I'm bumping this hoping that someone has something they need sketched? I don't know, I'll take whatever's thrown at me really if it's an animal/plant.
Crucifigo's Concept Art
Moderator: Lead Developers
Here are the TR creatures. I included the Daedra (which might not be needed for the book - I just like them), but not the Dwemer machines nor the undead.
Sketches of the flora and fauna of Morrowind Mainland will be put into a series of books.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Sketches of the flora and fauna of Morrowind Mainland will be put into a series of books.
Let me know if you need anything else.
I had the idea to have separate books concerning flora and/or fauna for different regions written by Dunmer authors, and a general Morrowind flora and fauna book (or one for each topic) written commissioned by the Empire, which would contain the most common species in the province.
Just now during lunch I was thinking about these books. Maybe the books about the flora and fauna in the different regions are written by different authors, as someone from the region would probably know most about the regional stuff. If this would be the case, they'd probably have different drawing styles. I don't know if this proposition if possible and if it's a pain in the ass for the one actually drawing the art, but I think it would be cool.
Just now during lunch I was thinking about these books. Maybe the books about the flora and fauna in the different regions are written by different authors, as someone from the region would probably know most about the regional stuff. If this would be the case, they'd probably have different drawing styles. I don't know if this proposition if possible and if it's a pain in the ass for the one actually drawing the art, but I think it would be cool.
I can definitely do that. Maybe the more complex art should be used in the Morrowind books, while the Imperial book art is simpler and better for quick identification.klep wrote:I had the idea to have separate books concerning flora and/or fauna for different regions written by Dunmer authors, and a general Morrowind flora and fauna book (or one for each topic) written commissioned by the Empire, which would contain the most common species in the province.
Just now during lunch I was thinking about these books. Maybe the books about the flora and fauna in the different regions are written by different authors, as someone from the region would probably know most about the regional stuff. If this would be the case, they'd probably have different drawing styles. I don't know if this proposition if possible and if it's a pain in the ass for the one actually drawing the art, but I think it would be cool.
I hadn't actually thought of that yet, but rather using different styles for the different Dunmer artists as to differentiate the books a bit. Your idea to differentiate the Dunmer from the Imperial drawing style is a good one as well, though one might argue that they would actually have quite detailed art in order to point out the specifics (danger zones) of species.
I would argue that the Imperial books would contain the more naturalistic art style. Dunmer art, at least as depticted in the game, is almost always, if not always, stylized.
Also, the dunmer don't seem all that interested in what we know as the natural sciences, and thus likely wouldn't care much for having exact or detailed drawings.
Perhaps the dunmer books could have a small fable attached to each creature, explaining the particularities of the species in more poetic terms, while the Imperial book would have more of an Age of Enlightenment-approach? I think this would better further the identities of the two respective cultures.
Edit: I took a look at the page you linked in your original post, Crucifigo. Your writing really stands out. I like the style of your fauna-entries. In my mind, they'd be perfect for the Imperial fauna-book.
Also, the dunmer don't seem all that interested in what we know as the natural sciences, and thus likely wouldn't care much for having exact or detailed drawings.
Perhaps the dunmer books could have a small fable attached to each creature, explaining the particularities of the species in more poetic terms, while the Imperial book would have more of an Age of Enlightenment-approach? I think this would better further the identities of the two respective cultures.
Edit: I took a look at the page you linked in your original post, Crucifigo. Your writing really stands out. I like the style of your fauna-entries. In my mind, they'd be perfect for the Imperial fauna-book.
That makes sense too. I can definitely see arguments for both sides but whatever fits best in-game is the better choice. I can do thick-lined un-detailed for the dunmeri versions. Fortunately that will take much less time than the minimum of an hour of constant work on one small picture.EJRS wrote:I would argue that the Imperial books would contain the more naturalistic art style. Dunmer art, at least as depticted in the game, is almost always, if not always, stylized.
Also, the dunmer don't seem all that interested in what we know as the natural sciences, and thus likely wouldn't care much for having exact or detailed drawings.
Perhaps the dunmer books could have a small fable attached to each creature, explaining the particularities of the species in more poetic terms, while the Imperial book would have more of an Age of Enlightenment-approach? I think this would better further the identities of the two respective cultures.
Edit: I took a look at the page you linked in your original post, Crucifigo. Your writing really stands out. I like the style of your fauna-entries. In my mind, they'd be perfect for the Imperial fauna-book.
Thank you! It's been a little hobby of mine I go back to on and off, I've put a lot of time into it. It's honestly the only time I don't loathe writing. I'd be more than happy to write book entries.
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Tondollari
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TR's fauna (and flora) are of very mixed quality, and we haven't put too much thought into what critters we consider 'keepers' and which we eventually plan to improve or discard, let alone stuff like distribution and stats. (Correct me if I'm wrong).
As such, for projects like this, I'd prioritize the most polished creatures and -- unless you are fine with your work possibly getting cut later down the line -- ignore some of the shoddier work. Here's how I personally would sort the creatures above:
Hoom, Velk, Swamp Troll, any vanilla creature you feel like drawing: these are solid, and I don't see us replacing them. The swamp troll is fairly niche, the hoom and velk however are more mainstream for their regions, and probably belong in a generic Morrowind bestiary.
