What are the most effective techniques for creating believable monsters and creatures in film production?

Rendering constraints should not be an issue in this day and age with .USD collaboration and scalable render farms. It is very possible for assorted creative teams to collaborate almost 24 hours a day to achieve the film's creative vision against a deadline. It took almost six months to do the final render on Dinosaur (2000) -- bottlenecks are in the work in process if the talented character designers, modelers, light/shading/texture artists are limited in how fast they can creatively output.

I’m not a fan of CGI. But it’s a necessary evil. The great thing tech allows for is evolution of techniques. I play with a hybrid of effects with my design team & “Monster Club” — I tell them what I want & we brainstorm how they can do it economically then we test it, film it, add sound & choreography — THEN we do the final run & time it down to the minute. Of course on shoot day, nothing goes to plan, but we have fun, and that’s half the battle.

Monster 'movements' have to be believable and not so mechanical because that's an immediate turn-off for me, like in the recent Godzilla Plus 1 film. Maybe I'm being critical but I was expecting more from a 2024 version of that classical creature. Just sayin..

I’m ALL about practical effects. It’s absolutely the best way to bring creatures/monsters to life & happens to be one of my specialties! Where to start? Wow. Not enough space but here’s a quick snapshot of my process: 1. Research & Inspiration. STUDY real-life animals/mythological creatures—their anatomy, behavior, folklore to inform the design process. 2. Concept Art. Visualize the creature’s “look”/characteristics, environment. This guides your design team. 3. Digital Sculpting: Use software like ZBrush to create high-res models. 4. Practical Effects: Combine animatronics/prosthetics to enhance realism & provide tangible interaction for actors. 3D is fun! 5. Storyboarding. Plan creature sequences to fit narrative & visual style.

I think three things are imperative -- 1. The script for the scene and how it fits into the overall narrative structure. 2. Hire the best creative artistic talent that's remotely affordable, available, and able to work in a team dynamic remote/hybrid. I suggest staggering timezones of production teams or allowing individuals to work flexibly. The best ideas don't just appear during 8-6 business hours. 3. Trust and leeway for exploration, again encourage talent and understand not everyone works similarly. 3.

Hire Guillermo Del Toro ?? I'm definitely a fan of going practical first, then enhancing or cleaning up with CG. The old Universal Monster movies still hold up. Those practical FX make a huge impact.