Lantern Nest (Project Dragon fanart)

This prop is a cozy bird nest built inside a repurposed lantern. It is based on the concept art by Ilka Hesche at Airborn Studios for Everhaven (aka Project Dragon) by Phoenix Labs, a game that, unfortunately, got canceled earlier this year. I'm very passionate about birds, nature and stylized cozy games, so this project was a blast to work on!
https://www.artstation.com/hesche
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qe83eR?album_id=13589430
When the artists from Everhaven shared their work online, along with the news that their team had been laid off just before the game was going to be announced, I was hit with a mix of shock, sadness, and a huge wave of inspiration. Their concept art is truly a creative goldmine and I would have loved to see everything come to life.

So when I started at Vertex School and got my first assignment—to create a hero prop—I didn’t have to think twice about where to pull inspiration from! I made a collage full of scarecrows, tea sets, and more. My mentor, Lena Piech, gave me the go-ahead for this lantern nest, and with help from her, and instructors Paul Layton, Ranjini Biswas and Stefan Oprisan, I worked through the game art pipeline. I learned so much and can’t wait to keep building on that next term as I dive into environment art!
https://www.artstation.com/dark_soul_monster
https://www.artstation.com/paullayton
https://www.artstation.com/ranjini251
https://www.artstation.com/stefan0794