Further cognitive disorder creature work

Keeping the ball rolling with this project, whilst the last two creatures are being worked up to finalised concept art for the book, I'm looking forward to the next few cognitive disorder creatures for the project again using the same methodology as displayed in previous posts.

KLEPTOMANIA

This cognitive disorder involves repeatedly being unable to resist the urge to steal items you generally don't need. The items in question are typically of little value and could easily be afforded by the individual, the urge comes from the cognitive desire to reduce the stress, anxiety, and tension that rises within the individual if the impulses are ignored, and these impulses are diagnosed as uncontrollable. This is how Kleptomania differs from common theft which requires planning and preparation and the premeditated method is for personal gain and often aimed at garnering as much value with what they steal as possible, episodes of Kleptomania occur suddenly without warning. The issue is that societal perceptions can blur the line between these two actions which causes the stigma around the condition.

Kleptomania is a type of impulse control disorder - a disorder that involves problems with emotional or behavioural self-control, those who suffer from the disorder often feel great shame for their actions and frequently fear seeking mental health treatment which is in contrast to those who steal without the disorder who will more often than not seek to justify their actions. Though there are no consistently successful methods for treatment due to there not being a definitive answer to what causes over the years there has been an evolution in research and understanding to what some causes may be, and treatment is always available to reduce the impulses. One clear contemporary cause is related to the neurotransmitters in the brain, a link between dopamine levels during an impulse spike has been recorded, this can link the disorder to an addictive impulse as is common with satisfying the brain's desire to increase dopamine levels, though the negative trait of dopamine is the crash when the pleasure it provides subsides. Another negative to this cause is that an escalation in the pursuit of acts that cause a spike in dopamine levels reduces serotonin levels, which helps regulate moods and emotions which creates a vicious cycle of an impulse desire increasing leading to an act resolving this and spiking dopamine levels, reducing serotonin levels, lowering positive emotions and increasing negative emotions thus causing a individuals mood to drop and the impulse growing again. Some individuals can have genetic or hereditary traits that can lead to an imbalance in these levels being produced as well which can lead to addictive impulses and it is often found to be the case that if someone suffers from Kleptomania they will have addictions to other actions or substances as well.

Separating the symptoms from perceptions

Developmental questions

This will lead to a thumbnail process that will allow me to observe these questions and theoretical responses and gain further evidence to produce a conclusive end design, whether the creature needs to be a giant moth-like creature or attract many moths seems to be answered but by thumbnailing both options it could lead to an even more successful answer that marries up the pros and cons of both variations. Perhaps the small moths attracted to the creature could be infants spawned by the creature and they rely on the parent for survival, and only the ones that can separate themselves from their parent survive when the substance is used to remove the tension - thus showing how the disorder can be harmful to loved ones of the sufferer. I've also yet to produce a definitive design theme for this particular field of disorders like I have for previous creatures. Generalised anxiety disorder is in the anxiety field of disorders and has to be a furred mammalian, Dermatillomania is in the Obsessive-Compulsive disorder field and has to be scaled or reptilian, Kleptomania is in the Disruptive Impulse-control field so a common theme should be visible in the design that can fit with a common symptom shared by all disorders in this field - more than likely something to represent the cyclical nature of these disorders as they all share the process of the main symptom being an addictive method to alleviate rising tension within the sufferer i.e setting fires for pyromaniacs, and compulsive lying for mythomaniacs.

SCHIZOPHRENIA

This is a mental disorder characterised variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behaviour, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin during young adulthood and are never resolved. There is no objective diagnostic test; diagnosis is based on observed behaviour, a psychiatric history that includes the person's reported experiences, and reports of others familiar with the person.

The disorder is considerably rarer than others previously researched with about 0.3% - 0.75 of people being diagnosed with it during their lifetime and in 2022 an estimated number of 24 million cases were globally registered, with males being more often affected and on average having an earlier onset than females.

The causes of Schizophrenia may include genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors include a variety of common and rare genetic variants. Possible environmental factors include being raised in a city, childhood adversity, cannabis use during adolescence, infections, the age of an individual's mother or father, and poor nutrition during pregnancy. Though there is no definitive list of factors determining an individual's likelihood of having the disorder, these factors are just commonly found variables within all sufferers therefore not all of them are necessary to be represented in the final design - the symptoms are priority anyway.

