What Makes A Great Monster Design?
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- Опубліковано 24 жов 2021
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Let's talk about what makes a great monster design. It's harder than it might seem.
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Also, the conjuring universe sucks, it's just a bunch of jumpscares every 30 seconds
A lot of people said something similar. I gotta say, my standards are very broad when it comes to horror movies specifically. I usually think of 28 Days Later as my fav, stuff like It Follows, or VVITCH are awesome too. But then, I still enjoy an average The Ring clone with jumpscares. It just warms my heart so much idk. Oh, and I just really dislike The Shining, which is an opinion I feel I'm alone with. It's a good movie, but a bad horror.
@@BoroCG tbh I haven't seen the shimning ahhaah and The VVitch is one of my favorites. Absolute suspense the whole movie 🙌🏻
if I can add my 2 cents, I think the reason why some people love jumpscare horror and some people hate it is because there's a difference between horror and terror. Horror has less lasting impact but can be very scary in the moment, and terror is more about the slow build up and what you take away from it in the end, but can be less effective because of it. like thinking, "do I want to feel afraid now, or later?"
tbf the first 2 conjuring movies had actual good scares and atmosphere that didn't rely on jumpscares as a crutch, James Wan knows what he's doing when it comes to horror imo. They aren't boundary breaking but were pretty good none the less.
@@BoroCG Well imo horror doesn't have to necessarily make you jump out of your seat every minute, but can instead can fill you with intense unease and dread. I wouldn't even consider half the conjuring movies to be real horror and more of a corny theme park ride. A horror movie shouldn’t just be made to make you jump, it should also have substance. You should also watch Hereditary.
HUGE tip: when looking for photos of internal anatomical stuff, adding the words "exposed", "surgery", "injury" and other related terms helps with finding photos of stuff like the exposed nose cartilage
I love how crackhead insane the average artist can seem to outside observers. We google the most brutal images and videos for the sake of reference sometimes. I once had to scour the internet for videos of heart surgeries to do an animation.
@@catpoke9557 what was the animation?
@@marcoanimacoes5690 It was some unfinished thing based off of a poem
@@catpoke9557 as someone who recently Googled a lot of injuries in hope to find a picture vaguely resembling one an human like looking but much stronger hand could have caused by simply ripping a heart through the rip cage I feel extremely called out
Ty!
I love humanoid monsters and all. They're really effective. But I'm getting kind of sick of them. They feel very repetitive at this point. I really like more abstract monsters that utilize uncanny valley in subtler ways. Imagine a plant coming out of a bulbous, fleshy base, and each plant has eye-like orbs at the top. They suck into and out of the base when you approach and leave them, and can be seen sometimes violently shaking for unclear reasons.
It's abstract, it takes a twist on plants, and it takes features from humans through the eyes and the flesh-like base, the shaking/seizing indicates some sort of suffering. It's creepy and it's new.
If you made that creature up on a whim.. Wow. Lol, I'm always interested in abstract lovecraftian monsters more bc I think fear of the Unknown is greater then fear of human distortion.
i think human monsters are effective because monsters revolve around the uncanny. as far as i know, the fear of the uncanny comes from something familiar, being made strange or unfamiliar. i would love to see things like what you suggested though, things we find completely normal and maybe even peaceful like plants, and make them unfamiliar, instead of just stretching out humans
@@micahconnor8954 Yes! They are extremely effective, I cannot deny it. I even make them a lot myself. Humanoid monsters are great. I just love variety in monsters! I mean, who doesn't? The more, the merrier
@@spaghetto9836 Somewhat of a whim. I did think of it on the spot, but I have seen things somewhat similar to it in the past in indie games, so it was definitely heavily inspired. One game in particular came to mind. It was called Inside. I don't remember exactly what the creatures(? if they were even creatures) looked like, but I recall there being some sort of thing that would pop in and out of view as the player approached. It gave a very parasitic feel. I based most of the idea off of that.
I agree, I find humanoid monsters boring but that could just be because I'm majorly biased towards sci fi.
I usually go for more alien or animalistic looking creatures.
The closest I've come to a humanoid 'monster' was an idea I had for a human-mimic infiltration/assassination robot that is *normally* human shaped.
It can change it's face / skin at will, but it's main 'horror' feature (other than being able to mimic anyone it wants) is that it can entirely come apart to become a much larger, much less human looking form purely to instill fear into its target.
This 'unfolded form' would be quite long and lanky, hunched over and has bladed arms similar to those seen in Cyberpunk 2077.
I've tried to draw it a few times but it's kind of hard to get right hahaha.
This really reminded me of the game Outlast, with the "monsters" being just mentally ill people who have been tortured, neglected and experimented on to the point of looking like monsters more than humans anymore, and with the mix of torture and the mental illness they dont even really act very human anymore and you have this overwhelming sadness and dread that plays into the horror. Its more scary I think, when all your fighting are other humans
Reminds me a lot of The Forest, actually. There's a massive twist to the game that I feel that those who haven't played the game REALLY should see for yourself.
Hands down, that is the best story told for a survival horror game. It makes full use of the open-world aspect as you travel and traverse across the whole peninsula as you try collecting evidence, which has you thinking and theorizing the whole through until the end.
The game is insanely brutal and requires so much preparation for fights and to generally survive, which can be a turn-away, but it'd definitely worth the hassle for a story that invokes so much unnerving dread
The cannibals and mutants are such good story devices and what you find out about them is so sad, making them sympathetic entities
Kinda ruins games for me when the scary part is oooo look at these mentally ill people
@@thestormyblizzard1357 the forest was pretty meh story-wise and the gameplay sure as hell isn't insanely brutal. All you have to do is climb up a rock and you're untouchable. There are also places in which you can build your house without any cannibals spawning because this game is just so easily exploitable.
@@papahairy5315 Wait really? Where can you set up that exploit? Are there videos on it?
To each their own when it comes to the story. Personally, it's one of the best told stories I've seen in gaming
@@thestormyblizzard1357 all I remember was the girl with spider legs coming out of her mouth.
I always said that one element of great monster design is designing monsters who appear to be themselves in great pain. There's something seriously unnerving about a creature that is twisted and tortured and traumatised. It is what separates a monster from a predator.
Definitely. That made me think of the creature in the movie 'Tusk'. He isnt a monster or a predator but hes been tortured and contorted into a horrifying walrus thing. Probably the scariest creature ive ever seen
A comment that similarly went over this mentioned the effectiveness of Outlast's "monsters".
