[FCG] Mushroom forest & ash swamp

[Myzel]

What I suggest we do is the following. We take Myzel's sketch as the basis for all other concepts. This means that we end up with three varieties of trees: my thin one and my huge one and Taijan's medium one (all of which should of course have a few variation models).

Taking Myzel's sketch as a basis, I think we should now concentrate primarily on undergrowth. Preferably that undergrowth shouldn't look awfully much like a toadstool. (Personally I even feel not all of the undergrowth necessarily needs to be fungal in nature.) I think we should be well off with about 2-3 pieces of undergrowth. The rest can be managed with existing flora.

Head of Concept Art, can you agree with this plan of action?

I indeed concur, sir Head of Lore.

I went through the thread and the following are the images that have some non-toadstool undergrowth concepts. I'm no big fan of any of them and I think we can do better.

[url=http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shroomtrees.jpg][img]http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8774/shroomtrees.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://img35.imageshack.us/i/trshrfor1e4.jpg/][img]http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9085/trshrfor1e4.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/Gnomenator/Nature/?action=view&current=TRShroomScale.jpg][img]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/Gnomenator/Nature/th_TRShroomScale.jpg[/img][/url]

Even though these are toadstool-like, I do like the left one:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg

[SamirA]

I really like your full compilation there Myzel. Seeing the bigger ones with the additional smaller more traditional mushrooms makes this feel more like a mushroom forest. That is what I was picturing myself when I said we needed more traditional mushrooms. I think that would make for a unique and fun environment. Really good work from my perspective.

Edit: While searching for some inspiration I came across this site. Here are some crazy mushrooms that may lead to some inspiration o rmay warrant inclusion in their own right.

http://ellerg.blogspot.com/2009/06/mind-blowing-mushrooms-10-unique.html

Edit: and here are some concepts I drew up.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/816/mushroomundergrowthconc.jpg

[Adanorcil]

Onwards, then.

[url=http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shroomtrees.jpg][img]http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8774/shroomtrees.th.jpg[/img][/url]

I thought this one was for the ash swamps, not the forest. But I may be wrong.

From the website Samir linked to, I like [url=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8DfUOJtGfL8/SiOgjSbt2RI/AAAAAAAACpU/LArn--_bOpU/s1600-h/chorioactis_geaster.jpg]this[/url] and [url=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8DfUOJtGfL8/SlR6Q0uMNRI/AAAAAAAAC3c/GnnC5tYxhc4/s1600-h/bird02.jpg]this[/url], especially the latter.

Even though these are toadstool-like, I do like the left one:
[url=http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg]http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg[/url]

The left one is indeed ok. Perhaps its 'cup' could be extended a little further down still to make it more funnel-shaped?

[Taijan]

I really like the concepts put up here. Myzel's fits my idea of how the forest should look the best. On a side note, I feel kind of awkward about the medium tree being considered mine. It was still Adanorcil's idea, I was just helping out by doing up that one. Really, they're all Ada's trees.

That being said, should we start drawing the variations for all the trees? And should we start drawing all the different angles in 2-d views so they're ready to be modelled, or should we concentrate on getting the undergrowth shrooms? Also, I personally think my first tree could be used as just one variation, and the rest of the medium sized Ada Trees should have a branched trunk like the skinny and fat varieties.

[Myzel]

Focus on smaller stuff. We don't really need different angles on these trees. I think the modelers can sort that out for themselves.

[Nalin]

Onwards, then.

[url=http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shroomtrees.jpg][img]http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8774/shroomtrees.th.jpg[/img][/url]

I thought this one was for the ash swamps, not the forest. But I may be wrong.

This concept was for the forest.

[Adanorcil]

That being said, should we start drawing the variations for all the trees? And should we start drawing all the different angles in 2-d views so they're ready to be modelled, or should we concentrate on getting the undergrowth shrooms?

The variations don't need to be drawn, that can be handled by the modelers. These are not sufficiently complex models for orthographics sketches, either. We can do without.

Also, I personally think my first tree could be used as just one variation, and the rest of the medium sized Ada Trees should have a branched trunk like the skinny and fat varieties.

That's also an option. I don't have any strong feelings either way.

This concept was for the forest.

