The Act of Designing a Godzilla - The Birth of ActGoji

My vision for a Godzilla creature is a mixed bag; one that incorporates various design elements from a couple of specific variations of the character from across his expansive career while still maintaining the core of the design for which serves as his base.

And that design is specifically the 1975 design called MekaGyakushuGoji, which itself was a heavily changed version of the very child-friendly look introduced in1973 in Godzilla Vs. Megalon. In the subsequent films, Godzilla Vs. Mecha-Godzilla and then Terror of Mecha-Godzilla, the suit's head was changed to be less bubbly and cute, with its brows being creased slightly to give him a more menacing, serious-like expression.

For me, growing up and even today, this IS Godzilla. It's the first image that appears in my mind whenever I think of the character. I love it more than any other incarnation of the creature throughout his expansive career. It's fast, powerful, and one of the last times before 2014's Monsterverse began. Godzilla was seen as a hero rather than the antagonist of his films; something that isn't very popular with the fanbase, but alas.

Ever since I was a kid, I'd always toyed around with designing my own look for Godzilla. It's something that, up until recently, I hadn't entertained the thought of very much, but with the coming Sonic X Godzilla comics and my own written series in production, I thought now would be the best time to realize my own Godzilla, right down to the very tip of his tail and how he is perceived in his newfound universe.

Starting off with his most defining feature: His face and head
 Godzilla'75 really struck the perfect chord between a giant, radioactive monster that could demolish a city and that of a hero type. He certainly looks ferocious, but the rounded eyes and pug nose keeps him from dipping too far into the "Oh that guy's could also be evil" territory. I just love this design so much.

But the Godzilla I'm designing here today is going to lean more into a grey area, both in morality and in looks. Still a hero to the people for sure, but I want something that is going to be an obvious toss-up between Godzilla 1975 and Godzilla 1994, so let's get into it:

- First, while retaining the overall shape of this specific Godzilla's head, his snout is going to be extended a bit to give it more definition, with the nose being moved to the end and incorporated into the snout itself, with only the slightest raised impressions from his nostrils. He'll have two sets of large canine fangs, pulling some inspiration from his very next incarnation in 1984.

One last addition I'd like to see added to ActGoji would be the impression of ears. Seen on the 90s design and in his debut and follow-up designs(but never since). I think the definition these little touches add overall are great.

Next, his neck would see some more definition with it being slightly more bent, with scales being relegated to his back like an alligator or crocodile. He will have slightly more defined shoulders as well.

Finally, I want to give him eyes that are far more reptilian in definition. Still maintaining the round overall look set beneath heavy brows, but rather than being big white orbs with brown pupils, I want them looking more alligator-like:

Moving on to his overall body structure. As mentioned earlier, my Godzilla, who shall henceforth be referred to as ActGoji, will feature more defined musculature, with a semblance of shoulders that the design this is heavily based on lacked. For this, I'm looking at the 1989 design, which I've always felt was pretty much perfectly proportioned/defined all around.

Incredibly bulky as the suit was, they nailed the proportions and definitions across the board. Some good shoulder definition, the way he holds his arms, all traits I want to give ActGoji.

My biggest gripe about the Heisei film era was just how slow the suit actors were, and that resulted in less tooth and claw combat across the board, so while I'm cherry-picking traits here and there, the bulk is something I'm definitely avoiding.

The Dorsal Fins:
The 1973-1975 suit sported a single large row of dorsal fins running down Godzilla's back. The designs sported the leaf-like look they were known for, with the tips sporting some white, bony coloring. They were puffy in their deign with rounded points.

I love the look, but with ActGoji, I wanna give him some of that radical 1990s edge, so we're going to borrow from another design that only appeared in a video game:

The player sprite from Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the NES sports a beautifully wicked line of dorsal fins that is exactly what I want for ActGoji. The largest, most defined fin (what I like to call the crown) begins around the base of his neck, with smaller, less defined variations leading to and away from it.

However, I want to take a little more inspiration from the Heisei era designs and give a second and third, smaller row of spines running down either side of the central set. There have been a few designs that do this,this, but the additional spines are almost the same size as the central set and give his back a really overcrowded look, so I'd like for those on ActGoji to be noticeably smaller when viewed from the side.

 The Tail: 
And probably the last significant change I'd like to make here would be his tail. The 2014 American Godzilla was giving a really unique trait in that his tail tapered off to a fine point that he used like a whip. It was great and something I wish the directors that picked up the reigns after Gareth Edwards stepped out of the picture used more of, so I want to give that to ActGoji over the short tail that ends with a bulbous shape.

The best way to show this off is in toy form, since at no point does the 2014 film give a full body shot of Godzilla.

 I love the idea of Godzilla having a tail long enough that he could essentially drape it across himself like a king's mantle. Seeing as how his spines have been referred to as a king's crown a few times, I thought this symbology really cool considering Godzilla's moniker as "King of the Monsters.

 

And I think that would just about do it. My vision for my own personal Godzilla is heavily based on the 1975 Godzilla, both in looks and how he was portrayed. I like the idea of this giant, mutated lizard being portrayed as and seen as a hero to lesser species, but there is absolutely a balance to be struck where he's that, but also of the mind that he could just as easily turn around and stomp the orphanage he just saved. Not on purpose, mind you, but if a fight ensued with whatever he was protecting the city from, my Godzilla would show no sympathy for the world around him at that moment.

A mash-up of various inspirations from different Godzilla designs, ActGoji is a creature whose design origins are immediately apparent at first glance, but peel back in layers the more he's viewed.

That is my Godzilla, and the creature that exists in the CrossActs universe as of the end of the first saga.