Visual Design: Crustacean Concept Art

The aim of this assignment was to utilise the silhouette technique employed expertly by Feng Zhu and apply it to some Crustacean inspiration.

Crustaceans really lend themselves to cool concepts. Armoured hides, claws, multiple arms, what's not to love? The difficulty was in keeping all the silhouettes from looking similar to one another when they all took their inspiration from similar looking creatures.

I focused specifically on huge crabs and deep sea Bathynomus Giganteus - It looks like a giant woodlouse and the stuff of nightmares. The Fiddler Crab is famous for one claw growing far larger than the other as it uses it during mating calls to the females of the species. This creates a really cool visual dynamic. In my designs I decided to take it to the next level and have a creature that has totally ditched growing one limb, in favour of one powerful appendage.

When trying to integrate the Bathynomus Giganteus, I had to take Feng Zhu's points into consideration. The best designs, that resonate with clients normally have features you associate with real world beings. I took elements of its appearance for the face of my concept and then gave it a gladiatorial feel.

This was a fascinating way to work and I really enjoyed the freedom and ad hoc nature of the work that comes out of rendering from a silhouette. I can see issues arising when a brief comes through from a client and they are looking for something very specific in the designs. This is more suited to an established artist who has 100% trust to come up with whatever they feel will look best.

In another attempt, I would definitely take a few more passes and try and further push the extraterrestrial aspect of the crustaceans. In my work I have really tried to humanise their form - It may be beneficial in future to push it in the totally opposite direction.