7/18 - Cerhylodon Model Progress & Joint Placement

Additions/edit to the model:
- edited feet with claws for digging. The back feet have an extra "toenail" sticking out the back of the foot to help with stability when ramming and pushing against things.
-moved placement of feet to be more underneath the creature, in order to support the creature's weight better.
-edited hindquarters to match the curve of the spine better.
-added wrinkles.

Joint Placement things to note:

- The neck has several joints in order to allow the neck to bend down for grazing purposes as well as turn in order for the creature to look behind it.
- The tail only has two joints because it does not move. It is stationary.
- Both the scapula and pelvic joints are located above the spine.
- There will be extra "deformation joints" added in to allow for better deformations around the legs.

 

Inspiration:

Finally getting around to posting some reference images for the style I am going for in these creature designs. I like the character design in Team Fortress 2 because of the realistic yet stylized "caricature" kind of design. 

  

 

7/3 - Cerhylodon Model progress

Progress:
I added a head and neck plates. I added muscle definition, wrinkles, and feet.


Skeleton Reference:

6/27 - Cerhylodon model progress

Modeling of my creature done in Maya 2012. After the model is complete I plan on taking it into ZBrush and adding detail there.

Creature Design Take 2

This is design phase 2 of the Cerhylodon. I changed the neck/carapace to be a little less "triceratops" and a little more cohesive with the other design elements in the creature. I also changed the body type a little bit to allow for more agility when charging.

The legs and feet were changed to be beneficial in the type of environment this creature will be found in, which is rocky and hilly. The back legs are massive and muscular, in order to push that heavy body up rocky hillsides and through obstacles. The bottoms of the feet are rough, calloused rock-hard pads. The claws that come out from above the pads dig into the ground as the creature plants its foot. This is dual-purposed: for stability as well as for tearing up the terrain beneath them.

6/20 - Creature Design 1

Cerhylodon
Traits:
-Giant tail allows for balance during high speed charges. Tail is also somewhat encumbering so it detaches when attacked, similar to some reptiles. These tails are a delicacy. The tail regrows after a couple of years.
-One large vertical horn and two smaller horizontal horns protrude from the “snout” area, used for self defense and knocking trees over.
-Several “feelers” extend from where the mouth would be in order to pull up grass and other vegetation. The head does not come up from the ground very often, so the feelers are always at the perfect level for grazing.
-The neck is the most sensitive part of the body. It is protected from above and from the sides by a carapace attached to the skull of the creature. In order to protect the exposed underside of the neck, it is long and constantly hanging towards the ground and rarely lifted.
-The feet have claws that tear up the terrain as herds of these creatures walk along the ground. The stronger, younger members of the herd usually walk up front, leaving the ground torn up behind them for the weaker members for easy grazing.

Creature Reference

The creature I have in mind to create is a large quadruped herbivore. It will have horns for defense similar to a rhinoceros or bull, as well as insect and reptile like features. Below is a few reference images for what I have in mind.