Intro Illustration | Character Design and Illustration by Nadine Harter | Environment Coloring by Lisa Jentsch | Adobe Photoshop
Project Details
•Title: Fynn's Journey - Heading North
•Genre: 3D Sidescroller Game
•Context: Student Game Project
•School: Stuttgart Media University
•Year: 2019 to 2020
•Task: Art Direction, Screenwriting, Storyboard,
Character & Environment Design, Character
Illustration, Grading, Level Art
Character & Environment Design, Character
Illustration, Grading, Level Art
•Tools: Krita, Adobe Photoshop, Unreal Engine 4
About the Project
"Fynn's Journey - Heading North" is a 3D Sidescroller Game which we produced at Stuttgart Media University from 2019 to 2020. For this project we not only developed a 3D sidescroller game, but also an 2D illustrated intro and outro, as well as a 3D printed version of Fynn and a collectors edition box. Thanks to a collaboration with Poseidon Expeditions we also sent our 3D printed snowman Fynn to the real Northpole!
The game is about the little snowman Fynn, who is built by William, a six-year-old boy from Inverness, Scotland. When William learns that Fynn will melt in the next few days due to rising temperatures, William's wish for Fynn to survive comes true: Fynn magically comes to life at night and sets off on his journey to the North Pole.
I started this project with my student colleague Rouven Stephan as a screen writer and storyboard artist for the games intro. In production of the intro in the first semester, I worked as an art director and also designed the characters on screen. In the second semester I artdirected the second part of the game, as well as the books in the collectors edition. I also designed the environments and set the game assets in the Unreal Engine 4.
Fynn Comes Alive - Game Intro
Fynn's journey begins on a cold morning in Inverness, Scotland. The sound of a thud on his window awakens William, who discovers his father outside in the snowy garden throwing snowballs at his window. William excitedly joins his father to play in the snow and they build a snowman which William names Fynn. In the evening however, as they relax by the fireplace, the radio predicts warmer weather. Worried that Fynn would melt, William wishes Fynn could reach the North Pole. That night, Fynn magically comes to life, setting off on his journey to the North Pole.
In the first semester of this project, I was mainly involved in the production of the game's intro. Having worked on the screen writing and storyboard for this, I took over the role as an art director and provided references for artstyle and colors as well as individual feedback to our background painters on the environment design. I also designed all characters, including Fynn, William and his parents Walter and Cailin Duncan and illustrated them in the final images of the intro (except in Shot 05-01 to 05-03, TC 01:05 to 01:13). Lastly, I provided line arts for the environments, graded the final images and prepared the PSD files for animation in After Effects.
Intro | Storyboard Part 01 | Ink & Adobe Photoshop
Intro | Storyboard Part 02 | Ink & Adobe Photoshop
Intro | Storyboard Part 03 | Ink & Adobe Photoshop
Intro | Storyboard Part 04 | Ink & Adobe Photoshop
William's Bedroom | Color Sketch | Adobe Photoshop
Living Room | Color Sketch | Adobe Photoshop
Character Design
As mentioned, I designed all characters of this game. This includes Fynn, the snowman, William, the six-year old boy and his parents Walter and Cailin Duncan. See my work below. I will be uploading more work soon. Also, if you are interested in more information about the designs, you can read more in the artbook featured in "Collector's Edition" on page 14-19. You can find it at the bottom of this page.
Fynn | Character Design | Paper & Krita | Design V02 by Elena Zigelli
Environment design
After finishing the game's intro in the first semester of the game, I was responsible for designing the environments of the second half of the game including the sewer and harbor levels. Below you can find the keyvisual of the harbor level that I revisited after the project was finished. I also plan to revisit the concepts of the sewer level, so stay tuned. If you are interested in the rough concepts, you can find them in the artbook at the bottom of the page on page 66-67 and 72-73.
Northern Harbor | Environment Design | Adobe Photoshop | Reworked 2022
Northern Harbor Animated | Environment Design | Adobe Photoshop & After Effects | Reworked 2022
Fynn's Journey - Game Walkthrough
Fynn's journey begins the night after he is created. He sets out from Inverness and makes his way through the gardens of neighbors until he reaches a city, where he climbs through roof structures and sewers and finally reaches the harbor. There he sets off in a small boat to sail to the North Pole.
For the game itself, my tasks were the art direction, concept art and environment setdressing for the sewer and harbor levels. I also 3D modeled the hotel at the beginning of the sewer level and illustrated the wall textures in the sewer level and also textured Fynn. You can find the beginning of the levels I worked on at 10:45. I also composed the melody from 18:07.
Greetings from Fynn - Game Outro
The game's outro shows us the letter box of the Duncan Family in Scottland in which they find a postcard from Fynn. It is a letter from the North Pole! A proof that Fynn has finally arrived at his final destination!
For the short game's outro I developed the concept and illustrated the foreground elements, while reusing and slightly alternating the background illustration from the game's intro painted by Lisa Jentsch. I also edited the pictures of Fynn at the real Northpole. Animations, video editing and credit roll were created by Rouven Stephan. You can find the game's outro and illustrations below.
Foreground Illustration and Background Paint Over | Adobe Photoshop
Illustration and Photo Editing | Adobe Photoshop
Fynn's Destination - Fynn at the North pole
Yes, Fynn actually made it to the real North Pole! Our 3D printed version of Fynn set off on his journey with Poseidon Expeditions and safely arrived at the North Pole in 2020! Big shoutout and great thanks to Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones, Expedition Leader at Poseidon Expeditions, who helped us make Williams dream come true! You can find some pictures of Fynn's adventure below.
Collector's Edition
We also developed a limited collectors edition box including the game, a children's book with the illustrations from the intro, an art book, a winter hat and stickers. In the Flipbooks below, you can have a look into the art book with a lot more insights for this project as well as the children's book. I soon will also upload some pictures of the Collector's Edition Box itself!
To flip through the books, you can also scroll with your mouse instead of clicking the buttons on the left and right! Also, you can close the ads by clicking the close button in their right upper corner. (The ads come with the free program used.)
