In Space No One Can See You Watch This 'Alien' Concept Art

C is for Ron Cobb
One of the greatest concept artists ever is Ron Cobb (Alien, Aliens, Back to the Future, Firefly). Ron Cobb (born 1937) is an American cartoonist, artist, writer, film designer, and film director. Some of his most memorable work was on the classic film Alien (1979). This is some of his work on the ship Nostromo.

The design of the Nostromo is credited to illustrators Ron Cobb and Chris Foss. Ultimately Chris Foss' highly organic visions of the spacecraft were discarded in favor of Cobb's NASA-like utilitarian renderings. Ridley Scott made his own design contributions as well, adding most of the cathedralesque "refinery" portion, which dominates the craft on screen. Much of the ship's architecture, particularly its interiors and the colossal spires of its refinery structure, are inspired by the cavernous yet simultaneously claustrophobic sensibilities of haunted houses and castles from Gothic Horror films such as Nosferatu.

Early Ron Cobb designs for the ship and the Nostromo's ramp and air lock access.

Images from the collection of scenes Ron Cobb painted under Dan O'Bannon's direction to be "shopped" around with the original Alien script. Top pic is an illustration of the ship (then named "Leviathan"), the middle image is of the blueprint elevations of the same vessel, and the bottom image details the arrangement of the ship's interior.

Early Ron Cobb designs for the ship's bridge.

 Astronauts explore the Alien sanctuary in early concept art.

An early design for the Nostromo ship.

Here's what the ship looked like in the film.

Ron Cobb's website isn't up at this writing, but you can check out http://roncobb.net/ later.

Some text is from http://annex.wikia.com and io9.com

This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For the next 27 days, we'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.

Explore The Wooden Planet of Alien 3 And My First Blog Award

A is for Alien 3
First, here is some awesome concept art from an early version of Alien 3 that shows the wooden planet the monks were supposed to live in. Monks? Wooden planet? Yes, the version by Vincent Ward was supposed to be very different from the final film.

All images are by Stephen Ellis and Mike Worrall and the text is from the excellent article on the film by Empire Online.

"We open in a wooden cathedral. We think it's the Middle Ages. There are monks working behind the scenes, going upstairs through alcoves, then up ladders through attics and lofts. We follow one monk, who emerges through a gantry and looks out through a trap door across the encrusted surface of this environment, a little plain that curves, with a lagoon and a shallow atmosphere. The monk sees a star in the East. It gets closer and closer.

Other monks come up the ladders and more people join them over a period of days and weeks. And the star gets closer, until it smashes into the lagoon. The monks believe it is some sort of omen, that it is going to save them in some way. Of course, we know it is something quite different."

 "The monk we first see, John, goes over to the crashed spaceship in a coracle, this ancient little vessel made of hide. Everything is destroyed inside. He and the other monks find bedchambers with the glass broken. They find trails of blood. There's no sign of Newt, and they find Ripley. She's asleep, but the shield to her sleeping chamber is broken. They take her by coracle and by ladder down to where the senior bishop is. He's kind of a real reactionary, and rules with an iron rod. The bishop and the monks interrogate her, and she only has one ally, this monk John, who's a little more open than the rest. There's a weird physical frisson between him and Ripley. Then things start going wrong."

"There are these monastic toilets. Six or eight long-drop toilets with dividers between each closet. Here the monks catch up on the local gossip. But the Alien - which has come from the spaceship and then down into this wooden vessel - is circling through their sewage system. One guy is in the middle of a conversation, then whoosh! The Alien gets him from below. One by one, the Alien sucks them down into the sewerage."

"The monks become frightened. Ripley, as a woman, has become to them a kind of evil presence. She is sent down to a cell, where she starts to hallucinate. It's a kind of morning sickness. She has been impregnated by the Alien. The hallucinations are very much like Bosch visions, apocalyptic visions of fire and death. The Alien attempts to taunt her, and they achieve this strange intimacy. And Ripley can't tell what's real and what's not real."

"It's a year or two later. The flames have been put out. The wheatfields have grown back. You see a line of monks, wearing their cowls and habits, and they're working away, stripping the plants for the wheat. We move down the line and you see one face, and then another, and then you realise that one of the monks is now Ripley. You just see this lean face that has been through all these things. And she has finally found her own sense of community through these men and this isolated place. She's found her own sense of peace."  

You can see more of Stephen Ellis' work at http://www.hyperactiveart.com and Mike Worrall at http://www.mikeworrall.com.

Second, I was given the versatile blogger award by M. Hufstader! Thanks so much.

So cool.

