On a project like this, I knew given the time restrictions, there were going to be a majority of ride sections I wouldn’t have time to build and model in a 3D world, so I reached out to a dear friend of mine to sketch some preliminary storyboards of particularly important narrative moments and spaces I wanted to visualize.
One of the most important design tenets of this project for me is how style and form were speaking to the narrative itself. As I developed the project and the world, the more drawn I became to the history and scenic design of German Expressionism in conjunction with Mikhail Bulgakov’s work. The writing and attempted publishing of this book in Russia aligned directly with the rise of the Weimar Republic in Germany. This stark dichotomy of freedom and expression in Germany and restriction and censorship in Russia directly affected Bulgakov’s writing and ability to publish the book.
As an artist, generally, I work with a lot of color. I’m a maximalist at heart and will throw anything at the wall to see what sticks and instead of removing it, I often just add more until it becomes a massive collage. Not to say I’m not killing any darlings because I definitely am, but for this project I wanted to challenge myself. By restricting the form and the color palette, I was able to define exactly what the limits and rules of this world were in a way that’s relatively uncharacteristic to the rest of my body of work.
more detailed research and background here
One of the most important design tenets of this project for me is how style and form were speaking to the narrative itself. As I developed the project and the world, the more drawn I became to the history and scenic design of German Expressionism in conjunction with Mikhail Bulgakov’s work. The writing and attempted publishing of this book in Russia aligned directly with the rise of the Weimar Republic in Germany. This stark dichotomy of freedom and expression in Germany and restriction and censorship in Russia directly affected Bulgakov’s writing and ability to publish the book.
As an artist, generally, I work with a lot of color. I’m a maximalist at heart and will throw anything at the wall to see what sticks and instead of removing it, I often just add more until it becomes a massive collage. Not to say I’m not killing any darlings because I definitely am, but for this project I wanted to challenge myself. By restricting the form and the color palette, I was able to define exactly what the limits and rules of this world were in a way that’s relatively uncharacteristic to the rest of my body of work.
more detailed research and background here