Not really, just some designs that didn't get approved. Basically the same problems I had before, they want the fuzzy 'werewolves' (I can't call them Were anymore since they are just large wolves.) It's frustrating, I'm known for doing Anthros and when I think I might be able to do them I'm once again hog tied. But, the bright side is I can use the main werewolf for myself, and I know just were he'll fit in:)
Oh, just a few wolf fun facts. Large wolves live in cold areas and thus have SMALL rounded ears. The larger pointy ear ones are smaller, and have a good deal of coyote in them. Dire wolves aren't larger than regular wolves, they just have larger heads (for crushing bones) and in some cases are smaller since they have shorter legs than regular wolves. The alpha crap you've heard so much about? Not true, that's all from captive wolf pacts that basically shove a bunch of un-related wolves together, not natural behavior. Actual pacts are small and are usually made up of mom, dad and the kids. Small pacts will get together and form larger temporary pacts during the summer months to hunt large prey or split up even further and get back together when the weather turns colder. Basically what I'm saying is this, if you write about wolves, actually read about them.
Best,
Brett
OOh, I really like that. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, are these related to Fool Moon at all? I was always disappointed that the wolves in that were just wolves, even the big bad was just a really big wolf.
ReplyDeleteHi MuffinHunter,
ReplyDeleteThanks:) I'll get that anthro werewolf book done eventually;)
Yeah, I wanted to see if I could get a slightly more interesting loup-garou (which according to folklore is what I would draw, but they wouldn't budge, they want big wolf.) But I can plop them into my Primal Instinct world no problem:) One of the reasons they are so loosely sketched, I hate doing a bunch of work and it doesn't get approved.
Best,
Brett
Now, ya see, if you had posted these earlier, I would have sided with you.
ReplyDeleteThe publisher clearly does not have a clue.
What I like about these designs, particularly from afar, and in the big pose, is that one could easily mistake them for a wolf. Kerry Gamill showed a proposed design he did for Peter Benchley's Creature while working for XFX studios (Stan Winston got the job, and Gammills design was never used since XFX did not get the job). The creature was anthro too, shark and human, but designed in such a way that when underwater, it would be mistaken for a shark.
These designs, and this is a compliment, remind me of that. The idea of this anthromorphic creature, at night or from afar, would look very similar to a wolf. He is built for speed, and can obviously crush bones with his jaws.
While we can see that he walks upright, when he runs he knows that the use of all fours would enable him to have have a much faster maximum speed.
The publisher was wrong for not going with this design. They should differentiate their characters from what is currently out there, not go with the big wolf Twilight designs.
Really, the lack of creativity evident in Twilight is staggering, and disheartening.
M.O.R.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't show this at that point because I hadn't drawn it yet! The original post was about wanting werewolves that look like wolves and when I did that they weren't scary. I don't find wolves scary myself but to each their own.
These are simple character (or monster in this cast) designs, just to give them a vague idea about where I wanted to go. Not wolf enough for them, but that's why I did them.
This Dresden books was actually done before the Twilight stuff, so I'm not sure why he decided to go this way. The book can be read with either interpretation, I just don't get to use mine in this case, it happens.
Best,
Brett
What do you think of the other trend in a lot of these books of having the various shape-shifters have both a "regular animal" form and a hybrid anthro form? It's not really in keeping with the folklore that I know of, but I don't really hate it, probably a relic of my childhood days when I could never decide which type I liked more. :)
ReplyDeleteMuffinHunter,
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of biased on this since my own werecreatures do that;) I like it, you can blend with humans, have the strength of the wereform and then the stealth of the animal. Quite cool I think:)
Best,
Brett
I used to go in phases as a kid between four-legged and two-legged preferences (I've really had this werewolf thing for a long time, not sure why :)). Then I found the Werewolf: The Apocalypse books where they had both (well, actually, they had FIVE forms back then) and ever since it's been my preference.
ReplyDelete