Concept art article (no pictures)

Many questions can be raised about this picture, as well as different messages. This creature is menacing, with the pointe fangs and metal exoskeleton. Though, on its body are many scrapes, and bad wounds. This could be and aftermath of a fight, after chasing prey but getting hurt in the process. This makes me think, who is it hunting? Where have they gone? Alternatively, I thought, what if this creature is prey? A mix of fear and aggression can be gained from its stance. The forest surrounding the creature also gives a dark and dangerous atmosphere to this picture. The artist has a rustic, jagged style to his art. The jagged edges and contrasting colours make this image more intimidating to perceive.

This picture shows, what appears to be an ant, operating a wooden machine gun. The machine gun has similarities to that off an old fashioned field gun or a modern ‘mini’ gun, but as it is wooden it is hard to tell. The ant looks aggressive, with red eyes and spiky limbs. Its intimidating posture gives it an ‘evil’ (rather than ‘good’) image. This image implies it could be a soldier, which is backed up by the weapon it is wielding. Moreover, the dark colours of this creature back up the evil image that it has.

Concept art in the industry

Concept artwork also has its place, even after being used for the design of a game. Avid fans of games franchises such as Halo and Mario have the option to buy concept art posters, booklets and models, of which can sold with the game in a special edition or online. People tend to buy the art out of appreciation, as it gives a personal level of insight of how the game had been created. From concept art you can appreciate the thought process the artist had used in creating the art, with the comparison to the end product – the actual game. This picture to the left shows a page from the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword concept booklet. It shows Different facial expressions, poses and costumes the artist perceived Link could have used, all of which the designers and animators have utilised in the game.

Artwork has its uses within the games it has been designed for originally as well. This can be seen in games such as Halo, where concept art can be unlocked as an achievement through the game. These achievements are great incentives for players to keep playing games, as it can put the user in the addictive “just one more kill” frame of mind. Moreover, these pieces of art can be showed off to friends, and used as trophies for their achievements and skill.

This art also plays an important role for franchises and sequels. One major aspect is if a company gets bought out by another, for example, with Dice and EA (or that of all EA’s teams). As EA has taken over Dice, many of Dice’s members (including concept artists) may have been laid off in the takeover. As the concept artists would have an intimate knowledge of how the company works, DICE and EA would have a great benefit in keeping the concept art pieces to give to their new artists. This means that sequels such as Battlefield 3 remain similar to the previous versions.

So, in the universe of the games industry, concept art is a fundamental foundation, which determines how game will be produced. The ideas that can be communicated through a piece of art are monumental in comparison to a written piece of text – as I previously mentioned, a picture can tell a story a thousand words cannot. Each artist’s style contributes massively to how the image is drawn, and therefore in the chain of game design, how the final product will turn out. But it’s uses also carry on throughout the development of the game, with its uses spreading into the gaming world and onto other projects. It is my opinion that the development of games would hinder without the skill and perception of the great artists there are today.

 

 

Bibliography

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=17328 (11/01/13)

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=16354 (11/01/03)

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=18004 (14/01/13)

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/121/1214953/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-20111215043610301-000.jpg (21/01/13)

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-08-16-eas-share-price-leaps-at-rumours-of-a-buyout (24/01/13)

Concept art has many uses within the games industry. As a person who would like to get into illustration, I believe strongly that art work is one of the driving influences behind how the game’s image will be published, as well as how all the aspects of the game will turn out. There is the old saying – a picture can tell a story a thousand words cannot.

The strongest focus of a piece of art work is to display and idea. This applies more directly towards the gaming industry, as a whole sense of atmosphere can be gained from a single picture alone. The concept artists would develop ideas for weapons, scenery, MPC’s, and even basic items around the room which all would fit into the level. By drawing up these ideas and showing them to 3D designer, the designer can also benefit from the atmosphere and ideas drawn from the picture. This would then pass down the line towards the level designer and even the programmer, to help tailor the game to the way the artists envisioned.

Of course, the artist would not develop the ideas on their own. A whole team of designers would help direct which way the game wants to go, but the foundation artwork will always be referenced as an example of how they want the game to eventually end up. Artwork which has not been used can also be saved, and recycled in later projects.

The artist would be briefed (most likely), along with all the other members on the design team about how the project leader wants the game to work. The artist would then develop many concept drawings, on paper as well as software’s such as Photoshop. Of course, using Photoshop has the advancements over paper drawings, such as being more mobile, transferable to other software such as Maya, and the ability to (with greater ease) to create photorealistic and interesting pieces of artwork. This art would then be sent to a 3D modeller, whom using the artwork, design models, characters and scenery suitable for the game. These then will get sculpted, textured and entered into a levelling software such as UDK, ready for testing to become a game. All of these steps stemmed from a few slides and pieces of artwork.

Concept Art Analysis

This piece of art shows a recent battle, with the successor preparing to acquire a glowing artefact on the stand. The battle behind is bloody and gruesome, yet no others wear the same colours or look the same as the male at the front. This suggests that he may have worked alone in defeating these people. As they were all armed, it also suggests that they may have been guarding this artefact. The amount of death could symbolise the importance of this artefact, and could imply that it belongs to him. The style of art has slight photo-realism, but the mystical atmosphere to this piece can override that. If this image was used to help design the game, it is clear what sort of atmosphere the artist is trying to achieve. This ‘feel’ of the image is then transferred down the line and eventually put into the game.

 

 

 

This picture shows a little girl, being tempted by some beings. These beings could be daemons, spirits or even a figment of the girls’ imagination. Their heads are split at the back, and a brain like essence seems to be leaking and rising upwards, also adding to the suspicion that they are not part of this world. The main being in the middle is holding a fishing line, with a smelly sock on the end of the hook. They are trying to tempt the girl to take it. This could imply that by taking it, she will be trapped and will possible turn into a being like them. This could communicate the temptation for children to do bad actions, and the struggle some may face trying to be ‘good’. These elements are all vital in the image, as without them the game will not be similar to how the image is trying to perceive them.  The artist has a clear style, with the dark shadows and ‘egg’ shaped heads, making the picture unique in comparison to the others I have discussed.

This picture two fairy like females chasing an evil monkey like demon or person in a forest. The evil person is clutching some form of fruit, of which is glowing brightly. All around the forest on the trees are other fruits, barely glowing or are a lot duller than the one the person is clutching. They all have bite marks in, suggesting that their ‘purity’ may have been lost by being eaten.  The person has a dark haze around it, and with the painted face also suggests it being evil. This is opposed to the two females, who are glowing and look graceful in their attempts to stop this person. This could communicate the idea of thief’s in the world, and the struggling attempt of good people trying to stop it. The style of the artists is clear, as everything in the picture seems to flow gracefully.  This sets the image apart as the art style is unique to this picture.

This artwork shows a man clutching a side of his face, whilst a miniature version of himself clambers on his head, apparently listening by pressing his ear onto the head. From the hand prints and pain on the larger persons head, it suggests the smaller person (or in my opinion, conscience of the bigger person), has crawled out of the eye of the bigger person. This could be seen as the persons mind or conscience escaping, and listening from the outside. The hand and footprints of the smaller person are mud like and dark, instead of blood which I was expecting. This suggests that the persons mind is dark and dirty, full of secrets of which the conscience is trying to escape. The style of the artist is very unique. This can be seen with the level of detail of muscles and body mass on the hands and face. This attention to detail with shading makes the mage very twisted and photorealistic, making it interesting to behold