This image was part of a sprawling and horrifying, special issue on climate change. I had been asked to create a couple of images that would be flexible enough to open the issue, and also fit in between a couple of articles that, at the time, were still being written. Working without finished copy is pretty common, but it's always a little tricky. In this case, my first ideas were OK, but slightly generic. Jane Palecek provided the perfect art direction: ‘I think they should be weird, and a little scary.’ That was all I needed to hear."