Creature Design Advice From Mike Corriero - Part 3

"Habitat, Environment or Ecosystems play a major role in the development of an animal or creature's design.

It's due to the varied terrain that animals belonging to the same family evolve over time to adapt to their surroundings. This is how individual species are born during the process of evolution, branching off from one animal into many different though similar variations. This is why the environment in which an animal lives is an integral part of creature design. It helps if you think of your design in the sense of it being a species. If you're drawing sketches and designing a creature, if you think of it as a species; then come multiple factors to keep in mind during this process. As is the case with a living animal on earth, we need to bare in mind how this creature functions in all aspects of life. How does it interact within its ecosystem, how has the anatomy come to evolve due to its surroundings? Where does it fit within its fictional Animal Kingdom?"

You'll find Part 3 of Mike Corriero's advice re. creature design at the Art Character & Creature Design blog here. (Part 1 & Part 2).