John Carter Of Mars (2006) - Zodanga
The enemy city of Zodanga was to be a very militarized, walled fortress city. As always trying to work story into the design, I latched onto the idea of a city built upon the excavation of a crater. The Zodangans would have mined for the nickel-iron meteor core, a precious resource on metal-poor Barsoom, and the source of their military might. The crater itself would have formed a natural wall for the city.
The final image. The Zodangan flyer was designed by the incomparable Ryan Church.
An earlier concept that was much more conventionally walled.
First sketch establishing the idea of the excavated crater.
A thumbnail of Zodanga trying to establish the composition.
Another thumbnail, this one introducing the idea of the secondary crater, which makes for a more interesting city footprint.