Welcome to Darwin IV, an alien world unlike any other. An analysis of the speculative biology of Wayne Barlowe’s incredible book ‘Expedition.’ Perhaps no single artist has had a greater impact on how we imagine alien life than Wayne Barlowe. Widely considered the father of modern Speculative Biology, Barlowe has worked for decades as a creature designer for everything from Avatar to Pacific Rim. Yet perhaps Barlow’s most monumental alien world comes from his book ‘Expedition’ — which depicts an extraterrestrial ecosystem with so much detail that reading it feels like getting lost on another planet. The book was even made into a TV special for the Discovery Channel called ‘Alien Planet,’ which was honestly one of my favorite things to watch as a kid. The world at the center of the book and documentary — called ‘Darwin IV’ — is one I’ve wanted to document myself for a long time.