The Hidden Gems

I love illustrating type out of various natural materials, be it ice, stone, branches etc. For this piece, I wanted to make some lettering out of giant crystal forms after being inspired by the title design for ‘The Monolith Monsters’ (1957) a sci-fi horror flick where a town is attacked by giant crystals emerging from a crashed meteor...sounds fun right? The jagged gemstone type in those opening titles is fantastic and I wanted to try my hand at emulating the complex architecture of crystals to write out a fitting idiom. Once I added in the cavernous navy background I suddenly wanted to see the design as a book cover so I mocked it up, added a pseudonym, and branded it a collection of fables.