I would
like to live in this forest.
I like the sunlight as it crosses through the trees.
I hope I can live here forever!
So says Wei Wei Hua, the creator of The Sunlight of the Purple
Vale , the idyllic green setting he envisions for a story
on which he is currently working. The image is one of a collection
of fine, romantic-style digital compositions he has made for
the story.
What do you get when a Chinese artist imagines his own deep forest
people and surrounds? Middle earth with an Asian flavor – delicate
foliage and bridges made of bamboo instead of stout oak!
Wei Wei Hua describes how he modeled and composed this
sun-dappled vision of the paradisiacal purple vale.
About Wei Wei Hua
Wei Wei Hua is 28 years old, Chinese,
and now working in Paris. He is interested in art and fantasy
and loves to design everything from buildings, props, spaceships,
and cars, to creatures, costumes and characters for film.
The Original Idea
The idea for this image comes from my story which happens in a
place called the Purple Valley on a faraway planet. I planned and
created the planet with its own reality and imagined the native
people on this star – their kind of culture, their religion
and their manner of construction.
This planet also has a different time and completely different
flight vehicles and so on. The house in the picture is the residence
of my story's leading lady. The lady is from the Su Yi race, an
ancient people who prize simplicity.
Their medical knowledge and expertise is outstanding and they
use a kind of special crystal to make object airborne.
So, before I started, I knew my design must conform to this environment
and character construction.
Concept and Sketching
First I draw the schematic diagram on paper to make my mental
image of the concept clearer. Then I add more plants, element to
the house and bridge composition such as large bamboo poles for
the bridge, windows on the house, and a mushroom-shaped roof.
These details help convey the ancient forest life of the Su Yi
people. Nearby the house is a rill,
to evoke an atmosphere of tranquility with the sound of running
water.