The bosses in Sekiro are a good example. They're all horribly warped because of their desires for power or everlasting life.
Shin godzilla
when i read this, i think about the stalkers from half life 2, not exactly a monster, but they're still extremely un-nerving
I think the future humans in All Tomorrows are pretty amazing examples of scary designs. I especially like when you take one feature of a human such as reproduction and go buck wild with it bc I think its unnerving to see something that was ONCE human have its entire physical being reduced and morphed to do one thing. Bonus points if it still vaugley sounds human/can mimic humans, that skeeves me out big time.
Hyperevolution is one of the best ways to make creatures, I personally find! Just about anything can be pushed in crazy ways.
On the mimic part, would be real cool to see a creature that hides in a "shell" that resembles a person, and splits up into its true form when the time is right. So many ways to do that!
If creatures that mimic humans scare you then I think you wouldn't be able to sleep after you watch Mandela Catalog.
@@dryjonojo4282 you've intrigued me so I may not be sleeping tonight haha. The monster from the game Do You Copy is what I had in mind cuz the idea of something inhumane listening, learning and mimicking human speech is super creepy to me, so if its anything like that then I won't be having good time ;-;
@@bythekinks2499 dont do that, dont watch mandela catalog, i almost couldn't sleep for 3 days.
Im also someone afraid and intrigued by those things like mimics.
A remember a quote from Trey the explainer that he says the velociraptors in Jurassic park would be way more terrifying and interesting if they mimicked human speech like birds instead of the reptile appearance.
mhm human mimicry freaks me out. that scene with the bear from Annihilation gets me every time
I think monsters that have flat human teeth obviously not optimized for tearing apart flesh but that bite regardless of that are terrifying
Yeah that looks mad
They are really good for crushing though!
Fish that eat algae in rock and coral like triggerfish or pacu have teeth that can look vaguely like human teeth, those bites are nasty.
Human teeth can still rip flesh apart,maybe not very thick skin but humans are omnivores and don’t have any adaptations but still can rip off exposed muscle
I personally love the idea of really giant monsters that somehow don't get spotted right away, the kinds that are able to hide in plain site, but go unnoticed because people don't look for them, or because the monster itself is very quiet, the kind that only snatches up when nobody else will see.
The entire concept of something so much bigger than you just existing somewhere largely unnoticed, something that can snatch up you or your friends without anyone ever seeing is just unnerving.
How scary would it be, to die with nobody seeing, nobody to realize what happened, and no way to make your end known?
it sounds like a siren head or head light to me, trevor henderson's monsters are pretty usual with that concept, like siren head disguising itself as a tree, or head light that on the first sight look like a usual street light
Then you should definitely check out Alex Kansas' Monument Mythos
When I was little, my first brush with LOTR was Return of the King playing on the TV at my grandparents family party when somebody left it on. There I stood in front of a huge screen watching Shelob in her cave and creeping around above Frodo, it creeped me out so much and even the milky green filter messed with my head, but it ultimately made me interested in watching the movies again later. When I eventually got to that scene again, it felt like revisiting an old nemesis.
@@thedarklrd6714the monuments don’t really kill people
This would be something an IRL T-Rex would do
I study zoology, and whenever I see sharp, thin teeth in monsters I automatically think of them as exclusively fish eaters. Thin sharp teeth are sort of only useful for catching slippery, smallish animals. Killer whale teeth are more robust, and they eat large fish, and marine mammals. Human/mammal dentition is normally marked by different tooth shapes for different feeding strategies. Reptiles and fish generally have the same tooth shape.
And it’s just as horrifying to see humanoid teeth ripping into flesh (FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood)
Imagine seeing a human rip a chunk of someone’s shoulder out with incisors and smaller canines
That’d terrify someone
@@dragonfire72you can actually,humans have a similar bite strenght to some dogs and the average healthy human should have slightly sharp teeth
@@HYDROCARBON_XD also your bite strength is limited by your brain to avoid damage, you could remove this barrier by hard drugs, which is how people get bit really bad by high people
I think horror is best when you take something comfortably familiar and estrange the viewer from it in an unexpected way. Bonus points if it's recognizable after analyzing it for just a little while.
But you also can't make it tooo familiar cuz it'll feel generic and overused, I think Trevor Henderson has some of the best monster designs out there specifically Cartoon Cat
Cuz Cartoon cat feels really familiar but also different, it would kinda remind you of like Mickey Mouse or Bendy or like Tom and Jerry, but it's also completely different and I think it's even more disturbing than Bendy
@@VegaFic yes, cartoon cat is exactly what I mean. By familiar I don't mean tropes from the horror genre but things outside of that- things you don't associate with horror at all. That's what I meant with comfortable: something you settled in a compartment already. If it's done well, the "it's different"-vibe will immediately jump out to you because you recognize it as the familiar thing but it's off. It makes me feel a sense of impending doom and I believe that to be the scariest emotion you can feel.
I think this process in writing is called “defamiliarization” and it’s where the writer twists something mundane and familiar into something not quite right. (Example: I put my clothes into a metal cube that makes them wet and then put them into another metal cube to heat them up -> just me doing laundry!)
Exactly this! I was going to say this! Uncanny valley is Great for horror, especially with humans! Because it’s literally in our genes to fear humanoid looking things that aren’t human!
Unpopular hot take: Trevor Henderson is overrated
Something I don't see alot of being used is insects/ arachnids, not just a regular really really big bug or just sticking parts on a person, but using the shapes for monster features. Like a mantis has these finger things for its mouth, spiders have multiple limbs that is hard wired into humans to find unsettling, and beetles have hidden veined wings under their back armor (carapace? ). Combine that with these kind of monster making tips could create some pretty scary results.
One awful thing I draw every-so-often (less often as recently) is bugs with skeletons and skin instead of an exoskeleton, and other features not typical of bugs.
That sounds really cool
@@nmheath03 yo?? got somewhere i can see ur art?
I don't really post anywhere, so not really
there’s actually a webtoon about human-insect hybrids called ‘jungle juice’ i recommend it!