Here are the instructions if you receive it:
1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

7 Random Things About Me:

1. I wear contact lenses.
2. I learned to juggle after a frustrating summer. It taught me that anything is possible with perseverance. Now, if I can just remember that.
3. My favorite color is royal blue.
4. Till my brother had a son, I thought kids were annoying. When my son was born I learned kids are great.
5. I used to watch the moon with a telescope and imagine I was running on it.
6. My childhood hero was Lou Ferrigno from The Incredible Hulk TV show. I thought he was that strong in real life.
7. I cried when Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets died.

And now for the 15 people. Some are my blogger buddies and others are from the list of people signed up for the A-Z challenge starting this month. It's a great blogfest. If you haven't signed up and you have a blog give it a look-see.

And the award goes to...

1. Geeky Daddy
2. Geeky Tendencies
3. Vibrant Oxymoron - Star Trek and Doctor Who
4. Calling Shotgun
5. Sweet On Geek
6. Dreamers Lovers and Star Voyagers
7. Most Wanted Monsters
8. All Things X
9. New Yuk Times
10. Monkey Migraine Mountain
11. Space1970
12. Blogktor Who
13. The Semi-Retired Gamer
14. Geek Girl Rambling
15. The Geek in a Chair

Make sure you visit these guys because I can guarantee a good time.

This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For the next 27 days, we'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.

1979 Starlog Shows H.R. Giger's Work and Ridley Scott's Storyboards

Starlog was an awesome magazine and I read it regularly growing up. It's gone now, but thanks to the Internet we can still read articles from a by-gone era.

It has a great set of interviews with director Ridley Scott and artist H.R. Giger on the film.

A concept painting from the original concept artist Ron Cobb of the derelict ship is in it.

There are also a couple of storyboards that Scott did for the film which I hadn't seen before.

You can read the whole article on http://www.littlegiger.com/articles/files/Starlog_26.pdf

See more of the work of Hans Ruedi "H.R." Giger at http://giger.com and my site here.

UPDATED: FIVE Things I Learned About 'Alien' (1978) From 'Giger's Alien'

Update: Originally, the list was seven, but I shortened it to five. The title still reflected that. Thanks for catching that Heiki!

The book Giger's Alien by H.R. Giger is a great read. It's full of marvelous concept art and great stories. I learned a lot about the film industry and a lot about Giger. It's a collection of diary entries he wrote making the film.

He admits in the foreword that he didn't understand the challenges of film-making at the time. Since then, he's come to respect everyone and the effort it took to make the film.

Here are the seven  five most interesting things I learned in the book.

1. The Alien Was Almost A Giant Baby
Originally, the producers suggested the alien look like a big baby.

THE ALIEN, THIRD (NATURE) PHASE. Having left its victim, the Alien promptly grows to Man-size, whereupon it is terrifically dangerous. It is very mobile. strong, and capable of tearing a man to pieces. It feeds on human flesh. This creature should be a profane abomination. Some producers have suggested that something resembling an over-sized, deformed baby night be sufficiently loathsome - In any event, we wish you to feel free to create your own design.

I'm not sure how scary it would have been, but it definitely would have been freaky to see a giant deformed baby chasing them around the ship.

2. The Original Eggs Were Hilarious

I had heard that the original design of the Alien egg opening looked like a vagina, but Giger's storytelling skills are phenomenal.

1 September 1978, Shepperton Studios
Scott, Carroll, Dilley and Powell appear to Inspect my work. I had just started to apply a texture. The lid of the egg, which in O'Bannon's sketch sprang up at a touch, I changed it into an organic, vagina-like opening. When I take off the plastic cloths in which my work is draped, there is a howl of laughter from the whole group. I had lovingly endowed this egg with an inner and outer vulva To make it all look more organic, I filled some more preservatives with clay and arranged these semi-transparent little sausages on the pink aperture.

When the gentlemen are beginning to get over it, I allow myself to ask whether they like it. Scott thinks It's too good, and Carroll too specific. He's afraid it will get them into trouble, especially in Catholic countries. Dilley would rather have something more like a flower opening. This suggestion gives me the idea of doubling the bud effect and laying the two one across the other. Seen from above, they would form the cross that people in Catholic countries are so fond of looking at. Once again I can satisfy the producers, myself and the public at home and abroad.

3. Secretaries in Switzerland Are Well Paid
At one point, H.R. Giger complains about the amount of money the studio is offering him. As a professional artist he's insulted and says secretaries in Switzerland are paid more. If he was serious, I can't imagine how much lawyers are paid there.

