Journey for a dream
Melanie Chatain
Environment design – Character design
Khadama is a city hidden in the desert. The city was carved out by an older society long ago.
Over time this space has been used by various civilizations and more recently is the place of worship of a remote cult group.
Set in the middle of the desert, the main influences for Khadama was a mix between the organic and brutalist architecture movement.
It had to be uninviting and mysterious but also modern.
To design the rock formation we also look into neo mauresque, nubian and future nouveau architecture. Including architects such as Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Zeitz Mocaa and Le Corbusier. The Nabataean city of Petra and the Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona were also a big influence on our final environment design.
Balancing the natural rock shapes with the sculpted and decorated structures was key to a successful design. We needed a balance between what was man made and what wasn’t but still keep some type of graphical rupture to create a more complex and interesting art direction.
Sanja is the main character. In this world humans have evolved into different groups which differenciate physically.
For Sanja, we plaid with shapes and proportion to create an edgy character with a sensual side but also a quite unique aspect.
Her design drew inspiration from some of Tim Burton main characters and his approach to exaggerated shapes.
This group of characters are the main protagonists. It’s a whole different civilization. All about them had to differentiate them from the rest of the world. Their overall design is as much driven by their clothing and accessories than their body shape.
Some of the great fashion houses have inspired the cult design such as Thierry Mugler or Balmain. But also some more modern characters such as the Engineer in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus movie and the light elves from the game God of War.
