Game over man, game over!

Dear watchers and watcherettes...

I apologise for the radio silence last week. I promised I would upload illustrations on a regular, weekly basis this 2012 and I was achieving it. But some deadlines and work overload got to me last week. Oh, and a stomach flu. So... fun stuff!

However, you can take my silence as part of my cryostasis trip to LV-426 When I finally sat down yesterday to doodle and warm-up, this came out. And it didn't surprise me at all.
I watched Aliens a couple of weeks back for the gazillionth time and was just as mesmerised with it as I was the first time I watched it.
Alien made a huge impact on me as a kid and I never thought it could get any better. Until Aliens. Just the thought of one creature crawling up behind you was scary enough; hundreds was simply dismaying. Thus, I sympathise with Colonial Marine Hudson (as the title of this piece attests), when he says 'Game over, man!'.

I did some really cool effects on this piece and took a couple of risks I don't normally take. Especially regarding textures and the use of blacks and lighting. The creature, whom I've wanted to draw for years, is my favourite bit.
This was done in about 2 hours, from start to finish, trying to keep the 'time for myself' drawing to a minimum.

I hope you enjoy this piece and let me know what you think, as usual!

I'll hopefully be uploading more images before the weekend.

Nic.-