Screenshot from the demo game Deltarune by Toby Fox.
Concept art and scene (models, animation, lighting) by Ying Wu from the short film “Spell Bound” by Ying Wu and Lizzia Xu.
In the demo game Deltarune, the moment I saw Chris and Asriel’s bedroom, I thought, “Whoa! It looks just like the concept my partner and I made for our bedroom in our short film ‘Spell Bound’!” The single window in the center; the sunshine gold in the older sibling’s side and cold purple in the other; the shelf of trophies, flowers, and decorations in the older sibling’s side as opposed to the worn out furniture and emptiness in the other, even the symmetrical placement of the furniture.
In concept design, it is important to tell the story in everything, from character appearance and the way they dress and behave to the environment. A character’s bedroom tells everything about them. For our short film, we wanted to really emphasize the contrast of the two sisters with a clearer split down the middle with the golden sunlight shining only on the older sister’s side and not warming the other due to the tree in front of the window, leaving the other side a cold and abandoned purple, as well as books and sticky notes to show the more studious side of the younger sibling and the sports equipment of the athletic older.
This concept isn’t uncommon, and it is so interesting to see the uncanny resemblance and similar ways of thinking we have with other artists!