I have an idea- what about a zombie type of monster with a biology that adapts to the way it was killed? As in, the body reforms itself around wounds to give them a function. It portrays an almost positive message of retaliation, and adapting to trauma. Whilst being grotesque, you would kind of root for the guys. For instance, a humanoid creature that got killed by having its head split with an axe. Maybe it pulled the axe out, and the massive split in the head grew teeth and reformed into some kind of vertical mouth that allows the head to open sideways, and it now wields the axe with surprising technique and expertise. Maybe the player would have to duel with it or hell, maybe it could join the player in a revenge fight against the killer. Maybe the game is a twist on the horror game formula where you have to escape and survive against various monsters, whilst trying to communicate with them and recruit them in a revenge plot against their killer, who is the real monster of the whole game.
Amnesia brutes be like
This reminds me of that one enemy from Resident Evil 6, I think it's name is Javo. Literally having the trait to adapt to certain trauma that's been inflicted to its body by mutation. Arms gone ? Boom here's a bigger, grotesque arm. Legs gone ? Boom here's a new pair of leg that allows them to run faster and jump higher. Torso torn off ? Well, why not just grow some wing out of it so now they can fly upside down. How about head ? Well, give some centipede head that reach up to 2 meter.
You should read sweet home
Don't be giving ideas like that out for free.
That's awesome!
Do you have other examples of how the zombies can adapt to others way they could have been killed?
List of things for me :
- make it suffer
- make it look horrorific, have some disfigurement on it
- add wacky features so it's not a human costume
- add some medieval/old medical-like equipment, such as a metal mask or old handcuffs
- make it have a hidden representation of something
That's my guide on monsters.
The medevial outfit is probably optional,a tall shadowy figure would look goofy with an outfit
@@HYDROCARBON_XD
"It looks weird with an outfit on"
That one friend: Yo why the monster kinda-
“Made in abyss” has some REALLY cool creature designs
agreed, so many great designs
Berserk too
oh yeah those things are horrifying - though id say its more presentation actually 🤔 - the way it shows exactly what they do to a person makes them way scarier
one of the most good examples of a humanoid monster design i recently saw is the grunt from "amnesia". it resembles a human and, although it doesn't really seem to convey any story with its appearance, its face is definitely something of note: its grotesquely distorted, almost torn-out jaw an goggly eyes. it doesn't look intimidating in any way, but its almost human face, as if screaming in agony from the distortion, evokes a lot of unsettlement. it looks like a product of human experiment - the scars, the sewn on pieces of skin on its body. it really grounds the idea that it could be real and makes it even more scary, even when amnesia doesn't has nearly as good ghaphics as for today's standarts and still manages to make the grunt look uncanny. it's, in my opinion, is one of the most iconic horror monster designs.
and i really liked your take on the toothless (teethless?) monster with the emphasis on the ear. if it's blind it relies on hearing i suppose, and, however obviuos it was, the emphasis on the ear with this ring thing is a neat detail for me. and it also looks like something made by a human - as you mentioned, something horrible was done to it, and so it has the "justification" to do something horrible to you.
Mate, imagine it's toothless in a biological sense but it has needles just stabbed into its gums. It just runs at you to attempt to give you some sort of deadly injection. Maybe you can see the little tubes of chemicals embedded into its head.
@@cassandraguan4531 oh god, that's actually terrifying.
I like those. Something that really scared me as a kid was something similar. It's a monster from "The Longest Journey" well, two actually. one of the monsters kinda looks like the nun and the other is similar to the grunt from amnesia. This is not a horror game, so it was extra scary when a weird freaky experiment on humanity breaks out of a glass cage and chases you around a building. spoopy stuff.
i still think that the xenomorph remains one of the best monsters/aliens of all time considering how revolutionary it was in film. it was sort of human, with elements of the setting (ship) in its design, the unique functions of it had a slightly sexual connotations and there was this weird blend of technology and human anatomy (like the teeth and 'ribs').
very iconic and changed lots of things in monster/alien design.
I would add that even tho Alien Covenant wasn’t that great of a movie, i loved the idea of David studying the xenomorphs biology (:
@@CeCeLouv did you not catch the fact that he didn’t just study the xenomorph he created them
The xenomorphs are a bit overplayed now but when they were originally conceived they were easily the most unique creature designs ever used in a film, mainly because their concept was made by a surrealist painted rather than concept artists, the mindset was just totally different.
@@Sergei_Ivanovich_Mosin I think the creator of the xenomorphs actually came out and said that the reason he made them look like that is to show the fear that comes with having a uterus to a male audience. There’s a reason the parasitic monsters violently burst out from the male protagonists chest.
@@wren_. I remember the interview of H.R. Giger, he said it had more to do with kind of a symbolic representation of rape.
The part about the "monsters can be more scary when they have a complexity to their hostility" reminded me a lot of the warpers from subnautica which have a sort of justification for hurting you, they're really just trying to protect the ocean but when I hear when I am shitting myself, especially knowing they can teleport at my side any moment.
There's an artist call Dan Peacock or Dan E. Peacock.
He's got amazing creatures, not necessarily monsters, but monster-esque designs. They look very human but sometimes Dan pushed proportions making them look scary and his rendering is realistic so it grounds these scary characters making them even more terrifying.
Oh cool, I finished writing my comment and I recomended dan as well, its nice to see other people appreciate his work here
I never heard of the artist, but thanks for the information! Now I have someone to look up!
Oh man I remember his stuff, I love how well they are rendered.
Where i can find him?
@@rras6441
You can search him up on the Internet, he has a website as well I think.
Junji Ito always has good anatomy and scare grounded into realistic/myhtical settings. I love him for inspiration.
In my opinion, I think the Little Nightmares monsters don’t get talked about enough 🤷♀️
AGREED
27:28 That's not always the case.
One idea for an alien 'monster' that I've had brewing for a few years is a creature created by an intelligent alien race who's soul purpose is to hunt humans.
Imagine an alien race that doesn't fight with with conventional weapons, rather they litter your planet with monsters that are genetically engineered to be perfect predators for your race, and then sit back and wait for the inevitable.
How would you feel facing a creature that has been carefully designed specifically to hunt and kill you, how would you survive against it?
I got this idea from 'a quiet place', as this was my head cannon for what the monsters are in that movie lol.
