Ba3b - Week 12 Summary

This week I started working on the cat characters room, which has a big spacious layout with plants and furniture. I firstly sketched out the stain glassed window seen below, getting a feel for where and how the windows will be placed, and how they will look. For the design of the windows, my friend mentioned Saint Francis of Assisi, a saint often associated with animals and natural environments. I thought it would work well, as my cat character likes water and would look up to someone like him. I would however have him with cat ears etc, as he has to stay in the lore.

(Saint Francis of Assisi)

Below is the final rough sketch I had of the room. I decided, again, to not do a spiral staircase as it didn't quite work in the corner of the room, and went with a normal staircase that turned around the corner. I also added some curving to the stairs/balcony, as well as the bridge going towards the gazebo island, as I thought it would feel more flowing and water inspired. For the gazebo, I found one from Leif Erickson Park that had a nice shape and had wave-like patterns on the roof part that I found aesthetically pleasing, so I want to take the general shape and design as inspiration. I sketchily blocked out the shapes for where the furniture will be placed so that I could get a better feel for the interior design of the room. I feel like the balcony has a lot of empty space below it, and thus doesn't have a very strong purpose in the rooms design. 

(Leif Erickson Park Gazebo)

I moved on and cleaned it up more, making neater lines and putting more details into the designs. I decided, due to the large amount of space under the balcony, to close up the stairs area creating less space, and adding mirrors and/or paintings on the walls. I pushed the balcony railing further and made it more wave-like, with the right side flowing down into the actual water with a waterfall. For the furniture on the balcony area, I used the drawings I had made previously as a guide. With areas such as the plant pots, I found ones with details on the side of the design, so did something inspired by it but with cat faces. I also decided that I would only colour with greys, as otherwise due to the amount of time left and what I have to do, I won't be able to finish with work I am happy with and will rush. It also allows me to work on just thinking about the lighting, something that I find enjoyable. I wanted the light to come from one source, the big window, so that its definitely the first thing your eye is drawn to. Below is the rough mockup of how it would look greyed out.

(x)

Below is the cleaning up process. It consists of a lot of redrawing lines and making things look neater. I decided to change the design of the bridge going over to the gazebo island, giving it a more intricate wave-like design that I feel is more readable and neater.

I cleaned up the window, and after doing some research realised that rococo interior design doesn't usually have stain glassed window and instead just has clear ones. For example, the Pilgrimage Church at Birnau has a very detailed interior, but the windows are clear and simple. I decided thus to leave it clear, but still keep the size and multiple frames. I changed the balcony handrail, giving it the same more delicate wave-like pattern across the top as the bridge. I think it helps keep the design neater, and doesn't distract from other elements such as the furniture. I also changed the stairs, making their design simple to compliment the balcony design.

(Pilgrimage Church at Birnau)

I cleaned up the furniture, and started working on the plants. For the gazebo, I decided to keep a simple design but have lots of ivy growing up and around the structure, which I want to be a contrast to the neatness of the rest of the rooms design. Due to the cat prince being rich and a royal family member, he can afford to keep everything neat and have gardeners to tend to his plants, and is also supposed to be prim and proper, so his room will feel neat and almost unlived in. I was thinking that the island is his own space where he can be himself and allow for his plants to grow more naturally. I also added other plants such as two weeping willows next to the window and two smaller plants near the door.

Below is its current lineart state. I added some plants on the balcony, two pots of neatly cut bamboo, and also a small table next to the bed with a lamp on it. I also gave the room some simple carpets, which I think helps bring the design together and makes it feel realistic.