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Here are some more changes to some of the signs. I had added a backstory to why a human was in the zoo and changed one Plummet sign to better match the character design of the aliens I had applied to my other signs.

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Here are the final signs I have selected. I have selected this in particular simply due to having a preference to how I have illustrated them, as well as liking the jokes hidden within them.

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Above is my progression to making a geographical time scale for the Plummet. I had made it the previous week, and this week I had gotten to work in properly colouring it in and adding text and other images.

I had originally had more brighter colours, but I didn’t feel like it fit too well so I had dulled them down a bit. Once that was done, I had made a small axe because I wanted to convey that the objects found at the bottom of the Plummet are much older than the tire and torn rubbish bag and felt the skull alone didn’t properly convey that.

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Tuesday 15th December

Above are some of the changes I had made to some of my signs, mainly the one for humans. I had spent some time designing a peanut for one sign, getting the line properly spaced out. I had also added a black colour to one swimming alien for a Jawfish sign.

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http://www.artnet.com/artists/julian-opie/

Julian Opie is a contemporary British artist known for his distinctive depictions of figures, portraits, and landscapes. The highly stylized treatment Opie gives his subjects—whereby features are created by thick black outlines and filled in with solid areas of flat color—is a blend of Pop Art and Minimalism with a wholly contemporary sensibility.  His works are part of the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and others.

Someone once likened the characters in my signs to the characters in Opie’s art and, looking at them, I can definitely see that. I really like the look of Opie’s work as it is stylised in a way that I find nice to look at. This is due to the large outlines that can draw ones attention.

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The Dark Crystal Bestiary: The Definitive Guide to the Creatures of Thra is a bok that serves as “the most comprehensive guide to the complex, beautiful universe”. It features illustrations by Brian Froud’s protege Iris Compiet of the many creatures and characters of the world of The Dark Crystal, mostly based on their appearance from the Netflix show Age of Resistance.

Much like the illustrations made by Froud, Compiet’s illustrations look incredibly beautiful and do an amazing job of translating the designs of the puppets into illustrations. The quality on these have improved compared to Froud’s drawings, though this is definitely due to the differences in time and the likely advancements in drawing techniques. Many of them, like the Hunter and the Archer, look like they were pulled right from screenshots of the show.

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Brian Froud is an artist from South England who is best known for the designing of fantastical creatures, the ones featured in film like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth being his most recognisable. Above are the works he had done for the Dark Crystal, which include illustrations of the more notably creatures and characters from the film such as the Skeksis, Mystics and Landstriders. 

All of these illustrations perfectly translate the puppet’s immensely detailed and beautifully crafted designs and clothing into a 2D medium. I find myself particularly partial towards the pictures of the Skeksis and Mystics due to how he’s managed to convey the personalities in just the design. 

The Mystic’s old hair, low body posture and clothing coloured with dull greys and browns gives the impression of a wise old sage with decades or more worth of knowledge. While the design of the Skeksis gives a contrasting feel with a monstrous and crooked looking bird creature dressed in very aristocratic garments and accessories.


While I have no intention of making any of my designs overly detailed, especially to a level as Froud, I can still admire and respect the level of effort he’s put into these pictures.

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When I was making a sign for a human exhibit, I had a thought. The little figures look an awful lot like humans. It wouldn’t make too much sense for humans to keep humans in a zoo, unless that was your intention. It isn’t for me, so I decided to make a small change in design.

The shape of the figure still retained a bipedal shape but I had moved the limbs a bit away from the body, Rayman style, to possibly indicate they have some psychic power and added a pair of antenna.

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This is my progress on making a geographical timeline based picture for the plummet. When colouring it in I started by colouring in the throat in a red flesh-like colour. I plan on colouring it in a darker brown and various colours like a geo timeline at a later date. I had also drawn items that were pulled from the throat like a car tire and skull.

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Here is a sign I had for my project. This one is specifically related to the Jawfish because I figured a splashzone sign would make sense for a fish related exhibit.

Originally, I was thinking of having it in back. But I changed it to white to both match what real blue signs look like and because it just looked nicer and blended better together.

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Above is a sign for the Plummet and an updated descriptions for the Acuarius Jawbrst.

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For designing the sign(s) for the Striking Coptorback, I knew I wanted to be reminiscent of danger signs, like those to warn of electrical harm. I just felt like it would make for a striking image.

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Thursday 10th December

These are one of the designs for a creature in my zoo. Above is a description for what it is.

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Come one! Come all! To the the greatest zoo in the galaxy!

Marvel at some at of the most unusual, terrifying and beautiful creatures. From living holes with a throat like a black hole to robotic predators, there’s something here to spark the imagination of all.

*Due to recent events that have happened involving zoo patrons (and a few unfortunate incidents of unintentional feeding), new signs have been placed on our various exhibits. Those still caught violating our guidelines shall be banned or worse. Just remember that these are for both our and your good.

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Here are some trace overs of my drawings of a human and robot creature for my zoo project. These were partially to see if they can be incorporated/made into signs. I can think of something for the robot as like a danger sign for a particular creature.

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This are my tests with font for my signs to see what would work well and what would stand out best. Ultimatily I had selected