Remind me alot of monster from Pasific Rim
There are literally others species that's creating the monster from other dimensions
And when human find a way to fight back (with giant robots in this case)
The alien species designing the monster to specifically defeat those giant robot
Yeah but if a shotgun to the head is all it took, the invasion really wouldn’t have spread
this is exactly how the X felt when the chozo made metroids
that reminds me of this show on netflix, i forgot what it was called but the episodes were about like "what if aliens took over our planet and government?" or "what if we had shops that sold human organs and if we got hurt we could heal ourselves on our own?" ya know weird stuff like that, there was an episode of an alien species that lands on earth and they take over the planet including the government and they can mind control humans and make them their slaves (I watched this a long time ago so the plot might be slightly different but that's the general gist of it). what I found really terrifying of the aliens was just not only their buildup (which looked very similar to lizards) but also just like, the very grotesque and disturbing ways they were able to mind control the humans, they were able to alter the humans skulls and have their brains exposed while still keeping the humans alive and conscious of that pain and controlling them
some of the details might be just a little off because of my memory but that's the general gist of the plot of that episode and those monsters were really disturbing, i recommend it
My guy well just literally find a way to obliterate them and that’s it,you’re subestimating humans
Something thht doesnt get used a lot in in games are very tall monsters imo...
A 3 - 4 meters tall monster is usually scarier than regular human sized monsters.
Lets imagine something like your third sketch and give it a fairly human body. But their limbs are replaced with tall metal bars/stilts which are attached in a similar gruesome way like the face...
The Stalkers from Half-Life 2 actually do that.
Albeit not attached with metallic stuff, Taller from Cry of Fear is a good, if not perfect, example of a tall monster that scares the shit out of you (just like how basically every other monster in the game is also a good example of a specific category.)
@@TheDaibu What I love about him is that you hear his footsteps tremble the ground before you see him.
Another example of a tall monster without metal, but that's still scary, is the Divider from Dead Space. That one moment where you first meet it is still fresh in my mind.
> very tall monsters
Sirenhead has joined the chat
A pretty good monster in recent times has to be from the movie "Ritual"
It was pretty unique and scary. Not just visually but the lore behind him.
Yes, it was both terrifying and beautiful.
Yess, loved that one when I watched it a while ago
@@hamburger4106 Yes, Beautiful because it was original and unique after a long time of stupid grey monsters.
The designs of the people you come across in the little nightmares games are some of my favorites in the first game they all felt unique they felt sperated by the area your in and unique but the designs still have a connection in the second game the designs are great especially with the unique traits like the teachers long neck and the hunters bandaged face it adds to the atmosphere too
As someone whose favorite horror genre is [Cosmic Horror], I can't say I relate with the "it should resemble humans" mentality.
I found the female ghost in "The Grudge" more eerie than the one in "The Ring". I think it was something about the nearly expressionless face, which is more alien than just a stereotypical angry face (the final shot of the ghost in The Ring ruined the movie for me somehow).
I think playing with facial expressions which are maybe contrasting to what the monster is doing can be very rewarding when it comes to capturing a certain eluding uncanny tone. There is a lot of finetuning involved, where a slight change in the rhythm and tempo of the animation can elevate it or ruin it. A happy body expression could be contrasted with a sad facial expression etc. But it's so easy to mess it up because a slightly too happy (or whatever emotion you want) face can come across as cheesy and pretentious. I think most horror movies (especially western ones) mess this up somehow, because they are quite blind to nuances in expression.
Another examples of eerie monster design: The floating heads in "The hanging balloons" (Junji Ito). Also these weird long neck japanese demons, the Rokurokubi.
The scene in Gyo where the death stench gets ignited and the flames become faces 9x more angry and miserable than the people literally being killed and controlled by robots. The scene in that one cemetery story where the mc sees the ghosts in the gravestones watching him like prey. They're nothing but filler but the design of the faces and eyes are spot on for "inhuman". Junji Ito is a beast
For some reason, I always found monsters with their lower jaw missing or torn creepy. There is an online multiplayer game called In silence and the monster in that game is creepy as hell (at least from my perspective). I also find some creature designs in Soma interesting.
Okay fine, what’s soma
Oh those monsters are probably based off the story of this dude, whose jaw fell off due to radium poisoning.
ua-cam.com/video/8MpR4k3-edc/v-deo.html
@@demonyckscreations9990 amnesia but in a deep-sea laboratory after “all” of humanity has died
Kinda reminds me of the xindi insectoids from Enterprise, their faces are apparently based mostly on ants and house flies, (imo very interesting choice cuz ants and flies are like complete opposites lol) but their mandibles are so small compared to the rest of their face! they look like wasp corpses that had their mandibles ripped off (which makes me sad cuz I love wasps and find their faces quite cute.)
@@108wee theres been stories of jawless monsters before that incident happened
Honestly the best monster horror thing i've ever seen is that one bear from the Anihilation film, the whole idea is just awesome and the design is the best, its desintegrated but also bloody and has some skull thing going,idk i just love it
“Nothing works well when you come up with something from your head that like...
Has no connection with reality.”
H.P Lovecraft: nervous sweeting intensifies.
To me the big problem with monsters is that it feels like people try too much to make them "visually scary" but actually what makes them scary to me is what you know or dont't know about them and what they can do to you or others.
Their design must emmerge from this and not trying to make them look scary and then thinking about what they would do.
Lovecraft monsters are great examples.
Also "the Thing" is so scary is because is using human material to replicate. On pricinciple it's horrific.
Or when i used to play Magic the gathering, one card I found scary was a monster that feeds on your memory, and the card says "the first memory it takes from you is the one that could have got you rid of it"
You can make a monster look as weird and "scary" as you want, but if all it does is screetching and attacking it's not very scary to me.
That's why most horror movies are just jumpscare fest, they focus too much on the visual and not enough of the meaning.
This plays into one big way the xenomorphs from Alien were intimidating that nobody seems to reference - acid blood. Sure they look horrifying and they're super fast and strong and covered in blades, but what sets them apart in my mind is the fact that they took the concept of bleeding, usually a sign of weakness and a display of hope to the main characters that the monster can be defeated, and turned it into a weapon. Xenomorphs aren't terrifying because of their appearance, they're terrifying because you can't even fight back without being horrifically melted by the very blood you were aiming to spill - they are simply death incarnate.
