Halo Encyclopedia: S'Kelln and Drone Queen

Creature designs and some rough concepts done for the 2022 "Halo Encyclopedia", for Dark Horse and 343.

Really had fun with these, especially the s'Kelln as it's supposed to be the source creature that the Ghost and Banshee hover vehicles were based off of. I always had a lot of fun driving those in-game. Retroactively designing something based on a vehicle while trying to make it look like the inspiration went the other way around is a fun exercise. Looked at lot of cetaceans and deep sea fish for reference.

For the Drone/Yanme'e Queen I looked through screenshots and concept art of the in-game drone soldiers to search for features that could be built upon for the more regal, menacing ruling caste of the species. Various funky beetles and mantis species were then added to the mix. It would have been fun to do a full body of this one too, as she's supposed to have a humongous long abdomen behind her and many more legs, this is just the tip of the iceberg.