The first concepts for the environment and setting of this game were provided by other members of the group. What we decided to go for was a sort of underground dungeon, permeated throughout with binding roots. The theme is a sort of magical prison, and so it should feel fairly mysterious and ethereal, yet oppressive and foreboding at the same time. Using these ideas as a starting point, I first toyed around with an idea for the outside of the prison, which should be at least predominantly underground and involve plenty of tree roots. Here are a few rough ideas:
However, this didn't really work, and the illustrations weren't particularly strong, so I left the exterior alone and focused on the inside. The first room I started working on was a large, cathedral-like space in which the player should first encounter the Golem enemies in the game. I began with a moodboard of relevant interiors and spaces, focusing on grand designs as well as library-like environments.
Crystal Room
The cathedral theme has clear implications of mysticism, grandeur and ancient importance, and I felt the inclusion of library aesthetics would add to the sense of age and forgotten learning. Following these influences I began the piece below.
As a starting point, it does work on some of the themes I wanted it to, and it does include some nice parts, but the illustrations is severely flawed, and even more cartooney than my work normally is. I'm not hugely experienced with environments, they are not quite my forte, and this weighed heavily on the piece. However, reconsidering this as a practice run, I saw what elements I liked and wanted to take forward, and also what parts I did not like. I also decided to work harder at establishing perspective before committing to paint (an error I make regularly) in order to make the scene read better and be more useful when it comes to building the space in 3D. I went back to the drawing board and produced some sketches.
A few of these designs read well, and had a strong sense of drama and atmosphere, and so I compiled a few of my favourite parts into a perspective plan for another go at a full colour piece.
This is not a perfect use of perspective, but it is much stronger thanks to taking the time to actually think about where objects should be placed in 3D space from a human perspective. Using this more in my work should hopefully improve it quite a bit. Once I had this foundation, with a bit of painting I got it to this stage:
This is a much more dramatic and interesting scene than the first attempt, but more importantly the sense of the room is conveyed in a much better way, and it is easier to place yourself in the space thanks to the more recognisable perspective. There are still some fairly noticeable issues with this, but it is still a great improvement on the oddly warped and confusing illustration I created the first time around. The lighting creates a feeling of intrigue which I think draws the eye to where I want it to go, and that sets the scene for what the player will encounter when they enter this room in-game.
Screaming Cells
I decided to give the rooms interesting names to keep their identities clear in my mind. It helps to set them apart a little. For this room, essentially a corridor with cells coming off of it and a larger chamber at the end, I decided to revisit the faces theme that came about when designing the Golem. I liked this sort of grotesque-like, Gothic aesthetic, and it seemed to lend an element of unsettling mystery to the place. I put together a moodboard of dungeon-like areas just to get some ideas.
Once again, I set up a perspective guide, and then began painting over it. This time, I went for a scheme of pretty much entirely green, but from shades of primary to a yellower tone.
The end result is once again pretty atmospheric, and the perspective helps place you in the scene. However, I feel this piece is a lot less successful than the Crystal Room one, especially due to the fairly haphazard application of textures over the painting. Overall though, it does get across what I wanted to with the room and how it should feel to the player entering it.
Threshold Steps
For the last room, I didn't create a moodboard. I wanted instead to throw together some ideas in a sketch and then paint it up to completion. I knew the rough dimensions and form of the space from an initial level layout sketch that was given to me, and so I drew these out and then began painting in some ideas for colour and lighting. A sort of Mount Doom-esque theme seemed appropriate for the final room, and I wanted to make it seem at least a little like a stage on which some grand event was going to occur.
I'm pretty happy with how this piece came together. It does contain plenty of perspective mistakes, again, as well as a numerous amount of other issues, but I do like the way the fiery glow plays off of the structure and the bridge. While I think the green magic could have been implemented better, it does have a dramatic and nicely contrasting aesthetic that draws your eye straight to the centre of action. As a dramatic final set, this should probably work quite well.
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