How to Create "Avatar" Scenery

Many creatures in the "Avatar" universe feature saturated, tropical colors, such as the Na'vi pictured here.

James Cameron's epic science fiction film, "Avatar," transported movie-goers to the almost mystical, planet-like moon of Pandora. Mountains float on this distant world, plants respond to touch and lush, tropical forests are imbued with nervous systems that allow trees to record the memories of the Na'vi, Pandora's indigenous inhabitants. The scenery in "Avatar" is mysterious and breathtaking, but its flora and fauna have some distinctive features you can imitate in your own artwork.

Instructions

1. Exaggerate the height of the plants, animals and forests in your artwork. According to Jodie Holt, a scientific consultant for "Avatar," Pandora's "gravity is weaker" than that of Earth and "has a strong magnetic field." This leads to what Holt terms, "magnetotropism," or the prevalence of gigantism in plant and animal life. In addition, Pandora has "higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, as well as xenon and hydrogen sulfide," providing a rich mixture for large creatures. Feel free to picture floating mountains similar to the "Hallelujah" mountain range in the movie.

2. Merge the traits of plants and animals together. According to Michael Schriber, author of "Avatar's New Twist on Plants," James Cameron coined the terms, "plananimal" and "Zooplantae" to describe the strange creatures in his movie. You may want to position a Na'vi or other creature touching plants in the foreground of your artwork to illustrate their mobility. You can then feature these same plants in the scenery, adding a playful dynamic to the otherwise static background.

3. Heighten the color intensity of the forests, plants and animals in your scenery. Pandora has a tropical climate and many of the creatures in "Avatar" are modeled on the coloration of flora and fauna in rain forests. In addition, Schriber notes that Pandora has "long periods of darkness" and that the "glowing -- or bioluminescence -- of some plants might have been an adaptation" to this phenomena.

References

• "Astrobiology Magazine"; Avatar's New Twist on Plants; Michael Schirber; Mar. 4, 2010
• "Los Angeles Times"; Inventing the Plants of Avatar; Lori Kozlowski; Jan. 2, 2010