Major Project: Developing the Alien Forms

  Looking to get back into my stride, I have set to work on the finer points of Four's design. As well along with a contact sheet which explores the larva's anatomy, its skin folds and what could be done for the eyes and mouth, I also looked at some possible cocoon forms 

  Designing Four's adult form I have decided to splice the marine creature and the brown lizard creature from the previous thumbnails, I'm playing about with fronds however at the moment they look a little like dragon horns. This is a hurdle I have encountered due to the axolotl inspiration. It may pass when I look into drawing heads to get an idea of head structure and facial expressions.

  At some point during the week, once I have a better idea for Four's body, I will consider a contact sheet of colour tones. I've started getting ideas for the juvenile form from designs made today. But I feel the grub/larval form is at a state it can be signed off after a few other orthographic sheets are made for the other potential angles.

Major Project: Four is the Priority

  Nulla dies sine linea was what I was telling myself this time last year. After a discussion with Phil on the current direction, I feel confident at present that a lot of the prepatory work for the environment and the story is done. The script is ready, the world has been crystallised. What remains now is the beast in question. I had the chance to do a bit of drawing after the discussion but my evening was busy as I soon found myself off to London for the night.

  So to uphold my personal promise, H took the chance to use my sketchbook on the train with the drawings above. Phil and I discussed that a touch of axolotl could be investigated. Dumpy body, alien features and a thick tails, it seemed useful. While on the train I sort of realised that giving the tail some kind of sail may restrict its movement. So I played with a vertical and a horizontal arrangement. As well as sails, I considered the sails could form a prong, and that maybe instead of big bulges of fat, the larva could have its eyes covered in a thin membrane (which on reflection may look creepy but this larva's adapted burrowing though soil, it'll need to protect its eyes somehow). Experiments, ideas, it was a better use of my time than waiting an hour or browsing the internet while I sat on the train.

  With the larva's body, I'm inclined towards the fatty consistency of 29 and 31. It seems more in line with the overall idea for the body than the direct segmentation of 28 and 30. The page above however is currently a work in progress. The intention is to create an orthographic sheet for the two grub/larva phases and the cocoon phase.

Major Project: Refining Concepts

  With some progress in finding voices for the project, and with the concepts for the base gradually crystallising, progress can be made on the finer details. Looking at floor plans from Space 1999 and 2001: A Space Odyssey I gained an impression that the 1970s were a period of open spaces and neatly organised furniture. Everything in the future was tidy and organised, with strong lines and an emphasis on comfort. I was told one fashion of the 70s in science fiction was padded leather panels. In hindsight a rather peculiar material to coat your walls in but then again the modern perception of the future promises walls made of either glass or plastic so I suppose it was a quirk of the times.

  Four's adult forms are coming along mentally but one priority is to work out what the grub looks like. I had considered there could be a degree of translucency to Four's body so I had a bit of fun working out where all her organs could go. It was then I struck a few ideas for a few anatomical elements to make Four alien. She could have her nostrils on her back or on the back of her neck while her skull has a bulbousness to it that could extend into a crest.

  Four's grub form got me thinking on the juvenile and adult anatomies. I'm thinking a touch of fox and a touch of otter into her genetics, so to speak: An elongated but bouncy hunter of small animals with a nice fat tail and plenty of agility. This is something I could explore with silhouettes as I develop the other forms. My primary goal with these drawings was to work out the simpler of Four's forms. The cocoon I realised could be more shaped by Four curling up.

  Researching an influence for Four's larval state I came across beetle grubs. Two things caught my attention. The first is that ground-dwelling species like the Goliath beetle and the Japanese beetle lay their larvae in the soil, where they live curled up until they mature. Once they develop into adults, they crawl out of the soil. The second is that some species, like the aforementioned beetle grow enormous as grubs. Some can be large enough to require both hands when being held.

References

• Jameson-Gould, 2012; What is the biggest insect in the world?; Real Monstrosities; avaiilable at  http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2012/03/what-is-biggest-insect-in-world.html (last accessed 12th October 2016)
• Krischik, V., Maser, D., 2011; Japanese Beetle Management in Minnesota; University of Minnesota; available at http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/japanese-beetles/ (last accessed 12th October 2016)

Major Project: Bug Thumbnails

  Today's been mostly about my bug. I had this though after discovering a scanning electron microscope (SEM) photograph of a hydrothermal worm. These seep-sea worms are tiny, the size of bacterium but the thing that intrigued me most was they had jaws and teeth. So I wondered, to add to the chill factor, if Four could have this kind of mouth, that opens to reveal another mouth.

Figure 1: A hydrothermal worm (Crassous)

  Beyond this, I want to refine the adult form so I can get a good sense of the larval form. I'm leaning towards the blobby slugs Ginger and Fred from Splice as inspiration for when Four first emerges from the soil.

Figure 2: Perhaps the definition of ugly-cute (That Was A Bit Mental, 2015)

Image References

• Figure 1: Crassouls, P., unknown [A Hydrothermal worm]; Crassouls 3 PhC-C; available at https://www.fei.com/uploadedImages/FEISite/Content/Image_Gallery/Images/IM_20100225_Crassous_3_PhC-C_lg.jpg (last accessed 3rd October 2016)
• Figure 2: That Was A Bit Mental, 2015; [Perhaps the definition of ugly-cute]; Splice Pic 6; available at https://thatwasabitmental.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/splice-pic-6.jpg (last accessed 3rd October 2016)