Storybook Project... Take 2!?

So after seeing "Where the Wild Things Are" this past Monday (I really liked it by the way) I've been once again inspired to work on my storybook project from last year. Though I loved where the project was going, the images were a bit sloppy and generic (in my opinion) and the way everything unfolded deserved to be fine-tuned a bit. Anyway, it's been on my mind so today during painting class and drawing class I did a shit-ton of doodles, basically redesigning the main creatures. I liked all of their basic shapes (besides snake, which looked terrible imo), but the original impression I had of them was lost in the execution of the assignment. So, I tried my best to hold on to what I wanted them to be and then just experimented with different looks.

Bat was first. I always saw him as a more sleek creature then I originally designed him. I also figured he would be pretty shy, and would use his multiple wings to hide behind. I still wanted big ears though, and I wanted the mouth to still be huge when he actually opens it. (Think of those anime cats that have cute small faces, but when they yawn or whatever their mouth gets REALLY BIG! Like that.) I'm also thinking of changing it to a she... hmm.

Dog was second. I actually liked Dog's design a lot, but kind of wanted to incorporate a little bit of turtle onto him. I'm not sure why, I thought it'd make him even cuter or something. :) (Plus, people seemed to really like the first design so I didn't want to change it that much!) Anyway, now he'll have a spiky shell-butt for his lower body, think like a Map Turtle: http://www.redorbit.com/modules/reflib/article_images/11_6a7a9731fef1787b7556bf9fe3b301dc.jpg

I did a fair amount of work on Tiger (who might now be named Cat) but I couldn't quite get expression down I was trying to go for. The biggest thing about Tiger (Cat?) is that he has fingers that are constantly touching things, sort of pressing in to himself and twirling about themselves. That plus a lanky look was hard to pull off, but maybe I'll have more luck in a few days.

I also wrote a lot of stuff about what I find interesting in my own artwork, just so that I could understand why I like to draw I guess! I want to post that here too, but it'd make this blog too long so I'll just slap it up in a day or two instead. Otherwise, enjoy, and lemme know if you have any suggestions of your own.