Alien Development

Cryp'lar language

At the start of the visual development for my Final Major Project, I considered how the alien life in my story would communicate, which led to me developing an entire written language for the Cryp'lar species. I understood that the language would have to be alien, but also could be understood by the reader if they wanted to look deeper into it. The Cryp'lar language has a large history behind it and there have been many variations of the language through the ages.

Some evidence of these past languages can be seen in the modern language, as Cryp'lar of old tended to base their language off circular symbols, while newer Cryp'lar leaned more towards using sharp, triangular symbols, as their species increasingly experienced war with each other, and other races.

Above are the original post-it notes where I first constructed the language. By using the english alphabet to design the alien symbols, I was able to illustrate designs that followed a sensical pattern when comparing both languages. At this stage, I also came up with meanings for each symbol element that is incorporated into the Cryp'lar language.

This language is unique in how you read it, as unlike english, the symbols are read from bottom to top. However, this would not affect the reader's interpretation of the alien speech, as the reader is not supposed to be aware of exactly what the Cryp'lar are saying - further helping to make them fully alien.

Later on, I finalised the designs for each letter, and expanded on the meaning behind more of the symbol elements in the alien language. These meanings represent the culture of the Cryp'lar, and how much importance these aliens put in communication.

Cryp'lar ship design

Early on in the design process, I decided that the alien ships would be based on sea creatures, as the void of space is comparable to the expanse of the ocean. Designing ships from the physical characteristics of sea creatures in my project is inspired by the Covenant ships in the Halo series. These ships were large, organically-shaped cruisers that were more akin to sharks and whales than traditional sci-fi craft. While my adaptations of sea creatures are more noticeable than the Covenant ships, I have incorporated more futuristic elements to the designs so that Cryp'lar ships become something entirely unique. 

The first ship design I created was the Cryp'lar Control Ship. Based off of a starfish, this craft is a mobile battle station that houses the commanding aliens of an invasion force, as well as a sprawling city on its topside for the most revered Cryp'lar warriors and officers.

The next ship design was the Cryp'lar Single Occupant Craft. This fighter is based off of a manta ray, and is the main offensive aerial unit the Cryp'lar has. These fighters can detach the ends of their stabilisation 'tail' to launch high-yield alien missiles, and are manned by Cryp'lar pilots.

The third design was the Cryp'lar Transport Dropship. A large transport based off of the front half of a sea turtle that delivers warriors to the battlefield, and can be utilised as a defensive wall to reinforce Cryp'lar ground units.

The next designs were the Cryp'lar Exploration Shuttle, and Cryp'lar Mobile Exploration Station. The shuttles detach from the exploration station, so are treated as one large craft. The shuttles themselves are based off of minnows (with tentacles) and are used to reach areas of space that might be too small for the exploration station to travel to. The stations are based off of clam shells, and can deploy up to four shuttles that are embedded in its hull. Their more capable engines mean that shuttles must dock before stations can move off to new areas.


Cryp'lar world design

When designing the alien ships, I had to picture how they could work, and in what environment they could be constructed. The Cryp'lar homeworld is an area that will be heavily featured in the second graphic novel, so I began designing one of the main locations on the alien planet, known as Vanquard. This world is riddled with canyons and valleys which the Cryp'lar use to securely build and  engineer their ships.

My initial design for an area on Vanquard is known as the "Cryp'lar Star Valley," and is where the aliens house energy from the stars they extinguish. This solar energy is then purified and used to refuel the Cryp'lar fleet. This concept is the basis of the entire narrative, and the first element of the story I ever considered.