Chelicerae - process and all illustrations
In this poem Caleb is plagued by visions of three different women, You, Nothing and Shadow. This required me to design four characters, all of them overlapping but needing to be distinct and recognizable.
Caleb and You were both human and therefore the easiest to design. They relied primarily on body language and dress so that it was clear they were everyday people.
Nothing was a bit more ephemeral. A woman but a monster, the trick was to find a way to make her alluring but disturbing. I worked to find a cross between Lady Godiva and Banshees.
Shadow was my favorite to design. Her blend of arachnid and human qualities asks the same question as the poem: how can we be so easily ensnared by something obviously dangerous?
Early character designs for Nothing.
1) The first design was based on Miyazaki's No-Face.
2) Based on Banshees and Lady Godiva.
3) A half rotted, reanimated corpse.
Exploring the anatomy and facial structure of the reanimated corpse concept.
Progress for the first illustration.
This first illustration was ultimately redone to better fit the book's formatting and meet the quality of the other illustrations.
The second version of the first illustration, introducing both Caleb and Nothing.
Another interaction between Caleb and Nothing, this illustration would ultimately be the inspiration for the book's cover.
Caleb and You.
Playing with the feeling of distance and loneliness in a situation of companionship and a location typically full of other people.
A rough digital sketch to help me place spider legs on Shadow.
Conceptualizing Shadow's transformation into an arachnid and working on the physical placement of the spider legs.
Shadow without hair. This image was built on several layers of tracing paper.
Shadow with hair. This image was built on several layers of tracing paper.
Practicing the combination of human and arachnid anatomy, focusing especially on the chelicerae and multiple eyes.
Beginning the final piece.
After finishing Shadow I covered her in friskit and worked on the background.
The completed illustration.
Progress shot. Shadow is coated in friskit as a background layer dries.