Environment Art - Term 2 Project - Week 1 Blog

This week I have focused on starting a base design for my shop. I wanted my shop to stand out and be different so I had a few thoughts until deciding on what my final shop was going to be. My first thoughts of a shop was to create a 'pet shop' for the wizard's familiar , so if they needed a bed , brush , toys , etc... However I wasn't too sure how to really show that and didn't want to make it too difficult for myself as I am still not 100% on Maya. I was also thinking about making a cocktail bar with drinks that effect like potions but we were told no alcohol shops allowed. Finally I had an idea to maybe create a café that serves unique drinks that can act like potions instead of the alcohol drink idea. I could have lattes that make you very happy or cappuccinos that make you extremely awake. Also instead of making it a basic café I want to add bubble teas and sweet treats so I attract wizards of all ages. The bubble teas can also have potions effects but not as strong as the coffee drinks. I want the café to also be friendly towards animals so wizards can bring their familiars in too and relax and have fun.

I want my overall design to be funky and magical like the sweet shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes from the movie. I think having a fun design will brighten up the street and make it stand out. Also doing plain buildings is not really my style. I need to make my design fun yet still sticking the Victorian theme of Diagon alley.

I created a mood board first to get the ideas flowing. I wanted my shop to be based on a classic hot chocolate drink. I thought it would be fun to have the shape of the drink but then make the exterior design Victorian.

I have started this week with creating ruff sketches of what the base of the building is going to look like. I also created what the sign on the outside hanging from the building is going to look like as well. These are still very ruff designs and might change. I first created a cat coming out of the mug with whip cream on top of its head as I wanted to call my shop 'Crackling Cat Café' so I wanted some sort of cat to be in it. But it just didn't look right. However I still liked how the cat looked. So then I thought I make the cat with whip cream into the outside sign that hangs from the building. I much preferer the bottom design with the classic hot chocolate and made the chocolate flake into a chimney as its not too much , its fun yet simple. I also focused on the exterior design based from the Diagon alley buildings from the London 'The Making Of Harry Potter' as I have been their twice and got a real understanding of what they would of actually looked in the movie.

Week 1 - Sunday 29th January 2023