Semester 3 Project: A Journey Through an Art Book, Page 23

Following on from my initial concepts on page 3 and the idea of the Hob being covered in some sort of plant, be it for decoration, camouflage or they grow on his body i started with the most typical plant associated with goblins, goblin aesthetics and a plant commonly associated with fae folk - fungi. 

The North Yorkshire Moors host a feature of different species of fungi and there are many blogs you can find where people have documented their findings. 

For my first concept I chose a standard brown mushroom; not very outlandish or fae-like but I did come across interesting information about the properties of this mushroom and it’s psychedelic counterpart. 

My second concept uses the colour and design of red and white spotted mushrooms, the Fly Agaric; a mushroom we have attached to fae folklore in both art and stories due to its history. 

Between the two designs I think the second concept appeals more as the red from the mushroom compliments the palette of the Hob and the Hobs hat better. Re-examining these concepts I would have changed the bottom half of the design from the mossy pants to something else or removed it completely.

You will see on these pages that with each plant I tested as a concept I have added a segment detailing what the plant is used for, why I chose to use it and the properties of the plant - somewhat similar to a botany page. 

“Capped with brown, white or red they grow from the Hobs head.” 

The power of Folk Tales and Folklore is how it is told so when i wrote this short limerick i wanted it to feel like an old folkish saying. My plan for this book and the game was to weave poem-esque details into the narrative to bring a sense of life and realness to what is happening in the game - like these are saying you may of heard in an old English rural village. 

Reference Library: 

Below is a collection of images found and saved that inspired and influenced these concepts - my main objective was to search for mushroom related images, mushrooms growing on different materials and mushrooms that were specifically found on the North Yorkshire Moors.

Research References:

https://northyorkmoorsnationalpark.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/fantastical-fungi/ 

https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/visiting/see-and-do/nature-calendar/october 

https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/panaeolina-foenisecii.php 

https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~biodiv/mushroom/P_foenisecii.html