Creature Design / Character Illustration

Nepu, the Explorer

I wanted to create a little alien that could fit into a videogame about exploring planets. The idea was making them somewhat anthropomorphic, but without resembling an human too much.

Nepu - Process

1. Design Explorations

2. Color tests

3. Rendered art

The Nøkken

The Nøkken is a very dangerous and terrifying creature of the Norwegian folklore. It lives in lakes and ponds, and it is said that it attacks those who approach the shore. The Nøkken has been described as a creature with skin like that of a drowned corpse, and it's covered in seaweed from head to toe. Its huge mouth is full of sharp teeth and its bright eyes can often be seen floating just above the water surface. Taking all those details into account, I decided to make my own version of this creature.

Nøkken - Process

1. Silhouettes

2. Silhouette detailing

Three silhouettes were picked to make different versions out of each of them.

3. Selected design exploration

Trying different faces and figuring out the body structure and the way the creature moves.

4. Turnaround and details

5. Color tests

6. Illustration

Nayaur

This creature is part of a bigger project tittled Oniro, a story about dreams and nightmares that become real, disturbing the balance and life in the real world. 

Nayaur - Process

1. Thumbnails

2. Turnaround

3. Rendered Art

Character Illustration: Bianchi

Lastly, and leaving aside creature design, I'd like to introduce another character from Oniro. Bianchi is a young sorceress and a master of dream interpretation. Her tea shop is popular in town: she infuses her magic into the drinks, and is able to make them have all kind of properties.

Bianchi - Process

1. Thumbnails

Since Oniro is an old project that I wanted to remake, I already had base designs to work from. I focused on re-designing the clothes of the character.

Four designs were selected and then combined and redefined until I was happy with the result.

2. Color tests

4. Illustration Thumbnails

5. Illustration Color Tests

6. Final Illustration

Thanks for viewing!