Creature design : The three eras of paleoart in Monster Hunter

Dinosaurs and Monster Hunter have gone together since the first cutscene of the first game. But how has paleoart influenced some of the most prominent beasts in the series, specifically the three defined eras of paleoart?
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[@PoorHub]

I have nearly perfectly memorized the order of which UHC announces his patrons. Not hearing him shout out "Howlith" after "Evily" and before "Archaosaur Queen" threw me off for minute.

[@youwotboi9288]

Pfps very much related

[@PoorHub]

@@youwotboi9288 Wait I have more family?! 😳

[@tanktheta]

I'm sorry for your loss. May your sanity return one day

[@youwotboi9288]

@@PoorHub I was thinking more like the pfps are the appropriate reaction to the patron mix up, but honestly, you just enhanced the joke

[@profpuffofficial2]

Someone paypal Howlith

[@BleachBasket108]

I love anja's feathers, flaps, and big chubby neck. Such a fun design, and I love how they'll just park somewhere and sun themselves with their sails deployed. Such a good touch

[@johndiddilyjoe6258]

The ultimate Turkey Vulture Rex

[@xovvo3950]

Me, seeing the sweet lil babby angel sunning itself: I need this animal to understand that I love it unconditionally.

[@telson1583]

Anja is best boy

[@randomguy4616]

Anja is my fav non flagship monster from 5th gen 👌

[@KeDe1606]

Y‘know… Anjanath used to be my least favorite 5th gen monster for the longest time. Just thought that it was nothing more than a weird hodgepodge of unrelated elements. That it was just a lazy, uninspired, slightly more quirky T-Rex. But watching this video, and reading these comments, has changed my opinion drastically. I get it now. I understand why people like it so much

[@g1sunstreaker584]

This is such a fascinating connection to make, the idea of paleoart being part of Monster Hunter design. I'm curious, how much of this is drawn from your own speculation on monster design inspiration and how much is from existing quotes on their inspiration? Like, this is a specific topic I never would have thought to draw a connection to in regards to Monster Hunter. Absolutely love this video

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

Probably around 50/50. Some of it is either stated verbatim or very clear (quote re: anja's feathers, jho and the rite of spring) and some is inferred or speculated by me.

[@greybishop7346]

@@unnaturalhistorychannel could this concept also be applied to the dromaeosaur/bird wyverian like monsters such as Tzitzi Ya Ku and Velociprey?

[@Huntereeno]

I never heard that Deviljho music reference before, that's so cool

[@augusthare]

It blew my mind more than it should

[@randomdummy3391]

Oooh so the mh team do get some inspirations for their monster theme from classical music. I wasn't seeing things when I thought that Velkhana theme really sounded like Mars from the Planets suite.

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

Bazel's theme is inspired by classical music too!

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

​@@unnaturalhistorychannel Bazel's theme was so orchestral in style and vaguely similar to existing pieces. I had to look up the name of the theme just to make sure it wasn't an existing piece with a horror sting added on the front

[@Leo-ok3uj]

Yeah you weren’t seeing things, you were hearing them though :b

[@demomantf2986]

yooo paleoart influencing mh is so cool

[@eyeof3ndr364]

I love catching an Anjanath sunning himself- like you mentioned, it's a welcome contrast to what people usually know Anjanath (and T-Rex) for, and he's just enjoying life. It's one of the reasons why he's my favourite monsters.

[@dislikebutton6269]

"Just add dinosaurs" is the answer to 99% of questions.

[@XmortoxX1990]

Anjanath is such a great monster design. It is easily on my top favorite designs of 5th gen.

[@Voc_spooksauce]

This video actually made me love these monsters even more, specially Tigrex with the connection to how it may look always starved and sleek. It's a great art theme for them

[@joseal8319]

I realize now, that the 3 eras of Paleo art and their influence in Monster Hunter has also affected its art, both fan-made and Capcom's official.

[@treyrex5987]

It's crazy to imagine these three different eras with such different design philosophies can work so well together in MH and it's even crazier to see it all in such a way that is both informative and interesting. I never even thought about how influential each era was until I watched this video. Great job on opening my eyes and giving me more appreciation for the old art and the new blood.

