We chat with Pieland’s lead artist about the work and thought behind the Pieland Ovens.
Over the last 9 weeks, there have been a series of tasty Pieland Compietitions. These Compietitions required various Octopies and each one resulted in a different Pieland Oven reward, meaning there are some avid Pieland collectors have been able to scoop up a total of 9 Octopie Ovens. Don’t worry — if you haven’t had a chance to complete a Compietition to earn an Oven, you can grab one on the secondary market here. Each Oven has a vastly different look and design to it than the others, which makes sense, since the Ovens each represent the homebase of a different slice of Octopie.
The artwork and design of each Oven is incredibly thought out and masterfully drawn, thanks to our lead artist, Ryan. In his own words, Ryan explains the complexities of this task:
“For the Ovens, it was a new challenge compared to the Octopies themselves. We had to design 9 individual Ovens that alluded to the lore and lifestyle of each Octopie Slice — while also still having them have a consistent look and feel. We had to find the balance where the structure made sense as a functioning Oven, but still looked like an actual structure that Octopies could live in and was a centerpiece of the Slice.
To that end, we also felt that it was very important that each Oven should be instantly recognizable as to what Slice it belonged to.”
Below, you can see some of the early concept Art. Ryan presented these to the team to help us see the different directions the Ovens could take.
Ryan continued, “Even once the base design was close to finalized, the next question was the color palettes for the Ovens. Again, this felt quite important, trying to capture the personality and style of a Slice through the choice of colors used in the Oven artwork…”
“…To us, it was very important we consider the backstory and lore of the world of Pieland as we designed them. Not just the backstory of the Ovens, but of the Slices as well. The Vampiers Oven, for example, is a “stand-alone temple” sort of design. It feels isolated, closed off, uninviting. Whereas the Piesons Oven is built into a hill. It feels open, bright, and welcoming. You can see Sheepie in the foreground and Pieson homes built around the Oven. This reflects the nature of the Slices — Vampiers are more solitary and private in nature, whereas the Piesons approach the world with open arms.”
“Each Oven also had specific features or design choices. One of the most notable versions of this — and a personal favorite of mine — is the front of the Zompie Oven. The Zompie Oven has this smashed glass front face. The cut out shape itself was inspired by a gnashing teeth sort of look. And the imagery of a smashed glass where an “infected” might have escaped from is reminiscent of many famous scenes from classic Zombie story telling. Similarly, there’s the graveyard on top of the oven, with a dead tree and tombstones scattered about. You’ll also notice the Vampier statues on the top corners of the Zompie Oven and the bats above — a nod to the backstory of the Oven. Packing in these references really help make it a true combination of story and artwork — something we always strive to do.”
Not only do these Ovens have a fantastic amount of work that went into the artwork, as they also have already come with utility — you can use them in the current MyPies Compietition, as a wildcard, for a chance to win some $WHALE token — but hurry, this Compietition ends Saturday, June 18th.
If you’d like to learn more about the lore of Pieland, you can do so at our Wikipiedia. If you’re interested in getting to know Ryan a little better, you can check out his team interview. Or, you can jump into our Discord community and speak to him directly!