Separating the symptoms from perceptions

A lot of the symptoms appear to imply an almost robotic-like characteristic of the individual with a lack of humanity yet I need to represent with a creature-based form so instead will observe the individual as a cold and isolated creature instead, with research into hallucinations and delusions to inform me on possible design choices that could be impactful and lend themselves to already existing animal anatomy rather than that of a robot.

Other creators illustrate the hallucination symptom as a gaseous secretion coming from the creature which is one possible direction for my own design process.

Developmental questions

This disorder is within the psychotic disorder field of cognitive disorders so again a relevant represented theme should be present that fits a common symptom among all disorders within this field. Thumbnailing will allow me to decide how best to represent the hallucinogenic and delusional symptoms, the questions posed here give me starting points with which to thumbnail, like annotating a given brief to give my own subjective analysis of it. Understanding how the represented features also fit into natural characteristics and anatomical adaptions of the creature so as to keep it in a realm of realism as stated in earlier blogs the necessity of keeping a sense of realism to reflect how the symptoms impact sufferers. I am keen on seeing how the gaseous secretion can melt the ice environment so that the delusion is semi-self-caused showing how the symptomatic delusion is all within ourselves and people cannot

really hear our thoughts etc.

DYSTHYMIA

This disorder is also known as Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD), a mental and behavioural disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as Major Depressive Disorder, but with longer-lasting symptoms. Its differentiation comes from the symptoms of chronic depression that last over two years. Many sufferers may encounter symptoms for many years before being diagnosed if they are at all, which can lead to the individual believing the symptoms are just a part of their character preventing them from seeking professional help. Being part of the field of disorders titled depressive or mood disorders, it is the most common form of disorder present in society affecting about 3.5% of the global population with an estimated 280 million individuals diagnosed in 2020.

Separating the symptoms from perceptions

Developmental questions

The questions proposed during this process are not going to be as unique as other disorders as this particular disorder field is more well-known and documented than others due to its commonality. Disorder is often represented as a theme through the colour blue and often water, usually in the form of rain, observational drawings of deep sea creatures will be profitable during the process, as well as particular creatures that live in shoals or large groups due to how common the disorder, similar to how anxiety was treated. Initial thoughts lead to looking at blobfish who live in the deepest depths of the sea and have a depressed anatomy when removed from their environment that juxtaposes how they appear under the sea due to them evolving without a typical skeletal structure to counter the enormous levels of pressure encountered when residing so deep in the ocean. Against this thought process is the fact that individuals with Dysthymia avoid social interaction so perhaps avoid looking at creatures that live in large groups, the change in appearance when removed from the sea can show the effect of forcing a sufferer into an environment or situation they are opposed to. Angler fish are another creature from the deep sea and with the anatomical structure of a bioluminescent structure could represent the unusual or lack of sleep pattern. There are a range of bioluminescent forms that can be researched to find a design that successfully represents this theme.

Other interpretations of depression often display the implied weight of the emotions of those who are afflicted with the cognitive disorder.

Little-ish project update

 I'm going to be using this post to just give insight and commentary on all aspects of the projects I'm carrying out and how I've progressed them forward, hopefully, I can maintain a weekly post like this where it can just summarize where I'm at with other posts taking a more in-depth look at developmental and research progress.

SKETCHBOOK

Continuing on with the Dermatillomania cognitive disorder creature design moving forward from thumbnails to more detailed iterations still with the intention of observing what works with the design and what doesn't. 

Toward the end of the thumbnail process, the main goal was determining how the 6 limbs would be organised and what purpose they would serve. Questions to be answered were whether the creature would be bipedal or a quadruped or even rely on the strength of their tail to stand up allowing for 6 limbs that could peel skin and flesh. Of these 6 limbs which ones would be scything talons or claws or feet. The more thumbnails I produced the clearer an image I had in my mind of how this creature exists, the need for a mixture of claws and talons came from the idea of the creature grabbing prey with claws and then slicing away at them, making the creature bipedal could allow for a speedy raptor-like creature or with a heavier frame and a change in the centre of balance could allow for a larger more monstrous creature like Godzilla or Tyrannosaurus Rex. Having a larger creature that hunted with a slow purposeful movement style would juxtapose quick attacks from the claws, talons, and tail which during gameplay would add dynamic elements to the encounter making for a memorable experience for the player. An unforgettable experience could ensure that the aim of the project to inform players about the symptoms of lesser-known cognitive disorders has an increased chance of being successful.

