Week Summary - BA2a Week 12 (3-week development project week 2)

Potion flask

Looking at other items that could be found in a medieval fantasy setting, I thought that a potion bottle would be an essential. I started on silhouettes and found some I liked, but I had had the idea of a bottle that could hold multiple potions in different sections and I wanted to expand on it. Going further, one of my designs looked vaguely heart-like, and I realised that the atriums and ventricles of a heart would make good sections for a container, as well as being themed for health potions.

I found a 3D model of a heart as well as some reference images to help me get an understanding of what sections it's divided into. The anatomically correct sections I found didn't look as compelling from an artistic standpoint, so I took some artistic license with them to make the bottle a more pleasing shape.

I wanted the material for the flask to be coloured glass that's been pressed together while hot to form a single fused piece. Below are some preparatory studies for the final painting where I experimented with different brushes and layer modes to find the best method of rendering it. I found a base layer of colour overlaid with subsequent hard and soft light layers simulates the way light passes through glass really well, and also allows for a layer to be placed between the base and light layers for liquids inside the container.

Staff

The next item I chose is a druidic staff, used by spellcasters. I used some rough spatter brushes to make silhouettes to take shapes from, and from there produced some more refined versions.

I really enjoyed a lot of the designs below, and I ended up torn between two found in the image below; the far right design on the centre row and the one I ended up moving forward with, the design two places to the left of it. While I liked both designs, druidic magic is based on nature and organic materials, and I felt the latter design had more organic, plant-like shapes more inkeeping with a druidic theme.

The silhouette went through a little more refining to make more use of negative space and also to make it easier to wield. The original design would have been hard to hold, and had a lot of protruding sections which would make it difficult to move around, as well as it being quite solid and therefore heavy. The newer version was made much more streamlined and includes a grip section. I liked the idea of the staff's design reflecting intertwining branches, and used three different colours of wood to make this easier to see and to give the design some interest with regards to value and colour.

 For this particular design I went for a more hand-painted feel, as I think it gives the wood a very organic and soft look, allowing the grain of the wood to move with the shape and giving it the look of being delicately carved.