Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Mothra Cacoon

In mid-2016 Wētā Workshop had the pleasure of working with director Michael Dougherty during pre-production of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. We were mainly tasked with visualising key moments in the script. This Beat explored a cocooned Mothra being discovered by the Monarch group. We wanted evidence of an ancient civilisation's temple and their worship of the species. I remember being infatuated with the mystery 'which had been there longer, the temple or the cocooned Kaiju?' Ha! I think I created an entire discovery documentary in my head while painting this. Funny where the brain goes while rendering. Played here with the idea of it choosing to cacoon at the base of a waterfall. Counteracting the heat generated in the transformative process and sets a pretty mystical scene.
Also played with the idea of smaller moth species being drawn to it like light. Hence, the speckles of light dancing around the cacoon.

Big Props to Paul Tobin for the initial thumbnail and Christian Pearce for the Monarch aircraft.