GRAYSON LOVETTE - Concept Art 2024

The following project was created for my Spring 2024 Visual Development class. Each student created concept art for different stories taking place within the same fictional universe titled: The Moons of Selenterra. My pitched format for this story is that of a graphic novel. From my assigned story, I was tasked with designing an exterior environment and a character (plus a vehicle design as an extra treat.) The "Group 04" label refers to the particular story I illustrated for; all of the artwork pictured below was created solely by me.

The Moons of Selenterra: First Contact - A Brief Overview

The Orion Empire extends through the galaxy, and the lava moon Ignythos has fallen under their jurisdiction. Clarissa Orion rules with an iron fist over the newly established colony, Blazir City, from her lavish fortress. Her main objective: exhaust Ignythos of all its natural resources. 

Firstly, the Blazir City Fortress.

For the fortress, I landed on a cylindrical design because I felt that smooth and round shapes would contrast nicely with the rocky environment of a lava moon. To further separate the fortress from more "earthly" architecture, I decided that I'd have the structure be powered by lava which I incorporated into the design. 

With a basic idea in mind of what I wanted to fortress to look like, I began translating it to an isometric perspective. 

Secondly, a POV shot of the fortress. 

My pitch for this particular project was for it to be formatted like a graphic novel, so I played around with different panel dimensions in my thumbnails. Ultimately, I continued on with the POV shot from the perspective of a ships cockpit. 

Up next: Clarissa Orion, ruler of Ignythos.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted Clarissa to be a gothic, imposing figure with an attitude. After deciding on a silhouette/design, my initial goal was to have her wardrobe to embody the characteristics of a lava moon with dark color palettes and decorative armor resembling solidified magma. However, I changed course and thought it better if she stood out from the dark atmosphere of the moon. Thus, the lighter palettes and the jewelry-esque igneous rock. 

Finally, the ship!

With Ignythos' defining characteristic being lava, I thought it'd be fun to play around with the concept of this being the main export from the moon. Therefore, I designed a lava cargo ship for the Orion Empire. 

Thanks for viewing!