My name is Sonya, I'm going to be making the first post! If you want to know more about me, read the About section on my website here, or view my blog. I got invited to a Gnomon event last night and decided this would be a great opportunity to put content into the blog! If you don't know what Gnomon School of Visual Effects is, it's a school located in Los Angeles that offers classes taught by industry professionals and online courses for those who can't come to campus. They also do events such as this, and they have workshops where you can buy DVDs for pretty much any topic regarding the visual effects industry of film, games, and even traditional art. If you want to know more about the event I went to, click here. It was put on by Blue Canvas, an artist network and magazine about art, and Section Studios, which has done concept art for Final Fantasy and God of War. The main idea of the panel was to focus on Composition, particularly in concept art. Anyone looking to become an illustrator, or considers them self an artist in any way, should really read this blog!
So! I'm going to start out by saying this blog is paraphrasing the basic ideas that the artist's were trying to convey. Some of it is going to be my words because the notes I took in Evernote are not complete sentences :)
Nathan Ota kicked off the event by showing off some of his acrylics and sketches. I have to say that I was blown away by how awesome his work is. Some of his paintings that were in galleries have been 2' x 3' like the one below, but he always starts out with a sketch.
He emphasized right off the jump that the "prep stage" is the most important stage for every artist (or it should be). He will not start his piece until (sometimes unless) he has a solid composition. He always thumbnails and does many many many sketches before he even thinks about picking up a paintbrush. He also does a lot of research to clarify or frame the idea he wants to communicate. He did say that a lot of his ideas come from his head, but he tries to convey to his students the importance of research and reference, especially when working for a client. Here is an outline of things that are important when he is composing something:
-Thumbnails and sketches not only help you narrow down the options of how the piece is going to look, but also keeps a good relationship with you and the client. Constantly giving them options and previews keeps them in the loop and keeps them happy, or allows them to change it with enough time for you to render the final.
-Ask yourself: How do you get your audience to flow through the composition? Do you have a good beginning, middle, and end (to the story and to the physical piece)? How do you keep your audience engaged?
-He usually has something in the foreground and something in the background. Both help to tell the story.
-Use light to send the audience's eye toward something you want, because light creates a richness and a depth. There should be a lot of time put into the lighting and how it ill add to the composition.
-He always saves his favorite part for last, so he can put his best effort into it.
-He actually physically paints in layers, starting out with a black canvas and adding elements in the background and slowly adds on until he has a completed piece.
-One of the most common things he notices about young artists is their inability to accept error. Erring and then erasing and starting over, or painting over it is part of the process. No one should be afraid of making a mistake because that's how we discover what works.
Cecil Kim is the Creative Director at Section and spoke in the panel, as well. The compositions that he showed were extraordinary and painterly, mostly done digitally (scanned images of his initial drawings on paper and painted over). Here is one of my favorite pieces of his that he did for an album cover.
One of his main points of the talk was to keep simple shapes that make a great composition and build on top of those. He mentioned Andrew Loomis in his book "Creative Illustration" and I happened to have the book (and pages) he was talking about. Here's what he showed us:
The compositions that are most interesting can be broken up into shapes and lines that interact to balance the patterns and randomness. In addition to looking at varying these sorts of compositions, he also stated that 50% of his work is completed when he sets the horizon line, the rest of the perspective will follow and he just needs to layer the complexity of his piece from that. Here is an outline of some of the things he touched on:
-He likes to make sure there is flow and rhythm based on the above compositions or ones he forms from those concepts. The rhythm and flow is basically what Nathan was talking about above- the purpose is to keep the audience engaged and the piece interesting throughout its entirety.
-There needs to be a contrast of line and shape, wherein he tries not to repeat any sizes of the shapes. Repetition needs to be varied, otherwise it might seem boring in some instances.
-Another way to state what he does above: He works in 2D space first, by creating silhouettes and simple shapes and then puts in the perspective, with the vanishing point, horizon, ultimately making it 3D. This helps keep the integrity of his original composition. Usually, this defines his atmosphere and air, which also creates the mood.
-He tries to keep from having a flat and cliche horizon line. The perspective keeps the audience initially engaged and the composition and rhythm lines keep them looking at the piece.
-On clients specifically, he wanted to let the students know that he comes up with about 5 different compositions at first and gives the client some options to work with. All 5 have to be something that will work as a final piece, but are different in presentation based on the initial concept. He will usually come up with these 4-5 solutions in about 2 hours before even bothering to render them. Thumbnails and paint sketches usually do the trick for the initial review with clients. 4-5 color passes are included in this to give different interpretations of the mood.
Last, but not least, James Paick took the mic and showed off his concept art that he does for previs and 3D environments. James' focus was mostly on the idea that the concept art in the industry isn't just art for the sake of art... it has to lead into something and be an environment or a character or an idea that can be implemented in 3D. That's not to say don't have an imagination so that the idea is realistically possible, but essentially always bare in mind what you can inspire in the artists that create the environments and push the pieces into another level with your art.
The one thing he started out saying, that I think is most important for concept artists, is he asks the client what the purpose is. The purpose defines everything that he does and how he chooses to compose his piece. It even defines the level of finish he should go for. He always starts with very simple thumbnails and increases the complexity as the clients become more comfortable with his ideas and composition.
