12 Gorgeous Early Concept Designs For Godzilla

Warner Bros.

If you see "Godzilla" in theaters this weekend, you'll come face to face with the 355-foot tall monster; however, that wasn't the way the monster always looked.

It took a lot of work and designs to get Godzilla the way he looks in the final movie.

Many of the early concept designs for Godzilla are shown in a new book out this week, "Godzilla: The Art of Destruction," in which director Gareth Edwards details the inspiration for the many renderings and why certain looks didn't work out.

Believe it or not, but dogs, birds, and even bears all played a role in designing Godzilla's final look. 

Business Insider received permission to exclusively share some of the early concept designs featured in the book.

"This one had that Christmas tree effect for the fins," said Edwards. "They seemed incredibly big, and you didn't see that form anywhere else on his body. And the lightning effect made it kind of hard to understand what you were looking at."

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