Beetles, Molecrab, Muckleech(?), Muskfly, Nixmount: these are of mixed quality; they're all based on vanilla assets, but we may still want to improve them to bring them in line with our other stuff later down the line; I'm not sure.
Barfish, Eyestar, Ornada, Parastylus, Sea Crab, Tully: these are also of mixed quality, and may get improved. I like them for the most part, though the barfish is rather generic.
Dridrea, Vermai: these are Daedra, not native to Morrowind. Especially the vermai.
Cephalopod, Rats, Plainstrider: these one may well get replaced, or at least improved; I'd leave off of them, at least for now.
Butterfly, Sky Render: these ones are getting replaced.
I'd personally stick to a generic art style for now, perhaps non-Dunmer. (I'd avoid conflating Imperial with real-world western, by the way; if you want straight real-world western influences, I'd generally peg them on High Rock, and even then it's best to add a twist, making them darker or weirder or more magical. Even vanilla makes that distinction; it refers to the common tileset as evocative of High Rock, not Cyrodiil).
I don't think our fauna roster is anywhere near full enough to warrant regional books, so I'd personally stick with a generic bestiary for now.
As such, for projects like this, I'd prioritize the most polished creatures and -- unless you are fine with your work possibly getting cut later down the line -- ignore some of the shoddier work. Here's how I personally would sort the creatures above:
Hoom, Velk, Swamp Troll, any vanilla creature you feel like drawing: these are solid, and I don't see us replacing them. The swamp troll is fairly niche, the hoom and velk however are more mainstream for their regions, and probably belong in a generic Morrowind bestiary.
Beetles, Molecrab, Muckleech(?), Muskfly, Nixmount: these are of mixed quality; they're all based on vanilla assets, but we may still want to improve them to bring them in line with our other stuff later down the line; I'm not sure.
Barfish, Eyestar, Ornada, Parastylus, Sea Crab, Tully: these are also of mixed quality, and may get improved. I like them for the most part, though the barfish is rather generic.
Dridrea, Vermai: these are Daedra, not native to Morrowind. Especially the vermai.
Cephalopod, Rats, Plainstrider: these one may well get replaced, or at least improved; I'd leave off of them, at least for now.
Butterfly, Sky Render: these ones are getting replaced.
I'd personally stick to a generic art style for now, perhaps non-Dunmer. (I'd avoid conflating Imperial with real-world western, by the way; if you want straight real-world western influences, I'd generally peg them on High Rock, and even then it's best to add a twist, making them darker or weirder or more magical. Even vanilla makes that distinction; it refers to the common tileset as evocative of High Rock, not Cyrodiil).
I don't think our fauna roster is anywhere near full enough to warrant regional books, so I'd personally stick with a generic bestiary for now.
Taking things further off topic, but two points I feel are of importance came up:
And Tondollaris point is one which illustrates something I'd also very much agree with, but which I feel seldom comes into consideration in the present state of TR: Nirn and the universe in which it resides is NOT to be conflated with our own familiar universe. Has there been any discussion on "weirding Nirn"?
Gnomey wrote:I'd avoid conflating Imperial with real-world western
Gnomeys point is one I very much agree with, but from playing TR as well as looking at planning discussions over the past couple of years, I get the impression that, whether implicit or explicit, the modus operandi of TR is that Imperial=RL western. Has there been any discussion on "weirding Imperial"?Tondollari wrote:I wonder if "naturalistic" study exists in the TES universe?
And Tondollaris point is one which illustrates something I'd also very much agree with, but which I feel seldom comes into consideration in the present state of TR: Nirn and the universe in which it resides is NOT to be conflated with our own familiar universe. Has there been any discussion on "weirding Nirn"?
I agree that TR has not paid much attention to either aspect in the past. I think this was largely due to lack of planning; we didn't have the right framework set up, and as such simply didn't consider a lot of such characterization: House Indoril were religious fundamentalist conservatives, with pretty gardens and gated communities, Imperials were Europe with our modern values, Bretons were Europe with our modern values, Nords were northern Europe with our modern values...EJRS wrote:Taking things further off topic, but two points I feel are of importance came up:
Somewhat of an issue with non-Dunmer in particular is that their cultures tend not to be in the spotlight as much as Dunmer culture is, so the matter of their characterization can be easy to overlook.
That being said, I think we shouldn't overdo characterization beyond Morrowind either. For our purposes, the rest of Nirn exists mainly to provide outside perspectives from which to view Morrowind. If we over-design the lens, the player will have trouble looking through it. I think including stuff like naturalistic study or, say, western cuisine isn't really a big problem, as the player is more familiar with such real-world concepts, and as such can better use them to contrast with Morrowind and further establish the latter's weirdness. I just think we need to be aware that we're sort of bending characterization by doing so and avoid breaking character completely.
I hope Crucifigo doesn't mind the small derail.