[@RockCarvingWind]

in terms of mundane activities represented in monster hunter, i would love to see monsters react to hunters like cats and dogs do to flies or similar, hunting and chasing them but mostly just being curious and observative, as a hunter wouldn't make an ideal meal for the most part nor should they trigger a monsters Aggression immediately

[@austinames9340]

I think it's rather telling that Monster Hunter has a better grip on paleoart and how to represent it in fiction than the Jurassic World films. Regarding Deviljho's theme, I can also hear a LOT of influence from the V. rex theme from King Kong 2005. For a suggestion on broader topics, you could talk about the whole "Elder Dragon-Level Monsters" thing and how you would personally portray them compared to how over-bloated/overblown the games make this class and who could be more reasonable creatures to fit as Elder-level threats.

[@reubencaldwell8494]

Paleoart being a part of Monster Hunter creative process makes so much sense given a lot of Japanese creative studios strong preference towards it. You can name at least a dozen anime or actual Paleo with prehistoric animals and they almost always adhere an early 2000-10s understanding of Paleontology. (They work especially well with Cambrian and Devonian marine life though for some reason.)

[@federicobonizzoni5986]

Wait japanese pop culture fantasy is heavenly based on paleo art

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

@@federicobonizzoni5986 This explains why their were dinosaurs in the halo legends anime and now I really feel great about adding dinosaurs to my halo mods knowing this.

[@shenloken2]

One artist that seemed to embrace both the retro and renaissance aspect of dinosaurs was Charles M Knight. Especially with his Laelaps pictures he did showing the more active side of dinosaurs alongside their outdated slower fatter depictions. Now in the revolutionary period of paleoart we show them still active but also fat; in fact probably even fatter than in the retro era! One thing is for certain; all three eras and their influences on Monster Hunter’s monster designs will continue to inspire the creators and players as MH has become Capcom’s most viable franchise second only to Resident Evil!

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

I never noticed this small detail before. It's so genius and creative.

[@GunlessSnake]

One idea I've had for a type of Monster Hunter video is an exploration into how Monster evolution and the prehistory of the various species has gone. You know, examining the canonical instances of living fossils, looking at the extinct ancestors of the various orders, and piecing together an idea of how the world looked in ancient times where Akantor, Ukanolos, Tigrex the size of Molten Tigrex, etc., were the norm.

[@samfish2550]

That's a big ask but would be amazing.

[@thongorshengar]

IIRC Akantor and Ukanlos wasn't really ancient flying wyvern but actually a (group) of flying wyvern that lived in isolation that they become big and lost their flight capability. If you look at their forelimb closely you could actually see vestigial wing membranes!

[@TornaitSuperBird]

And then there's monsters like Magnamalo, which are basically two giant hands flipping the bird at the history of paleo art as a whole.

[@m.zangdar6987]

He's very cool tho...

[@thehermit8618]

To be fair there have always been monsters that are more conceptual that pseudoscientific. Rise certainly pushed the boundaries in that respect what with most if not all its newcomers being based off Yokai and monsters from european folklore. Its a handy reminder that not all monsters are strictly very bold takes on paleoart and this IS a fantasy world all its own

[@goldengodgoldengod-yj4rf]

Best part is that it goes back in time (anjanath for early game and deviljho,tigeex for late game) showing that your going into a ancient more dangerous world. A monster hunter world.

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

Kind of but really it's just that fan favourites get brought back for post-release content. Anjanath was a new monster in World (MH5), Jho was introduced in Tri (MH3) and Tigrex was from Freedom Unite ("Master Rank," which was still called G rank back then, for MH2). You can encounter each sooner in their debut games. There are a few reasons you don't see a similar premier monster from MH4 but the two most important are that the first title of a MH generation rarely includes many if any of the previous title/generation's debuts (which are saved for b-series titles like Generations and Rise, or for the next generation altogether), and that 4U's main t-rex analog is actually just tigrex again, because MH4 was like a MH2 reinterpretation in response to some fans being upset about the near-total roster replacement in MH3 (after all, the "new monsters skip a generation" pattern hadn't been established yet). The next-closest thing from MH4 (a significant, powerful wyvern monster shown to dominate a foodchain) would be Seregios, but Seregios is not even vaguely t-rex like and was not an early-to-midgame monster even in its debut.

