The Colony

For the first time in the art I’ve posted on this site, I decided to put some life on an alien landscape.    I often left it out purposefully because I believe the Earth and any other life-covered planet are exceedingly rare in our galaxy.  I certainly believe there is plenty of life on other planets, but chances are worlds inhabited by pond scum and bacteria far outnumber worlds like our own.  This is known as the “Rare Earth Theory” and basically says simple cellular life is most likely common on alien worlds, while complex life forms are very rare.  Technical civilizations are probably few and far between.  In this scene I’m depicting tree-like (and rather creepy) creatures that anchor themselves to the muddy bottom of a nutrient-rich lake.  After many more millennia of evolution, they may also colonize the land, but for now they live out their lives in the mud.  Although a meager existence, they do enjoy a spectacular display of multiple suns and planetary bodies in their sky overhead.

The landscape for this image was rendered in Vue 11.  I used Adobe Photoshop to incorporate the planets and clouds.  A wonderful real-life image by tassanee called “Chasing the Sun” got me thinking about doing this piece.  Her image can be seen here:  fav.me/d7v6cl8