I stand corrected.

[Lighter Than Some]

Just got out of college for the semester. Taking another course over the summer though starting in June. :\

Anyway. I tried coloring this in twice but photoshop kept closing on me for some reason. Program would shut down, no warning, no error message. Nothing in event log either. *shrug* Will try and explain the color scheme as best I can though.

[url]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5571/mushroomforest.png[/url]

The largest ones are a golden ochre [hex:BEA97B] that melds into a dark umber [hex:676050] where it reaches the trunk. The trunk is the same color.

The smallest ones on the ground are just vanilla morrowind shrooms luminous russula and violet coprinus.

The really low bowling ball shaped ones with the tendrils is Jule's carnivorous mushroom pot mixed with Llorin's pot. This one has its tendrils rooted within the pot. The pot is a pale cream [hex:DDD8CD] with slightly darker tendrils [hex:ADA89E].

Have knomey's fan shroom trees in there as well as the low stalk plants with the red bulbs and the coral looking small mushroom(#2 on his drawing), the first two with their original color schemes but the third with either light salmon [hex: D0B8A5] or bluish [hex:8195A3]

The wispy slender mushroom tree is based on Nalin's umbrella shroom from page two. [hex:536D80] but transparent with a similar colored stalk that fades to umber as it emerges from under the cap.

That last one with the little dingles in its root system is mine. That one's also a dark umber [hex: 66635D] and teal-ish pods. [hex:568593] The pods grow then split at the top to release spores. The dingles are a raspberry shade and very shiny [hex:AF4D5D]

[url]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1521/mushroomtree.png[/url]

Edit by Myzel: changed the images to links, because the forum stretch annoyed me.

[blade117]

Impressive work, Lighter Than Some (I see you've read The Cole Protocol). Too bad about photoshop not working... those would have looked even more epic in color.

[Myzel]

Nice to see you've got some time on your hands again Lighter.
I hope your photoshop isn't broken.

Now for an important message:
I've put up the ash swamp object claim, so further concepts for the swamp won't be necessary.

[RelinQ]

Hey thats a pretty cool concept lighter.

You know, the one thing I'm looking foward to in this region, besides all the great new models will be some new mushroom/fungi/spore-like ingredients ... (I hope )

[Archeopterix]

Hi all thse look really good.

I started a hypothetical lifecycle on the trees that look like oyster myshrooms, Catharsis wanted it and he also wants los of ash in the area, I thought if some of the mushrooms were in spore and reproducing that they would also add to the dusty ambience.

Crude concept here, but it gives you the jist of it:
[img]http://tesseract.ca/images/Renders/TR/MushTreeLifeVariation.jpg[/img]


And Early WIP mesh- needs more fruiting/lobe varieties and they need to be set cleaner, that is just a speed model I made & textured in about 1.5 h, so its far from final:
[img]http://tesseract.ca/images/Renders/TR/AR_MTree02.jpg[/img]

I have max 2009 so I can't import to dirctly MW anymore, so I will have to export to an obj.

When I used to make models way back when I just would Hex edit the nifs and textures but I'm not sure if that will work any more. We'll see, I'll concentrate on making the items and some variety and then worry about imprtation later.

I like the idea of the blue moss, that will really pop out in this orange and brown and grey dominant forest.

[Archeopterix]

[url=http://img35.imageshack.us/i/trshrfor1e4.jpg/][img]http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9085/trshrfor1e4.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Even though these are toadstool-like, I do like the left one:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg

I have something like that middle "white fungus" squiggle mushroom that I made when I was just goofing around with the Oblivion CS:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Archeopterix/Max/OblivionCS/Scribble.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Archeopterix/Max/OblivionCS/Scribble2.jpg[/img]

It could be simplified and the colors toned down and used and morrowind-ified.

[gro-Dhal]

That's fucking mental, like something out of Summerset Isle

[blade117]

It's like playing Oblivion while on LSD (not that I would know). That is insane

[Adanorcil]

I started a hypothetical lifecycle on the trees that look like oyster myshrooms, Catharsis wanted it and he also wants los of ash in the area, I thought if some of the mushrooms were in spore and reproducing that they would also add to the dusty ambience.

