Behind The Scenes: Sci-fi Illustration

From time to time, I really enjoy some methodical work on concept and mashup illustrations. Keeps the skill sharp. You need to be able to analyze a lot of inputs and synthesize them into a combination, that somewhat makes sense.

I did this with few themes by now, but I saved my favorite theme for later. I always loved science fiction movies and watched whatever I could get my hands on. Star Wars, Star Trek, Space Odyssey, you name it. Some are really casual block busters, some are were more serious pieces of art.

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As you know, I use Pinterest to create my inspiration and reference board and with these kinds of illustration, it's a bit of a two-step process. First, I need to identify the topics and themes I want to include, and only then proceed to pick up particular scenes and compositions.

That's why there's always more on the board, than in the final illustration. I don't want to miss anything out, so while I'm browsing through the movie lists, I'm saving whatever is a good candidate.

After that, I proceed with the second round of search, this time looking for iconic and recognizable scenes. So for example with the alien, I think the bay with the yellow loader mech is pretty self-explanatory.

After I got the scenes in order, it was time to organize. This process isn't as straightforward as with the other scenes, where I simply get references and then do the sketch. This is a little bit more back and forth.

So I might sketch out few pieces of terrain and then identify, which of the movie scenes can form up a terrain themselves. For example, the Star Wars corridor with the door (iconic scene where look grapple from one platform to another while getting a peck on the cheek from his... well yuck) was good enough to form a whole part of the structural side of the illustration.

Same goes with the sand dunes, or Martian surface. So I sketch in these parts and after few reworks and erases, I have a good idea of how to build the layout. After that, I get the rest of the scenes and try to fill that terrain, combining things that work well together. That's why the composition gradually transforms from dunes and sand worm (Shai-hulud) to beach and water, to make way for a bed from the Eternal Shining of a Spotless Mind.

The key takeaway is, you need to be prepared to let some things go, even if they might look essential or you were really looking forward to make them. I really wanted to include walkers from the War of the Worlds, but the scene felt a bit cluttered, so I left it out for the benefit of the rest.

You can watch the process video on Youtube