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The Creature Course

by Tim Von Rueden

Hello and welcome to the Creature Course

Through this creature course, Tim Von Rueden takes a closer look at creating a creature while in Photoshop CS5 using a Wacom Intuos4 tablet.

To gain access to this course you can signup as a Citizen member of the CG Cookie network for just $10 USD per month. You can sign up for a Citizen account from our membership page HERE.
As a Citizen member you get access to the complete streaming course, including all project files and the ability to download each individual video. To make this series more accessible you now choose to either stream or download any of the videos. To stream the videos, simply click on the thumbnail for that portion and it will automatically load at the top of the page.

What you’ll learn in this course

This course is aimed at showing the different aspects of creating a creature. Tim takes you into the mindset of creating and concepting out a creature, from the initial reference and anatomy collecting, to highlighting certain areas of the creature such as the surface texture, eyes, horns, fur etc. After all is complete, there is a final polish pass to get your creature looking ready to showcase. And to have some fun, we included a timelapse of Tim creating an original creature to be the poster boy for this course. The goal is to help you improve different areas of your skill levels and to give some helpful tips along the way!

Note: the introduction, timelapse, and part 4 are freely available for anyone to view to help give you a better preview of the course, Enjoy!

Timelapse song by: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/66700 Artist: J.L.T. Song: Electronika

Become a Citizen Subscriber today to unlock the full series
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1

Introduction

(:50)

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2

2. Reference

Download HD Video

(6:44)

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3

3. Anatomy

Download HD Video

(8:35)

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4

4. Building Values on White Background

(25:07)

04_Valuesonwhite.mp4 from CG Cookie on Vimeo.

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5

5. Building Values on Grey Background

Download HD Video

(6:45)

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6

6. Building Values with Color

Download HD Video

(16:49)

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7

7. FOCUS on Surfaces

Download HD Video

(20:30)

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8

8. Surfaces

Download HD Video

(20:42)

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9

9. FOCUS on Eyes

Download HD Video

(14:56)

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10

10. Eyes

Download HD Video

(21:09)

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11

11. FOCUS on Horns

Download HD Video

(14:33)

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12

12. Horns

Download HD Video

(15:25)

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13

13. Fur

Download HD Video

(11:53)

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14

14. Polish

Download HD Video

(6:38)

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15

15. Original Creature Timelapse

(5:09)

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    Discussion

    40 Responses to “The Creature Course”
    1. verticies
      Posts: 95

      First again.
      I have to stop living on this site :)

      Thanks, starting now.

      #
      1
       Nov 1, 2012 at 11:19 am
    2. Chris Ferguson
      Posts: 13

      I’m so excited. I plan on getting a Bamboo Capture tablet soon, so this will be perfect timing!

      #
      2
       Nov 1, 2012 at 11:20 am
    3. Abdullah AlDar
      Posts: 1

      I shall try this :D

      #
      3
       Nov 1, 2012 at 11:30 am
    4. Jeff Bayer
      Posts: 2

      Tim – Great course! In the timelapse video, who is the artist responsible for the background music?

      #
      4
       Nov 1, 2012 at 11:41 am
    5. verticies
      Posts: 95

      Thanks.
      You really went through a lot of trouble in making this.
      Learned a lot.

      Will be posting soon…

      #
      5
       Nov 2, 2012 at 2:43 am
    6. oldboy
      Posts: 7

      Tim van Rueden for President! :D

      #
      6
       Nov 2, 2012 at 8:27 am
    7. solizsteven
      Posts: 2

      Hey dude, What was the name of the magazine and articular you where talking about. By the way, you have completely reignited my passion for drawing again. I can’t enplane it but it seams to be all I can think about these days.

      #
      7
       Nov 2, 2012 at 2:08 pm
      • Thomas Potter
        Posts: 7

        … Not to mention that anatomy reference. PS: Muybridge is a fine reference, especially when looking at how they move.

        #
        7.1
         Nov 4, 2012 at 7:24 pm
        • Tim Von Rueden
          Posts: 635

          The anatomy reference I did on with my own personal reference =)

          #
          …
           Nov 5, 2012 at 10:26 am
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        The magazine was Fantasy Artist and the article was called Essential creature design by Poz Watson. That’s awesome to hear your passion for drawing has been reignited!

        #
        7.2
         Nov 5, 2012 at 10:22 am
    8. John Garrett
      Posts: 3

      Tim, this looks fantastic. One question, is there anything you use in this course that is specific to CS5? I have CS3.

      Thanks.

      #
      8
       Nov 2, 2012 at 9:20 pm
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        Hey, so there isn’t much that is specific to CS5 except for the brushes which might not work properly. Besides that let me know if you are having any problems.

        #
        8.1
         Nov 3, 2012 at 12:49 am
        • chris
          Posts: 10

          are the brushes different across versions then? i have Elements 5

          #
          …
           Nov 5, 2012 at 5:31 am
    9. Matt Ursell
      Posts: 20

      Excellent. Really had fun with this. Will post some work soon.

      #
      9
       Nov 5, 2012 at 8:30 am
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        Awesome, Excited to see your results!

