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  • This illustration was drawn for Robin Laws’ Yellow King RPG‘s Paris book, showcasing the city of Ys rising from its uncanny slumber beneath the waves off the coast of France. It was created in watercolour and coloured pencil, and took inspiration from the art of the era, including the symbolist and late romantic painters, as well as sculpture and poster design.


  • Crystal Generation Ship


    This sci-fi painting combines imagery of crystal specimens with elements of architecture, to create an enticing and evocative futuristic image.

    Watercolour and coloured pencil on Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8″, 2017


  • It Came from Beneath the Mire


    This monster came from too much heavy metal and some time in a sketchbook with my favourite pencils. After the drawing was done, I printed it out on watercolour paper to finish bringing the monster to life in full colour.

    Watercolour on watercolour paper, 2017.


  • This is a creature design concept art sheet for Atlas Games’ project Pillar of Fire. We developed a series of alien creatures inspired by microfauna.


  • Arid Environment Design Concept Art for Pillar of Fire


    This is a concept art sheet for Atlas Games’ upcoming project Pillar of Fire. We developed a series of these environment samplers inspired by microorganisms and fungal structures.


  • Ocean Environment Design Concept Art for Pillar of Fire


    This is a concept art sheet for Atlas Games’ upcoming project Pillar of Fire. We developed a series of these environment samplers inspired by microorganisms and fungal structures.


  • After and Before Crystal Islands


    Watercolour on cream rag paper.


  • Inktober 2018


    I took it as an excuse to draw my own characters for a month straight, using preprocessed rag paper I tore down to size and a limited set of art supplies:

    Those waterbrushes are filled with different dilutions of sumi ink, making it fun and easy to do greyscale washes.


  • I adored Annihilation‘s visual approach (among so much of it, gosh I just adored it overall really!) but as we walked out of the theatre, Matt and I realized we’d seen a similar visual theme at work elsewhere: at the MAC (Musée d’Art Contemporain in Montreal) when we caught a career-spanning solo show of David Altmejd’s work. I’m going to share here with you some images from both, because I think the interplay is really neat!

    For the record, the images below are going to flirt with body horror in a big way.

    First off, let’s look at some key scenes of Annihilation (click to see the source file larger):

    Now, let’s admire some of David Altmejd’s work:

    Let’s take a good look at some of his figurative stuff:

    And for one final comparison, let me share with you the close-up concepts of the horrifying bear’s head in Annihilation:

    And a few final pieces of Altmejd’s that really heck me up:

    I’m not crying theft here – I’m just always delighted to find themes, and for anyone who loved the visuals of Annihilation, the art world does actually hold interesting and relevant art for you!

    Thanks for your time! Comments are open!

    3 responses to “Annihilation and David Altmejd – an aesthetic of evolution, transformation, horror and beauty (TW: body horror)”
    1. Tom Findrik Avatar

      Totally agree,,,,,,,resemblance is stunning,,,,,,,coincidence ?Yes and no.
      Artists are creatures indeed.

    2. Gillian Avatar

      Darn, this is great work! Going to bookmark this artist. Hope I can see them in person some day.

      1. Shel Kahn Avatar
        Shel Kahn

        I would go back to see his work again on a dime! Def let me know if you see there’s an exhibit coming!


  • Crystal Island Shop


    Gouache on bristol.