Adventures in Set Design: Mat Edition
I haven't done one of these in a very long time, due to the Great Flash Drive Crash of '15 taking all my furniture and textures with it and also having to learn how to use the programme again on a Mac. Which is honestly the same as using it on a PC, except for that fact that, while Macs are very easy to use and much more stable than my laptop was, I find it very difficult to locate things on it or find where I've saved things. Basically the folders of my Mac are a mystery to me.
Anyway, I did manage to work out how to build again, so I gave Mat a flat. When I write places I like to be able to picture them in my mind and I find decorating a living space for a character tells me a lot about them, like their tastes, styles, and colour schemes.
I had a bit of trouble rendering, but hopefully the photos are good enough quality to see what's going on.
Mat lives the basement of a townhouse with his dog, and Shirley and Imelda, his tenants, taking the upper floors. I've only done his flat. For now.
Here's an aerial:
Entrance on the right, from a few steps down from the front of the house. Bedroom at top right, above bathroom, walk-in/shower bath and walk-in closet. Living room, then small kitchen/laundry room and stairs that go up to the backdoor out to the backyard.
Entrance:
I went with mostly grays and blacks for Mat, who is a neutral colour kind-of-guy, with pops of colour in the rugs on the floor. There are a pair of oars on the wall to the left, which I pretend is the kind he would have used in his voyageur days, ditto for a pair of snowshoes on the right wall. There's a hat/umbrella stand just inside the door (Louis' leash would also be there) and the wall art is just an aeroplane that appealed to me. And probably Mat. He probably thinks planes are pretty nifty.
Living Room
This is the main room Mat hangs out in. The honeycomb shelves are for Mat's wool. I couldn't find a wool object to put in, nor would I have the patience to put it in if I could, but you can imagine that jam packed full of balls of yarn. The chair in the corner by the shelves is a chair for knitting/crocheting/crafting. Above it are a bunch of Mat's sketches that he's done of people he's cared about over the years, before the invention of photographs to remember them by. Couch and entertainment center are self-explanatory. A billion books along the walls there. Mat collects books and wool, those are the only two things he lets himself hoard. There's a computer on an old letter-writing desk that I imagine Mat has had for awhile, and a dog bed for Louis to chill if Mat is working there. There's also an electric cello, which Mat plays semi-well. He also plays acoustic guitar but I forgot to put one in. The picture over the doorway is a bunch of plant specimens which I imagine Mat collected and there's an old map over the computer.
BEDROOM
The trunk at the end of the bed is the one Mat brought with him from France, very lovinging restored and kept over the many years. He keeps his sentimental stuff in there. There's another bed for Louis, if he doesn't want to be on the bed with Mat. The doors lead to the bathroom and closet, both of which are too small to be worth rendering.
KITCHEN
Mat doesn't really eat, so the kitchen is more for show and a place to feed Louis and store Mat's blood. The art on the wall is all old posters. Ads to invite people out west and to visit Quebec, Maurice Richard's jersey, and the logo for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Louis' food and water bowls are on the floor next to the drawers.
LAUNDRY
Mat's laundry area. He likes to keep clean and fluffy fresh. Washer, dryer, place to hang clothing and hampers. There's a poster there for the Red Cross during WWII. Mat went as a doctor in both the World Wars and in Korea. Old fashioned, but still working phone, just in case someone tries to call him on it and not his cell phone. The poster is an old magazine sheet telling how to use the new all-digit phone numbers when they were introduced. There's a yoga mat there Mat spreads out to practice being chill. The closet wall is all blackboard paint and I imagine Mat draws there when he's waiting for Louis to eat or the laundry to be done, or guests might leave a message, or he might write a reminder to himself. The stairs go up to a landing which has a door to the backyard and one to the rest of the house, allowing both owner and tenants access to the backyard without access to each other's places.
Anyway, I did manage to work out how to build again, so I gave Mat a flat. When I write places I like to be able to picture them in my mind and I find decorating a living space for a character tells me a lot about them, like their tastes, styles, and colour schemes.
I had a bit of trouble rendering, but hopefully the photos are good enough quality to see what's going on.
Mat lives the basement of a townhouse with his dog, and Shirley and Imelda, his tenants, taking the upper floors. I've only done his flat. For now.
Here's an aerial:
Entrance on the right, from a few steps down from the front of the house. Bedroom at top right, above bathroom, walk-in/shower bath and walk-in closet. Living room, then small kitchen/laundry room and stairs that go up to the backdoor out to the backyard.
Entrance:
I went with mostly grays and blacks for Mat, who is a neutral colour kind-of-guy, with pops of colour in the rugs on the floor. There are a pair of oars on the wall to the left, which I pretend is the kind he would have used in his voyageur days, ditto for a pair of snowshoes on the right wall. There's a hat/umbrella stand just inside the door (Louis' leash would also be there) and the wall art is just an aeroplane that appealed to me. And probably Mat. He probably thinks planes are pretty nifty.
Living Room
This is the main room Mat hangs out in. The honeycomb shelves are for Mat's wool. I couldn't find a wool object to put in, nor would I have the patience to put it in if I could, but you can imagine that jam packed full of balls of yarn. The chair in the corner by the shelves is a chair for knitting/crocheting/crafting. Above it are a bunch of Mat's sketches that he's done of people he's cared about over the years, before the invention of photographs to remember them by. Couch and entertainment center are self-explanatory. A billion books along the walls there. Mat collects books and wool, those are the only two things he lets himself hoard. There's a computer on an old letter-writing desk that I imagine Mat has had for awhile, and a dog bed for Louis to chill if Mat is working there. There's also an electric cello, which Mat plays semi-well. He also plays acoustic guitar but I forgot to put one in. The picture over the doorway is a bunch of plant specimens which I imagine Mat collected and there's an old map over the computer.
BEDROOM
The trunk at the end of the bed is the one Mat brought with him from France, very lovinging restored and kept over the many years. He keeps his sentimental stuff in there. There's another bed for Louis, if he doesn't want to be on the bed with Mat. The doors lead to the bathroom and closet, both of which are too small to be worth rendering.
KITCHEN
Mat doesn't really eat, so the kitchen is more for show and a place to feed Louis and store Mat's blood. The art on the wall is all old posters. Ads to invite people out west and to visit Quebec, Maurice Richard's jersey, and the logo for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Louis' food and water bowls are on the floor next to the drawers.
LAUNDRY
Mat's laundry area. He likes to keep clean and fluffy fresh. Washer, dryer, place to hang clothing and hampers. There's a poster there for the Red Cross during WWII. Mat went as a doctor in both the World Wars and in Korea. Old fashioned, but still working phone, just in case someone tries to call him on it and not his cell phone. The poster is an old magazine sheet telling how to use the new all-digit phone numbers when they were introduced. There's a yoga mat there Mat spreads out to practice being chill. The closet wall is all blackboard paint and I imagine Mat draws there when he's waiting for Louis to eat or the laundry to be done, or guests might leave a message, or he might write a reminder to himself. The stairs go up to a landing which has a door to the backyard and one to the rest of the house, allowing both owner and tenants access to the backyard without access to each other's places.