I've made some test animations using a simple rig to help me think about why and how the creature moves the way it does. It was really helpful because I now see this as a creature that lives in caves in mountains. It will use its middle 4 limbs to hang from the walls of the caves, use all 8 of its limbs to get down the mountain as spider would, and it will be able to raise up and rapidly sprint on the flat ground once its on flat ground. The 3 different move sets allow the creature to be very versatile and lets it move rapidly over three different terrain types. Thinking about this is going to help a lot when I start sculpting.

Elona suggested making some test rigs in maya so right now I am going through process of making simple models to go with simple rigs. It is my hope that this will help me refine my idea better before I stat sculpting and I am certain that having a basic idea of how the creature will move before I sculpt it will be incredibly beneficial. I also think this will help me create a more unique creature with an unique unique way of moving. More tomorrow

I made a lot of progress today picking out a head for the first creature. Right now the head is looking like a combination of my previous sketches with some influences from the Camel spider, lizard, and a mantis. Hopefully I can decide on something tommorow and finish the body.

Today I am collecting pictures of animals for reference to use for my sketches. I found the camel spider to have a look (as far as the face goes) that is some what like what I have been drawing. The site Im looking at right now:
http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=1783374
has great pictures and I want to see how the drawings I do today respond to these images in particular. Here are some drawings I did yesterday