Behind the Scenes: Pirate Cove (Patreon)

Sometimes, instead of browsing through my notes and list of ideas, I get instant inspiration from a comment suggestions on Youtube or Instagram. It just connects and I have to go and make the thing. Recently someone suggested a pirate theme, and I realized I only made something like that once.

Of course, that's a really wide suggestion, so I thought about different ways this might go. When I get excited about a new theme, I always try to connect with a new stylistic approach as well. I mostly established myself as isometric designer, but occasionally I like to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

This isn't always easy, but if you thematically join it with something you are hyped for, it's a bit easier.

Visit the full Pinboard here

I wanted to make a perspective diorama for a while. Not only in terms of camera properties, but view angle and surrounding environment as well, joined by very strong depth of field and foreground - background separation.

I went online and started my search for references. I was looking for both pirate themes and stylistically matching artworks with the camera and lighting I wanted to go for. I saved everything to Pinterest board and only then proceed to PureRef, to re-organize, group, crop and filter out different details I wanted to include.

I really loved some building ideas, with parts made out of ships and ship wrecks, so I built the reference palette with a focus on that. 

Before I commit to long modeling hours, it just doesn't hurt to give an hour or so to sketching. No matter the sketch quality, the process helps you to test out the ideas and sort through the reference palette, trying out different placements for all the details. 

Sometimes, the most valuable thing you learn during the sketch phase is what not do to and what details you need to leave out to prevent the scene becoming unreadable and cluttered.

I drafted two separate building stages with roofs made out of ship hulls and tried to include some ship-resembling details. Like the patio, windows and decorated roof shield made to look like a ship's aft. Also, placing a mast with crow's nest really helped me to sell the ship and pirate theme.

You can watch the process video on Youtube.