Exactly. Like in one of my fanfics the world is trash and is filled with toxicity and has a disease that’s killing all life and spreading horrific and disturbing creatures. Only a few people have survived and the main villain is trying to create abominations in order to find the perfect life form in order to make the world better. But he’s a mad scientist so he makes it worse. However out of all the monsters there is one that hasn’t even been physically seen in my fanfic. Something the main villain hasn’t created and is scared of. Something I haven’t even named. Something all the monsters fear
Throughout this entire story it is heard that the black “gas” is surrounding Earth isn’t just toxic gas or pollution or whatever. It’s something apart of a living thing. And that’s all you ever really know about it. This “thing” is the reason for why Earth is horrible, this “thing” is the reason the main villain went insane, this “thing” is the main reason the monsters exist”
The most that is physically seen of it is dark and gooey-like plant things that are are a part of the monster that can also work on their own and grab things
Now in the ending when the main character spreads the cure to all of the world, it doesn’t work, infact, after this is the first time lightning starts, red lightning. Then all that’s described is something giant that the main character sees before melting
This monster is talked about the entire story as well but there isn’t any information on it, all we know is it caused Earth to become infected and horrible. The only thing that this monster is referred as is “the creator” by the main villain, but that’s still not its name
Now I’m not saying every monster should be like this but more monster should do more than roar and attack, they should do more mysterious and harmful things that make you terrified or unknowing of it
These are some my favorite somewhat scary depictions in a novel that I recently read.
"A supple and beautiful woman. "Her" chest bulged, propping "Her" clothes up. In "Her" arms was face-rotting baby, and at "Her" feet were black ears of wheat, spring water squirming with flesh, herbs dripping with pus, and wildly-mating animals."
" She wears a complex, gorgeous, dark, and gloomy black dress. She doesn't have a head, but her drooping hands hold four identical blonde heads with red eyes."
"A Flesh Mountain of Reproductive Organs."
(A scenario form the novel)
"The first thing he heard behind the door was pleasurable moaning that gave itself up to one’s primal instincts. Following that, a smell that made his heart race and sent blood gushing to his nether regions inundated his olfactory senses.
In addition, there was an eclectic mix of all sorts of bodily fluids. A scene of indulging pleasure couldn’t help but surface in Klein’s mind
Right on the heels of that, Klein saw the blond secretary, Luan.
He stood by the door, looking inside with an overlooking and cold manner. His arrogance was extremely real.
Upon sensing someone enter, he turned his head and discovered it was Admiral Amyrius.
His expression and gaze didn’t change, as though he was looking at an ordinary, unimportant person.
This secretary is usually very reverent, but he’s actually such a prideful person? Klein originally wanted to question Luan who seemed to possess some reason, but he saw him shift his gaze to look into the middle of the master bedroom from a height.
He only looks normal… Klein traced Luan’s gaze and discovered a fair body that was three meters tall in the middle of the master bedroom.
It had brownish-green lumps growing on its surface that resembled tree warts. Some parts were cracked open, revealing organs that resembled flowers.
It had the bodyguards and the male attendants gathered around it as they either stood or knelt, prostrating or floating as they mated with those organs, letting out deep grunting sounds.
The other bodyguards and maidservants of varying numbers were scattered across the carpet, enjoying each other’s bodies to their heart’s content.
In addition, “tree warts” and “flowers” grew from the tall fair body, as well as brown “branches” that extended out as they participated in every promiscuous act of pleasure with the people present."
I need the title of this novel
@@thepinkestpigglet7529 Sorry for the late reply but the novel is called Lord of the Mysteriess (only available on the internet since most physical copies are taiwanese, Chinese, and Thai.
The novel has amazing work building but is a little bit slow form the start since the author is trying to consolidate the world first before fully advancing on th next volume. But the first volume also contains a lot of fantasy, scary, and mysterious stuff happening. The plot twists are also amazing and all characters are well thought out. Almost all characters are never forgotten (except for Edwina).
@@thepinkestpigglet7529 It is also hailed as one of the best novels in China (Ranked 2 in most rankings) so you can expect a lot from this novel, although it may not cater to your tastes though.
Some of the best monsters are the ones that are rarely (or not) seen. The reason Jaws was so scary was because we only ever caught glimpses of the shark. Same goes for the movie Signs. We only really caught dark or low-res glimpses of the aliens. Then there's things like Lovecraftian horror, which is just so abstract that the scariness comes how incomprehensible the creatures often are.
I'd have to say the Annihilation bear is one of my most favorite creature designs. It's unfortunate just how little we got to see of it cause there are so many unanswered questions that both the design and the behavior brought to the table. Some may not see those as positives but I always love fear of the unknown in my horror, even when the unknown is simply why something acts how it does.
Yup, that thing is awesome.
The ability to mimic human voices is cool on its own, but the part where the voice turns into an almost wheezing distortion of what it's supposed to sound like is so good.
Annihilation is easily one of my favourite movies, I wish directors would try lovecraftian / cosmic horror more often because Annihilation is pretty much the only modern example I can think of (other than Lighthouse)
The monster wasn't in the book, the movie creators seem to have pulled it from the Alzabo in Book of the New Sun, which is itself drawn from old real life mythology about hyenas.
@@mollymillions6586 that's actually really cool! I started reading the books at one point, but I lost my copy of the first one and I was having trouble getting into it anyways.
It's a great series, one of the major inspirations for Dark Souls, among other things.
My favorite one was the fish-jaw. I'm a big fan of animal monsters, because when they are scary it's not just about their looks. It is about how their looks express their nature, they look scary because they must have that form to maintain their way of life. The Xenomorph alien is my favorite, their bodies are perfect to hide between the pipes of a spaceship, it has human features because it parasites humans and take part of their dna in their brutal lifecycle, which offers a fate worse than death. Andd the best part of it is that they're not just scary evil monsters, they're organisms trying to survive. A similar idea goes for the new pennywise.
I think Scorn is a great example of good monster design. Everything is alive, including weapons and technology, the ammo wriggles around when you reload your gun, Everything makes squishy sounds, the creatures look horrifying, they just flop around with no direction. They look like expired meat that grew teeth and limbs. H.R Gieger would be jealous. I really hope that game becomes popular.
A key part of true horror design, to me, is to take something precious to humans and transform it into something horrific in a realistic way. The more plausible the transformation is, the more horrifying and haunting your monster will be. A crazy surgeon that experiments on altering the form of living creatures without putting them to sleep, keeping them alive and awake during the transformations. Taking and completely breaking these people or pets who used to be familiar to us, turning them into these horrific feral abominations.