A lot of his suggestions were directed at young artists or artists that were new to the industry. Here are some of the things he talked about:
-Don't worry about what you don't know, or how you're going to tackle a piece that is seemingly difficult. Don't be afraid to fail, but also get your foundation/fundamentals/basics mastered and then pick and choose those tools to use depending on what the project requires.
-Repeated images can be used if their purpose is to reinforce the environment. Use the same elements to keep the environment consistent, but vary it.
-For portfolios: Get a portfolio that stands out in content and style/design. Get the client to say THAT is what we need for our game/film/idea. If you want to work for games, build a portfolio that is badass in game content. Choosing to copy styles of games and companies isn't a bad thing, because that shows that you can latch onto a style and execute it. It also shows you're passionate about that field.
-In the same realm as style and personality, they hired YOU, so stay true to your style and visage, but still deliver what the clients want.
-The beauty of concept art for 3D environments is you get to be the designer. Every detail you put into the piece can possibly ignite a spark for the animator or texture artist or scenic designer. The more ideas you put into the piece, the more the other artists will get out of it.
-If you are creating panoramas or short but long compositions, focus on making the entire thing one composition and then breaking it up as if you framed three or 4 separate images that were strung together. Each one has to be just as interesting as the other.
-The first ideas you have are usually the most generic and the most cliche. Tread carefully with putting those ideas on paper, or try to make them unique as you develop the overall concept.
-It also goes with muscle memory. Styles and characters develop that end up being signature works for some artist because they get really good at doing the same thing over and over, and it is even incorporated into your muscle memory that your hand is used to drawing those same shapes and lines over and over again. Just something to be aware of, not necessarily to look down upon unless you are trying to diversify your skill set.
-Always use reference.
-Don't get too attached to your work. The main focus of the client is the most important, and getting attached just leads to problems down the road. If they ask you to start over and redo it and jump through hoops, you do it to maintain the relationship. And erasing it only makes you better at it the 50th time.
-What's not in the image makes the piece more powerful. A lot of amateur artists will try to frame the entire "composition" or set of objects in the frame of the canvas. Sometimes, it's better to leave that a mystery and leave it up to the audience to wonder where that canyon leads up to, or where the road goes. This mostly applies to environments, whereas telling a complete story with the characters is more important (usually) than leaving it a mystery.
-Don't put tutorials that you did in or out of school in your portfolio. Period. Unless it was applied to your own ideas. Everyone in the industry knows the tutorial and will recognize it immediately. It also is a great indicator that you are fresh out of school.
So that pretty much sums up their approaches to composition. There was a Q & A afterwards and it's hard to write paragraphs about this, but I'll at least outline some things they touched on or questions they answered.
-If there's something wrong with the piece (and you can't pinpoint the problem), go with your gut over a critique. It's what will make you happy. And don't be afraid to make mistakes!
-You have to think about 3D space and how this would become a reality. Be the designer and make the 3d artists' job easier by giving them solutions before they have questions.
Do you think peer critiques are valuable, even to professional artists?
-Critiques from peers are very important, they are your audience and what they see impacts the impression of the piece. Don't disrespect the critique no matter who it's from. A traditional artist can add just as much value to a 3D piece as a 3D artist.
What is the most common mistake you see young artists to?
-Perspective is the most common mistake for composition. Study it, master it, and push it. Make sure the main perspective lines are super accurate to perspective and the rest is eyeballed to give it personality and life.
-A lot of artists will see something and copy it for the sake of having a finished product instead of really considering what they are copying or why we are even presenting it in the first place.
-The concept artist has to reflect the extent of the game or film. Level of detail lighting and rendering and textures must reflect the level of detail that will go into that game or film.
-Ask yourself what you like to draw and then use that passion to expand. If you are really good at drawing bugs, then keep drawing bugs and sometimes that is what drives the passion for creating other things.
-Lighting can be pushed by defining atmosphere. Use composition lighting to define those lines and shapes and lead the eye to and from the subject.
-Studios ask around who knows an artist that will fit that project first before looking at random portfolios or job inquiries.
-GPA is relatively important, because it defines your character (are they a slacker with a great portfolio or a humble mediocre artist that is reliable?)
What was your biggest struggle as an artist?
-James touched on his struggle to switch between drawing and painting. He had to see shapes and colors differently and go through a long process of trial and error before he really understood how to paint.
-Nathan says color theory is an ongoing struggle because there is so much to go into that can define your purpose, composition, lighting, mood, and overall story of the painting.
-Cecil had issues with deadlines and being motivated because starting a piece later rather than right when he was assigned lost his interest and excitement for starting and finishing the piece. The sooner he starts, the sooner his best ideas and creativity come and the rest is tweaking and rendering.
Well that's it! I hope you all took something away from this post (if not some jaw drops from the pieces composed these talented individuals). If anyone would like to comment, feel free! I tried not to misrepresent any of the artist's and go straight from my notes with a little bit of context :)
Also, all of these images are copy-written by the artists on the website links I provided. Please do not distribute these without proper consent!
Until next time!
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