Sustained Investigation #5

The idea behind this artwork was to create a catalog of different species from throughout the universe in the same style that you might find images of different animals with fun facts next to them in a national geographics magazine. I did this because in the context of the my sustained investigation, the comic I plan to do as a senior project, I wanted to expand the universe further by showing alien life from other planets. None of the species that I drew are behind the Abduction in the story themselves but are others also being used to research their respective species or play a role that's not the antagonist but still a threat. The plant in the bottom right corner is a sentient plant (but not intelligent) that's not rooted down , it is a test subject like the humans that were abducted and is not quite conscious enough to be bothered by that. The plant in the bottom left is not sentient like plants on earth but is carnivorous in the way that if produces a fruit that then eats away at whatever ate it. Of course the human shown is the main character of the story, AJ, whose threat level is unknown because humans are currently being researched. The other unknown is an owl like beast that from a snow planet, not much is known other then that it is dangerous. 

Like the "Inventory" piece I did for sustained investigation #4 This piece of art was created on a piece of artist paper. I used a graphite pencil to sketch out the different objects, used a thin black sharpie pen to do the linework, then shaded in certain areas with the pencil. I did not erase the pencil from the sketch layer for the most part. Also like "Inventory" this piece of art was created on the backside of that piece of paper. I regret this because the texture of the back is rougher which made some of the sharpie pen lineart less clean then I would like it. Also now I can only display one of them at once. 

Why are these creatures the way they are? What inspired there designs? The owl-like beast is loosely based on a snowy owl combined with more alien taits. Because I came up with its habitat first I worked the design around that, a consistently subzero icy desert, yet somehow life still lives in this harsh environment. This is why it has a thick layer of feathers, almost fur-like, on its body and wings. Its "face" is a false face with its really moth being a lot bigger underneath to eat larger prey quickly. Its "eyes" are not eyes, instead it relies on the sensory organs that look like horns to see the world around it. The tree in the bottom right has three appendages that act as both roots and legs, it kind of floops around to move. The plant in the bottom left intentinaly has spiky petals to indicate that it might be a bit of a threat.