Ashna Choudhury
3D Artist | Modeler | Programmer
Lifted Spirits Tea House
"There have long been whispers of a place, which if seen in daylight, seems run-down and perhaps abandoned. A place less than ordinary if not for one thing: it sits high in the clouds amongst the stars and the sky; lonely, as if waiting for something.
However, when night falls, one would not recognize this ancient, forgotten place for the center of life that it becomes. Every night, it is believed that the spirits of the moon, sun, and earth gather here to rest and replenish themselves in the light and laughter of each other’s company. It is here, in the quiet and peace of the shrouded night, that the mystical beings of our worlds lift their spirits.
This place has long been a mere myth to mortal beings, but to those who open their hearts and minds, it is there to be seen; floating in the moonlight and dancing with joy, beauty, and life.
Welcome to the Lifted Spirits Tea House."
In May 2020, I completed my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. As with many other students around the world who are experiencing transition periods during the COVID-19 Pandemic, it's a very frightening and overwhelming time to say the least. For me personally, it's been important to balance rest with creativity; I'm grateful that I've been able to maintain this balance. For this project, I wanted to model something purely for a creative interest and have as much fun as possible with it. I wanted to create something that had a sense of magic and wonder embedded in it even if, from a distance, it seems ordinary and even deserted.
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Responsible for all aspects of modeling, shading, & lighting.
This project was inspired by concept art made by Alexandra Semushina.
The original concept art by Alexandra Semushina that inspired this project.
I was incredibly intrigued by the design of this house, and started to wonder what it could possibly be....
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I saw the little food stand in front and thought that it must be a restaurant of some kind or a place of rest. I also noticed that the house in the original drawing seemed somewhat run-down, but lived in at the same time. It had an aura of some ancient, pure magic surrounding it and that's when I thought, "What if this was a magical food stand? What if, instead of people, spirits or animals came here?"
So I began to model this magical spirit house, following the design in the drawing closely while still adding a few personal touches here and there.
Next, were the stages of shading and lighting, which was admittedly an intimidating process for me: though I've had lots of experience in shading and lighting, I've rarely had to it completely on my own for the entirety of a project. But once I got past my initial inhibitions, I found myself having a lot of fun experimenting!
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I started to add small details, and personal touches that were slightly different than what I saw in the original artwork, and it was here that I began to solidify the look and feeling that I wanted for this magical tea house.
I also started to become interested in how this magical place looked in daylight compared to nighttime. I had a lot of fun working with the two sets of lighting and the transition between the two.
Though in daylight you can see lots of small details in shading, I am personally in love with the magical feeling that the tea house has at night.
Look below to see an interactive view of the model!