Later sketches allowed me to demonstrate how the scything talon evolved from a stereotypical hand with the removal of a thumb and having the little finger move to the rear of the hand and form a reverse claw with the pointer finger and ring finger forming grips for the index finger to extend into a talon.

I also looked at dynamic poses for what the final image could look like although in this particular sketch, the creature looked more like a velociraptor than I would prefer, this may be alleviated when it is redrawn with the skin and scales peeled away more and with more bird and insect-like features added like the secondary inside limbs with talons and more details on the beak. Colouration of the creature may also alter this observed issue as well, though I did draw a more skeletal body with a shell structure devised of scabbed wounds on its back though I ended up avoiding this decision. A detailed illustration of the head allowed me to understand how the beak would fit into a lizard-based head with the formation of scales instead of feathers, as challenging as this idea initially was the end results displayed how integrated these structures can be whilst retaining a sense of realism. I have also begun to quickly thumbnail images of the creature's local habitat since deciding it would dwell in deep caverns rather than have wings.

CONCEPT ART BOOK RESEARCH

Another area of my project that needs progress, especially in line with my most recent learning agreement, is my research of concept art books. What designs and formats I like, what works with them, and what I believe can be improved upon as well as particular layouts and process of publishing them so I can have a hard copy available at my degree show.

When it comes to contemporary concept art books a lot of them are not as transparent as I wish they were when it comes to displaying the process undertaken during the design decisions and many just showcase beautiful finalised concept art, thus creating a book full of inspirational imagery but not any methodologies or lessons that can be learned by readers, there are a multitude of videos that can be viewed that fulfill this desire but since that isn't my final format for a deliverable.

The Baldur's Gate 3 concept artbook is a prime example of a concept artbook that only shows finalised illustrations of the concept art.

Here are some examples of concept artists and their design processes available on YouTube from the likes of 'Draw Sessions' (Bobby Rebholz) and 'Proko' (David Colman in this particular video)

I also viewed a range of conference presentations from Terryl Whitlatch where she details her own creative processes when working on huge projects for IPs like the Star Wars franchise e.t.c

I've had conversations with my lecturers about what format my final deliverable concept art book will take, initially with the idea of an almanac-style book based on the Elder Scrolls Online concept art book. Instead of just showcasing the concept art it details the journey of a character through the different lands within the game allowing the creators to show off character, creature, and environmental concept art from the game as if they were observational art pieces drawn by the fictional character. Really extending this format with the author's words or sentences crossed out often replaced with a more appropriate alternative, an illustrated dedication to his beloved at the start of the book, and a handwritten font with a complete lore-heavy narrative design aspect on display offers a unique style for concept art to be shown in, which for me removes some of my preferences for seeing more in-depth analysis of the creative design process of the Bethesda art team as I'm led to believe it is the fictional characters own observational drawings.

This format also allows for a unique flow throughout the book in terms of what art is shown and in what order, a stereotypical concept art book would have specific chapters to separate the following; characters, locations, enemies, weapons, props, etc. However, with this being a journey all of these types of concept art are placed together depending on what location the character is currently in during the trip. The choice to have the concept art laid out in this particular way may be due in part to aligning with the game's own format as an open-world online RPG where the player character will also journey through vastly different lands and customers of the book are most likely to have the game as well, yet unique format should still be highlighted for taking this risk as the previous example of a concept art book (Baldur's Gate 3) also has the player character journey through different lands and could have taken a more unique approach to their format but chose not to. Further discussions with lecturers, after my developmental sketchbook work had been observed, led to researching another concept art book titled "The Skillful Huntsman". Originally pitched as an idea for a student visual development book by Scott Robertson to students Khang Le, Mike Yamada, and Felix Yoon as well as the Art Center College of Design, the experimental format is now held in high regard by many in the academic and professional sectors of game design and game art. It operates differently from a standard concept art book as the projects within are not a published game or movie but independent briefs, some already existing pieces of written work such as the titular character coming from a Brothers Grimm short story.

