For the third and final task of this summer project, our final outcome has to be a triptych (a 3 part image) of a forgotten object; We have to work to visually give the viewer some context of this object, answering questions such as ‘is the object ever found?’, ‘how has time affected the appearance of the object?’ and ‘will the object ever find new life?’. I’ve already given this task some thought, and I know what I want to create; a drawing of a lost sword, abandoned in the forest. The sword is tattered and rusty, but emits a bright and mystical light that illuminates everything around it. It’s eventually found by a young and wimpy elf boy; I aim on creating two short animations as an opening and an ending to the picture, to show the elf discovering it. I’ve come up with a short story for this sword;
‘Long ago in the mystical world of Alberon, demons escaped from the underworld and threatened to invade the peaceful elf kingdom. The elves, with their backs against the wall, prayed to the goddess for a way to defend their land, and in response, she sent a powerful enchanted blade, Cerulean. Not only was cerulean charged with heavenly magic, but he could take on the form of an elf and speak to his wielders to guide them to victory. This powerful sword could only be wielded by a hero pure of heart; For generations, he was passed down to strong and noble elves, who used his power to fend off the demons. However, as time went on, news of cerulean’s power had spread and caught the attention of all types of elves who wanted to use his power for selfish reasons, or sell him for a hefty price. On a fateful day, cerulean’s wielder at the time was ambushed by a band of thieves, and the sword was stolen as he was defeated. Cerulean’s power, however, only worked if a noble hero fought with him, and was rendered powerless in the hands of his tainted new owners. Without the power of the sword the elves were helpless, and the demons took over their kingdom.
100 years passed since the demon invasion, and cerulean had become somewhat of a myth, his whereabouts unknown. Demons were the new leaders of Alberon, with elves reduced to a slave race who spent their lives serving the demons. One of many slaves was kyubi, a small and skinny elf who wasn’t good for much; he seemed to mess up everything he touched, causing him to be an object of hatred for elves and demons alike. Still, Kyubi kept his head held high and tried his best with every task he was given; where he lacked in skill, he made up for in ambition and optimism. One day, Kyubi is sent on a dangerous mission; there has been a mysterious glowing in the dangerous woods for about a month, and everyone who has been sent to find it’s source hasn’t returned. Kyubi is sent out into the forest alone to investigate; however, strange glowing spheres lead him to a tattered sword stuck in a rock, emitting an icy and bright light. After some struggling, Kyubi manages to pull it out, and to his surprise it floats up, repairs itself and takes the form of a tall and handsome young elf, dressed in an odd manor and with a confident and booming voice. The sword informs Kyubi that it is the fabled blade Cerulean, and that it’s purpose is to accompany a young hero in defeating the demons. Shocked to find out that he has been asleep for 100 years, Cerulean lets Kyubi know that he is the pure hearted hero of this generation, and that he must get strong enough to restore peace to the elven kingdom. Will kyubi be able to fend off the demons and lead a rebellion with Cerulean by his side, or will the demons prevail?’
This story straight away paints an image in my head of what kind of imagery will be present in my triptych; a wild forest, a magical sword, a young elf boy and possibly some demons. I feel that things that will make this piece effective are the angle, the small details and the lighting. The lighting is especially important in creating a magical atmosphere, as it can add a mystical tint to everything. The background is also important, which will be a challenge for me; I usually draw people and not backgrounds, so it’s a fun opportunity to present myself with the task of drawing something new. If I have the time, I’d also like to do short animations of Kyubi finding the sword and pulling it out of the ground, and of Cerulean’s spirit waking up.
With my story down, I was ready to start creating my moodboard.
I also included a lot of magical forest pictures, and I found some interesting features that I’d like to try out; firstly, the compositions place the object of importance a little higher than everything else, which guides the viewer’s eyes to it. This is effective because even without a clear background to the image, You can tell what is important and probably plays a big role in the story. The lighting in the forests is also usually quite dim, creating a sense of intimacy; it makes it feel like the person in the forest is somehow meant to be there, and similarly to the soft yellow lights I used in my photography experiments, it feels homely. It lets the viewer know that the character in the scene is safe.
I added some nerdy and friendly looking characters as inspiration for Kyubi; I want him to look helpless and wimpy, but also polite and friendly. I’m not sure if I’ll include the demons in my triptych, but I also added some inspiration for them in case I do; they have to look strong and menacing, capable of destroying a whole kingdom and enslaving it’s people. Lastly, the wildlife in the forest can be quite effective in setting the overall mood and atmosphere; things like glowing plants and mushrooms add an extra air of mystery and magic.
After creating my moodboard, I had a look at some triptychs, to familiarise myself with what they are. Some triptychs depict one image split into 3 parts, While some are 3 different images that connect to each other; I think I prefer the former, as it paints a clearer picture of what’s going on and allows you to just focus on one scenario wholeheartedly.
To conclude, there are 3 things I aim on having completed in the following weeks; A triptych depicting the moment Kyubi finds the sword, a short animation for a prologue where kyubi is walking through the forest and discovers the sword, and an after scene animation where kyubi awakens Cerulean. I want the triptych to be 3 different drawings depicting one image, with the middle one being the focal point of the whole thing, and I’ll draw a sword in a mystical forest.