Meet The Tig

Let's make sure you know the difference between a species and a character.

A species is a type of creature, like a sheep, ogre or human. A character is an individual, such as Shaun the Sheep, Shrek or Willy Wonka.

This week's task was to design a species so that we can later design characters that belong to that species but many children sent me individual characters instead.

However, no need to worry. I can very easily create a species from an individual monster.

Here is the monster by Tyler from Queensgate Primary on the Isle of Wight. He designed an individual character and I really want to use some of his ideas. So watch me create a species called The Tig based on Tyler's character, Tigs.

Tigs

Tigs is a friendly Monster but he is at the top the police most wanted list. For eating children but they only reason he ears kids is because they make fun of him when he’s walking past the school so then he eats them.

• He smells like a sweaty football boot
• He’s extra strong
• His weakness is Zebras
• His bad habit is he picks his bum
• He can fly really quick
He loves playing football his favourite team is Southampton FC
He’s got hair on his chest that is formed like a moustache. He originated from Portugal and he can swim really well. His ears are really big so he can hear when the police are coming for him. He has stones on his head so he can throw them and they come back. He’s friendly like a mice.

By Tyler

There are many brilliant ideas in Tyler's work. For example, the monster is friendly but eats children. That is a very interesting idea. It immediately made me think 'I wonder why a good monster would eat children?' And then Tyler answered the question - it's because the children made fun of him. Obviously, eating a bully is an overreaction, but perhaps Tigs doesn't know any better.

It's an interesting idea that I'd like to explore further.

I'm going to keep the interest in football, because lots of people like football, but I'm going to drop the bit about Southampton FC because it might put supporters of other teams off an otherwise fascinating monster idea. 

I really like the weakness for zebras because it's really random. Chest moustaches are hilarious.

Tyler hasn't said much about Tigs's appearance, so I've made him look similar to a child, apart from the features Tyler wrote about like big ears and the six legs I can count in his picture.

So, from Tyler's character, I've created a new species. The Tig will be on the list of monsters you'll get to choose from next week, when deciding which species to go in our books.

The Tig

Tigs are creatures that look a bit like little boys and girls, but smell like sweaty football boots and like to pick their bums. They have big ears and their chest hair is so long that it can be formed into moustaches. Unlike children, they have six legs and can fly.

They are the most misunderstood monsters of all time. They want to be friendly, yet somehow keep ending up at the top of police most wanted lists. Why? Because they eat children.

They don't mean to, but nasty children keep bullying them, because of their odour and bad habits. Tigs don't know how to deal with people making fun of them - their solution is to eat them.

These monsters would keep away from children, but they really love playing football. Whenever they see children kicking a ball around, they have to join in.

Tigs are very strong but afraid of zebras, zebra crossing and anything even remotely resembling a zebra. Tigs originated from the coast of Portugal, so can swim really well.

They are really hard to catch because their big ears mean that they can hear when the police are coming for them.