Project ‘S’
Project ‘S’ - An Ongoing Visual Development Project
I have been creating a cultivating a world full of monsters. What does that world look like? What sorts of people live in this world overrun with terrifying creatures? How does the world function if people are constantly being attacked? All of these questions and more is the thought proccess behind creating a much larger project.
Project ‘S’ is a way to explore the visual development process and creating ways for people to understand how much larger projects are made. As this project is on going, more and more work will be put here.
The World
The idea for this project stems off from how Pixar starts coming up with ideas on movies. They start of with a question;
“What if?”
I thought of; ‘What if there was monster hunters sent off to hunt down a creature but it turned out to be the wrong one?’ very similar to a bad heist movie where the spies grab the wrong thing. This spiraled into world building and figuring out a whole world where this problem could’ve even happened.
I started with concepts of creating 3D models of a sea shanty town, run down with constant repairs to buildings. Some made of durable stone, but intermixed with parts of boats and mis-matched wood. Then I illustrated ontop of those models to get the final looks you see here.
I then thought of creating a sense of scale for potential creatures living in this world. For example, a sea serpent compared to the size of a trading ship. If these ships were in constant danger and bombardment of monsters, then it would make sense to camoflauge them to look like monsters. Maybe creature parts could even enhance travel?
I then wanted to create some eerieness to these creatures, these monsters. They should be terrifying, having the ability to destroy entire villages possibly even cities.
But even monster hunters could mistake one monster for another? What if these hunters thought a young sea creature was the monster they were sent to hunt down. Only to realize that they’ve made a grave mistake?
What would a Monster Slayer look like?
Introducing… Bastian!
In this world of Monsters vs. Monster Slayers, I’ve thought about what types of characters would be in this world. A mix of skill, being able to hunt down the creatures would be needed by any Slayer. Bastian is a prime example.
Though admittedly Bastian is still in his early stages of design and character, he is a work in progress. Working as a ship captain, its his job to make sure that he maintains his sea trade route for his kingdom, The Kraken Slayers. He is a bit cocky, but knows what he is doing and doesn’t need to show off in order to prove his skill as a monster hunter.
In the next round of designs, I want to incorperate more of a tentacle design into his clothing. Inspiration from Minoan pottery and Pacific Island Tattoo design. I believe that incorperating ideas from the two will create a sense of ancestry, but also status and visual difference from your every day person in this world.
