm so so so bad at drawing animals that look interesting without messing up their proportions. I will definitely be coming back to this video

[@nevercallmebyname]

as usual this information should only be applied to fantasy. Realistically animals on other planets will not fall into the same categories and will have their own bone structures. Alien animals that could be classed as invertebrate would be more common than ones that could be classed as vertebrate and other classes may show up as well such as animals with an internal skeleton but no spine. The adaptations we see on earth would recur but with entirely unexpected results. You would be more likely to find a hoofed salamander-starfish with a unicorn horn than a giant blue horse with antennae. The animal's natural function in the wild would be one we are familiar with. I doubt there are a great many ecological niches that we haven't already seen or that can't at least be compared to a similar one we are familiar with. Usability as well would be the same with the exception of things like symbiotes who's function is either to enhance an ability of the host like an infinite steroid or provide access to an ability the host doesn't naturally possess. Please do not follow advice on fantasy creatures when designing for science fiction. We need more Darwin IVs and fewer Pandoras, Tatooines, Qonoses...

[@goldybays8654]

I use the game spore as a way to get ideas for creatures. The graphics arent very good nor the movements, BUT it's highly customizable in the sense of posture and dramatic and real bone structure.

[@zuzu4281]

I can't express how much this video has helped me with my fantasy creatures and designs of them. This was very usefull,thank you so much ❤

[@finngately479]

Arguably one of the best videos I've ever watched on KZbin, subbed

[@reibean9542]

Have you ever felt so much inspiration you wanted to cry and throw up but smiling so big anyway?

[@slothful2039]

Errr, don't cry or throw up that's not a very good response xD. Stick to the smiles.

[@koyo5088]

No.

[@ay7164]

Me rn

[@mikedanielespeja6128]

This is me drinking yogurt mixed with wine. minus the inspired feeling.

[@kenalf123]

a good book to help with this is the science of creature design by terryl whitlatch

[@connorbaldock4054]

I binge bought all three of her books about 2 weeks ago, they're like a bible at the moment

[@emmarina3525]

i've been wanting to by that for some time, too expensive

[@connorbaldock4054]

@@emmarina3525 got them for my birthday, before that, I looked on Terryl's artstation, she has some of her work up on there

[@connorbaldock4054]

Another good artist is Nicolas morel, he doesnt have a lot of anatomical studies but the ones he does have are on zbrush and they're really useful

[@jayc.9713]

You need more subs. This helped me a lot!

[@spambaconeggspamspam]

As a biologist, props to this video!

[@Rubatose]

I created a cross between a horse and a wolf. I wanted to find the correct balance. I noted how their heads have a similar structure, so I pulled the mouth on the horse way back to where the teeth end, like a dog, and gave it sharp teeth. Instead of loping like an ungulate, the horse sprints in a doglike fashion with legs similar in structure to those of a wolf. Its back curves upward towards the end and it has a long bushy tail which wags instead of a horse tail. At the end of its legs there are paws with very large and sharp claws instead of hooves. Other than that, the creature has the features of a horse in its neck, facial and bone structure other than its spine, and the sounds it makes are some hell-wrought contortion between a howl and a neigh. I'm happy with the outcome and I think it's a nice balance. It helps, if you're doing what I'm doing and creating some strange cross between two unlikely creatures, if you find ones that look alike.

[@sixtytwo-days6058]

Saige Lashbrook Did you post it on social media ? I’m curious of how it turned out, it sounds cool.

[@keyboardcockatoo4567]

I love the creature you showed at the end!

[@RoseDragoness]

oooh this is amazing! It is more than 'learn anatomy', as it breakdown what and why to learn! Thank you very much!

[@SumZi_Snaps]

Thank you so much for this!! I'm currently doing a worldbuilding project at college and I've been given the task of designing the creatures. I've made lots of notes, and I already know how incredibly helpful they're going to be! 😁

[@bernatgarcia6348]

I would seriously watch infinite videos of you drawing your own creatures (with or without explanation). It's so incredible and inspiring!