As well as the fear of the unknown. Keeping a monster ambiguous and hard to clearly understand what it looks like. The more exposed you are to the monster, the less effective it becomes. It becomes more and more known. Amnesia: The Dark Descent did this really well, keeping the monster in the dark, making your vision blurry if you looked at it, etc.
even though i'm really tired of hearing about it - i will say that the titans from AOT are the main reason for the series' success, because of how terrifying the show makes them. they are creepy distortions of humans that are made to be very dangerous, they are uncanny and weird and horrifying, and its all implied by their design.
Eren baker
@@deadchannellmaoooooo what?
@@mangoalias608 Eren baker.
14:11 fun fact that is a loose jaw and that is how they look naturally. the red exposed flesh is just the gills. the lack of flesh around the jaw lets shoot out their jaws without their mouth catching water and slowing down. reminds me of how turkey vultures nose bridge or whatever just makes their head look hollow
I think one of the best example of monster design is from the manga Claymore, the monster design on Awakened beings was really amazing especially on the chapters towards the ending.
I think the webtoon "A sweet home" has some pretty good monsters, although they do need a bit more realism as they are a anime type style ( saying this as the style that the video is leaning toward is a lot more human and realistic). The monsters all have emotional physical features, as said in the story they are the embodiment of that persons desires.
I liked the first monster with the caved-in head the most.
That comic was my favorite, i loved the one sleeping on the staircase with the three eyes and animal legs. A comic strip jumpscared me, it was incredible
Yes indeed those are great because every creature in that comic is designed with a purpose and that makes everyone of them iconic
just wanted to say a big thx for the recommendation, bc i am reading this webtoon now and am loving it so far :)
The most interesting monsters I've seen have come from Japanese culture. I don't know what it is with Japan, but you can even see in modern anime just how nonsensical everything is, and it very much goes against what you say about making leaps and creating new random stuff for the heck of it.
Specifically though, looking into traditional yokai is really interesting, and fun to track it showing up in modern media again (stuff like yu-gi-oh showing a mezuki and gozuki).
What creatures are you thinking of because most that came to mind were either living objects or people but weird
Aot?
Berserk. when I saw the title I first thought BERSERK literally every monster in berserk looks awesome
Anything from Junji Ito
@@thepinkestpigglet7529 a lot of the monsters in Pom Poko (the Ghibli movie) are really cool. they’re all based off of traditional japanese folk tales/traditional monster designs, and they’re nothing like modern-day monsters
I think it would be worth adjusting the rebar slightly so that the one on the front and back of the head follow the same arc and make you question if it's two pieces or if their is rebar going straight through the creature's skull.
I have some disagreements. You're talking about a very specific brand of monster. There's also things like existential horror, representations of sin, or simply hunting beasts sometimes used as monstrous creatures within a world. Not all monsters have to be altered humans. There's tons of other monsters, hell the classics also include things like dragons or the kraken. These can be made rather terrifying in the right atmosphere, presentation matters at least as much as the design itself in my opinion and you can really make these monstrous giants terrifying by the idea of being hunted.
From a game design perspective, I think monsters are at their scariest if they are two things to the player:
Mysterious: ie, the player doesn't understand exactly what they are, how they work, or how to fight / avoid them.
and...
Powerful: ie, they must pose enough of a threat to the player that fighting them is too risky / not an option. Out right making it impossible to fight feels cheap, but if they're incredibly hard to fight, then it can be used to make close calls feel way more intense.
A good example of this are the Volatiles from Dying Light. When I first started playing the game, they were terrifying. They are incredibly strong, fast, and somewhat mysterious at the start of the game, however, the longer I've played (I have almost 300 hours), the less scary they become. I was able to do more damage to them making fights less risky, and I fully understood how to avoid them / fight them / get away from them.
If Dying Light was supposed to be specifically a horror game, then the volatiles would be better if they were a lot stronger. With a high leveled game save, volatiles are no threat, and therefore, not scary at all.
Really cool! Personally I was most intrigued by the one with the metal parts, it felt like it had the most 'story' built into it.
I also thought it was a bit more interesting when the split jaw monster had somewhat dopey/expressive eyes. I think that an unexpected emotion of the eyes coupled the horrifying mouth is more unsettling than the monstrous eyes + monstrous mouth combination.
That strange fish you looked at with the separated jaw is called the "Stoplight loosejaw" and it is undamaged. Yes their jaws are absolutely that terrifying.
For me, it truly depends on what you are trying to go for. Are you trying to frighten, enhance combat capabilities, environmental mutations, etc.? Those kinds of things will change what the monster looks like. Then, what kind of story you want is also very important.
I'd like to make a little argument here...
You mention that monsters should look vaguely similar to, but not entirely like, humans... But I'd like to give a pleasant little mention to the idea of monsters based on animals. The idea of something like a monster that looks almost similar to a tiger, but not at the same time, is an interesting idea to me... In fact, I know of a perfect example of that: Dungeons and Dragons' Discplacer Beasts! They're very feline in their design, but at the same time, they're gangly, deep purple, hairless, and their tail is replaced with large, barbed tendrils. That kinda shit looks cool to me!
That's basically what this video does.
ua-cam.com/video/lse2qQCGVRQ/v-deo.html
More monster design for sure- I saw Aliens when i was like 5, that has ever since been my favorite monster design
The monster from The Ritual is one of my favorites. It's eldritch and beast-like but also has a human element with the torso/arms where its face should be.
Aaaah yes. The three most classical and beloved monsters: vampires, zombies and wolverines.
The Webtoon "Sweet Home" was one of my favourites when it came to monster designs. They were all unique and with the story's theme of desire, they work really well together.
I really liked the design of "The Flood" in the very first Halo game. Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia, but still a lot of sweet inspiration there. The Flood were technically aliens, I guess, but could easily pass as monsters on Earth or in a horror video game. I'm looking forward to watching your ideas develop.
One kind of monster I find fascinating are monsters linked to the mental of a person, like representing things like grief, humanity, pain, anger, etc. I'm personally making a monster attached to the humanity left in a person (like sanity) for my game because I find that monsters representing something appeals to me.
