11/09/15 - New thoughts and planning!

A base idea is forming! I'm thinking of doing a Visual Development project/book based on either an existing fairy/folk tale or creating my own world entirely.
Last year for Computer Arts Practice, I tasked myself to create a species as a world building/character design challenge to myself. I was fairly happy with the results, but I noticed that I quickly became disinterested creating the same style of characters over and over. The project was also limited by my own imagination, as I had tried to create these species and characters completely from scratch.
I've noticed a lot of my stronger concept/design pieces come from projects with an existing narrative or idea to sort of "kick off" the design process. This is probably a more realistic approach to concept design, as industry work seldom has artists creating concepts from their own imagination entirely. 

I also feel that having a full printed art book would be a great portfolio piece as well as a leearn

I've been looking through folklore tales, using Goodreads.com or Wikipedia to try and inspire some concepts. One that stuck out to me was Jack the Giant Killer. (the grimm tale, not the movie).

This immediately stood out for me. Just reading the title, my mind began creating concepts and images of huge, towering creatures in sprawling landscapes, being faced by a lone hero. 

This resonates with my love of the game Shadow of the Colossus, a game where a single human takes on 16 giant creatures, each one drastically different from the last. 

Some inspiring Shadow Of the Colossus screenshots/art

Another inspiring set of designs is FromSoftware's Bloodborne. This game features a plethora of giant creatures and disgusting, otherworldly concept designs.
I am particularly a fan of the gore/grotesque creatures in this game, as well as it's predecessor, Dark Souls.

Below are some character concepts also from Bloodborne and Dark souls.

I really like this style of concept painting, where the characters still look illustrative and painterly, yet show a full armour concept that makes sense to the viewer.