Animals that would live in mountainous areas

While researching animals that live in different environments I found these useful websites which have many reference images and descriptions of the traits s of many animals:

http://a-z-animals.com/
http://www.mountainprofessor.com/mountain-animals.html

I've also researched anatomy reference that i will use in my creature designs and sculpting.

Volcanic study - I've tried to build upon the reference library that Darren Hoey has created and take it in my own direction.
How would an animal adapt to the environment?

On eruption a volcanic eruption may release gases, volcanic debris and lava into atmosphere.
Lava:
-Large amounts of lava and heat from the volcano will increase the temperature.
-After cooling the volcanic materials will help the environment to regrowth, this is because lava is actually rich in minerals from the earths core.
-Volcanic debris may be thrown in the air and land, injuring plants and animals
Gases:
Gases will poison the air and may make it hard to breath
 -If gas particles are big then they let sunlight in but don’t let heat radiated from the Earth’s surface out.
-If the particles are smaller they block some of the incoming energy from the Sun and the Earth cools off.

Reference:
Here are some articles that discuss how volcanoes may effect the environment:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/09/volcanoes-climate 

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/how-do-volcanoes-affect-atmosphere-and-climate

It was recommended that I have a look at an previous students honors project, Darren Hoey. In his project he has created a library that shows a variety of animals in there respective environments, and he explains traits that they have depending on there environment.

Link to the Blog of Darren Hoey:
http://darrenhoeyhonours.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/adaption-to-unique-environments.html

Darren took this research in a more realistic approach to his creature designs. I will research more unusual environments, such as volcanic, and combine the realistic approach with more fantasy/extreme environments.

Zbrush Basics

One of the areas I want to explore in this project is Zbrush, i have used Mudbox in a previous project and would like to improve my 3D sculpting in a more advanced program.

Here is a basic tutorial I have followed for an introduction

http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/training.php?vid=29282&autoplay=1

I am most experienced in Maya so will be trying to apply my workflow into Zbrush, This tutorial will be useful to be learn the Maya to Zbrush workflow.

http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/training.php?vid=13902&autoplay=1

So far there is a few creative directions i would like to follow:

1.Characters influenced by how humans adapt to there environment. Considering, culture, clothing, tools.

2.Creatures influenced how animals adapt to there environment. Considering, fur, shape, claws etc

I have decided to follow the creature route, because it is an area I have not researched before.

Creature Development

Creature influenced by environments - this would allow me to create different textures and concepts when sculpting.

I got the idea of the bone head fantasy character being a Shepard.
I researched animal skulls which lead to the idea of conceptualizing a herd animal.

Fantasy character inspired by bones, Africa, Earth, shepherds.

I think this character idea would allow for interesting textures and shapes when I sculpt a character.

I could also conceptualize and sculpt different ages and variations of this character.

Headdress ideas based on Mongolian wedding headdress from the Mcmanus Gallery

Mongolian headdress study

My own idea inspired by Asian paper fan

1- project ideas

Overall have been aiming to specialize in 2D art or 3D modelling for games. During my time at Abertay I have been leaning towards 3D modelling, specifically character modelling. I've been enjoying using Mudbox and Maya to model characters and would like to improve my knowledge in this area.

The points to research are:

3D sculpting - 

-Using 3D sculpting to create concepts/variations on characters. To do this I will research other artist’s processes in 3D and traditional sculpting.

-anatomy studies using 3D sculpting, which will improve my anatomy knowledge for use in 2D and 3D.

-2D/3D textures for 3D - how can I use these methods in my 3d character modelling?

-Mapping for 3D using Maya and Zbrush – I've tried some normal mapping in 2^nd year but will be researching other mapping techniques

- During projects I will research in bigger variety areas such as film, games, costumes, books, museums to improve my overall development process.

I will be using 2D and 3D to conceptualize a character(s), focusing on the use of 3D sculpting in zBrush.