Design process（make model）

 PROCRSS

After building a model of the basic terrain of the forest, I began to carve the sacred tree of the Qinling Mountains in detail. This tree is the focus of this scene, so compared with when I was drawing the 2D concept painting, I conducted more in-depth research.

First of all, the description of Qinling Shenshu in the original work of Tomb Raider is that "the shape of the whole bronze pillar is like a big tree growing out of the stone crevices, with branches flourishing and straight into the sky".

In the book, the Qinling Divine Tree is described as a large tree with branches growing out of stones. The shape of the whole bronze column is like a large tree growing out of the stone crevices. The branches are flourishing and directly into the sky. Its height and volume are very huge, giving people a strong visual shock, as if it is a channel connecting heaven and earth. There are complex lines and mysterious symbols on the surface.

I extracted some keywords:

• The bronze divine tree is dozens of metres high, the trunk is as strong as a building, and countless bronze branches are divided upwards.

• The tree trunks are full of strange patterns, and the branches are hung with decorations similar to ancient bells, birds and beasts.

• The whole is made of bronze, but the structure is simulated, just like a real tree.

• There are a large number of creatures around it, which is mysterious and strange.

• The roots of the tree go deep into the dungeon, which may be related to sacrifice and totem beliefs.

In addition, I also went to see how this scene is shaped in the TV series:

It can be seen that this bronze tree can't actually be seen at a glance. It is very large, and even a platform has been formed between the branches and branches that can allow the protagonist to pass through, and the branches are intricately wrapped. Because it is made of bronze, there are no leaves on the branches.

The material of bronze is very special. I was curious about what the author's inspiration was, so I searched for it. I searched that the author Nanpai Sanshu had indeed explained his inspiration in an interview before, but the interview was in text:

"During the live broadcast of the archeological excavation of Sanxingdui in 2021, CCTV once connected with Nanpai Sanshu. He said that when he wrote Tomb Raider: Qinling Divine Tree, the three-star bronze divine tree had been unearthed and listed in the textbook, so it was a reference element. He said that he had seen the bronze divine tree from the textbook a long time ago and felt very mysterious. After that, he consulted a lot of information and was attracted by its special features, so he created the Qinling divine tree in Tomb Robbery Notes as a blueprint.

The Sanxingdui site mentioned by the third uncle of Nanpai is the ancient cultural site with the largest scope, the longest duration and the richest cultural connotation found in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China. It is about 3,000 to 5,000 years old and is a representative of the ancient Shu civilisation.

Among them, the excavation and discovery of the bronze divine tree is a very shocking discovery in the history of Chinese archeology. In 1986, archeologists found bronze divine trees in the Sanxingdui site. After restoration, there were eight trees in total, of which the largest trunk was 3.84 metres and the tree height was 3.96 metres. These bronze divine trees are composed of a base, a tree and a dragon and other parts. They are cast in segments and exquisitely crafted. The whole is a tall bronze tree. The divine tree has three layers of branches and leaves, and three branches in each layer. The branches are or warped or drooping. There are a total of nine branches and nine birds. The missing one represents the ten-day trunk, with a total of twelve fruits, representing the twelve earth branches. The sun bird stands on some flowers and fruits, which are related to the divine trees such as "Fusang" in ancient mythology, and is full of the mysterious colour of ancient Shu civilisation.

This form of "Tongtianshu" naturally fits the fantasy setting of "connecting heaven and earth and containing ancient secrets" in the theme of tomb robbing, which provides highly imaginative material for novel creation.

However, the three-star bronze divine tree does not have the magical functions described in the play that can cause hallucinations and materialisation. In the play, the Qinling divine tree is hundreds of metres high, which far exceeds the scale of the bronze divine tree in reality. So I need to extract the modelling characteristics of the three-star bronze divine tree and design it in combination with the huge divine tree described in the book.