Minor/Major Project: Further Thoughts/Research

Cryptids (and other creatures):

A cryptid is an animal or creature usually believed to be nonexistent, e.g.: Bigfoot, Mothman, The Jersey Devil, Chupacabras, Loch Ness Monster. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience that aims to prove the existence of these creatures, as well as proving the survival of real animals that have gone extinct. While cryptozoology is usually considered something of a joke, cryptids and the stories around them continue to fascinate people today. Vampires, mermaids, sea monsters and supernatural beings continue to appear in modern media, with films and shows (Hellboy, Stranger Things) about such creatures becoming very popular.

Bestiaries: 
Medieval bestiaries contained all manner of fantastical creatures, such as dragons, unicorns and basilisks, as well as real animals that most people would never have seen, including crocodiles and whales, though the people who drew these creatures had usually never seen them themselves, and as a result crocodiles were often dog-like and whales were large, scaled fish. Today we have accurate documentation of existing animals, but books such as Dragonology and The Resurrectionist are written and designed as though the magical creatures within exist, with anatomical drawings and information on where the creatures live and their eating habits. These will be part of the inspiration for my work.

Page from The Resurrectionist

I've always been fascinated by taxidermy, anatomy and the supernatural, so I want to combine these interests for my minor/major projects. 

The Book:

Books like Dragonology, Fairyopolis and The Resurrectionist are accredited to fictional authors, something I would like to consider doing with this book myself. Otherwise I would like to include around 20 creatures in this book, with drawings, descriptions and anatomical studies of some. I'm still unsure about art style and the general look of the book, but I will be able to work more on that in time.

Another option would be to produce posters on different creatures, as well as a poster for the opening of a museum/exhibition on cryptids.

Dr Ernest Drake - The fictional author of Dragonology

Video:

I would like to make a short video on one (or possibly more) of the creatures. The creature will be animated and moving within a space while a voice over describes them and their attributes. While I'm not yet certain on art style, I would like to keep the design simple to help with the modeling and eventual animating. Some of the animation will be a simple idle animation, with more elaborate movements depending on what the voice over says, examples of what I have in mind can be seen in the Batman: Arkham Knight character trophies and Overwatch's hero gallery.