[@goldengodgoldengod-yj4rf]

@vitriolicAmaranth I understand but I am using mhw as it has all of those together and focuses more on food chain. Showing how the more you progress the more monstrous creatures get. Until something like fatalis which Is ripped out of medival drawings of a dragon that can destroy citys.

[@PirateCommando]

Mentioning the “sorely lacking” type of monsters in the series is so fascinating. Like, it’s wide open area for MH to flesh itself out. It’s like the easiest thing to fall out of believability when these massive, aggressive af, monsters have no prey to maintain themselves with. And obviously that may be a limitation of the hardware. Seeing our Hunter run from a heard of presumably frightened herbivores in the Wild’s trailer is a step in the right direction.

[@microphone_styxosaurus7078]

It would be kinda cool to see an entire ecosystem video, like, topdown looking at the flow of nutrients in world and what all the moving pieces look like together.

[@matteoattardpullicino]

we need a spinosaur monster

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

I like the idea of a big sail-backed monster rolling onto its side and pinning you under the sail while it recovers stamina or eats 😂 Really teach the next generation how to suffer

[@ogisoleman]

We got Agnaktor, at least

[@The_PokeSaurus]

I see lots of fictinal dinosaur stuff resorting to the retro style, but I have a soft sport for the Renassance style so I hope that soon takes a greater place in fictional dinosaur designs.

[@isaiahnaegi645]

A Sauropod/Iguanodont Monster would be Amazing

[@jellybingey2850]

I’d actually love that if done right Edit: oh I thought you meant a combination of the two, yeah either one would be cool

[@isaiahnaegi645]

@@jellybingey2850 Hell a Fire Breathing Parasauralophus would be a total game changer, being a brute wyvern with a long range attack

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

​@@isaiahnaegi645 Or one with a Tigrex-esque stunning roar! The horns on their heads were hollow extensions of their nasal cavities used as resonance chambers irl!

[@isaiahnaegi645]

@@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676 Clever. Where would a Sauropod go: Leviathan or Elder Dragon?

[@SomethingAboutSashimi]

​@@isaiahnaegi645 We have Larinoth, that's a sauropod. But it's a herbivore, and a small monster from Ultimate i think

[@gearguts7259]

I really adore how much detail and love went into the monster designs in MH, as an artist is inspiring and a bit terrifying how insane they are at their work

[@SamB4Sanity]

Phenomenal video. The Fantasia and Deviljho segment lit up my neurons with a twofold jolt of nostalgia.

[@davidperdue7541]

If there is anything that I can think of as a topic for discussion in a new video, I think it might be interesting to see you explore the Lynian monsters, especially the Felynes in particular. A sapient/humanoid creature emerging from a lineage outside of hominids that is able to not only coexist with humans but to also be able to live in thriving populations amongst the Wyverns and Elder Dragons might be worth looking into.

[@Alatreon2435]

Hear me out, an Allosaurus monster in base Wilds to to with Ceratonoth, and a sauropod monster in the Master Rank expansion to go with the Allosaurus.

[@RobsDHyrule]

I cannot express how much I love your content!

[@ItsEnderDiego]

with the opening it really makes me kinda sad we don't have Larinoth or a similar herbivores since generations. (also that I only now remember there was a sauropod type monster and that I had to search up the name too)

[@waywardwriterryu7185]

ever thought of doing a video on how mammals have evolved in the series from just being Bullfango, Apceros and Aptonoth to now being in a good chunk of the monster categories

[@lanie200]

The Rite of Spring part is my favorite in Fantasia next to Night on Bald mountain

[@isaacthedestroyerofstuped7676]

Night on Bald Mountain is soooo gooood

[@raydhen8840]

Hmm, Night on Bald mountain has "devil"... could Deviljho be Fantasia references all over?

