These days everyone knows the inner workings of the Alien universe, but back in the late 70's, no one knew how big the movie that started it all would be. Thankfully, they definitely had a good idea of what this universe was going to look like via concept art.
Mostly done by H.R. Giger, Chris Foss, and Ron Cobb, the concept art for Alien is beautiful and terrifying, much like the film itself. Not only did these pieces of art influence the film, but would inspire the directors of many movies to come, even those outside of the Alien universe.
Moebius' Engineer
Long before Prometheus retconned their purpose, the engineer was one of the biggest mysteries in cinematic history. Many who left the theater after seeing Alien were perhaps wondering what the engineer was. What was their purpose? Why were the alien eggs on their ship?
This piece of concept art by famed French comic book artist Jean Giraud, who went by the pen name Moebius, is an early glimpse at what the figure would've looked like. Fun fact, Moebius actually worked on Alejandro Jodorowsky's failed Dune film with writer Dan O' Bannon and artist H.R. Giger.
H.R. Giger's Space Jockey Cockpit
Not long after Ridley Scott signed on as director, he became enraptured by the work of H.R. Giger, who had a tendency to create surrealist biological art. Giger would soon be brought aboard the project, giving everything around the xenomorph his signature style.
Giger's design for the interior of the space jockey is a perfect representation of what the eccentric artist brought to the table. Gorgeous yet eerie, Giger's artwork for the cockpit was adapted very faithfully by the final film.
Ron Cobb's Nostromo
Although Giger's work on Alien is phenomenal, another artist who inspired the look of the movie is the late, very great Ron Cobb. The artist's work gave life to the more human side of Alien, with a lot of his work on The Nostromo being preserved.
One of Cobb's pieces of art for the bridge of The Nostromo feels like something from a Star Wars movie, being far more beautiful than the final product. It's stunning artwork despite feeling a bit out of place in the Alien universe.
H.R. Giger's Space Jockey
If there is a visual that will haunt fans of both Alien and Aliens outside of the classic xenomorph design, it is the space jockey. The space jockey's design feels like it was designed by someone on a completely different planet from everyone around him.
H.R. Giger was that person. If the likes of the space jockey was what he could come up with while he was awake, it's terrifying to imagine what lied within his dreams.
Ron Cobb's Alternate Nostromo Design
Ron Cobb also did some art for the planet LV-426, depicting the scene where The Nostromo lands on the planet. The art also gives the viewer a glimpse of a very different planet design, which oddly looks very similar to the prison planet in Alien 3.
Visible in the art are the characters Dallas, Lambert, and Kane, all heading towards their doom. The alternate ship design is awe-inspiring, however it may have also inspired snickers from the less mature, so it's perhaps wise that they went in the direction they did.
Chris Foss' Derelict Ship
Before the space jockey was finalized, there were a lot of opinions on what is should look like. Despite much of his work for Alien being jettisoned, artist Chris Foss' work is still worthy of note, being an absolute treat for the eyes.
Foss' designs for the future space jockey feels like it's from an Indiana Jones movie, with a greater sense of grandeur than Giger's more creepy work. Though Giger's work is iconic, Chris Foss' gives fans a glimpse into what the film could've looked like.
Chris Foss' Medbay
This glimpse at the medbay of The Nostromo is one of the few pieces of Chris Foss' work that made it into the movie. The medbay is the location where the crew attempts to remove the facehugger from the doomed executive officer Kane.
The facehugger is the brain-child of H.R. Giger, but the environment around it comes from the sketches by Chris Foss. Foss actually had some insight on the facehugger, claiming in an interview that the scene comes from when O'Bannon experienced stomach pains after eating bad fast food.
Ron Cobb's Space Jockey
Alongside Giger and Foss, artist Ron Cobb also provided work for what the space jockey from Alien could look like. Here the space jockey looks like the temple of an ancient, eldritch god straight out of the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Cobb's vision of the space jockey feels quite mythological, almost Conan-esque, which makes sense as Cobb would go on to work on Conan The Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cobb's version of the space jockey does sadly feel a bit familiar, whereas Giger's is more...alien.
H.R. Giger's Facehugger
Alien's facehugger feels like something that H.R. Giger was born to design. Though the outcome of the facehugger's attack on Kane is what gave audiences nightmares, the design of the facehugger is even more disturbing.
Here the facehugger still seems to be attached to Kane's helmet, which has an eyebrow raising addition. The design of the facehugger was slavishly recreated for the final film, with the creature being a defining staple of the Alien universe.
H.R. Giger's Necronom IV
The one piece of art that inspired the whole franchise, Giger's Necronom IV was cited by Dan O'Bannon as what he envisioned the creature would look like when he wrote Alien. The design is easily identifiable, as the design of the xenomorph in the movie is almost identical.
With that being said, the design was obviously modified, as the painting is extremely phallic and looks a bit too fleshy. Though compromises had to be made, the inspiration for what would become Alien is apparent in H.R. Giger's Necronom IV.