This was a smaller scale project compared to some of my other works. I wanted to experiment with different workflows and software with this series, so I chose an idea that was smaller in scope to accommodate this. The entire scene was created and rendered within blender, while I created the textures in photoshop.
I wanted an idea that required me to think about how objects would look in relation to each other as a whole and required that the piece be somewhat imaginative. When deciding on my idea, I was reminded of something I used to do when I was much younger. Around when I was eight or so, I would create entire “worlds” out of toys, wooden blocks, and empty boxes.
Honestly, if I tried something similar now with the exact same materials, it would probably just look like a mess of toys, but I can remember what I imagined it being like back then. I settled on a similar idea of creating an environment entirely out of toys and wood blocks to re-capture that same imaginative environment.
When creating the environment, two things stood out as particularly challenging: the best uses for certain objects within the scene and keeping a consistent scale. In solving the issue with scale, I tried to imagine what every object would feel like in my hand; they are toys after all and should be able to fit within one hand.
As for ensuring objects would be placed effectively, I tried to think in terms of how the scene would be constructed in a literal sense. For example, I decided that the large blocks should be used primarily within the walls to provide support to whatever is above them.
As for my inspiration, I already mentioned that I drew heavily from my own experiences playing with wood blocks and toys as a child, and I even dug out some of those old toys for direct reference. I also took some inspiration from the level Toy Dream from Mario Party 5 when deciding on the overall feel and color scheme.