[@farosamor]

Your art is absolutely beautiful and the designs are so creative :D This tutorial looks so professional and it is really informative. Good job!

[@DiMadHatter]

I love that snow gorilla! Super realistic, this video will help me a lot! Thanks!

[@globin3477]

Very well done. Your animal classification is extremely simplified (Eg, if you ask a taxonomy expert, you'll find that birds are, in fact, reptiles, due to their dinosaur heritage), but it's functional.

[@theamziss]

Thankyou! I myself am very fascinated about science, especially evolution. I do want to add, birds are officially classified as birds. But there is also another (less popular) classification model that can be used in which birds and mammals are also reptiles because of their common ancestors. Because this video is focussed on drawing animals, I used the commom classification method that doesn't look at genetics but at fenotype and the way an animal lives :) So a bird can be a bird, but also a reptile. It depends what type of classification you use 😁

[@globin3477]

@@theamziss I don't think there's any accepted classification that places mammals as reptiles. The classification I spoke of makes "reptile" a synonym of "sauropsid", the group of tetrapods that contains all reptiles, dinosaurs, and birds. This is the sister group to the synapsids, of which mammals are the only surviving members. Another noteworthy detail is that crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other reptiles, such as lizards. That said, while I tend to prefer taxonomical descripions, the conventional systems are entirely functional for most purposes.

[@lenap4956]

Thank you for the crash course and laying some foundations about creature design

[@BRUH-qe2xb]

Thanks for the concepts designs❤

[@VIKtm]

Thank you for the tips! Keep up the good work. Nice Great Ape concept as well.

[@zerareota1560]

This was super helpful! I had just started questioning where I would even start with my animal designs and now I basically have a step by step guide for how to start each new animal I make!!

[@neco5740]

I know this was made for school many jears ago. But if you made some more videos like these I would definitely watch them

[@laurakramer4888]

Birds and reptiles have always been my forte. But man, mammals stump me every time. This video was super helpful

[@Zaire82]

When I came to this video, I wasn't expecting this quality of explanation.

[@original_pranxter]

Very nice and definitive guide. I like content that goes straight to the point. Good job! Waiting for more videos like this! Also you are in a good drawing shape. So much attention to detail, even sketches look finished:)

[@MickyBunrs]

Do you have these skeleton graphics somewhere to take a closer look?

[@cosmopoiesecriandomundos7446]

You can Google it. If you don't find your animal, use skeletons from similar animals.

[@imkuelllgremlin]

i love creating creatures, this really helps!!

[@CoenKommer]

Still one of my favorie videos on animal anatomy And creature design

[@scottriddell3514]

Men I wish there was a book that would teach you all this

[@haithan9205]

This video should be known more. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@spicynoodles2742]

This is sooooo helpful, thank you very much. There are many things that I didn't even take into account when designing creatures, and this helped me a lot XD.

[@elysahatestostudy9364]

This is a great short curse, thank you very much!

[@InkyArcana]

Awesome video! It's so clear and has good helpful information! (Also your art is wonderful!) Thank you for making such quality content!✨

[@TheOneAndOnlyKittyCat]

I never really thought about most of this, and even though my character designs aren't totally bad, your video will certainly increase my attention towards the things I've done wrong. Thank you!

[@electrnair8677]

I’ve never done creature design, but I’m going to get into it! This helped a ton!

[@Sona-gc7wj]

Amazing video! Full of useful advice and beautiful art. I wish you all the best in your career

[@littlefroo2593]

This an an absolutely brilliant video!

[@nataliayev]

This is a really great video! I love your ability to do a bunch of different types of animals, very talented!

[@018FLP]

Such great points and observation expertise! Thank you so much, miss!

[@fffffeeeee]

An awesome video just loved the way you perfectly have classified the animals great that'll be useful for me in my creations thank you

[@okartlenecromancien8095]

Thank you for this course !

