Fantasy creatures can be seen everywhere in modern media, video games, movies and literature. This thesis mainly focuses on video game fantasy creatures. Despite the popularity of fantasy creatures, the number of guides on how to design them are limited. These guidelines are often very oriented towards the artist’s own personal style, and there are no general guides for creature design. The goal of this thesis was to find tools for creating believable and visually pleasing fantasy creatures.

This thesis also explores the ways character design theory can be mixed and matched with creature design. Throughout the thesis there is an emphasis on research, and how important it can be in creature design. Basic character design theories are discussed, such as the shape and figure, color theory and personality, and how they differ in the context of creature design.

In the practical part of the thesis three different fantasy creatures are created. These creatures are designed for a visual novel project with a working title ‘Space Circus’. It is also discussed how these creatures will be implemented in the game.

In the end, there is no single right way to design fantasy creatures. The variety of different possible creatures is so huge that it is impossible to have just one way of designing them. However, character design essentials were found to be useful in the design process, but not enough on their own. This thesis should not be treated as a guide in how to create fantasy creatures, but as something to give ideas on how to approach it.