[@Infernoraptor]

That point about the Fantasia reference blew my fucking mind. Amazing work as usual! Also, I always love when you throw shade without the professional tone slipping (the bit about Spinosaurus, Greg S. Paul, and the dinosapien.)

[@Lanval_de_Lai]

Luis V Rey images are used in Renaissance AND Revolution, I think he is kind of middle ground between the two styles, so is probably accurate

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

I think that speaks to Rey's duration as a paleoartist. Whilst he did still make a lot of great renaissance stuff with the usual tropes like the massive pelvic boots, he always had the original heart of the revolution with his very garish and feather-clad dinosaurs. The therizinosaur stampede is a classic of his.

[@william3100]

​@unnaturalhistorychannel my only critique about his modern work is that he leans more into trying to accurately emulate realistic backgrounds as if taken from photographs and then put the dinosaurs in them while still trying to be somewhat stylistic with the art on them a little bit but desperately trying to look photorealistic, which to me, creates kind of a tonal mishmash and just looks off to look at. I wish he stuck to the more stylized, while still realistic, aesthetic of his older artwork.

[@SomethingAboutSashimi]

I love his art

[@denisovan_the_menisovan]

I really enjoyed the video, and I eagerly look forward to the next one. There are a few questions I've been meaning to ask: - You've mentioned previously that you have degrees in zoology and ecology. As a fellow British person hoping to study biology at the undergrad level (I want to eventually be in the field of palaeontology), where did you study? - Was it Monster Hunter that got you into the subjects you eventually studied, or did something else do that? - What prompted you to start this channel? Again, I greatly enjoy what you're doing!

[@thatoneguy050]

Maybe you could do a video on the book All Yesterdays? Just an idea. Also, I did like the video explaining the various styles of paleoart. It's a really interesting topic to cover.

[@Leo-ok3uj]

He has said in multiple occasions that he doesn’t wants to just repeat what others have said and that there are already very good videos about all tomorrows So he probably never will do a video about them

[@thongorshengar]

The influence of spe-evo and paleoart on Monster Hunter's monsters designs is an underappreciated aspect of the series in general. Specevo is actually quite big in Japan as Dougal Dixon even has some Japan-exclusive book and has held some art exhibition there! Thank you for bringing this up.

[@anabominationofsightandsou7540]

I really wish we could get more sauropod monsters. The Larinoth in Generations was so cool to see, especially as my first monster hunter game.

[@toymagmadon07]

Okay, this one of the creative thumbnail you made

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

Not much competition I admit

[@tvrex1729]

Funny enough, I gave some thought to a potential environment in Wilds that could be a jungle and volcano fusion similar to early paleoart. The apex monster is (in my thoughts at least) a t rex monster with numerous lizard features including hornlets and a paralyzing forked tongue: the Squamanath! A powerful and cunning super carnivore rivaled only by the King of the Skies.

[@g1sunstreaker584]

Oh let's go! This sounds like a super cool topic, settling in for this one

[@migueljose5161]

The quick commentary about spinosaurus got me not gonna lie...

[@kennethsatria6607]

This is a spec evo fantasy game so I personally love how this world's creatures embody all three eras of dinosaur reconstructions as specialized creatures. Deviljho is as you already covered is a relatively fine design for this world apart from the favoritism, but if a Tyrannosaurus was brought back from the past it would be nearly uncontested outside of the fact they would struggle to feed themselves. At least the MH world still has megafauna to slow the decline of the species. The only one I wouldnt mind is Tigrex having more design elements to show how it can survive in cold weather. But its design is iconic and also based around pterosaurs so being kind of gaunt is not so bad either especially if it more has to do with his chest muscles.

[@huitzilinf_art]

This is an extremely well put together video! I've never had these exact thoughts but I have made these observations in the back of my head before. I love paleoart and creature design so much. They go hand in hand

[@pinkfridge6111]

Graduation and UHC vid on the same day ? Awesome !

[@TheAftaaa]

Deviljho's theme is mhtri main theme being filled with the message :"run, fool! Run!"

