Killer Rabbits 2 : Recreating a siege castle from manuscript drawings

 

 Have fun storming the Castle!

As my Killer Rabbits 2 Kickstarter hits its midpoint and going strong, I've been working on the castle backdrop "flat" for one of the add-ons, while Drew has sculpting the miniatures. I want to share with you the process of what goes into making something like this.

Manuscript "concept"

First I start with the concept that inspired it all. Then I go to the literal drawing board/sketch book, and break down scale, functionality of the model (it needs to hold minis), and start making sketches based on scale and how many parts.

At the drawing board- looking at two castles for reference

Next I cut some "White box" tests, to make sure pieces fit together, are easy to assemble and have the overall stability I want in the model when finished. This went through 4 changes, each time cutting a set, assembling, making adjustments.

White box version- testing for scale

Once I felt good about scale and parts, I sent a working version the tower to Drew so he could use it while making the sculpts-in particular how the ladder was going to fit into the process. There was some fun back and forth on that. Yay collaboration!

While drew was sculpting, I took the practical white box version and then added the pretty art to it. Like getting the white box right, this went through several revs, both in the vector line drawing and then making test cuts for fitting, and adjusting.

I've imported the manuscript images for reference. You can see the White box layout on the right.

At one of the stages I decided that the door did not need to be cut out and just caused more distraction instead of the intended 2D/3D feel I was looking for.

laser-ination

Finally, I put some together, and did a quick prime job on one to get painted up in the next couple of days.

Usually only the Monks get to see this angle

Primed and ready for some paint action.

And there you have it! Once I get the castings of the minis that go with this, I'll make any final adjustments if needed (like putting holes in the base where the ladder goes).

Thanks for coming on this journey with me- let me know if you like this kind of behind the scenes, and if you have questions- please ask!

And if you like what you see, come check out my Killer Rabbits 2 Kickstarter- and get your own Siege tower set! 

Cheers

Ths