Making my Monster

It’s been a while since I last made a Frankenstein video.

That pause wasn’t losing momentum. It was stepping back a little - partly to let the tools develop, and partly to get closer to something I’ve had in mind from the start.

From the beginning, I wanted a particular look. Not full realism, and not a smooth animated painting either. Something closer to illustration - soft, washed backgrounds, with the character sitting slightly apart from them. A world that feels drawn, but grounded.

Getting that to hold together across shots has been difficult.

The first two songs were built around what was possible at the time.

For Song I, I worked mainly using layered characters over still scenes. It gave me control, and it kept things stable, even if it meant working around the limitations.

For Song II, I was able to go further. Editing tools improved, and I could push into longer sequences and more complex visuals. Being about the Creature’s birth, I wanted this song to feel ‘epic’. It lasted for almost 7 ½ minutes, which was huge when many video generations would be only 5 seconds long. But it was still a process of adapting to the tools, rather than shaping them.

Now, for Song III, I’m shifting closer to my original vision.

My Monster... Lives!

To have a ceature that can feel part of his world, I’ve built a character model. Now he can walk within the world I'm making, making his own journey. The examples below show the Creature’s face, front and rear views, and a series of expressions.

The Creature taking shape

Not just for the Creature, but eventually for all of the main characters. The aim is simple: consistency - the same presence carried through each scene.

It’s taken almost a year to arrive at this point.

The first image where I felt I was seeing my version of the Creature was created in July 2025. Since then, it’s been a steady process of shaping and refining - not just the style, but the character itself.

Early concept - July 2025

Early on, the tools would often push things in a different direction. Generations would default to familiar, established versions of the monster - the classic Hollywood look - or fail entirely.

What I was trying to create didn’t always fit comfortably within that.

An emaciated figure. Visible scarring. A partially exposed body. All of these are grounded in the original idea, but they also sit close to the edges of what the systems allow. At times, even simple details like stitched skin would be rejected or redirected.

So part of the process has been persistence. Learning how to guide the tools without losing the intent.

At the same time, consistency has been a constant challenge. I’ve spoken about this before in earlier work, particularly in the portrait series, where characters would drift subtly from one image to the next.

My detective project Looking for Love was my first proper attempt to solve that: building a character that could hold together across scenes.

This current work builds directly on that.

The images that form the Creature model have come through many iterations. Not a single prompt, but a gradual narrowing: keeping what works, adjusting what doesn’t, and letting the character emerge over time.

The goal has been simple: to create a figure that can carry the same emotional weight as the music.

Not just something that looks like a monster, but something that can feel.

That is starting to come through now. The Creature is becoming more stable, more recognisable, and able to sit within the scene rather than apart from it.

It’s not perfect. But it’s closer.

Looking back, the time between songs feels justified.

The tools have changed. The approach has changed, yet consistency is still a problem. It may still take time for these tools to settle. The character has taken shape slowly, rather than appearing all at once. In many ways, he mirrors the AI now entering our own world, a big change in a short time.

There’s something fitting in that.

This hasn’t been instant.

A monster can be imagined quickly. Finding the creature within takes longer.

I hope you like ‘My Creature’. Song III is coming soon.

David