PS: sorry I brought myself into it, I'm just excited because I worked hard on it :)
Lately I've been really interested in cosmic/eldritch horror and alien designs. If you wanted to do a video featuring something like that I would love to hear what you have to say on it! :D
I like monsters that are not inherently human looking, but have just enough human elements to make their monstrous features stand out even more. Like the Jotun from The Ritual or Itzpapalotl from No One Gets Out Alive. Both have human elements that signify them to be some kind of holy entity that is above humanity, literally wearing human parts as a sort of crown, and the rest of their body is horrific and has other minor human elements to accentuate this. For Example, both of these monsters have human arms that stick out and make you feel like they can snatch you up at any moment.
Another good example I think are the Heptapods from Arrivals. They are completely inhuman in every way from design, to form of communication, to their very thought process. Their only 'human-esque' element is their silhouette that looks like a robed man invoking imagery of death. But, they are completely benevolent, and even when goaded into violence by a human attack that ends in the death of one of their own they do not retaliate. Their purpose is to unite humanity so that they can receive help in the future. Their determination to reach this goal is exemplified by the fact that they can see the future. The one who died, Abbot, knowingly spent his last moments saving the lives of the two scientists who were key in reaching their goal. In this case the monster never becomes humanized, but you end up understanding and empathizing with them never the less.
Yes. A trap people often fall into is thinking that a monster needs to be humanoid or have humanoid parts to take inspiration from human anatomy and make it creepy. In reality you can do very small things to make something appear human to an extent. Simply giving it body parts humans have- even if those body parts don't resemble ones from a human- are enough to tap into the uncanny valley. Oftentimes, just making it look vaguely like an animal of some kind will make it look similar enough to a human to allow for uncanny valley. Giving it eyes, or a mouth, or legs, or a tongue, anything you'd expect to see on a living creature, can make it look uncanny.
I really like the design of the monsters in Evolve. I also love all the creepy stuff from Silent Hill. From both the games and the movies. The nurses are by far my favorite monster.
Some of the weirdest designs that really messed with me for exactly the reasons you stated (horror wise) were games like Cry of Fear and Amnesia. You could see that the monsters may have been humans that suffered greatly and it made them feel more solid.
Oddly and inversely design wise, the things I find the most disturbing are the monsters that you never see the whole of. A flash of semi human form leaving sight as you turn or from corner of your eye. I always thought was this was the strongest ally to the old silent hill franchise. The way they hid things in the fog so you only got impressions of what they were.
Even when being attacked in those games my eyes were confused on where to look, like trying to determine what the true danger was is never 100% clear. Like being attacked by a bear or lion, don’t know whether to dodge teeth or claws and also unsure I could outrun them on first glance.
Just word vomiting these ideas as you were talking makes me reevaluate how I view the truly terrifying and horrifying monsters.
Thank you.
That splitmouth design looks almost exactly how I would imagine the Dagon Cultists from a modern Shadow Over Innsmouth. Great work man!!!
Where I find really interesting monster designs: monster manga and manga monster encyclopedias, bestiaries of fantasy games, art books of my fav monster artists, and forums where people post their art that was based solely on descriptions. To be specific: Bastard manga and Berserk manga, Monster Girl encyclopedia vol 1 & 2, Monster Girl Wrestling manga; D&D, Pathfinder, Pokémon, and Digimon bestiaries; Terada Katsuya’s 10 art book; Lovecraftian Instagram groups.
Loved the vid. throwing this out there to expand on teeth for you or anyone watching who wants to level up their thinking process when it comes to creature design
The teeth or an animal serve the animal in all aspects of their hunting. Thinking about the behavior of the creature helps inform design choices.
Steathly and hunting from the darkness? Big cats have those large canines as you pointed out. The way they hunt focuses on severing the spinal collum or windpipe of their prey. thats why the design is basically 4 daggers hidden in a mouth. They look to kill as soon as possible.
Is your creature something that grabs you and pulls you into the darkness to tear you limb from limb? Crocodillians specify in this. they never kill with their bite, but the trauma they inflict from it while thrashing their prey around is what truly kills.
Your insight on fish jaws and pointing out their design was a nice call out because creature designs that are land based should avoid them as much as possible. the mechinisims for most modern bony fish rely on being in water and using the vacum pressure of their mouths opening to pull their prey in, or a sling-shot like motion to launch the jaws out of their skull using a series of ligaments, then grabbing their prey and pulling in. Since these are the most common ways of hunting, the main goals of a fishes' primary jaws is to hold onto prey that might be too big to glup in one go, and make sure it doesnt escape. They often have secondary mouths in their bodies that will bite of chunks of flesh from the prey the main-jaw has grabbed.
In addition, If your creature doesn't kill through biting, then it doesn't inherently need to have jaws specialized for killing. thats why most apes dont have sharp incisors like felines or canines, they are flat. they dont need to kill using their bite, they generally kill through beating or thrashing. Thats why horror with human teeth still inherently works, human teeth are still fitting for peeling flesh off since human teeth are generalized for being omdivores.
Terryl Whitlatch said it best in a lot of her creature design courses, focusing on the "how" of the creature informs the "why". How does it behave? that explains Why it looks like that. this works for every aspect, muscle, teeth, claws, exct.
As for good horror-creature designs, I'd say the creatures from both "The Ritual" and "No One Gets Out Alive" Put great twists on Mythologic beings re-interperated. For artists, I have always been insipred by Dan Peacock, but his designs lean more body horror/gore/supernatural. His artwork is just fantastic and he is a funny guy
I think The Thing was one of the scariest monster in the movies (apart from the plot of the movie which is brilliant).
Thank you, these lil exercises you do help so much 🙏
This is such a great video! I feel like I've learned tons about monsters ofc but also about human/animal face anatomy. I'd love you to make more of these, I'd watch them all with delight!
You also earned a new subscriber ;)
I know you meant werewolves, but you said wolverines @1:40 and I just thought it was funny. I love all your stuff Boro and I have learned a ton from your channel. Keep up the great work!!
I'm scared of toothless people (just gums). It looks reaaally weird (Uncanny?), the way the mouth is closed which makes the face looked squished vertically. *shivers....
I love the thought process by the way.
Edit:
I like the third one; The one with the rebars.
In film, I like Guillermo Del Toro's monsters. I actually can't recall any new unique monster designs that isn't Humanoid in shape.... huh.
Very nice video! You're really expressive which helps keep my attention focused
"Teeth are arguably the most important part"
Slimes: "And I took that personally."
I love Huggy Wuggys design in Poppy Playtime, It’s the perfect mix of cute and creepy. I haven’t actually seen annabelle but I always thought that her design is creepy but I never understood why people would find the doll cute. With Huggy I can see why the toy was a big success back then design wise.