4. If O'Bannon Had Stayed In Town The Alien Ship Would Have Been Traditional

Giger and the producer had a numerous fights with Giger about the designs. Most left his concepts and designs behind. One big fight was over the design of the derelict ship the crew find. Dan O'Bannon, who wrote the screenplay, was adamant that they should have a traditional ship with tail fins sticking in the air. Gordon Carroll, one of the producers, insisted the derelict will blend in with the landscape.  He won the argument.

19 July 1978, Shepperton Studios
They ask me to go to the office, where Scott, Seymour and Carroll are waiting for me. Carroll says, please will I design another derelict. The entrance passage and the landscape can stay the same as those that have been built in Sound Stage H, but the rest will have to be changed. As it is now (plate 378) it is too reminiscent of a bone and might make people think it was an organic part of the landscape. There will also be technical difficulties In building it. I am absolutely astounded to hear this from Carroll, of all people, who had been so enthusiastic about my derelict when he first saw It. I suspect that Shusett and O'Bannon are behind it. Even good friends can often infuriate one. I try to convince Carroll that the dimensions and the aerodynamic shape are enough in themselves to distinguish the derelict from the landscape, and moreover that technical details ought not to be too obvious in case they spoil the biomechanical character of a spaceship built by non-humans. I simply can't see how I can improve on it; I regard it as one of my best pictures. Carroll proves unyielding and finally practically orders me to conjure up something else out of the ground. They seem to think I can just shake good ideas out of my sleeve— the bitter fate of the creative artist. Scott keeps quiet during the discussion, and in silent opposition demonstrates a quite ordinary, banal crashed aircraft, its tall fin pointing skyward. I understand and, promising to try something different, go back to my work. This is an occasion when time will work for me.

But, when Giger came on set the next day, they were building the ship the way he designed them. He concludes that it's because O'Bannon went back to America and they didn't have enough time to develop another design.

5. A Surprising Number of Children Were Involved
The scene with Lambert, Dallas, and Kane in the "Space Jockey" cockpit was filmed with children in the space suits. This increased the scale. Two were Ridley Scott's children.

26 September 1978, Shepperton Studios
Yesterday we worked late into the night to get the set looking more or less finished. A truck with a camera crane that can be raised and lowered has been set up at the edge of the set for the camera team. The %pada effects' men veil the whole scene in smoke from some kind of burning oil. It smells horrible and makes it very stuffy on the stage. The lighting men crouch in the scaffolding bathed in sweat and light up whatever they are told. Meanwhile Scott hovers on his airy seat with the cameraman, Derek Vanlint, and gives instructions. All the preparations are complete and filming begins. The three actors playing the astronauts are replaced by children, wearing miniature copies of the astronaut's clothes. This makes the enormous figure of the pilot look bigger still.

While designing the the Alien phase III, at one point Ridley Scott strapped a bunch of children to a man. This was to give the impression of a creature with many limbs.

23 February 1978, Shepperton Studios
Alien III Is the monster, the superstar, the title-role of the film. O'Bannon had used a monster before, in his film Dark Star. For that they used a balloon the size of a medicine-ball which hopped about on two hands. To begin with we weren't clear what the Alien in Alien ought to look like. Scott definitely wasn't going to have some ordinary cinema monster stamping stiffly and awkwardly through t

How is Giger Involved In Penthouse Model's Death?

Anneka Vasta, who was the Penthouse Pet of the Year in 1975, was found dead on the beach January 4th. For some reason a picture with her and H.R. Giger are all over the Internet.

Vasta was best known for her role in the film Caligula, which film critic Roger Ebert famously walked out of for it's content. Her death is being heavily investigated, but I can't figure out why so many articles about her death feature the photo above with the caption: Anneka Vasta, left, posed for this April 1980 photo with Swiss artist H.R. Giger, who was nominated for an academy award for his visual effects for the movie 'Alien.'"

H.R. Giger (Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger) of course is the world renowned Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy award for his work as one of the concept artists from Alien.

At 59, they say her body was so slim and youthful that they thought she was a teenager. There are only a handful of pictures of her on the Internet, so I guess this is the one people want to use to emphasize how young she looked.

The photo is from a 1980 showing of his artwork for the movie Alien in the Hansen Galleries in New York City. Other than that photo there appears to be no connection between the two whatsoever. I just find it weird that her death is now closely linked to a photo of the concept artist from twenty years ago.

As a public service here are two other photos of the model Anneka Vasta you can use.

Check out H.R. Giger's website http://giger.com/
Do you find it strange that the photo of Giger is connected to a murder? Let me know in the comments.

Via - Today