The above images are the pages that display student Felix Yoon's design process, going from thumbnail silhouettes to finalised illustrated concept art.

There are several standouts with this particular book for me when it comes to crafting a concept art book that works as a tool for assisting others. Seeing a full step-by-step process of an artist's developmental method gives valuable insight to how a concept artist can improve their own work as well as witness what they are currently doing correctly. The interview style of notations alongside each page of artwork allows the reader to gain a greater understanding of how that individual asked and answered questions during the process, which alongside the fact that the book includes 4 different artists for each brief, shows how each artist created uniquely different final iterations despite starting from the same brief, thus giving evidence of artists own background and knowledge playing a part in the process by dictating how they interpret a brief and what areas of cultural, artistic, and preferences can be accessed to develop the pieces in a certain way. This can encourage future concept artists to continue to expand their own knowledge and experiences, believe in their own abilities, and not be disheartened by being too critical of the work they are producing. Although, as previously mentioned, a concept art book is usually purchased by those who play the game. Having a book format as my deliverable can widen the audience slightly to artists and creatives who don't play the game (a game that doesn't actually exist anyway) when it comes to bringing an awareness of the subject matter of cognitive disorders, the extension of this particular goal through a concept art book format is something to be aware of.

The full chapter of 'Giants' where all four artists showcase their own developmental process for the brief from start to finish.

The lecturers included this format of the concept art book as a point of research due to the large quantity of research I included during my design process and all the iterative work within my sketchbook that they wish for me to include in the book as it is vitally important to observe how I developed the work of such a sensitive subject matter as well as how I overcame problems such as the need to separate symptoms from stigmatic perceptions etc. 

I still like the idea of a fictional character encountering or hunting down these cognitive creatures as they progress through the concept art book, though it wouldn't necessarily have many other types of art such as architecture or humanoid encounters, there could still be other types of art included on the journey if I keep it in line with one of my research points (the Monster Hunter franchise) where armor and weapons are made from materials gathered during the hunt of said creatures, as well as environmental art of the locations the creatures reside in. Combining the two types of concept art books is a challenge, including older thumbnail iterations of each character when they can be nothing like the final design would cause the fictional character in the book who is implied to be crafting these as observational drawings to become an unreliable narrator, leading to the goal of informing readers of the cognitive disorders and the necessity to remove our own incorrect perceptions when encountering sufferers being less believable. One way I have theorised overcoming this challenge is to have earlier thumbnail iterations be images crafted from the narrator interviewing citizens within this world and relying on word of mouth to create an image of what they are hunting before the encounter similar to police eyewitness reports being used for suspect composite drawings. This method could also allow the reader to understand how the people they are interviewing relay information similar to society's stigmatic perceptions and having a different more detailed illustration of the final creature once encountered to show the separation between these perceptions and actual symptoms if the book immerses readers like I hope they too can come to a similar understanding as the narrator of the need to remove these perceptions and increase empathy towards those who deal with the symptoms. This would intellectually resolve one potential issue and turn it into an advantage whilst also combining the two formats of concept art books I prefer.

I will continue to observe other concept art books for their own internal formats and styles when crafting my own deliverable to find my own desired end product including the following books;

The Art of The Batman - Robert Pattinson film

Bloodborne Official Artworks

The Art of Fallout 4

Elysium The Art of the Film

Elden Ring Official Art Book

The Art of Cuphead

The Art of Avatar The Way of Water

Soul Arts - A curated collection of concept arts from competitions set by the youtube Vaatividya based on From Software IPs

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Creating A Champion)

