To sculpt the creature i made a base by using z spheres and then appending shapes like circles to block out a base. I then combined them all and turned on dynamesh. I modelled parts separately such as the feet, paws and head as it was easier to break it down that way.
I made a custom alpha in photoshop which I made 3d as an insert mesh for the repeating fur pattern.
I found it hard to balance detail with the resolution while using dynamesh.
the main feedback on my creature that I received was that its shilouette was too simple and could be exaggerated. To do this I took a screenshot of the model in zbrush and opened it in photoshop where I could draw over it. I also tried to exaggerate and add features to enhance the shillouette. I gave it jagged edges for a threatening appearance and made the shoulders more bulky with giant horns wrapping around them to make it look heavier and more suited to battle
I looked at the skeletons of various animals to get an idea of how my creatures bones would be made up. The main animals I drew inspiration from are bears and pangolins. I took the bears bulky front limbs and combined it with the pangolins long spine and short hind limbs to make a rough skeleton of my creature that I could draw over. For anatomy references I used the book Animal Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger.
zspheres were very useful for quickly adjusting the proportions and posture of my creature when still in the first stages. I practiced this by posing some models of animals from Zzoo. Zspheres were also useful for creating insert meshes. I made a couple of insert meshes starting in photoshop drawing out the shape and depth using a black and white gradient. I then made it into an alpha and chose make 3d. I found this useful for making scales and ear shapes. It would also be useful for repeating patterns as you can make it into a curve.
some of my early attempts at modelling the creature where I was still at an experimental stage and figuring out the design.
In one of our first workshops we learned the basics of zbrush such as duplicate and flip, using the brushes, extract tool, masking, appending other tools, and using Dynamesh. Once I got used to navigating and finding tools within the menus it was fun to experiment with the different brushes when modelling a head. I also found it useful to use other peoples models on sketchfab as a 3d reference.
My first sketches for my creature were too based in reality and I received feedback to look at monster hunter designs. This inspired me to incorporate more otherworldly aspects and be more extreme with my shape language.