Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061165
Christian Scheurer Key Concept Artist Guy asked me to design three types of cottages— one covered in flowers, one made of candy and the third made of ice and snow. Once this aesthetic language was established on the prototypes, I moved on to full-blown production paintings of the three lands referencing Alsatian-style architecture. An early version for the land of candy considered using huge sheets of colored sugar to create a stained-glass effect. The design was beautiful but ultimately, a fully edible version was chosen. The candy town must surely been the most "scrumptious" painting I've ever made! Another wonderful design task was the creation of the rotunda-shaped throne room. What struck me was that Guy's vision for the space was not to make a gigantic set, but instead suggested an intimate, rather small room in which four thrones D E faced each other, instead of facing outward toward the subjects. This ingenious idea allows for the sovereigns to have an intimate conversation. A unique design language was established for this room referencing Russian wooden churches and icons for the shape and color palette. I especially enjoyed creating the upper wooden panels, which feature wildlife and magical creatures of the Four Realms. My first task was to help visualize the Mouse King. My first versions were reminiscent of the classic Mouse King with human body and oversized mouse head. One day, Guy showed me a beautiful pencil drawing he produced of a character composed of thousands of individual mice. We wanted the character to be impressive and highly kinetic without being too creepy—after all, we were working for a very mouse-loving company. C C. CONCEPT ART FOR THE LAND OF FLOWERS. SMALL ENGLISH VILLAGES AND THE FLOWER FIELDS OF AMSTERDAM INSPIRED THIS REALM. D. CONCEPT ART FOR THE LAND OF SWEETS. INSPIRED BY RUSSIAN AND GERMAN ARCHITECTURE, AS WELL AS THE CAKES AND CANDY OF THE VICTORIAN ERA. E. CONCEPT ART FOR THE MOUSE KING, CREATING A GIANT MOUSE THAT WAS ALWAYS MOVING AND MORPHING INTO DIFFERENT SHAPES. DIGITAL ART BY CHRISTIAN SCHEURER.