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1 2 3 4 5 6 -Return to Illustration Gallery- Original sketch. This fish is a culmination of favorite fish parts- coelacanth, deep-sea angler, various fleshier prehistoric lobe-finned and armored fish, I suppose the shark and its many gills, and a leaning up the evolutionary ladder with the membrane-like fleshiness of the axolotyl or 'water dog', a type of salamander. Although the design was constrained to suggesting a convincing form and embodiment of the environment, the primary driving force was to create that sense of utter hideousness and horror that one is struck by when encountering such a relentless, unconscious creature, so affixed on feeding. Perhaps this explains my similar preoccupation with the Nosferatu-style vampires. Self-aware 'evil' is not so nearly frightening in the sense that it can be held accountable for its actions due to intent, or in that it has strayed from its original form, however severely, and has maintained some resemblance to a traceable root behavior. A creature such as this fish conveys a sense of inalienable dominion.   |
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