Crafting a Magical Lantern for a Fantasy Game
My Inspiration and Process
As part of my journey toward industry-level asset creation, I’ve been diving deep into designing an original 3D asset—a magical lantern—that feels right at home in a beloved game world. The goal? I will integrate my work seamlessly into an existing game, matching its visual style, quality, and storytelling. Today, I’ll share the inspiration driving this project, alongside examples of games that have mastered this art.
Why a Magical Lantern?
Lanterns aren’t just objects in games—they’re carriers of mystery, atmosphere, and sometimes, stories. Whether it’s illuminating dark dungeons, guiding the player through misty landscapes, or glowing with supernatural energy, lanterns add more than light. They add life.
The concept I’m working on involves a lantern that blends organic and magical elements—much like something you’d find in Sea of Thieves, Elden Ring, or The Legend of Zelda. Let’s take a closer look at what makes props from these games so inspiring.
Game Examples for Inspiration
1. Sea of Thieves – Stylized and Hand-Painted
Sea of Thieves by Rare excels in exaggerated proportions, bold colors, and a painterly art style. Every prop looks like it belongs on a pirate ship, washed by salty sea winds and kissed by adventure.
Key Design Elements:
Simplified Shapes: Assets avoid unnecessary complexity and focus on strong silhouettes.
Hand-Painted Textures: Instead of photorealism, they lean into bright, stylized details.
Storytelling: A lantern in Sea of Thieves might be cracked, glowing with ghostly energy, or adorned with barnacles to tell its history.
Example: The Ghost Lantern—a glowing relic with spectral blue light, hinting at its cursed past.
How this inspires my work: My lantern will incorporate a bold silhouette, hand-painted details, and magical energy that feels both eerie and adventurous.
2. Elden Ring – Dark, Detailed, and Realistic
FromSoftware’s Elden Ring embraces realism with an underlying sense of decay and magic. Every object feels ancient, weathered, and imbued with purpose—whether it’s a massive weapon or a small lantern.
Key Design Elements:
High-Detail Sculpting: Intricate patterns, chips, and damage add character.
Material Depth: Layers of grime, rust, and dirt make props feel aged and real.
Magical Elements: Glowing runes, faint light sources, and mystical particles enhance the fantasy.
Example: Lanterns of the Catacombs—small, glowing items that barely cut through the oppressive darkness but feel right at home in the world’s lore.
How this inspires my work: I aim to sculpt the skull of my lantern with realistic bone texture, add weathered metal details, and integrate subtle magical effects like glowing runes.
3. The Legend of Zelda – Whimsical and Functional
The Zelda series, especially Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, has perfected functional yet magical design. Every prop serves a purpose while adding whimsy and charm to the world.
Key Design Elements:
Readable Designs: Clear shapes and details ensure that props stand out without overwhelming the player.
Bright and Vibrant Colors: A mix of natural materials (wood, stone, glass) with magical accents.
Magical Functionality: Glowing cores, enchanted light, or mysterious symbols hint at hidden power.
Example: Sheikah Technology—a perfect fusion of stone, glowing blue energy, and simple geometric designs.
How this inspires my work: I want my lantern to balance magical visuals with functional clarity—something that looks both ancient and enchanted.
My Lantern Concept: Bringing It All Together
Drawing inspiration from these examples, my design combines elements of stylization (like Sea of Thieves), realistic detail (like Elden Ring), and magical charm (like Zelda). Here’s the core idea:
The Skull Lantern: A cursed lantern with a bone base, a glowing glass chamber, and flowing magical energy.
Design Features:
Sculpted skull for the organic base.
A metal cage wrapped around the glass, adorned with runes.
Blue, glowing liquid magic that spills out and flows like mist.
My Next Steps
Research: I’ll analyze real-world skulls, metal textures, and glass reflections to achieve believable materials.
Sculpting: Using ZBrush to sculpt the skull, capturing cracks, dents, and weathering.
UV and Texturing: Optimizing UV maps to reduce wasted space and using Substance Painter to hand-paint details.
Magic Effects: Creating an emissive map for the glowing blue magic, possibly adding particles for the flowing energy.
This lantern project challenges me to balance creativity with technical precision—making something that looks magical yet fits seamlessly into a game. Whether you’re exploring a haunted cave in Sea of Thieves, battling through a dark tomb in Elden Ring, or solving puzzles in Zelda, I want players to believe this lantern belongs.
The 3D Model
Creating the Skull Lantern Model
For my Skull Lantern model, I focused on crafting a piece that felt intricate, atmospheric, and packed with character. The process allowed me to dive into multiple tools, blending their strengths to achieve a polished result.
Building the Base in Autodesk Maya
I started in Autodesk Maya, where I created the base geometry. My main goal here was to focus on clean topology and a strong foundational shape that would support the details I wanted to add later. The skull, lantern frame, and decorative elements needed to feel cohesive, so I spent extra time refining the proportions to balance functionality with visual interest.
Refining and Animating in Blender
Once the base was complete, I moved over to Blender. This is where the model really started to take on its personality. Blender’s sculpting tools allowed me to refine the smaller details, like the cracks in the skull and the intricate patterns on the lantern. I also used Blender to create a simple animation, This small touch gave the model a dynamic feel, almost as if it were alive, and added a layer of storytelling to the piece.
Texturing in Substance Painter
Textures can make or break a model, so I used Substance Painter to bring the Skull Lantern to life. This part of the process was all about capturing the materiality of the object, worn bone, tarnished metal, and the eerie glow of the enchanted light within. I experimented with different layers and hand-painted some details to ensure the textures felt organic and fit the mood I envisioned. The glowing elements were a particular highlight, as I wanted them to convey the magical energy at the heart of the lantern.
Uploading to Sketchfab
Finally, I uploaded the model to Sketchfab. This platform is perfect for showcasing work, as it allows me to highlight the textures, animations, and overall vibe of the Skull Lantern in an interactive format. Setting up the lighting and environment in Sketchfab was the last step, making sure the model looked its best when viewed online.
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