Here's another detailed look at the Butterfly Dog by Gobi. In these two illustrations, Gobi explains how the Butterfly Dog is capable of scaling walls like a chameleon. The LAST Avatar 2 inspired creature illustration will be revealed later this week.

As we continue showcasing Gobi's inspired designs for his take on Avatar 2, we get a more detailed look at the Butterfly Dog. Butterfly Dogs have a long history of companionship and hunting with a particular sect of N'avi warrior. I love how seamlessly this creature design fits in the world of Avatar.

Of all the things Gobi designed, the Butterfly dog is the most fully realized. More details on the Butterfly dog will be shared soon.

Here's part 3 in Gobi's beautiful character and concept designs for Avatar 2. This time around, Gobi came up with the N'avi's version of a bluetooth communication capability. A N'avi warrior can communicate wirelessly with a butterfly dog companion using a special pair of 'wireless bugs' that uses the N'avi's hair/spinal cord link. This is especially helpful when a N'avi warrior works in tandem with a butterfly dog during a hunt (more on that later!).

I've got 1 or 2 more Avatar 2 designs to share. Expect to see those early next week.

We continue with Gobi's fabulous designs for his rendition of Avatar 2!

Below are Gobi's rough designs for a Warrior class master whose headdress is inspired by the jaws of the butterfly dog (more on the Butterfly dog design later). I also included a detailed analysis of a warrior's blowgun. Note how, in order to stay consistent with the life cycle nature of all things in the Na'vi culture, the blow gun and it's darts are harvested from special trees from the forests.

The Warrior Class master design is very rough, but I loved it so much I had to share. Hopefully Gobi will be okay that I am sharing it with you guys!

One of the coolest things about messing around with Muttpop is having a rare glimpse at the creative process for artists like Gobi, Bill and Fabien. Whether it's a for a professional project or purely for fun, the Catfish Deluxe team brings their 'A' game to anything they decide to draw.

Shortly after Avatar came out, Gobi told me that he'd love to get his chance to design some creatures and characters in the Avatar/N'avi universe. Recently I received a batch of gorgeous designs and illustrations demonstrating what Gobi would do with Avatar 2.

If James Cameron or the amazing designers at Weta are watching, you know how to contact us! :-)

I'll post more bits of Gobi's amazing Avatar 2 designs over the next few days!

As a kid, I was a HUGE fan of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I got mine way later than most (in 1988). My first video game purchase was Bubble Bobble. As a whole, my game purchases were dependent on two things: Nintendo Power game reviews and how much I loved the Box design. Back then, I'd buy most of my games at Fedco and Adray's Electronics. In both places, the game boxes were prominently displayed in a locked glass case (kind of like jewelry). If you were really interested in buying a game, you could ask a sales representative to unlock the glass case, pull out the game you were interested in... and you could STUDY the box so that you could decide if you were going to plop down the cash necessary to buy the game. Of the many games I bought and/or rented these are, hands down, my favorite NES box designs. All images were found on the wonderful cover archive at Moby Games.

GRADIUS (1986): Most of Konami's game had a sophisticated look to them. Gradius is the best example of this. The artwork stands up with the best in Science Fiction art of the time and it just screamed with menace and cool.

NINJA GAIDEN (1989): I LOVE how the flames complemented the flames surrounding Ryu Hyabusa. It's also an effective contrast to have the yellow and red flames surround the blue costume of Ryu. One of my favorite depictions of a ninja, ever!

BIONIC COMMANDO (1988): This is one of the rare NES game covers that tells a story. That was the main reason I rented the game. Too bad the game was so freaking hard. It was also very jarring to see the game graphics are way more red and green than blue.

GOLGO 13 (1988): As a kid raised on James Bond films, I loved this cover. The box was printed with silver ink and really stood out on the shelves. Seeing the hot looking girls in the game screenshots on the back and rumors of a sex scene convinced me this was a must buy!

CASTLEVANIA (1986): Another beautiful Konami cover. I just realized that the layout is very similar to Gradius. Great name for a game, awesome logo design, and just spooky enough to peak a kid's interest.

METALSTORM (1991): I loved robots. Metalstorm had the coolest looking robot I'd seen on any NES cover (Metal Gear was a close second). It helped that you got to play as the robot... but I was mad the robot in the actual game was a boring brown color.