roughs BASED ON VARIOUS MOMENTS IN THE BOOK:

PROJECT HAIL MARY

A set of 3 illustrations for a private commission, illustrating scenes from the book Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. 

Disclaimer: This illustration project was undertaken in early 2024, well before any concepts or information for the 2026 film release were visible, and the artwork is based solely on descriptions from the original text, and through conversations with the client.

Shelf Reflection describes the plot: “In Project Hail Mary, a science teacher [Ryland Grace] and his BFF alien buddy [Rocky the Eridian] science and engineer the crap out of space stuff to save their planets from a star-eating microbe.”

The three key scenes that were chosen from the roughs were:  

• The two lead characters, Grace and Rocky, in the zero-gravity airlock tunnel, starting to communicate through the clear divider, sharing their respective clocks 

• Grace dragging Rocky through an upside down space ship lab 

• Grace in his final Eridian classroom setting

Designing Rocky

To create reference for myself in drawing a pentagonal, rock-like space spider floating in zero gravity, I thought it would be smart to “learn” how to 3D model. Using Nomad Sculpt and Blender, I created a simple model (well, about 8) and armature so I could pose it for whatever scene I had in mind.

The actual Eridians wear clothes, and have details like vents and a raised head area, but for the reference model I just needed the physical characteristics and proportions.

Because I also needed to draw the classroom for the young Eridians, I ended up obsessively product designing for how pentagonal, rock-like space spiders might sit and use a desk. Below are a few moments from this process. 

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