A look behind the scenes....

     I'm Jason, the artist / designer behind Riddleroot Forest and I'd like to take a little time to share some of the concept art and thoughts about the project.

     Riddleroot Forest is a whimsical world of fantasy, filled with unique creatures and terrain. Many months were spent planning, sketching, modeling, sculpting and testing to bring Riddleroot Forest to life.

Whenever I start a project, there is usually quite a bit of drawing involved...

....this first sketch below of the Treefolk (Wisewood) would become the inspiration for the whole project.

     I don't know if it's my love of forests or my background in woodworking, but the idea of tree people has always fascinated me. I thought it would be fun to see the Treefolk of this world more like creatures and a little bit less like trees. I also wanted the other creatures of Riddleroot to be like the treefolk, made of the forest.

     The Barken Boars, the Forest Elk and the Timberwolves all have bark for skin. They themselves are plant based just like the Treefolk. The creatures that reside in the forest are all somehow connected to it, even the loveable Mushgubs.

     These little guys are some of my favorite things in Riddleroot Forest. They are the Ewoks of this world, funny, clumsy, curious, and cute. Mushgubs are fungus, they look like large mushrooms and typically have four legs. There were just a few sketches of these guys made on paper before the sculpting began (see the sketches under misc.)

Riddleton...

     ...what is a fantasy world without a fantasy village? Riddleton is the  touristy little town of the world. It is located just outside the southern border of Riddleroot forest. This village is most know for the way it brews the Riddleroot into a delicious tea. Since it is in close proximity to forest, much of the lore of the forest has survived and the local tavern puts out their own mugs based on Treefolk.

    For this project the story of the world drove much of what would be modelled for 3D printing. I wanted the world to have more than just a jumble of models, I wanted there to be a reason for the models. That's why this Kickstarter has a whole story that goes with it.

     When designing a world I start to think of all the things that might go into that world. Why is the town there? What does the currency look like? Who lives here? What does the architecture look like? Sketching out the answers to these questions is how Riddleroot Forest was made.