Tips on Creating & Drawing Monsters & Magical Creatures

Ian Coate LogoCreating your own monster or fantasy creature is a lot of fun.  It really exercises the creative side of your brain as you develop images of pure imagination.  Parents - don’t discourage your kids from their imaginative drawings; it’s here where they develop inventive skills useful in so many occupations in life.
Drawing a Monster
Step 1:  Draw a circle and a cross where you want your character to face.
Drawing CartoonsStep 2:  Draw basic shapes of the facial features.
Cartoon FacesStep 3:  Add detail and then strengthen lines.
Cartoon FacesStep 4:  Once you are happy with your line work, add colour.
Shaping Your Fantasy Creature
Ian Coate Logo Your fantasy creature is going to be a mix of animals and different things from nature.  I use many reference photos when creating my monsters.  It's important to firstly flesh out the creature with its basic shapes.  Below are some examples of the shaping process plus the inspiration behind my creature.
Creature: DingbatInspirations: Bat, Pixie, Mouse
Creature: BailupInspirations: Snail, Monkey, Old Man
Australian Magic CreatureAustralian Fantasy Creature
Creature: Fair DinkumInspirations: Rocks, Man
Creature: BillyoInspirations: Horse, Goat, Unicorn
Australian mythical CreatureAustralian Magic Creature
Creature: DraggleInspirations: Platypus, Duck
Creature: Beach Dragon Inspirations: Dog, Eel, Surfboard
Australian BunyipAustralian Dragon
Creature: DropbearInspirations: Koala, Cat
Australian Dropbear
Advanced Tips on Drawing and Painting a Monster with Watercolour
For the examples below, I have used a 2B & HB pencil, a Stub, Watercolour paints and Watercolour paper (Arches - Smooth - 300GSM).
Monster sketch Monster Drawing Monster Art
Monster sketch Monster Drawing Monster Art
Step 1: On smooth, 300gsm watercolour paper I first draw my monster.  I use a stub to smudge in the pencil work to give it a little tone.
Step 2: I lightly paint in the shadows using a diluted black.
Step 3: Using yellow ochre I paint my first layer.
Step 4: To deepen the shadows, I paint with red.  For the drool – a wash of cyan.
Step 5:  I selectively add green.
Step 6: I finish off with a dark brown to emphasize the shadows.