Activity 1 - What is the purpose of concept art?

Activity 1 - What is the purpose of concept art?

The Purpose of Concept Art

The general purpose of concept art is that it creates a plan of an idea, the idea is made and the concept artist takes the idea and creates a plan. The importance of the plan being made is that, when it comes to creating the idea, character or scene using animation, the animator has something to work from. In other words, concept art forms the blueprints of an idea.

How it is Done

Concept art can vary in detail, usually a piece of concept art will have a few versions made before it, gradually getting more detailed until the final masterpiece is made. Sometimes a piece is made quickly and only sketched as a guideline to give the person with the idea a view of what it would look like. Not only is concept art sketched, but can also be done on a computer using programs such as Photoshop, and sometimes they are even sketched, then finished on a computer. Computers are used to do concept art because of the ability to undo and the large amount of colours and shades and different techniques that can be used to make it easier and quicker to produce a piece of art.

Where it is used

Concept art is usually used in Film and Games, but can be used in other media. Its usually used in Film and Games for designing characters, creatures and scenery. It is usually used the most in fantasy films and games such as Lord of the Rings. This is because the artist has more creativity and its the quickest way for a person with an idea to see it for themselves.

Examples of Concept Artists
-John Howe
John Howe is a Canadian Concept Artist who has done work for a wide range of films and other selected Media. He has done art for movies such as, "Beowulf", "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and a few others, but the one i am mainly interested in is the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. Howe, alongside Alan Lee, worked as chief conceptual designers for the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy, designing many of the landscapes, creatures and characters. Not only did he do Art for the films, but he also did art for the "Lord of the Rings" Board game. - ( Small Inspiration from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Howe_%28illustrator%29 )

The particular section of his Art for the films that interests me most, is the Creature and Character designs. I am most interested in them because of the amount of detail and imagination that went into making them the stunning pieces of Art they turned out to be.

Example 1 : "Moria Orc"

Image From : http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=66&page=3

This is probably my favourite piece of Art that John Howe has ever done. What draws me to this sketch in particular, is the vivid and slightly Gothic, sharp shapes that are used to make the image of the Armor on the Moria orc. The Shading really helps give depth to the sketch, and gives it a more Sinister look. The helmet and shield i would guess, are based from early Armor used by Knights, this is because of the visor and Rectangular shape of the shield. He has taken that design and made them more compact and added spikes, to give the idea that the Moria Orcs are not only part of the, "Evil" side in the story, but a Creature that is dangerous and should be avoided.

 -Ben Procter
Ben Procter is a Concept Artist who has done work for many films including "Avatar", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "The Matrix Reloaded" and many more, also he has done alot of work for many Music videos, Commercials, Television shows and Video games such as "Need for Speed : Underground" and "Medal of Honor : Frontline". So he has alot of experiences doing art for many different types of Media, and many different skills in each one. - ( Some Info taken from : http://www.gnomonschool.com/programs/entertainment-design/advisory_board/ben_procter.html?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=380&width=600 )

The film that i am going to focus on the most is "Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen". He was lead robot illustrator on not only "Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen", but also on the first Transformers film back in 2007. He was Responsible for the Concept design and the Final Rendering of many of the Robots involved in the film such as, The Matrix of Leadership, The Doctor and The Twins, plus a few more which featured in the film. - ( Some Info taken from : http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ben_Procter )

Example 2 : "The Doctor"

Image From : http://conceptartworld.com/?p=2772

I chose this image out of the few i could of picked from the site, because of the amount of detail that is included. Much like the first example i gave, alot of detail and lighting skills were used, but this example is majorly different. This was Designed using a computer, giving the advantage of using different lighting skills and being able to zoom in etc to gain the ability to add a lot more detail, some things which even might not be noticed, but still add to the magnificentness of the piece of art. Not only is it more detailed because of the ability to add better lighting and zoom in to add detail, but because it was made on a computer, Ben Procter would of also had the ability to easily undo something he had done wrong and wanted to change, this gives him the ability to keep changing it until it is perfection, whereas with John Howe's sketch, it is much harder, therefor a much more abstract concept. I think that Procter has done a great job in making "The Doctor" look real. My favourite feature would probably be the eyes, simply because of the different shades of red and orange, making it look like they are almost Burning.

Conclusion

After analysing both artists and their work, i think that id prefer my style to resemble John Howe's rather than Ben Procter's, simply because i love how abstract it is, and that it isnt "too" perfect, leaving the designers and viewer some imagining to do.

Activity 1 - What is the purpose of concept art - by Josh Keogh