[@THEKHAYYYAM]

Love how u discussed their respective themes as well, monster hunter music goes so hard

[@pikamario99]

Whoa I've never seen a clip of, or went out of my way to encounter, Anjy just loafing there watching the sky. That's so cool!

[@Venalii1]

10:30 I was not prepared for the hilarity of fat Hadrosauridae

[@thisisokay3845]

yo that bit about the music with deviljho was such an insane detail i never noticed

[@glasslaughter824]

I think something interesting between Jho and his theme is that he shares the rite of spring inspiration with rathalos and fatalis. Rathlos is the part of panic in the piece, Jho the slow lumbering footsteps of the tribe people, and fatalis the human sacrifice/relentless dance of death with the maiden.

[@militarykobold]

Having only relatively recently reached Ahtal-Ka in MHGU, it instantly became my favorite "final" fight in the entire series. I would love to see a video about it- obviously its preference for man-made structures is a stretch, and mainly for thematic purposes (man takes monster parts to get stronger? Now monster takes man parts to get stronger!) but I think theres a lot of room for examination here- both of insectoid use of tools, to the ways that insects have adapted to living in manmade environments.

[@Thiccremoch162]

Already early into the video, and I’m loving the analysis on Jho’s theme. As iconic as many monster themes are, I’ve never seen much analysis of the themes themselves, it’s definitely something I’d love to see more of in the future!

[@hansschoefisch2200]

Whoa that Deviljho theme/Fantasia theme comparison is so cool. Mind blown to a certain extent.

[@objectivelypatrician5023]

Genuinely choked on my lemonade with the Spinosaurus comment

[@alzsioner1749]

12:36 anjanath marking the log with his snot and shitting shortly after is so funny to me

[@Ekusupuroshon]

Capcom should take advantage of Spinosaurus, dude has so many iterations they can make 10 different monsters from it alone.

[@ibbyseed]

What a great video. My two favorite things, monster hunter and paleontology. More videos like this pls

[@diebesgrab]

Is the pre-doldrums era too obscure or not prolific enough to count? We had Owens’s descriptions of mammal-like animals with Hawkins’s reconstructions, Huxley’s proposal of birds being dinosaur-descendants, and art of potential ancestral birds, and even some of Knight’s paleoart, such as that painting of the two fighting dryptosaurs, which show agile, active animals.

[@jaredstultz944]

How about doing a topic on small herbivores such as kelbi

[@davidperdue7541]

Great video! This was really cool

[@Kaprosuchus2394]

I wonder if Great Jagras was inspired by the early depictions of dinosaurs as giant iguana-like creatures. G. Jagras also reminds me of Slurpasaurs, where old movies would use lizards with frill and spikes glued to them to depict "dinosaurs". Perhaps, Anjanath's dominance over the Fanged Wyvern represents modern depictions of active, bird-like dinosaurs pushing away outdated concepts of oversized lizards

[@alexkazam444]

Love how indepth UHC is going with this one, We're even getting music history.

[@Soulless-x4k]

Really cool video👍

[@theblazingredcomet1954]

Honestly one of your best videos

[@adamorth5335]

Awesome video, I can’t wait to see how fictional dinosaurs change as more people become aware and accepting of this feathered appearance

[@danielwilson217]

Loved this video. And I'd bet the inspiration came from all the concept art streams? If I had to give an idea, I'd say wyvarians!! We all know about them. But we don't, really know. Love to hear you give the egg theory a crack :3. Also, I'm a big mh fan. But I didn't know about jhos theme like that. Awesome to know!!

[@TheThumbwar123]

Its crazy how similar the deviljho track is to the phantasia one, like the inspo is so clear once you hear it

[@mexicanguy727]

A good video to watch after work

[@danielbilodeau9045]

Regarding featherless "raptors" in fiction, one idea I've seen bandied about is that they not be true dromaeosaurs at all, but a completely distinct line of theropods that evolved a similar body plan independently. It's not totally without precedent; noasaurs like Vespersaurus could retract their second (and fourth) toe off the ground and carcharodontosaurs like Meraxes had a similarly enlarged toe claw.

[@MrEmilable]

NGL i would love the idea of a whole Spec-Evo start inspired by The three eras of paleoart

[@mr.trollsaur9996]

I love learning about paleoart and the impact it has on the game series that I really enjoy

[@roberthintz4017]

I never would've thought that the history of paleoart would inspire dinosaur-like monsters in Monster Hunter. Great video!

[@xemiii]

Deviljho really is an antediluvian andy

[@jockpackage1770]

13:00 that side shot of him watching the horizon as his head moves around and he's completely docile is kind of cute. Never thought I'd say that about anjanath. He even has his sails out, but no enlarged nose, for this pose too.

[@tomsimpkins1211]

Okay, I never had heard about that inspiration for Deviljho theme. That is awesome, honestly.

[@Swatman170]

I wonder if a part of why Tigrex is my favorite MH Monster is that its design echoes that Dinosaur Renaissance art that I saw as a kid (late 90's, Jurassic Park and all). Interesting to think about.

[@ASpaceOstrich]

As someone who grew up long after the duldrums era passed, this explains a lot about certain baffling depictions of dinosaurs that never quite sat right but I'd never been able to articulate until now. The upright tyrannosaurus showed up in a few places, notably rugrats, and never looked right.

[@juragunn7921]

This has got me thinking that the fanged wyvern skeleton (particularly the great jagras/dodogama rig) would lend itself well to a Crystal Palace retosaur-inspired monster.

[@NekoNinja13]

i never realized how much thought went into the designs of monsters. i just thought they were cool, but knowing they also represent design philosophies is awesome!

[@thedarkmasterthedarkmaster]

This is a really high conceptual video

[@QtipYT]

this vid was awesome i never connected the dots on tigrex being inspired that way.

[@luckypeanut9943]

The monsters just casually going about their day and existing within the maps was something sorely missed in rise, I really hope mh wilds keeps the world alive and not entirely just a big arena

[@loganusher591]

It would be interesting to see an analysis on some lizards they are directly inspired by like chameleos and a chameleon

[@stormerjc9493]

Excellent video, could you mabye do a video the insect glaive and mabye some of the parallels it has with how dogs and falcons are used in our world?

[@benmckenzie234]

I’m currently studying Zoology and possibly going to a dissertation on how influences of more modern discoveries of animal behaviour and physiology have affected the development of monsters in the series so a video on that topic might be a idea for you

[@Kurobeau]

anja just a defining monster in monster hunter. simply fantastic mix of fantasy and realism. even things like how his fire breath is beatable in a logical fashion. breaking/damaging when its flared up)

[@joseal8319]

Now that's a topic, Unnatural!

[@Cyborgianoid]

that Deviljho BGM bit i never knew it was about that, truly one insane fact, great video!

[@reshi606]

Could maybe make a video about flight in monsters how it could have evolved and how they use it in different ways

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

This is a bespoke choice for a topic, still remember the video series Thagomizers did on Paleoart eras a decade ago 😅

[@KiteMH]

I like how Tigrex’s design is, it’s like he always needs to eat and how it looks like it’s malnourished, and Anjanath’s feathers are cool👍

[@j-network1214]

I for one am excited for soil talk

[@6purdicorn7]

Have you ever considered doing a video on the (seemingly) sedentary giants of MH? Such as lao, zorah, gog and dalamadur considering they all have similar behaviors and might not take long to cover individually.

[@danelf98Dino-xw4nc]

Really like when you do videos on paleontology or talk about animals in our modern world

[@KingCringeson]

The segment on Deviljho's theme music beyond fascinating

[@mlgodzilla4206]

Waiting for UHC to do a Crash Bandicoot topic Like going over how mutations actually are in real life.

[@Dr.LemonMan]

This would be a silly idea and maybe not your jam, but would ever consider looking into the felynes? The grimalkynes were a fav addition of mine to world. It was fun to come across the palicos more "feral" cousins

[@happiman9484]

Plant 👏And 👏Soil 👏Talk👏