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Deathclaw Observations
🕑 Added 2016-01-26 01:46:08 +0000 UTC So in F:NM, Dulcy is a deathclaw (sort of, I'll get into that more some other time), However, even since I first introduced her into the ask blog, I wasn't happy with her design. Not... Deathclaw-y enough? I decided I was going to retool her design and go back and look at 'what makes a deathclaw a deathclaw' by looking at designs from previous games. I didn't include the deathclaw designs as seen in off shoot games like tactics of BoS, because those are... weird (hairy deathclaws??).Fallout 1 and 2
Looking back, the original deathclaw is kind of funny looking. Like, almost muppety. It was hard to find clear images in game because the tiny pixel graphics make it hard to see details. However, apparently at some point they had made a clay figure of the deathclaw, and it's a great reference. It has a very... 'igor' like face imho. Points of interest:
- Smooth horns
- Fairly large eyes
- Large, 'ledge' like brow that creates a lot of shadow in the eye region
- The lower jar does jut out, but not a whole lot
- Not a whole lot of teeth, most are small and on the top except for the two big 'tusk' like teeth, but they're farther in the back on the bottom
- Nose is -extremely- pig like and basically between the eyes
- The whole head in general is conical. I'm trapped between describing it as 'like a lizard' and 'like a sock puppet'
Fallout 3 and New Vegas
I think the original deathclaws had a weird level of gruesomeness to them that made them extremely interesting imho, but the F3/NV ones are more... based on modern sensibilities of what 'intimidating' is? While the original deathclaws have kind of a groady slightly creepily human quality to their faces, these ones are more 'demonic' like, I think.
- Horns are ridged
- Smaller eyes
- Heavy brows, but not to the point where it's like a 'ledge' on the face
- The lower jaw is -extreme-. It's like a wedge, and the profile of the face is basically flat
- The bottom teeth are much more emphasized now, like a bulldog's
- The nostrils are still high on the face, but they're not between the eyes like they used to. Also the orientation of how the nostrils are make it look less 'pig' like
Fallout 4
The most recent. I haven't been able to see this one much in action yet because I honestly haven't played Fallout 4 a lot since I got it. I've only been able to look into it more recently. Most of all these images are drawn while looking at screenshots and such as references. This design feels like a pretty huge departure from the original deathclaw concept. That doesn't mean I dislike it- far from it. I really like this one but that's sort of because I think it's 'cute', which probably isn't what should be going for it, but oh well. It looks more like a 'real' animal, rather then a screwed up mutant sock puppet.
- Horns are plated and pushed lower to the head, and kind of... follow the head? As opposed to just sticking out the top they follow the flow of the noggin. This kind of makes them look like water buffalo or something
- The tiniest eyes yet. They're like little pinpricks now. The eyebrows are also the least heaviest yet too, and farther removed from each other
- The nose has drifted even farther down the face, and the face itself has become less flat. The 'chin' or jaw is less emphasized than before, and the lower and upper jaws look more proportionate. This deathclaw has a muzzle
- The teeth are large, but kind of blunt, actually? They interlock
What do you think. What makes a deathclaw a deathclaw?
Comments
to be honest i like how youve drawn all of them and they look similar enough to me that it could just be natural variation within the species. 3&nv looks the friendliest and also the most expressive--idk what youve got in mind for the character but that might fit her.