        #
        9.1
         Nov 5, 2012 at 10:47 am
        • Matt Ursell
          Posts: 20

          I am having a few problems getting a nice dynamic pose, this in turn is frustrating me which is not allowing me to get my ideas out.

          I am sure I need to work on gesturing and rotating basic forms at will. If I am not copying a pose or reference I am tripping myself up. Any tips?

          #
          …
           Nov 5, 2012 at 5:08 pm
        • Jonathan Williamson
          Posts: 27

          I don’t draw much anymore, even though I’d love to, but when I was drawing for a while the thing I found that helped me the most was doing lots, and lots, and lots of quick gesture drawings. Fast gestures are great as they help train your eye-hand-coordination and let you practice getting dynamic shapes and poses quite quickly.

          #
           Nov 6, 2012 at 1:38 pm
        • Matt Ursell
          Posts: 20

          Thanks Jonathan, I used to do gesture drawings years ago. I forgot how useful they are. I am going to start every day with a good warm up, focused on gesture drawing, even before a Modelling/sculpting session and see the results.

          #
          …
           Nov 12, 2012 at 8:04 am
        • Matt Ursell
          Posts: 20

          If any one else is trying this the best place I found for web based images is here :->
          Figures
          http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/
          Animals
          http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/animal-drawing/

          There are others but something about this site just gets it “Right”. You will level up quick guys :-)

          #
          …
           Nov 12, 2012 at 8:32 am
    10. oldman44
      Posts: 70

      Great course, Tim.

      Thanks,
      -Danny

      #
      10
       Nov 5, 2012 at 2:38 pm
    11. Chris Ferguson
      Posts: 13

      So, I’m brand new to using a tablet. Mine is arriving today (Bamboo Create). Should I start on a different tutorial of yours, or is this series perfect? I’ve never drawn via computer before.

      #
      11
       Nov 6, 2012 at 8:17 am
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        With this series i would recommend being fairly comfortable with using the tablet. I would recommend starting up with a different tutorial or just messing around with the software on your own, I found that I learned more from experimenting with different settings, techniques, etc than doing anything else. You are more than welcome to try a stab at this course and let me know how it goes!

        #
        11.1
         Nov 6, 2012 at 11:53 am
    12. Titus Simirica
      Posts: 25

      I feel like I’m staring at an encyclopedia rack for art, this is great!

      #
      12
       Nov 9, 2012 at 12:41 pm
    13. Levi SRocha
      Posts: 31

      Mann!!!! I love this website (CGcookie)!!!! lol
      i

      #
      13
       Nov 9, 2012 at 4:12 pm
    14. Levi SRocha
      Posts: 31

      Mann!!!! I love this website (CGcookie)!!!! lol
      i’m learning a lot about blender and concept art…because of this guys…I’m not even fluent English!

      #
      14
       Nov 9, 2012 at 4:13 pm
    15. ldabreau
      Posts: 42

      Paid my $10 and got like $200 worth of material ! this site is a blessing im a lifetime member bro ! keep up the great tutorials ill never leave your site.

      #
      15
       Nov 12, 2012 at 1:48 am
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        Thanks! We will continue to push out content that will make citizen be worth it!

        #
        15.1
         Nov 12, 2012 at 10:35 am
    16. nivisthewolf
      Posts: 1

      what program do you use?

      #
      16
       Nov 17, 2012 at 8:02 pm
    17. max nijholt
      Posts: 1

      this is a perfect course, i think it will really help me develop mij digital skills.

      #
      17
       Jan 19, 2013 at 9:38 am
    18. the_rotton_core
      Posts: 10

      Thank you so much for this Tim. A learnt a ton. More than worth the price of admission. Uploading my creatures now.

      #
      18
       Mar 24, 2013 at 11:37 am
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        Great to hear! Can’t wait to see the final results of your creatures!

        #
        18.1
         Mar 25, 2013 at 4:22 pm
    19. ggqw
      Posts: 1

      I liked the painting but I HATED the music!

      #
      19
       Apr 2, 2013 at 9:24 pm
    20. joshua smith
      Posts: 1

      hy Tim im loving The Creature Course wish i could draw like you but im totally crap at drawing entry 1 id say do you have any advice for me like where to start or what to draw to get my skill level up because im really confused on where to start and what is best to start on any feedback would be great id love to get to your level and be a concept/character artist

      #
      20
       Apr 3, 2013 at 5:22 pm
      • Tim Von Rueden
        Posts: 635

        Thank you, and I really should post my work when I was just starting because it took about a year and a half before I started getting comfortable with using a tablet and learning the main tools to use in Photoshop. I would say the best place to start is just keep practicing in Photoshop, almost on a daily basis. Just keep pushing yourself past where you believe your current skill level is at. If you like character concept art, then keep looking at professional work and compare it with yours. Look and analyze how you believe they are getting the results they are, and then try to execute these practices in your own work.

        It takes a lot of time and energy, but if your willing to stick with it, I’m sure you will be fine =]

        #
        20.1
         Apr 4, 2013 at 12:41 pm

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