The Hurka — A Thummok Hearth Home

The Thummok kin prefer compact, practical homes that show warmth, craftsmanship, and resilience. They create intimate dwellings where everything has a practical purpose or use

The Hurka is raised upon petrified wood stilts, lifting it above deep winter snow while allowing cold air to pass beneath the floor. Its walls are clad in overlapping sheets of birch bark, their natural textures giving each home a unique character while providing excellent insulation against the cold.

Above, a steep thatched roof sheds heavy snowfall with ease. At its peak is a slatted roof vent through which smoke from the central hearth gently escapes. The warm smoke gathers beneath the roof and drifts through the opening, while a protective cap keeps falling snow from entering. During the harshest winters, the rising warmth helps prevent the vent from freezing.

The round windows are woven from twigs harvested in autumn before the first deep freeze. Their circular forms soften the silhouette of the cottage, casting warm amber light into the snow-covered forest when night falls. The Thummok kin love the autumn season because that is the time to gather materials for their crafting during the deep freeze. Those twigs on the windows are just one of their crafts

From a distance, a Hurka looks like a small birch bark cottage standing lightly above the snow, crowned by a thatched roof and a thin veil of smoke curling into the crisp northern sky. It is more than a shelter, it is a sign of warmth, nourishment, and safety in a land where winter is unforgiving. It is a refuge amid an endless sea of white.

Here are some progress photos to show you how I made the Hurka

The initial sketch is looking so much like the bee house I saw online. A bee farmer hollowed out a log punched some circular holes as entry point for the bees, gave it a thatched roof and some legs. I was inspired by the video clip and wasted no time...I quickly made this sketch before I even forget about the details.

Notice I widened the width of the structure to accommodate a bigger creature and I was thinking about my oc character Guvru to use it. She would not fit in a log so I had to revise including the stilts

I want a second floor where the sleeping area would be so the height of the house must be wider and taller than my initial idea. I started spreading wide the steep thatched roof at this stage to fit the bigger shell of the house. I gave it a nice and sturdy steps but later on I ditched the idea I simply had no time to make stairs that's too detailed. Maybe in the future I might revisit this drawing and give it stairs. I also explored the option of adding more windows so the idea of a warm refuge would be obvious once lit.

This is the final line drawing and is ready for base colors. Looking at it now I am actually loving the steps. See below why I didn't have the time.

The birch cladding is way too difficult for me to execute. I need to achieve that peeling and cracking texture. To do that I spent time getting the right shape of the cracks and layers. The colors are fun to work with. I had a lot of layers set just to achieve this simple looking birch cladding texture. I am happy though despite the time it took to finish

That's not the end the thatched roof also has a texture that demands time. The petrified wood stilts too are textured.

It was a fulfilling experience there are some minor hiccups but the end result is satisfying for me. This is the almost finished look. I could have stopped here but I revised the circular windows.

Here up close the circular window has this decorative organic frame. It is made from twigs, dried leaves maybe berries. The Thummok kin love crafting and autumn season is their favorite evident on the colors shown. I changed the iron color of the window now it is darker teal then added more colors to leaves and for contrast I added the orange strings .

That is how it went, conceptualizing, executing and producing the final look of a Thummok house I now call Hurka. Slowly the nivuktiverse is coming to life.

Cheers to that with a hot cup of Bovro

Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed the journey