#whoopsies some annotations were left in so I removed them - Mod Seraph

[worldbuildguild]

Anatomy and also maybe aesthetic (only if you want to though. anatomy is the big one). This thing is based mostly off of gorilla anatomy, with additional big cat for the back legs. I want the tail to balance it bc of the front being so heavy, but I can’t figure out how to realistically do that. It walks on its knuckles because of large claws and does have thumbs, but they’re not as opposable as a primate’s. It’s also meant to have pretty heavy fur but I didn’t include that so the body would be more visible. 

Man oh man! This is exciting. I love me some creature design.  This is a pretty unique creature too. I love how you included the skeletal structure - it just goes to show to what level of detail you’ve planned the creature, which is really impressive. I personally love mixing gorillas into my creatures too, due to how much you can push the proportions with it.

Now: 

What you’ve used here is what is sometimes regarded as Cross design. What’s that you ask? Well, it’s one of two popular offsets for designing fictional concepts. 

Crossdesign -  As the name implies, crosses two- or more ideas to make recognizable but unique aesthetics. “ A dog, AND a horse AND a fish “ ( Ex: Catdog, the centaur, etc. ) This method is mostly used for creature and character design. 

Contradesign-  Like crossdesign, but phrased differently. It still mixes pre-established concepts, but treats the different inputs like ‘opposites’. “ Cavemen, BUT WITH steam power “ ( Ex: the underwater world in Sharktale, Zootopia etc. ). 

The difference between these two are mostly -when- they are applied. But when it comes down to it, you can easily use both thought-experiments to develop concepts. What the two methods do, is to provoke your imagination into thinking up ideas consisting of two opposites/conflicting elements. Which will most certainly lead to an interesting visual. 

Actively using this technique is rather simple. As it only serves to spark your thought progress. Using the two following statements when working with your idea can get you started. 

 Crossdesign:  A _______ and a _________

 Contradesign:  A _________ but with ________

I’ve gone over the design and written out what I read from the design. When we design creatures and characters, it is imperative that we can immediately decipher their function and how they work together to make your character viable. if you can manage this, you are well on your way to mastering fictional design. 

Anyway: as you can read from my notes, it comes forth as if you’ve mixed a lot of traits from both predator and prey animals. While also making your creature appear to be both ground-bound and acrobatic. The latter combo works just fine if we exaggerate the features right, but the first can confuse the viewer. 

I have taken the liberty to assume that you wanted this creature to be a predator, due to its mixing of big cat, and gorilla assets ( gorillas usually regarded as herbivores, but has been proved to sometimes ingest meat as well ). And, its somewhat mean look. 

I’ve gone all back to basics and drawn the general structure and weight distribution. For aesthetic purposes, I’ve pushed the contrast between the upper part and lower part of the body to an extreme. This is just to add a bit of flair and enhance the readability of just how ‘heavy’ this creature is on the front. This helps emphasize how much you -don’t- want to be in the way once this thing comes hurtling towards you 😁

When creating creatures, you have the leisure of being able to go to the extremes and, more often than not, you’ll find that pushing these proportions can make for some interesting visuals. 

^ this is how I would go about everything. It might seem like a lot, but all I’ve really done is angle the spinal curve upward and straighten the neck to make the creature more capable of sustained sprinting. I’ve also supported the creature’s structure with a good bit of muscle and tissue, allowing both ground-bound movement and climbing, as well as creating a bit of a dynamic between its massive front, and smaller rear. 

Having tail as a counterbalance was a clever idea, since the creature -is- very heavy on the front. You were pretty on point with the length and build of it so I didn’t change anything here. 

These corrections can also work with prey-animals, of course with alterations such as lighter bodies and the inverted spinal curvature. But, the pushed proportions and critical eye for the creature’s physiology will apply whenever you create fictional fauna. 

This might seem like a lot, but I’m only coming at you with this much because I believe that you have all the potential to make it work, due to the skill level you’ve shown us. So, if it feels like I’ve eviscerated your design, it’s simply because I’ve gone really in-depth and been really strict with the consistency and read. If you’re up for all the alterations, remember that it’s your creation and you can always pick and mix as you please.

Great work so far, really hope my take is not too far off the intended purpose of the critter. 

- Mod Wackart ( ko-fi )