"Tortoises of Nod", 11" x 14" graphite on Bristol, 2019 I've been enjoying #adriantchaikovsky 's 'Children of Ruin', and wanted to illustrate a slice of the alien ecosystem he describes inhabiting the salt marshes of a planet called Nod. Most Noddian life is radially symmetrical, and great colonies of bacteria, motile many-legged 'rocks', and various flat starlike organisms blanket the shores of an acrid salt marsh. Feeding upon this blanket with an array of tentacles and ventral mouths are the ponderous 'tortoises'; so named by lonely human explorers because of their large shells though they bear no real resemblance to the earthly reptiles. While they are structurally radially symmetrical and can amble in any direction without turning their bodies, I thought it could be interesting if the shell of the 'tortoises' twisted a bit as they grew. Swipe to see some thumbnails and concept sketches! #childrenofruin #childrenoftime #alien #creaturedesign #speculativeevolution #scifi #scifiart #drawing #nod #alienecosystem #fantasyart #illustration #graphitedraeing #wearegoingonanadventure https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Chy4gHl8M/?igshid=1wc1mjaetox1o