[@moontrooper2587]

I usually create fantasy creatures literally from the ground up. I will make a quick biosphere and evolve creatures based on what’s available, and the most logical designs to survive in a given environment. Deconstruct the universe, calculate gravity and ground tensile strength, atmospheric density, and whether an organism uses water or ammonia sometimes. Close to every part of a creature should serve a function, and remember that not many creatures evolve to be perfect at a certain task. As long as a creature can survive and reproduce, evolution will keep it; maybe add a minute mutation or 2 every generation or so.

[@timetraveller6910]

You definitely need more views, this is amazing

[@thelaughinglynx7445]

I'll be saving this to my drawing playlist, thank you for giving me some structure and inspiration

[@SimonC021]

fantastic video! clear and concise. Love it!

[@MurrayJones-od2gd]

This is a really awesome video, it helped me a lot! Thank you

[@slotheatworld]

I found this very helpful. Thank you. ❤️

[@valasafantastic1055]

Great stuff! Really simply put with a high level of skill! Comparative anatomy is an extremely helpful tip.

[@thesocialdemocracyofwuzilu7192]

This is a great tutorial, I'm getting back into creature design for my new game and this helped a ton!

[@tadas7985]

Very underrated. Thanks.

[@alicemonstrinho]

This is such a great video, I learned a lot! Just subscribed and I'd love to see more content, you're a great teacher and artist :)

[@henrypham7717]

wow this is very-well thought out! thank you for sharing your talent!

[@devinblair1548]

Now THIS is valuable, quality content; I'll be thrilled if you choose to make more!

[@crow5326]

this is super helpful! , i was really struggling with creature design but this definitely will help.

[@OrangeDragonofDusk]

Very helpful! Need to try this technique out

[@makiroalester8983]

This very useful to me seeing my oc can turn into a wolf like creature ;-;

[@vikiwayne7130]

Easy to understand, good job

[@jo3_the_artbot791]

I would love so many more of these vids! :)

[@dwightalexander2648]

Thank you! I am finding ways on how to create a speculative evolution type of thing. Because i'm writing a book, and was setting it on an entirely new planet. Using animals on earth doesn't really feel that realstic, so i'm glad i've seen this video.

[@mandalora5325]

Amazing video, very very helpful and right to the point, which is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much!!

[@Kickassds7]

Really cool video , i love it !

[@floranse5205]

This is so helpful!! Thank you so much for making this, definitely worth the sub :)

[@Lakeside80]

Very clear! I'm trying to create fantasy creatures, so the usability/abilities are great!

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

This is a neat approach to creature design

[@rainbowsomeone]

this is so incredibly useful!!

[@Nunofurbiznus]

Well done! More content like this and you got my subscription

[@BushWithAGun]

thx, bc I wanna start making more biologic creatures

[@magestivcasabaJ]

I will be in a Creature Design class soon, I hope your offer for critique is still valid as it's been 5 years!!!

[@nathan_j_hill]

Amazingly helpful - Thank you

[@shizregreeko9728]

I LOVED IT THANKS ♡

[@valasafantastic1055]

Very well done! Fantastic and useful!

[@gabeitchm]

That’s cool and all, but where can I see what YOU’VE DONE!! I want to see more!!!

[@robinthebuilder1144]

This is amazing!

[@heroiam4067]

this is a great video, keep doing them!

[@momocisse3823]

HII this is the best video ever you cant desapear you have to come back and do more like this please

[@Belewiel]

Thank you! This is really helpful!

[@dragonwolf2004]

This was very useful thank you so much

[@SmiileySmiiles]

Amazing video ❤

[@leafhawkstudiosofficial8711]

So, I made a creature recently. It's a 2.5mt tall eart elemental that I had so much fun making. The concept is that they are pretty smart and loyal fellas, and as such kept as exotic pets or used in the military. They have a wooden structure for bones, they lack skin but they have soil for muscles, wich makes grass (aka fur) grow. That grass needs to be shed once a month because it withers and without it, these creatures cannot perform photosynthesis. I must say, your video inspired me soooo much! Can't wait to draw more!