I was commissioned to produce an infographic about the forts in Oman to be published in a double page newspapers Times of Oman and Al Shabiba (the same graphic in English and Arabic) as for the Oman's National Day celebration. I decided to focus on Nizwa Fort because is one of the most majestic among the more than 500 forts that still exist in the Sultanate of Oman. Around two months from the inception to the paper
English version
Arabic version
Early render tests
3D human models didn't fit well so I ask the illustrator Lucille Umali to produce around forty soldiers based on 3D dummies to maintain the same isometric point of view of the fort, avoiding the perspective view so the soldiers can be moved to different positions although the most of them remained in the original plan
Al Hazm Castle
At a very early stage of the project, I consider focusing on Al Hazm Castle, the typical Omani fortified building that usually has two diagonally opposite towers, but was under restoration so internal details cannot be covered. After that, I turn to Nizwa Fort. Here, Al Hazm Fort discarded works:
Nizwa Fort
I decided to go on Nizwa fort because it's unique zig-zag trap-stairs system
Field sketch of the zig-zag stairs from my visit
I was so lucky to find the top and side view plans in a study published in "The Oman Studies Vol. 6". After that, I knew where exactly the stairs were positioned. That was the last push to do this fort.
3D modeling progression
The crenelation had another difficulty: the fort has not a perfect circular shape so the equidistant position of the merlons was a bit hard to build
There are three staircases, all different, that was a challenge because a slight slope in the top floor so the three has different numbers of steps
This is the first version of the fort. Later I'd cut the flag pole and adjacent buildings
The only one entrance
This is the first pitfall
Door and it's murder hole, through where boiling oil was poured over trespassers
Reaching the terrace
The last door after the stairs
Well
Measuring with the body
Musketeer's niche and its four loopholes
One of the many Nizwa's mosques, together with the market and the Fort
