A moving castle, Disney style. Now with an idea like this there are a number of questions that arise such as how is this going to fit together? What elements from each idea will be used in the final model? So on and so forth, so I'm going to lay this post out like a Q and A session to work out all the little kinks in the idea.
1) What will be used as the base of the castle, what will it ride on?
Answer
This is a very good question. As you can see in this image of Mortal Engines that I have looked at in a previous post, there is a layer of concrete or stone that the city is mounted on. Howl's Moving Castle is mounted on what seems to be a boat hull with legs. This is something I will need to work out for my own model, as what I mount my castle on is critical for this idea. I have a number of ideas, and below I have provided a few reference images of what I could use to fill this role.
Possibility 1, a Pirate Ship. The image you see above comes from the Disney film Peter Pan; Captain Hooks ship is a key element to the plot of the film. I could adapt the boat itself to fit my own needs by removing the masts and adding tank tracks, legs or wheels (whichever I so decide), and this way I will still keep within the very heavily stylized world of old Disney films and would help the continuity of my final model. However, it is still falling into the same horizons and views of Disney, and I would like to explore other possibilities and ideas.
Possibility 2, no one said the castle had to stay on the ground. Here you can see a screenshot from Bioshock Infinite, showing the flying steampunk city of Columbia. This is another strong possibility for how my castle could travel across the globe, and would allow my castle to go everywhere around the world. The steampunk style of the city is highlighted in the propellers and helicopters that keep the city in the air.
Possibility 3, sustained by some kind of creature. I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who, and this particular idea comes from an episode showing the entirety of Great Britain, on a spaceship that is carried across space and time by a creature called a Starwhale. I could replicate this by having my Disney castle carried across the world by some kind of creature, and if I did enough research into monsters and animals created by Disney I could make sure that the house style is up kept throughout the model.
2) What kind of castle will be the biggest influence?
Answer
Possibility 1, DunBroch Castle from Brave. Brave is a much newer Disney film, and is based in Scotland. DunBroch castle features heavily in the film, which is a Scottish castle and has been around for hundreds of years. In reality it isn't as complete as the version seen in the film, so there is a lot of space for creative development and visualisation that may be interesting to look into.
Possibility 2, don't use a castle? This is a very interesting idea, and is once again from Disneys Frozen. Elsa's castle is actually based on her signature snowflake from the film, and all the towers features follow the intricate and delicate lines of the snowflake. This is a very interesting idea, and could be developed from any abstract concept. For example, as I am running with a steampunk moving castle, maybe a Gear or a type of Tool would be good to base a castle on to create a more stylized and interesting model.
Possibility 3, Motte and Bailey Castles. I remember learning about this type of castle in Primary School, and to be honest with you I wasn't very interested as I'm not a big fan of history. However looking back at the castles themselves theres a lot of space for development, the castle itself is on a large hill looking over the village which has its own protection. This is an idea that could work very well with a boat or pirate ship base, if I choose to go down that route.
3) What kind of Bridge will be used in the Model?
Bridges are a huge part of this piece of work, and I want to make sure that I create the right kind of bridge to fit in with my scene. Now I'm probably not going to put the kind of modern and complicated bridge that you can see to the right, instead I will explore other options below.
Possibility 1, standard medieval drawbridge. This would make perfect sense to the idea itself, a moving bridge that would close when the castle was in motion and open to get on and off the structure. It fits in with the idea and is fairly simple to put together, but its a very standard idea with not very much style to it. With that said, the style of the model can be added to the structure within Maya.
Possibility 2, a bridge inside the castle walls. This is an interesting idea, as it would allow me to connect two sections of the structure in a way that is as fast moving as the structure itself. However, how much use is there in a bridge inside the castle? There would need to be a reason that it is there to help make the player believe in my model.
Possibility 3, a Light Bridge. A much more futuristic take on the bridge itself, this is a screenshot from Portal (not sure which version, as it looks like a Mod) showing a bridge made out of solid light. Very futuristic and heavily stylized, but the idea is so simple it can be executed in a number of different ways.
4) Where will the scene be set?
Answer
I could set this scene in a number of locations, and it all comes down to personal preference. The three possibilities for this are as follows:
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| A clearing in a forest |
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| A Rocky Desert |
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| A Cityscape |
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