Dark Souls Design Works

The Art of The Last of Us Part 2

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse The Art of the Movie

The Art of The Last of Us

COMMUNICATIONS WITH LECTURERS ON FRIDAYS

Every Friday I attend a 2-hour lesson in the studio with my two lecturers where I can showcase where my sketchbook is up to and discuss anything from my blogposts and what my plans are going forward. With this being a project on a Master's degree there is a degree of independent study and self-motivated progress these lessons can be seen as sounding out my ideas with industry professionals to see if I'm heading in the right direction and for them to observe whether I'm asking the right questions in line with the demands of this academic level of research and development, i.e this is where the issue of designing creatures originally with no separation between perceptions and symptoms and the issue that could occur, it was my responsibility to find a solution to this but the initial thought process of this issue originated during one of these Friday sessions. Recently a proposal was suggested for the final art style differing from creature to creature to further enhance their own unique symptomatic designs for example having a more scratchy chaotic style for anxiety or a creature with aesthetics similar to the artistic style of Van Gogh during his time in mental institutions for a creature that represented the sort of cognitive disorders he suffered from. Whilst I agreed that if I were to create independent art illustrations this was an accurate suggestion for final pieces, it deviated too much from the context of these creatures existing in the same fictional world. This method has been successfully used in other professional works such as Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse, only because the context was different. The characters in that particular project came from different universes with their own unique set of circumstances, an antagonistic character called the Vulture from a universe where technology was based on that from a Da Vinci era looked entirely different from a Spider-Man set in the year 2099.

The art style used throughout this film was made entirely of intentional design choices, and this use of different styles for characters from different universes was an obvious example of this. Detailed analysis from critics about the film details this thoroughly as well as it being mentioned several times in the concept art book. The knowledge of colours and the societal conventions around them have been utilised as an integral format for the design process with LGBTQ+ colour themes used for a gender opposite spider character within their own world and costume design as well as the colouration of scenes changing rapidly in line with the change of the situation. It all showcases how different styles were used on purpose for the different characters due to the context of the plot of the film, with my project not only being set in one world where there needs to be a sense of continuity in stylisation but also the deliverable being a way to showcase my own style and thought process to industry professionals it would be more beneficial to keep the final creature designs in a consistent style of my own, alongside an earlier documented conversation in this blog where I discussed the need for a realistic style to the creatures and allow players to observe how sinister and real these symptoms are to sufferers. With this point raised to the lecturers, they agreed with my own realisations about this proposal. Though this whole conversation results in no change to my work or outcomes it is essential to document it as it showcases challenges and alternatives that can occur during the journey through a project and how they are solved, dismissed, or overcome.

FINAL DELIVERABLE PRODUCTION

Another discussion point to be aware of as this degree gets closer to its conclusion is my final deliverable, since attending the previous years' degree show I have thought about unique ways to showcase my own work to help it stand out from others as well as produce something that can be sent to studios rather than rely only on contemporary methods of social media platforms to display work, having a deliverable you can hold in your own hands and dictate the pace at which you view images as well as having accompanying text to gain an insight into my thought processes during the designing of these creatures would give a more memorable experience to attendees something you want to achieve if you want your work to extend beyond the degree show itself. I was suggested the same process as how some of the concept art books in the studio were produced through BookWright on the blurb.com website - it would allow me to download a plugin to Adobe InDesign (a program I already have experience in through my Illustration degree) and as I progress through each creature I can slowly start integrating them into my InDesign file and let it fill up naturally allowing me to see where there are gaps in certain processes and where the narrative needs to be developed along the way.

It allows you to have full control over format, size, paper type, cover options, and style. So your own understanding of what the final product needs to be to meet your own desired goals isn't interfered with by the manufacturer. You can also include how many copies so if I produce one for the degree show I can go back and produce multiples at a later date to disperse to studios. This production of the InDesign file will coincide with my research into the successful formats of contemporary concept art books as well as styles an themes, an example of which is how I observed an Aztec theme when it cam to icons and UI features of the Monster Hunter franchise where I suggested an Ancient Greek theme for my own due to the knowledge of historical philosophies and psychological theories that come from that period of time; Aristotle, Plato, etc.

SPACE GAME DEVELOPMENT

Whilst this particular project has taken a back seat during the development of my current one, I still wish to work on it to produce a lot of concepts and environmental art for it to be displayed on a screen at the degree show. The environmental art is pivotal to the desired goals of the project as they are primarily what determines what stage of grief the player is journeying through by means of aesthetical choices based on an understanding of both colour, shape, and form with societal conventions as well as geological research and study of narrative structure to bring about a conclusion that is both successful and meaningful to the audience. Any updates to this project will be detailed with quick short updates on the blog as the majority of research has been undertaken, plenty of iterative designs and artwork must be produced for the degree show alongside the creature designs.