Scott Riddell Design

Original Artwork by Scott Riddell 

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Friday 17 October 2025

Kahps

About This Sketch

‘Kahps’ is a creature that Scott designed quite recently when he began to think about what a character might look like if it was designed to blend in with its environment. The key inspiration came from Barlow’s Guide to Extraterrestrials which was a text Scott found very inspiring when he originally started coming up with designs for his own creatures.

Scott was also interested in the the ‘Kappa’ a creature associated with Asian culture and which has inspired creatures included in the games Pokemón and YuGiOh, both of which Scott spent a lot of time playing when he was younger. This new take on a figure from Japanese folk-lore is a great way of using old myths to inspire new ideas.

Like the inspiration Kahps is a creature likely to be found in a watery environment, it is a hominid figure, but its form is not as recognisably that of a primate as the main source. Kahps blends in with its environment, a skilled hunter, it uses its camouflage to make it easier to catch prey unawares dragging them into the water when it catches them.

The original image of Kahps was hand-drawn using coloured pencil on cartridge paper.

The featured image of Kahps was edited by DS Coremans using Photoshop. The background for the image was generated and enhanced by boosting the colours of the image using a colour filter.

In the alternate images of the ‘Kahps’, different backgrounds were generated to consider what kind of environment Kahps might have been found in.

This hybrid work between Scott and Darren is something they have been working on together since early 2025, so that both of them can learn new skills, but also so that Scott can get a better sense of how these characters could be developed as he continues to work on his skills as an animator.

Key inspirations for Scott at the moment are from some of his favourite animated movies. These stills have been taken from the three animation design styles Scott is most interested in developing: Hand Drawn, Stop-Motion, and Digital Designs.

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If you would like to see more of Scott’s work, or find out more about his designs, consider following Scott on his social media platforms, or by liking and sharing his post here on scottriddell.org

Stay Creative. Stay Safe. Stay Inspired.

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