Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Chimera Concept Art

The Chimera design for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, series one. This creature was a real pleasure to work on, the final design settling on something quite different, yet paying homage to, the classical depictions of the monster of Greek mythology.

Here, I've laid out a good chunk of the design process in reverse order, beginning with the final design and working backwards to the early conceptual sketches. Starting with the three-headed monster as typically described, we went on a curious journey, exploring different integrations of lion, goat and serpent physical characteristics. Alongside this, pushing the character aspect of how the three entities sharing one body might interact with each other. A major turning point in the process came with the decision to do away with the three-headed idea and pursue a singular creature yet retaining attributes of lion, goat and reptile.