Unleash your inner Bob Ross with Morrowind's Joy Of Painting mod
There's an even a new painting skill to let you improve your brushwork
More than 20 years after The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind arrived on PC, one mod has finally given us the option to ignore all the questing and just enjoy capturing the game’s fantastical scenery on canvas. With the Joy Of Painting mod, you can set up your field easel anywhere in Morrowind, daub some brush strokes on a canvas, and even flog the painting to earn a bit of cash.
Joy Of Painting is the creation of modder Merlord, and is currently in alpha. You’ll need the Ashfall mod for Morrowind to be able to craft an easel and canvas for it. Plonk your crafted easel down in front of a subject and put a canvas, then select the draw/paint option and choose an art style, such as oil, watercolour, charcoal, or ink. Choose your subject, and away you go.
You’ll get better and improve your skill level the more you paint, in true Elder Scrolls fashion, and your skill even affects what the paintings look like. After you’ve finished painting, you can sell your artwork or frame it for display. Your field easel can function as a backpack for more carrying capacity – mind that encumbrance – and has a few other snazzy features, too. Check it out.
It’ll unfold into an easel to let you prop up a canvas and pretend you’re Tamriel’s Botticelli or Picasso, for one thing. The field easel’s lid also closes to become a drawing desk that allows for sketching, and I rather like the look of the charcoal effect. There’s a front drawer in the easel too, which stores brushes and palettes.
If you fancy wandering Morrowind and giving the Joy Of Painting a go sometime then you can download the mod on GitHub. Just remember that it’s in alpha right now.
If you don’t already have a copy of Morrowind laying around then you can nab it on Steam or GOG for £13/$15/€15. It’s also on PC Game Pass, if you’re a subscriber.