I had the pleasure to work on a design package for Ubisoft Toronto. The brief described an old Victorian Operating Theater in the Miskatonic medical building that had been reclaimed by Dr. Comb and filled with strange specimen jars and an Orrery at the center. The strange base of operations is discovered by his new intern Obed Marsh.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/0332f73f-9ad2-4631-b5c7-969699289c4b_rw_1920.jpg?h=ca6f66253ead878c1ebde847a4bc923d)
Obed Marsh enters the old operating theatre shocked to see a strange Orrery surrounded by a vast amount of specimen jars. A bizarre creature in the center of the Orrery captivates Marsh with its strange spell.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/4282a7ad-b0cc-480f-b253-c5a0e5e22d79_rw_1920.jpg?h=b38c951e80e8469e93793f00d6585434)
Marsh staggers closer his legs shaking with fear, his mind racing. He wants to run but can't, the creature's spell grows stronger. The specimen jars begin to grow brighter, illuminating Dr. Comb's strange collection of objects.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/f589fd2a-7336-432d-80ea-3974edd05436_rw_1920.jpg?h=ece41a44ca83f6f8cad4503778a32bd9)
Marsh begins to feel dizzy, a humming grows in his ears and the room begins to spin, he begins to feel as if he can understand the creature as it's trance brings him to his knees.
Design Process
When designing I try to avoid the trap of solving too many problems at once.
In this stage I'm looking at composition and basic lighting as well as overall balance. This process allows me to get a rough idea of what kind of elements I’ll need to create for the shots.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/eebf13a8-7df5-4448-a018-dc02ee7cb80c_rw_1920.jpg?h=f832aef2da864ad4ed51d576a5a8cc0c)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/9f92a985-e874-4d4a-95f8-34cd850a78f9_rw_1920.jpg?h=95aabbb8979a460a2a4c51663963524e)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/b9895e3d-7299-40da-9a35-466085a4a2d9_rw_1920.jpg?h=db963a5d3675df5e1c24c3cb3e7e172f)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/c618c3e2-11a8-4790-bb31-835cd8a950cb_rw_1920.jpg?h=2a1c5b9c6ffff929215ab5c71d0a541a)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/948904c3-a82b-4307-babb-f8f3faae807b_rw_1920.jpg?h=515a6f17f6d8d8b59c436443ec7f17a2)
Research
While working on this package I was in London England and had the chance to go to the old operating theatre museum.
Whenever possible I do my best at researching the brief as thoroughly as possible, this was a unique opportunity to walk around a real operating theatre, understand it's structure and function and learn about the history of the space as well as its procedures.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/7a87775a-f149-45bf-8549-05be24ec849e_rw_3840.jpg?h=70784cd6e6cd8aabbc0d93c4d31a084d)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/0c4d4fe0-1301-4b40-ad17-a8a85b813f6a_rw_3840.jpg?h=dbc34b3f218664fc166b743e768dcf84)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/3f0b0b02-9ce2-4b20-b092-4663cacf629c_rw_3840.jpg?h=b57ee4de592b1c153c2984252168c6ca)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/74d50e6a-2dbd-4edd-bd85-ee8860ecdc17/3978c854-d773-4749-bd8a-28882d79c92f_rw_3840.jpg?h=4d72367d5c6b9fb05a52a955db585f0a)