Vallaki Town Square - Behind the scenes (Patreon)

The town square in Vallaki has a great written description in the book.

There is a lot of great details in this text and as always I try to stick as closely to the description as possible, so including all of these details is a must.

One of the first things I do is do a google image search for 'Vallaki town square' and 'town square' to see what kind of references are already out there, and what kind of inspiration I can gather.  

one of the first things that came up was this map someone had made for the town square, and this gave me a good starting point for the layout and size of the square. I then take this image into Maya to do some basic 3D modelling of the buildings and fountain, and so I can set up the right perspective for the image. 

Once I have the basic scene and set pieces set up, I can then take this render into photoshop where I start painting.

I knew I wanted it to be a day time scene, because I think that would be the most likely time the players would encounter the town square for the first time. But even daytime in Barovia is not bright and sunny. 

I generally have a feel for the kind of image I want to paint in my head before I start, and while image searching I save any and all images I find that evoke the sort of tone I am going for, this includes colour choices, architecture reference, lighting etc.

This is a little further forward in the process, but I start with just blocking in colours over the top of the 3D rendered image. As I start with just flat colours I am able to judge the balance of the image, where your eye is directed and if the images is telling the story that I'm trying to communicate. In regards to colour, because the atmosphere is so heavy in Barovia because of the mist and fog, colour saturation and detail starts to fade off quickly as things are further away from the camera. Therefore anything close to us is much darker and has more colour, and the further away it is, the colour is more suppresed and the black level is much higher.

I continue to add detail, little by little until I get to the point of adding effects. At this point the image is 90% there, and I am done with photoshop. Sometimes at this point the image can look flat and a little boring, but I know adding the effects will bring the whole image together and add a lot of depth and immersion to the scene.

For animating I use a program called Nuke, which is visual effects software. Any exterior scene in Barovia must include mist, so that is usually up first.

I have a library of mist and fog elements that are video shot on a black background, so I am able to easily incorporate these into the image. I will use a variety of these mist elements, and layer them across the image so I helps gives it depth. A lot of the time, less is more with these kinds of elements. Subtlety is key.

I knew from the start I wanted the fountain to be animated, so I was able to find some similar footage of a hose spraying water that I could adjust and use for the fountain.

Lastly, I knew I wanted some actual people in this image, because the written description describes some of the townsfolk in the image.

I was able to again, dig through my library and find some great footage of people in costume, on a bluescreen. With a little colour and lighting adjustment I was able to fit them all right in.

Personally I think it brings it to life, and makes it feel like a real, and lived in place. If you have any more questions please let me know.