Great video!! Always thanks for the art advice, it feels like we're exploring art with you 🤩
Haha thanks Kian
THIS IS SUCH A GOOD VIDEO WITH SO MUCH INSPERATIONS AND JUST ENTERTAINING overall
this was really insightful! thank you for making this
The third one reminds me of the Stalkers from Half Life 2, probably one of the scariest monster design in any game I've ever seen, even though they are mostly harmless.
Love these, they're my jam.
I tend to love rather anatomical designs, and for so long people called my creatures "horror". Finally understand them XD
Guess that's what happens when you come from a medical background...
There are some really great references I think you can check out based on these. Just a few refs+personal experiences I think will work here:
- Rhinoplasty/Facial degloving: You get really good views on the nose without the skin on here. The cartilage of the nose actually dictates the shape of the nose itself. Degloving in general gives a good view, but it's a horrible injury to have.
- Cleft palate: Although the muscles are lacking to allow movement, the upper jaw is also made of separate parts. They normally fuse during the fetus stage, but sometimes it doesn't, causing a cleft palate. By adding basic muscles and slightly splitting the cheek area from the rest of the skull, you can make a really nice split top. :--]
- Rhytidectomy: If you want to experience how the connective tissues work in action, you can check out some facelift surgeries. Gives a really clear look into the inner workings of the face.
Some bonus things I found:
- If you know the basic ways they work, you can paste things just about anywhere. Teeth instead of hair, finger tongues, inverted mouths... if you have done some studies on internal anatomy and want to make stuff, just try slapping things on and working them out as you go. Kind of like game design where the base mechanics come first before details.
- Adding hard surface bits onto anatomy can also be prosthetic. Having it just barely poking out, or even hidden until a limb comes off is a great way to add some thought provoking moments and surprises.
- Making them ever so slightly human can push things into the uncanny valley, so it's fun to make monsters that look totally not human except for one part. Maybe them teeth. Human teeth are great for crushing stuff, so there's a good place to start. Personally I love giving my creatures bits that resemble human hands, especially fingers. Love drawing hands.
These are for everyone by the way, feel free to discuss and add your thoughts and processes, would love to hear more ideas. Have a great All Hallows Eve ya'll
I think it would be cool to see a game where you are urged to run from the monster, but the longer you play, the more you realize the monster is just lonely and is only chasing you because it wants a freind.
This is a fantastic video. Ive always been into monsters and art, i have so many pictures of monsters i drew as a kid. I dont draw nearly as much as i used to but stuff like this makes me want to get back into it again.
:ove this too much. I still love Jazza's video about this topic. The design of horror monsters doesn't have to be grotesque (i actually spelled it right the first time 😂), it often can be as simple as capturing the the essence of humanity or life. You can make so many things scary and horroesque just be adding and more importantly subtracting traits or features. Horro is just so fun. 👁👄👁
I think it would really cool if you did a series like this, generally about monster/creature designs.
BoroCG: horror needs some connections to already established things in order to work
Junji ito: let me introduce myself
Loved your explanation of monster design in this video! I've been writing a horror fantasy book so this definitely gave me ideas and purpose behind my monsters.
Thank you! Subscribed!
If you are interested in incredible, scary monster designs, then you should check out the game Soul Sacrifice. All monsters in that game have really well-written, decently long tragic backstories, which are also often folklore inspired.
Very Nice video! gives me a lot to think about monsters...
H.R. Giger's Xenomorph is i think the most interesting design... Its so much based on Human, and yet its alien.
This is dense with good information about the nuances of design. So many beginners take these details for granted, great video!
I have this idea for a game which plays in three stories, instead of running form a monsters, you are the monster. You play as people who while at this point monsters have suffered so much they barely have their own minds. “I’m sorry, run while you can, please! Run run!”
It's just so amazing how he can speak without moving his mouth...He can be a VENTRILOQUIST!!
For me it's kind of the opposite. Things like the fear of the unknown or Lovecraftian horrors scare me much more than a humanoid monster.
fantastic video. Extremely helpful, thank you!
This video has been incredibly helpful in my research for my university dissertation! Awesome thoughts!! 😊
For me, dark souls was the great example for a good design, just seer amount of creature in that game are staggeringly effective, their design not just fantastically great, scary, grotesque sometimes, but their design is connected to the world and add more lore to it, how dark souls manage to tell a story not with dialogue but with the world and the creatures inside it, it's still amazing to this day, no game has come close for me, when i said darksouls, really its all fromsoft games, dekon souls, bloodborne, sekiro
The best one for me was ludwig.
Giant half man half horse demon wielding giant sword with symphatetic story behind it? What more can you get
100% agree, my personal favorite design was Manus, his giant left arm with the mouth on it was disgusting and awesome at the same time and his half human half monster design was great, the design really does show a man who was completely consumed, not a shred of humanity remaining.
what an interesting idea of the 'eyelids'.... nice! Х)
new subscriber to the channel.. this monster was reminding me of nemesis from the OG resident evil game at the beginning..love the whole vibe of this channel
Okay, this video actually helped me a lot! I'm not plannig to make video games but I like to write novels where monsters play a big role, both animal and humanoid ones. I had a pretty hard time comeing up with ideas for the monster designs but this video helped me a bit. Thank you! You defenetly should do more videos like this in the future.
I’d pay good money to see your search history. Google must be very confused and concerned. hahaha
You may have noticed I was using an Incognito window :D
Masahiro Ito had a no teeth policy on silent hill games. So teeth are not so important
Sounds about right
A really good monster mouth reference is from the mouth of an animal called the Gelada. It’s like a baboon, but it can curl its upper lip so high up it conceals its nose.
This was very useful, needed a good way to redesign my already existing monsters in a way where they are just a little bit more grounded
Little Nightmares has the most unique monster designs for me. Not all of them are terrifying, but they're all great nonetheless.
I actually heavily disagree that the teeth are the most important part. Big, prominent teeth, sharp teeth, teeth obviously made for *eating* removes any mystery of the monster’s motive or intentions. I want that mystery and uncertainty.
Yeah good point! I'm actually working on my game right now with 0 teeth in them haha
@@BoroCG mad respect man! I’m excited to see where it takes you
I did not expect such good video, but þis was great!
This video honestly helped out a lot👍