WOODLAND CHARACTER SCULPT: Research

RESEARCH

Firstly I looked at forest animals that interested me. I tend to prefer fluffy carnivores but I also looked at some non-hunters as well. I looked mainly at British Woodland species as these are much easier to get first-hand research of but I also looked at the animals found in Yellowstone National park in America as it is a place that has always fascinated me. They also have a larger range of large predators that are dangerous to humans as those have been wiped out in the UK for centuries.

To get a feel for the habitat of my creature I went to the nearest park and took many reference photos of trees and woodland areas. This makes it much easier to picture a creature interacting with this environment.

I am a huge fan of folklore and mythical creatures so I researched and gathered some images from my favourite tales and beasts. 

Included here is the Church Grim/Black Dog which lives in graveyards and predicts death; dark fairies which live in the woods and play tricks on travellers; phooka/puca which is a scruffy shape shifting black animal which decides to trick you or help you based on how well you treat it.

They tend to be quite dark but most were originally written with children in mind so I think it would be much more interesting to have a non-cutesy character and have one instead to frighten children.

After deciding to create a darker children's character I looked up examples of monsters in the media are made to be scary yet still appropriate for child viewers.

I remember being terrified of Gmork (from the Neverending Story) when I was a child but it didn't affect me negatively, in fact it made the film/book more enjoyable.

I also enjoy characters like the Hide Behind (from Gravity Falls) who doesn't threaten to cause physical harm yet still manages to be utterly creepy.

I don't want to invent a violent/harmful character but I do want to make it unpleasant/produce feelings of fear.

To fit in with my ideas I went back to the same park from before and took photos at night. I like how everything looks completely different and much less welcoming than before.

This is definitely the kind of environment I'd like for my character as it reflects the qualities I want to bring out.