My biggest source of inspiration is the Chimera from greek myth, especially the depiction of it in the God of War franchise. I’ve always appreciated designs that are a combination of different creatures.
Avatar: The Last Airbender also had creatures that were a mishmash, which was always cool to see.
Another class I am currently taking had me design a creature of this sort as well, which I also thought to utilize for this game, but decided against it because I wanted to try something else, although these sketches for that did aid me in this design.
These are my sketches of the chimera, I already had a specific design in mind so mainly focused on proportions. I also experimented with it in a style I often do with white paint on black background, which forces me to keep shading in mind, and although I didn’t complete the form I feel comfortable in translating it into 2D animation.
