Visual Development
Covering everything from research, character design, and environments, and all the way down to color palettes and moods, I am able to establish a consistent aesthetic of a visual piece of media entertainment.
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The Raven
Created for a theoretical horror video game, the Raven is designed to be the main boss of a world stuck in limbo. The player’s objective is to figure out how to safely return to the land of the living; however, many monstrous creatures will test the protagonist’s strengths. One of these monsters is the Raven.
Concepting
Before I even started to think of lore, the first step I took was creating rough silhouettes of different monstrous forms. This allowed me to get out as many ideas and shapes as possible in a rather short amount of time. From there, I then picked my favorites and continued to develop their designs. In the end, I ultimately went with the humanoid-bird-creature.
The design is based on slavic folklore about ravens, hence the creature’s name, and how they are told to be able to travel between realms of the living and the dead. I also combined human elements with bird and dinosaur aspects in order to further the uncanny appearance of the Raven. When the monsters yells out, I imagine the sound could be a cross between the raspy caw of a bird and the strangled, pained yell of a human. These elements not only increase the horror aspect of the character, but would therefore escalate the overall unsettling atmosphere of the gameplay.
Infected Ideations
Initial Ideations
Water Serpent Ideations
The Raven Ideations
Saint Ideations
The Raven Turn-Around, Wingspan, and Portrait
The Raven’s Descent
For this illustration, I wanted to really focus on creating a piece that felt like a scene you would experience within the game as opposed to a more decorative illustration promoting the game (such as thumbnail number 4, which would work fantastically as a poster or box art).
Here, the Raven is shown to be hunting within the light of the moon. The buck represents the protagonist in the video game as they are seemingly innocent and unaware of the dangers lurking in the treetops right behind them. However, much like the large, pointed antlers adorning the buck’s head, the protagonist’s wit is just as sharp, and would prove to be a good match against the Raven.
Thumbnails, Inking, Values, and Color Palette for The Raven’s Descent
The Raven’s Descent Final