The human urge to classify and collect enables us to understand and explore the universe - but that same impulse also makes us fanatical about the things we love from the modern world.
Artist Richard Wilkinson is working on a collection of illustrations that celebrate that trait in both Natural History and modern culture. The first book - ‘Arthropoda Iconicus Volume I: Insects From A Far Away Galaxy’ takes its inspiration from perhaps the most widely recognized subject of obsessive fandom - Star Wars.
Each insect looks subtly like a character, creature or vehicle from our favourite space opera. Some are instantly recognizable. Others take some time to see but you get a great ‘Aha!’ moment when you finally see them! (If you’re a fan of language, the latinised names will give you a clue too!)
Several other collections are in the works: taking inspiration from the world of Pokemon, Superheroes, Ghibli, Sanrio, and Disney, as well as sneakers, vehicles, architecture and anything else we, as fanatics, love to obsess about.
More info: richard-wilkinson.com | Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
Super cool! You should see about molding realistic looking plastic versions of the designs. If you put that on Kickstarter I would throw money at it.
It’s pretty cool for star wars fans and I love that you turned the bugs into faces like General Akbar
This is not only a great idea, but it is executed to perfection. These look a lot like illustrations in books. This is the coolest thing I've seen this week!
It seems like you only took the ones from first-generation Star Wars. What about Rey, Finn, Poe, Padme, young Anakin, Obi-wan, and- I'm pretty sure you could do her pretty easy - Maz? Great work on most of these, though.
Super cool! You should see about molding realistic looking plastic versions of the designs. If you put that on Kickstarter I would throw money at it.
It’s pretty cool for star wars fans and I love that you turned the bugs into faces like General Akbar
This is not only a great idea, but it is executed to perfection. These look a lot like illustrations in books. This is the coolest thing I've seen this week!
It seems like you only took the ones from first-generation Star Wars. What about Rey, Finn, Poe, Padme, young Anakin, Obi-wan, and- I'm pretty sure you could do her pretty easy - Maz? Great work on most of these, though.