The Domovoi: Title Concepts

The Domovoi, a Twine game by Kevin Snow, has been released. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting my art and sketches from the game. If you haven't checked it out yet, please go take a look -- it's free and short!

One of the unique things about The Domovoi is that there are actually three separate scripts, each one a slight variation of the main narrative that focuses on a different theme. The more drafts that Kevin sent me, the more fascinated I became by the idea. Eventually I suggested that the game should have three different title screens -- just like the text, a random one would be loaded on each playthrough.

It turned out to be a really good decision. I had been saving the title illustration for last partly because I couldn't decide on a single composition that would encapsulate the domovoi, but now I had three chances to try to get it right. Additionally, Kevin began working on his fantastic folktale introductions around the same time that I began work on the titles, so I drew a lot of inspiration directly from those.

In the first folktale that Kevin wrote, a domovoi strangles an intruder to death. I was immediately captivated and began drawing "our" domovoi choking people for about a solid week.

I love Kevin's folktale introductions; they're some of my favorite passages in the game. To me, they brilliantly capture the darkness and bizarre humor of Slavic folklore.

This is one of my favorite domovoi drawings from the whole project. I eventually used this as the source for the portal illustration, but I was disappointed that I couldn't capture the same mood and expression.

Concept for the first title illustration. Again, I was inspired by the first folktale -- the old couple laying awake in bed terrified made me think of a domovoi lurking in the shadows.

Kevin loved this one when I sent it to him and suggested that the candle could be seen as a symbol of the domovoi's departed master. Not only did that help me clarify the mood of the drawing, but it also established the themes of yearning and abandonment that connect the three title illustrations.

Compositions for the domovoi sitting on his master's bench, which we used for the second title illustration. Even though they're quick sketches, it's really interesting to compare these against the bench illustration I drew way back during the character concept phase. Not only did my technique change, but my ideas about the domovoi and his world had substantially more time to percolate in my head.

Compositions for the final title illustration. I had wanted to do a picture reminiscent of Ivan Bilibin's beautiful wilderness illustrations, which naturally led to the concept of the domovoi on the threshold. Around this time, Kevin also sent me a fantastic series of blog posts on the cinematography of The Incredibles, which made me think very carefully about how I set up the elements in each sketch.

We were kind of torn on which one of these to use. Kevin recommended the top one because the mood was more consistent with the other titles, but I salvaged pieces of the lower one for the portal illustration.