The Stray project gave me an opportunity to focus primarily on conceptual development as well as work in traditional mediums. At the start of the project I picked up a sketchbook and managed to fill most of it with dozens of sketches of the flora and fauna, architecture and landscapes of the world of Stray.
One of the major influences for the overall aesthetic of Stray was the work of Jean Giraud, otherwise known as “Moebius”. I love his fantastic renderings of desert landscapes and wanted to focus on capturing the same sweeping cinematic vistas that dominate his graphic novels.
Many of the concepts from the “Stray” visual development guides are black and white ink or pencil sketches and the few colour studies use a limited pallette of oranges, browns and purples to bring out the stark detail of the desert landscape.