Post-apocalyptic
The idea of a post-apocalyptic environment was born from my interest in different media, be it games or animation, where nature has begun to take back the landscape from the cities.
I've begun by taking picture reference from a tree to gain an understanding of how the branches and trunk form around one another. I've also drawn a sketch of the tree so I could examine it while there, instead of from a picture.
After doing a rough sketch of the tree I've decided to begin doing some drawings, using two-point perspective, of a street of houses where a tree has grown through the middle of one of the houses.
I've begun by starting to figure out in what ways could the tree be sprouting out from within the building, be it through a window, roof or out from a wall where it has crumbled.
I've then started to think of exactly what this building should look like, as I believe in order to know exactly where the branches will extrude from I must first know exactly what the building is.
I have decided to experiment with a more town-based setting compared to the traditional city-based setting seen in most post-apocalyptic media.
I've decided upon making the front of the image be this corner building where a pub or other frequented place would be. I then made a difference in the heights of the roofs to separate the focus building from the surroundings.
I've now returned the rough outline of the tree and begun mapping out where holes in the roof tiling or a window need to be in order for the branches to break out from within the building.
I then started to think of where to take the concept. I've come up with ideas, either keep with a post-apocalyptic setting on the surface or the ruins of a town underwater.
I then decided to draw the details of the building, and then begin to colour it in and remove the construction lines from the vanishing points.
I'm using textured photos I've taken in order to give colour and texture to certain parts of the building, I will go in later and colour this part myself.
I've decided to continue with the above-ground postapocalyptic setting, where I've begun to implement shadows and details of the path. I've also begun to think of a name for this pub building, where I came up with the name "The Night's Cradle" as the name implies it is a place of rest wherein an RPG setting you may return at night to seek salvation or to restock and recoup before continuing the game.
The next steps in the concept would be to add damage to the building as well as detail to the tree. I also intend to create the ruins where the buildings used to be, as well as add debris in the foreground of the concept. Moreover, I also need to work out how to do the holes in the roof and wall/windows where the tree is sticking out from.
In order to make the gaps in the wall, where the tree is extruding from, look realistic, I used photos from google images, as I don't have a destroyed building readily available,
Before I implemented this though I decided to redraw the tree to look closer to the reference image which resulted in this ominous look that could be used to give it a different atmosphere to that originally intended, this could either be a flaw or to my benefit depending on how I decide to take the concept forward.
Further work is needed on the tree to sharpen the branches and add detail, and I also need to add the holes in the roof. In order to continue these, I need to look at some reference images to see how to make a hole in a tiled roof.
I've got to a stage where I'm done with the initial design of the central building and I'm starting to sketch up the ruins surrounding it. I also have more detailing work to do on the tree and central building. For example, the colour of the building needs to be faded and the nameplate sign on the front needs to be blended in more and not just be a text slapped on top.
I feel at this point that this isn't a great piece, but with work, it can be made better. I drew this piece directly onto my laptop so there was no linework underneath, as I used the ruler tool to be more accurate. In the future, I shall draw it on paper then digitise it and not go over linework. However, I hope that in the future I'll get to a stage where I'll be confident to just draw freehand on my pieces when using my laptop.