BA2 Research into Gargoyles (Appearance)

Moving on from my previous post I have started to look into the key characteristics and features in various gargoyles and monsters that I believe to be both threatening and unnerving. I am committed to keeping this theme of creating a sculpture that inspire fear into man and demon alike either through its fearsome appearance or religious connotations.

I have compiled a couple of mood-boards focusing on the subject itself be it a creature or corrupted beast, as well as the poignant expressions found in many gargoyles, and the examples of the variety of poses and placements of gargoyles and the materials used.

The Subject

The subject mood-board was a way for me to look into pre-existing gargoyles as well as fantasy based work to help inspire what my gargoyle may look like.

I believe that my final subject should have a direct link to the time period itself and seeing as I would like to create a gargoyle to be used in a game set in a medieval period i believe that the beliefs of the time are a good way to reflect this in its appearance.

The immediate idea that comes to mind is to give my gargoyle something instantly threatening to a demon, something that is recognisable as pure and good and the exact opposite of the corruption and evil of a demon. The obvious idea at this point is to use the sculpt of an angel for my piece as it is a direct link to the biblical based beliefs at the time as well as serving as a polar opposite to the evil it is warding off.

Angels in sculpture are most commonly seen in graveyards overlooking a tombstone or merged into a water fountain's design and is very rarely if not almost void of being used as the design of a gargoyle. Perhaps their purity or symbolism of righteousness could conflict with the existing notions that gargoyles are to be grotesque and displeasing to the eye. An angel is a rather unorthodox subject for a gargoyle and one, I believe, could be used to great effect.

At the same time, I do wish to create something unique and interesting yet I do not wish to challenge the pre-existing theme of gargoyles and will in fact look into ways of corrupting this traditionally peaceful being and create something far more chilling as a result.

Though I could equally stick with a very pure and majestic looking sculpture for my gargoyle I believe that creating something very frightening and unnerving is a far more interesting path to go down and one that will offer great opportunities for the final design through iteration and evolution of ideas.

The next mood board was created with my initial thoughts on the subject for my gargoyle well in place with a clear intent to look into gargoyles that have an eerie atmosphere and daunting appearance, be it through their expression or appearance. This mood board looked into that as well as the materials often used in a gargoyle.

The clear theme at this point is to give my gargoyle not only a fearsome sense of foreboding and dread but to do it in a manner that does not detract from the angel's beauty. I do not intend to create a gargoyle that is fearsome through its grotesque appearance or disfigurement but through its shear creepy and imposing presence. For this to be achieved I will not only have to study its form and expression but the pose and placement of this gargoyle upon its respective structure in order to convey the over arching fear I wish it to instill. 

Due to its function a gargoyle must be placed in an area that allows it to drain water from the building, yet I wish to create more of a decorative piece. Unfortunately however this would clash with my original brief as the gargoyle we are creating must have a water spout and act as a gargoyle should and not as a grotesque in simply being a decorative sculpt.

I have an idea of tackling this issue however. From my research into the positioning of gargoyles I have found situating it over an archway or opening to be the most pleasing as it would be easily viewed by anyone and has the over arching intimidation I was aiming to achieve. 

The idea of having travelers, townsfolk, or even attackers enter or leave this town by passing under a nightmarish sculpt of something that seems to have crawled out of hell would surely be a sight to remember.

Its function and positioning however would need to be addressed as this must still be a gargoyle. The entrance to a fortification or town is definitely where i wish to have it situated yet does the fortification necessarily need this sculpt pouring water over the main entrance to the town? My thought at this time is not to use this sculpt as a means of preserving the structure itself.... but the very people behind it. What if my gargoyle could be used not only to frighten attackers but to inflict harm on them as well? This path leads me down creating something far more menacing, something that could be used as a weapon?...

My next post will be looking into defensive methods used to ward off attackers in medieval times and how I could incorporate my gargoyle into this...

BA2 Research into Gargoyles (Origins)

I felt it logical to begin my research by looking into the very thing I am creating to ascertain the origin of gargoyles, their purpose, and the many examples we have of them today.

The literal definition of a gargoyle as described in wikipedia is:

"a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between." - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle)

The direct function of a gargoyle as described above is to redirect rain water in a way that minimises weathering and damage caused by water to the building or structure. To achieve this the gargoyle would be designed where "A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth."

