Symbiosis

Symbiosis: interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.

When i had decided upon specialising as a character and creature artist i started to think what kind of work i could produce for my project and why...

I thought that the most interesting way to explore this concept would be by depicting a two different creatures (at least one of which should be human, or at the very least of humanoid shape) that were in some way linked. In deigning two creatures, it would be easy to create two random designs that that simply look interesting as separate entities, it would be harder, but much more interesting to explore the relationship between two different beings, as creatures that both inhabit the same space, and create characters designed to inhabit the same space. This brings in the concept of coherent design.

 (James Cameron's Avatar is an excellent contemporary example of coherent visual design) 

Creating coherent designs is an important part of the design of any world or space for anything like games or film. It helps to immerse the audience in the world they are being presented with, this is why it is particularly important (though by no means limited to ) fantasy worlds.

Carefully considered designing, that is appropriate to the space it inhabits is key to making an audience believe in the world they are being shown. It helps them to suspend their disbelief in fantastical worlds, if everything in that world loos like it belongs. When something looks out of place, it is easily spotted, and can take the audience out of the experience. For my project design coherence will be important, to make sure that both of my designs work together to convey a consistent, mood, style, shape ect, to the viewer. This is where symbiosis comes in. 

I am giving my specialism project the sub title of  "Symbiosis", this will shape the direction that my design will go in. I want to work using a game industry pipeline, "symbiosis" will be the title of the design brief that i  given myself. 

By designing two groups based on a symbiotic relationship, i can explore the effects that that relationship has on the two involved parties,and how i can use that to work aesthetic  coherence into my design

I think this will be an interesting way to look at character design, and by choosing it as a title i hope to look at:

- visual connections between my designs

- how i can show with visuals, the relationship between two groups and their effects on each other

- look at the relationship between the environment/setting and its inhabitants

- how the same environmental conditions could have similar, or different effects on each group.

- look at how certain visual connections indicate

- audiences perception of repetition (used to point out the importance of certain design aspects)

Symbiosis can come in many forms, mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic, as well as variations thereof. I will go into further detail on the different types of symbiotic relationships and try to find some examples, both real world and fantasy.

Here are just a few examples that immediately sprang to mind, some what you would conventionally see as symbiotic relationships, others well...

(Maybe not the most obvious example, but when you think about it, within the context of the game it holds up)