The Lan Orethan forest doesn't have any ash in it; that's the ash swamp.

[Katze]

These mushrooms are for the Othreleth woods, not the Lan Orethan.

[Adanorcil]

These mushrooms are for the Othreleth woods, not the Lan Orethan.

I got my names wrong, yeah, sorry. But still, the mushroom forest we've been designing here doesn't have ash in it.

[Lighter Than Some]

I love the life cycle Archeopterix Looks good. Interesting too. If we made models of all that that would really add diversity to the forest.

Being a mushroom forest it might well look a little bit dusty in atmosphere with all the spores being released. Like pixie dust. x) (not overly mind you, would be cool for oblivion but would cut down frame rate for morrowind severly)

[url=http://www.stevegettle.com/uploads/shroomcloud.jpg][spores click me][/url]

[Archeopterix]

Thanks. I don't know how to do particles but it would be better to just make it like smoke and then have the piles of spores just as a simple mesh I think. And you're right, it needs to be done sparingly. It would be cool if the spores and fruiting stages were a bit luminescent at the bulbs too, what do you think?

I can model these.

Edit: speleeng

That's fucking mental, like something out of Summerset Isle

Thanks Here's my screwball Oblivion test mesh island
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v236/Archeopterix/Max/OblivionCS/ hehe

Even though these are toadstool-like, I do like the left one:
[url=http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg]http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/677/mushroomconcepts.jpg[/url]

The left one is indeed ok. Perhaps its 'cup' could be extended a little further down still to make it more funnel-shaped?[/quote]

I like the "starfish" one quite a lot.

[Adanorcil]

Thanks. Very Happy I don't know how to do particles but it would be better to just make it like smoke and then have the piles of spores just as a simple mesh I think. And you're right, it needs to be done sparingly. It would be cool if the spores and fruiting stages were a bit luminescent at the bulbs too, what do you think?

We decided against luminescence earlier in the thread, because it would the rather 'obvious' way to go.

[Myzel]

Listen to Adan. He's said some important things.

I have a feeling that anything like sporeclouds and dusty air will look absolutely awful in the morrowind engine, but I can be proven wrong. Dustpiles seem a little odd too, since spores don't generally group up in piles.

Otherwise, good stuff. Let me give a precautionary note that I'd like any progress on the models to be posted elsewhere (like the modeling forum). Just to keep this thread nice and tidy, and about concept art.

[Thrignar Fraxix]

Dusty air would be bad. Perhaps the occasional spore cloud activator around a few plants of a certain variety could be nice in my opinion though. (spaced out enough to not cause FPS probelms)

[Archeopterix]

You can do sporeprints of muchroom and if left long enough with a large enough mushroom the spore print does indeed make piles. Think of all the spores in a puffball mushroom, for example.

The spores were an idea to add to Cath's idea of it being very hazy.

Shame about no luminescence though, i think it make s a very beautiful and exotic looking worldspace.

[Haplo]

Shame about no luminescence though, i think it make s a very beautiful and exotic looking worldspace.

This may be true, but it's not the look we are trying to achieve with this region.

[Taijan]

[url=http://img693.imageshack.us/i/smallmushrooms.jpg/][img]http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/1850/smallmushrooms.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Here's a few quick sketches of smaller mushrooms that are designed for mushroom "bushes" and undergrowth. I can do some in more detail if need be.

[Myzel]

I like those. All three designs have potential I think. I feel those cups on the end of the stalks aren't quite right though. In fact, I think they would be fine being just stalks without ending in something.

Anyhow, nice concepts.

[Wingate]

Hey, newbie here. I was told of this topic and had a fairly decent idea for it.

Just wondering, is there a "height limit" to objects and landscapes of morrowind? If not, I had an idea for the mushroom forest that may work:
Very tall (say, almost as tall as the elevation of Red Mountain), skinny stalks of bright-white mushroom fungus that end in orang'ish, smoothly-flattened caps. I'd figure it'd be a great contrast to morrowind's "murky" environment.