So the function of the gargoyle has been established and through looking at examples of gargoyles it seems that their appearance is directly related to the function in the sense that "Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall"

From this I continued by looking into the origin of the often grotesque appearances of gargoyles and what influenced their design other than they're practicality. The appearances of gargoyles vary massively between the time span of their existence with examples of their use as far back as ancient Greece and Egypt with lions to more recent times using creatures as imaginative as griffins. The most notable existence of gargoyles are those that appear on medieval cathedrals and churches as well as other buildings of that period often donning frightening, humorous or unnerving appearances. 

Buildings such as "The Notre-Dame Cathedral" or "The Basilica of the Sacré Cœur" are good examples of this displaying many creatures from goats to dogs to even fantastic griffins as forms of gargoyles. 

I am interested to know however why animals were often sculpted into the design of a gargoyle as a pose to simple stone structures that could serve the same purpose without the aesthetic addition.

 Despite my research and time looking into the origin of gargoyles i could not in fact find a definitive reason or source as to why animals are so commonly used as the subject for gargoyles.


Though intent on ascertaining the origin of the appearance of gargoyles, their time span stretches back simply too far to have a clear understanding of why animals were used as the sculpt for these pieces and I accept that it was most likely done for aesthetic purposes. Moving forward in time however from ancient Egypt and to medieval times we are able to at least have a better understanding of the purposes of the design of gargoyles based on their appearances rather than just their functions.

An article on mythology and gargoyles states the most common reason for gargoyles in medieval architecture stating that:
"It is believed that they were used to ward off evil and to act as guardians of the church to keep the terrible spirits of evil away" -
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/articles/mythology_folklore/gargoyles.asp

Many believe, as stated above, that gargoyles would be used to ward off evil spirits but there are also other theories as to the intent behind their creation such as;

• Symbols to remind the faithless of what lies outside of church
• A reminder to the faithful of the evils of the world
• Warding off other demons as a statement that this is already a place of evil

Now the ideas of gargoyles scaring people or even demons intrigues me and I looked into how this works in the medieval belief system. A passage from a book titled, "Gargoyles: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry" reads;

"Medieval people believed that keeping away evil spirits required something even more frightening, and if the gargoyles were hideous enough , it was thought that they'd be effective at scaring off threatening creatures"

The very idea of combating monsters by creating monsters of your own is very fascinating and that the bigger and badder your gargoyles were the more effective they were. Another passage from the same book emphasises this point stating that;

"the idea of demons scaring off other demons, especially smaller demons of less consequence, was well within the belief system of medieval minds, that is, my demon can beat up your demon"

I am very much fond of this idea and intend to look into it further especially when considering the appearance and design of my gargoyle. To achieve this though i believe I will need to make further research into what aspects of a gargoyle appears so threatening and whether the creature sculpted has any more significance than just a terrifying appearance alone.

BA2 Briefing

I'll begin my research portfolio by stating the exact brief we have been given for our project for BA2 and what is expected of me for this term.

• I am to develop and create a game-ready Gargoyle sculpture in the style of my choosing. 

• The asset must be suitable for use in a CURRENT GEN platform game (Xbox One/Playstation4/PC). 

• The gargoyle will be a non-articulated statue and will not be animated. 

• The final asset must demonstrate efficient topology and must also be fully textured.

Our task is to create a gargoyle specifically and as oppose to a grotesque it must contain a feasible water spout that would in theory be function-able or appear so within a game.

The asset will be created using the 3D sculpting programme ZBrush and textured accordingly.

For submission I must have:

• A fully realised digital sculpture and turntable render (.ZPR & .MOV)
• A document evidencing iteration and my design process (PDF)
• Examples of anatomical life drawing (PDF)
• And a reflective journal and 500 word evaluation (BLOG/PDF/URL)

My initial thoughts are to look immediately into the variation of preexisting gargoyles and the materials they are created from as well as looking into their origin and cultural influences and meaning behind them. Upon establishing a theme or time period, and using the research i have gathered, i will attempt to realise this gargoyle in an imaginative and innovative way and hopefully create an interesting and unique design.