Partain, Nick, artist2024-12-032024-12-032024https://hdl.handle.net/10217/239567Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: This project is an exercise in speculative biology and worldbuilding. It draws from Nacelle, a project I’ve been working on for well over a decade, which focuses on a military conflict on an alien world called Traversed. The focus of the project so far has been on developing the ecosystem and geology of the planet. In the story, humanity encounters an advanced alien civilization exploring the galaxy, but before diplomatic relations can be established, the alien homeworld is invaded by human terrorists. The protagonists are tasked with weeding them out of the planet before they can cause damage to the biosphere, but first they must learn how to survive and navigate the planet’s diverse and dangerous environment. In these pieces, you will notice a typed journal entry for each work. These are from the perspective of a soldier named Roman Send, who was assigned as a bodyguard for a small research team sent to explore the planet’s inner crusts prior to the events of the main story. The drawings represent some of the earliest first-hand encounters between humans and the depicted wildlife, as documented by Send in his field journal. Much of the inspiration for this world was drawn from famous speculative biology projects like Avatar and Star Wars. Creating alien creatures was something that came relatively naturally to me compared to other subjects I’ve drawn, as I feel there is no need to adhere to the strict body structure of an existing animal or to try to represent surface textures perfectly accurately. In this area of technical drawing, I make all of the rules, and the only limit is the time I have to refine my ideas. I try not to limit myself when it comes to media, either, and my favorites include graphite, charcoal and ink. The ability to create anything and share it visually with others is one of my greatest assets, which I aim to hone to the highest level possible.born digitalStudent worksengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.drawingText