Process of Art - The Sinkhole Shanties

When we think about how we construct our PDFs, art comes into mind. There is one thing to simply tell you what something looks like and to let your imagination take control. And there is another thing to simply show you what our vision is via art.

We also try to make our PDFs as professional looking as possible. To pour in details to help create the feeling of the world right into the pages. It might seem a bit obnoxious to hear, but it really does help sell what's being presented to you if the art is spot on.

I wanted to show the process we take with just one art piece out of many with our PDFs. This particular art piece is just one header on a page to present to you what the Sinkhole Shanties looks like in Outset. And the stages and adjustments we have to go through to get it right.

The artist who is working with us on these pieces is SaltyJub on Twitter.

This was the original idea. To show that a lot of people spent their time in the sinkhole. Was there trade here? What kind of people lived here? Was there any joy? What power players existed? There is a lot of questions to answer when showing off a place where people lived.

As amazing as the draft is however, our goal shifted with this piece. And we wanted to show off the scale of the location. Doing a small snippet of life didn't achieve our goal of an overview of the area. We wanted to show off how vast this area is. And how many adventures you could make with this.

With some feedback and adjustment, we got to this stage. This is where we also talk about set pieces, and the stories they tell. Along with the types of details we have to be careful of, or else the illusion falls short.

One of the big set pieces that stands out is the skull. The issue this presents is the staging of it, and the lore reason of it. As much as it's cool to have, it doesn't fit the feel of the shanties here. Skulls or body parts of long past adventurers or unfortunate foes of the residents hung around can indicate hostility, danger, warning. A place where ventured into is to immediately be on high alert. Basically, a dungeon. This isn't what we wanted to go for.

We wanted to portray sorrow, adaptability, dread, desperation, content, unfortunate circumstance, opportunity, secrets, and a hint of home. There is a bit of charm seeing these types of settlements. Looking upon the resilience of those who live there, who dare look into the pit and can actually survive. Regardless of the cutthroats, gangs, and horrors that prey on them.

So, we made some adjustments.

This is the current work in progress of the scene. We replaced the skull with a modified airship, indicating a story to possibly be told there. Maybe it becomes a place of governance? Does a hang live there? Maybe an arena?

With the different layers we look to sell the scope of this area. Miles upon miles of slapped together buildings present the determination of those hopeful of a better life. Individuals struggling to survive in such a self constructed jungle.

We hope you enjoy the finalized piece once the PDF comes out in a couple of months. And I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look! To translate the vision to a visual medium is always a task. And we thank SaltyJub for working with us to achieve this.

Thank you all for your continued support!

- ZoranTheBear