Ship Design

The ship is the main focus of the environment, so that’s where I started. Like every project, you start by gathering a ton of reference material. I did some extensive research about Eastern naval ships of that era. I was quickly drawn to the sleek and utilitarian design of the Chinese “Junk” ship. The size of these vessels was also ideal for the scope of my project. However, Japanese ships of that era were generally larger, bulkier and less organic than their Chinese counterparts. This presented an interesting design-challenge because I didn’t want to stray too far from the specifications of the contest. I ended up combining the naval design of the two eastern cultures. I took the general shape and sleekness of the Chinese “Junk” boats and I combined it with elements of traditional Japanese vessels of Feudal Japan. It was also important to me to create this design without resorting to cultural stereotypes commonly associated with those regions. I wanted the ship to be a utilitarian vessel, worn from day-to-day use and without too much ornamentation. I immersed myself in the visual language of naval transportation of that era. Elements like coiled rope, worn pulleys, splintering wood and rusted iron bolts are almost universally associated with historical maritime culture. I think that these details are the reason why the final ship-design looks so believable.

One of my reference boards, contrasting the Chinese “Junk” with traditional Japanese vessels: