Gryphon prompt: Lets share our inspiration and WIPs
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I am currently working on the story for my illustration and would appreciate some feedback as I'm getting a little stuck.
My basic idea is that someone steals an egg from a griffin nest.
Some questions I'm asking are:- Why does someone need the egg? Collecting? Selling? Using for some magical/medicinal purpose?
- How are they transporting the egg?
- Does the mom griffin know they're stealing it? If so, how is she responding?
- Are the thieves good or bad?
- Where is the nest? In a huge tree? In a cave? On a mountain?
In my sketching, I'm leaning towards it being for collecting/selling purposes and the thieves will be carrying the egg in a net as it is so massive. Perhaps there's a ship they're heading for.
I'm getting stuck with the mom griffin's reaction though. Should we see her in the background being mad? Should she be asleep? Maybe they left a boulder in place of the egg while she slept? If they're stealing the egg for malicious reasons, should I not include a humorous element like that?
My mind is going in a thousand different directions, but I know with the deadline looming, I will have to make some decisions very soon, so any help is greatly appreciated!
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@skeletortoise I get the same issue. I found bouncing back and forth between thumbnails and story decisions works for me. If I try and nail the story fully first I find it too difficult. I like to let the sketches guide me a bit. I like the idea of theives stealing the egg. But remember they want to see the griffin design in the illustration as the main element.
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This is my first attempt at a griffen. I liked the idea of Aprils promt so I sketched this out. Im super new to this so I hope its good enough tot post here.
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@MarcRobinson Yes sometimes I don't have ideas until I start drawing. And yeah, the griffin being prominent will be have to be taken into account. I guess for that reason, it's probably easiest/best to make the griffin the primary agent of the story. Maybe I'll do some sketching with the thieves in the background and really focus on the reaction of the mother.
Thanks so much!
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@Mike-Babich Love the idea of the griffin aiding an escape! Makes me wonder what the backstory is. My immediate thought was that maybe this is a prison tower of sorts, but seeing the object clutched in the rider's arm makes me think a robbery with a getaway griffin? Excited to see where it goes!
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@skeletortoise I'm looking forward to seeing which way you go with it! Always love seeing people's process.
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@skeletortoise Thank you for your comment!
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Griffin robot. I might try developing this one with a lot more pencil sketches of it flying from different angles.
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@MarcRobinson
Looking gorgeous! Looking forward to seeing the final. I’m still working on my story! -
@Larue hey thanks. Story is super important but don't run out of time! I want to see what you come up with.
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@R-Fey-Realme Thank you very much! I love the suggestion of a growth potion, and I agree that there should be more action in the cup. I'll keep testing out some idea!
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@MarcRobinson Good point! This one is harder to solve for me though. I'm in love with the zoomed in composition but, the wings keep getting in the way.
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Today’s griffin ideas.Griffin ideas.pdf
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I did some research on griffin origins and found this interesting article if anyone is interested! https://www.icysedgwick.com/griffins-legends/ Apparently the legend could have been started by people who saw pentaceratops fossils while traveling on the silk road through Asia. The legends eventually made their way to greece. it is interesting because there arent really any stories about griffins, just the legend of their existence.
My story idea is: once upon a time there was a boy who was obsessed with griffins, and every day he would imagine what amazing adventures he would have if he had a real griffin. Then one day his parents got him a griffin… a dog named griffin anyway. “You cant just call him a griffin and make him one! He is still just a dog!” Parents can be so silly sometimes. “Griffins are great guardians of gold and nature, right?” His father asked. He reluctantly agreed. “Well this is a griffin in training. He needs your help to find gold to protect so he can practice and become a griffin in his next life.”
The boy was still skeptical, but the thought intrigued him. Maybe Griffin was just what he had always wanted.
The guys are really looking for that immediate read so ive been trying to do a norman rockwell magazine cover based on that story idea—its a bit of a struggle bc instant read is rough.
These are the thumbnails i did in reverse order
Im leaning towards #1 but i like 2 also
What do yall think?Blog: mamatheartist.blogspot.com
Coloring page newsletter: https://bit.ly/Color-in -
@skeletortoise Zooming out would help. I'm playing around with more potential ideas. Thank you for your advice!
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@R-Fey-Realme I like 2 and 3 because the design of a griffin is added and shows what the boy actually wanted. I like how you kept the collar on the griffin drawings because it helps communicate the ideal pet without relying on text. This is a very cute story by the way!
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Hello my fellow visual story tellers. I’ve been throwing around three ideas based on what things are precious,important and valuable that my gryphon might be a protector of.
My three ideas:
-The first one is obviously gold so there’s the leprechaun and his gryphon enjoying a good read with the hordes following the rainbow sneaking in.- second was books, here’s it’s like a librarian protecting them but a sneaky child is trying to steal one from the restricted shelf( magic potions perhaps?)
- Third, cheese of course, as wheels of cheese are gold(kinda) and those pesky mice/rats are always trying to steal it!
Concepts only, no view points in stone just wanted to know if you guys think any are a good idea. Thanks in advance for any feedback
back! -
@R-Fey-Realme
Hi, my two cents is I could see the family coming out of the pet store with pup and the boy wearing a gryphon tshirt( mythical style) with a disappointed look on his face. Kinda sets it up as a story and prompts questions about if he’ll warm up to it or not, parent could be carrying it. Or, could show his room full of gryphon posters as they present him with this pup. Just trying to tell the story without words. Look forward to seeing your final! -
@R-Fey-Realme Hi R.Fey, very creative concept! I agree that #1 and 2 are your strongest compositions and also #5 has a great facial expression and pose.
The prompt is a creature design challenge, so you may have some critique for going outside of the box on this one.
It sounds like you're feeling passionate about your idea and you'd like to draw this story instead. (Totally relatable, my idea also doesn’t quite count as a gryphon).
It seems like your idea would work best as a short comic with space for dialogue, such as the dad's speech about reincarnation. Then you could have a set-up and payoff with the boy anticipating a real gryphon, then getting disappointed, then finding happiness anyway by loving his new pet.
Definitely a teachable moment in there and an opportunity for a sweet story.Comics work better than single illustrations when you want to convey multiple emotions and multiple moments
Each time the character's emotion/expression changes is a new panel. -
@R-Fey-Realme Could the boy possibly put the dog in a costume to look like a gryphon? Maybe ride on its back?
Also how does the dog feel about the boy?
