Concept Development
Wispwood - World Development
The development of Wispwood began with a single tree - The Quaking Aspen.
I was on a camping trip when I heard the roar of an aspen tree, its leaves sounding like ocean waves as they rustled in the wind. After doing some research, I found out that not only is this “Trembling Giant” one of the oldest, largest, and heaviest organisms in the world, it also has a lot of mythology surrounding it.
Some believe the Quaking Aspen to be the bridge to the spirit world, some believe their leaves can make one speak more eloquently if placed beneath the tongue. Ultimately, the tree has a diverse history in spirituality.
I wanted to explore my own take on that - how could I make the tree even more magical? So I leaned into the markings on its bark where the branches fell off, markings that look remarkably like eyes. In my 2D Animation section, I even animate the eyes moving and blinking. I also decided that the roaring leaves should sparkle, their look matching their sound.
If I’m going to have a magical forest that humans interact with, where are they going to live? That is the source of my exploration here, to create a house that somehow matches the spirituality of an aspen tree.
In my research, I was most drawn to the neo-gothic pastiche of some midwestern small towns, which comes in the form of odd colors, complicated structures and additions, and steeply pitched roofs. More specifically, this house is inspired by houses in Marquette, Michigan, a place defined by its brittle winters and remote location.
So now that the house looks weird, what about it ties in the magical nature surrounding it? Well, it turns out that American’s have sourced a lot of spiritual wards from their diverse ancestors. The Hawthorne Branch over the front door is a practice from the Celts, to ward off evil from entering the home. The Hex Sign is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition to not only ward off evil, but bring luck to the home or farm. The Witch Window is a Salem tradition - if the windows on your second floor are diagonal, a witch wont be able to fly through (obviously). Finally, the Bottle Tree is a West African tradition, in which the bottles trap evil spirits.
and my most recent composition.
Then begins the composition. Here is my exploration into the color pallet of this visual world, as well as some compositions I could use for a comprehensive illustration. I loved any composition that employed framing, as it gave this voyeuristic look I was going for. I also ended up opting for a largely yellowish “sepia” color pallet to match the creepy, magical vibe of the forest .
Finally, here is my first composition,