Here is a very rough, quick and uncolored sketch I did about five minutes ago. Some caps are obviously more flat than others for the sake of diverse mushrooms, as well as the "side stalks" that stick out and the bulbous fungi at the base and sides. The broken scanner doesn't do it much justice, but you get the point:


[img]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7657/mushroomforest1.png[/img][/img]

[Myzel]

Hey, newbie here. I was told of this topic and had a fairly decent idea for it.

Just wondering, is there a "height limit" to objects and landscapes of morrowind? If not, I had an idea for the mushroom forest that may work:
Very tall (say, almost as tall as the elevation of Red Mountain), skinny stalks of bright-white mushroom fungus that end in orang'ish, smoothly-flattened caps. I'd figure it'd be a great contrast to morrowind's "murky" environment.

I´m sorry, but I´d have to say that is a pretty bad idea. If only for the fact that not everyone uses MGE, and without that it would just be stalks vanishing into the fog. And for those that do have MGE, the forest would look rather ridiculous from a distance.

Mushrooms as tall as red mountain would probably kill my suspension of disbelief.

[Adanorcil]

Mushrooms as tall as red mountain would probably kill my suspension of disbelief.

And your computer with it.

Taijan, I'm ok with all those concepts. I like the left most best, on the condition that it is made sufficiently clear that the little 'arms' are made to look dry and wood-like. Just wouldn't want them to like tentacles with suction pads, you know.

[Wingate]

Ah, ok. I wasn't aware it would require mge would be required. Perhaps they could be as tall as trees, or something to that effect.

Either way, these concept pics I'm looking at for the "fungi forest" look very good and quite "finished." I'm assuming that the concept part is drawing to a completion for this (or maybe not?).

[SamirA]

Somewhat. Read through the posts on page four and mainly the first one by Myzel to see where the forest is going. From that you will see where concepts are still needed. Mostly in smaller items.

[Wingate]

Okay, I think I understand. The "tree's" of the forest seem to be taken care of, and I also like Taijan's shorter fungi for "bushes" and the like. What about the land itself? I'd imagine it could be almost entirely swamp or unstable ground in another way (bumpy, slimy looking). I'm thinking of the areas that you find all over Vvardenfel that have lily pads and draggie tails. I'll get to drawing if anyone needs some stuff for that.

Also, the only thing I could think of for the ash swamp is just generic dead trees and the like.

Also, perhaps a noob question, but I haven't seen any posts relating to an answer... will their be any settlements in this area? Anything ranging from an inn rest-stop or encampment to perhaps a small village? If it's all swamp and fungus, it wouldn't make sense for the locals to build houses that might just end up rotting away anyway. But still, there could be some hermit that lives in a carved out fungus tree. And I'm sure it'd be boring if the entire place had no sort of life in it. Just wondering.

[SamirA]

I don't believe we have finalized the smaller items for the Mushroom forest yet. Some ideas have been thrown out but more are always welcome. The Ash Swamp has been finalized I believe and I'm pretty sure there will indeed be settlements in the area.

[Wingate]

I got out my felt tip markers and drew up a small village of assorted homes made out of mushrooms and the ground. Then I made a mistake and colored it before scanning. I can still make more, but in the future they'll be black/white with some gray.

Anyway, here's an idea of homes I drew up for a settlement pertaining to that area. If the Ash swamps (as dead and lifeless as they sound like) need some living places, I'll draw up some for that, too.

[img]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9200/mshrmsettlement.png[/img]

EDIT: didn't want to double post, so here's a couple of primitive mushroom homes (perhaps shanties?) and a makeshift alchemy shop at the bottom corner.

[img]http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/821/mshrmshantyhousesandapo.png[/img]

[Thrignar Fraxix]

we won't be making houses out of the mushrooms

[Wingate]

Aw, shucks. So, I guess I should stick with wood and stone?

[Thrignar Fraxix]

we actually plan to just use architecture based on the local great house, like we've done for every other region.

[Wingate]

Ah, ok. I didn't think about the Great House-based architectures, sorry.

Anyway, I decided that I could go with an hour of no sleep or two, and I drew up some fungi-shrubbery ideas in my sketchbook:

[img]http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6351/mshrmshrubbery1.png[/img]

My favorites are 1 and 3. And I apologize, once again, for the broken scanner that keeps blurring certain areas.

[SamirA]

I too must say that I like numbers 1 and 3 very nice.