Sketchbook: Tentacles

We were given a task to create a 'tentacle creature' this week. This is my current mood board which is going to direct and possibly influence my final design. I chose to focus on how tentacles have been presented both in artwork as well as films and games.

My first design is this ugly swine, I quite like the mouth but the body is mainly obscured by thick mud and water, so there's not a lot to the design other than the tentacles. The design was influenced by The Kraken and the mud worm creatures from King Kong. I like the style and line work, maybe he is some sort of living tree, with tentacle-like living branches that ensnare victims and drag them below the bog? Either way, I think I want something a lot more octopus-like, I like the classic suckery type tentacles, so I'd rather create an octopus or squid like creature or something with personality, rather than a thrashing death beast.

After a few sketches and ideas, I've settled on this design for my tentacled creature. I love this design, I like the bony structure of the body and the posture, and the way the tentacles are implemented. As I mentioned before, I wanted to make something with a little more character, rather than just being a beast, so I gave him some personality by adding in the 'clamtern' (lol ocean puns). Maybe he's some sort of ancient guard of an underwater sunken treasure?

Photoshop progress report... Decided to implement some of the skills we learnt yesterday, got a base colour down first (you would not believe the amount of colours I went through before I settled on this), then I blocked in the shadows on a different layer to add a little more depth, and combined the two to give me the third picture. Really useful technique, if only I'd known this when I'd first started using Photoshop, would have saved me a hell of a lot of time! Just a case of painting in details now and adding some more colour and texture... Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

- - - Here is the final design, after some painting in Photoshop to add some lighting, texture and detail.

'Deep within the ruins of Drenchhold, an ancient treasure lies hidden away, powerful enough to turn tides and master the ocean itself. The Drenchguard, a grotesque species of tentacled guardians are the sole protectors of the Eye of the Sea, ready to seek out and destroy any who breach the sacred fort in an attempt to claim the treasure. Their luminous clamterns light up the pitch black depths, allowing them to keep a vigilant eye on the hallowed halls of their fortress.'