Concept Art
When it’s time to convert a creature or character in a script into a physical, three-dimensional being for film or television, concept art is the ideal way to start.
Concept art is the first step in creation, where a creature or character moves from a few descriptive lines in a script to a defined visual image.
Why is Concept Art Valuable to Film and Television Production?
When you are producing a film or television program, you have a lot of moving parts to deal with. You have to constantly balance the creative with the practical. Concept Art is production’s best friend because that’s what it does best.
Why Concept Art?
-
While it’s certainly not all about the money, it is extremely helpful when something that can enhance production value is also kind to the budget. Although many productions skip creating Concept Art and jump straight into Sculpting, doing so can end up taking more time and being more expensive. The creative teams that take the time to work out their ideas in Concept Art are much less likely to want to make changes later, once considerable work has gone into making the approved concept a reality.
-
Words are very powerful. Most likely, you were moved by the words in the script that you are working on because they sparked an image in your mind. But words can be very elusive. You can imagine the feeling sparked by a “terrifying” creature, or something “lighter than air”, but what exactly does it look like? What colors does it have? Does it have arms and legs like a human? How does it see? Is it muscular? Wraith-like? Does it have skin? Scales? Armor? The questions can go on and on.
Maybe you care very deeply about getting the exact image out of your head and onto the page. Maybe you just have a vague notion. Either way, the Concept Artists at StevieFX will help you find the specific details to fit your concept.
-
As a producer, director, production designer, or makeup artist, you may have an idea of the character that is somewhat fuzzy. Or you may have a very clear idea, but the “very clear idea” in your mind is most likely quite different from the “very clear idea” in the minds of other decision makers on your team.
That’s when Concept Art comes in. The StevieFX Concept Artists listen to your ideas and view any reference images or drawings you may provide. They come up with unique designs that incorporate all of the details provided, as seen through their creative lenses.
At that point, the details that need to be refined in order to achieve the creative vision become much more obvious.
-
Like other areas of pre-production, designing Concept Art is intensely creative. Because nothing needs to be built at this point, it’s very easy for the StevieFX Concept Artists to make extreme sweeping changes. It’s also a wonderful time to experiment with multiple ideas and compare them to see how each one affects you.
Sometimes a team member may have an idea that they think is “too out there” that turns out being just the twist that makes everything work. The Concept Art process can be as long or as short as you desire, with the ability to explore as many possibilities as you want.
Have questions or ready to get started?
Whether you know exactly what you’re looking for or just have a vague idea, contact us today to find out how the StevieFX concept artists can help get you there.
Each step in the process is a process in itself.
Concept Art is part of a larger creative process at StevieFX, generally consisting of:
See Tattoos to find out about the Creative Process for Tattoos.
Like most creative processes, this is not always linear. Some productions jump in at different phases of the process and there may be multiple iterations of any steps, if needed.
The Concept Art Process at StevieFX
Although every project is unique and has its own needs, the Concept Art Process looks something like this:
Your creative team meets with ours. You give us as much information as possible, which may include:
Physical descriptions of the creature/character
How the creature/character interacts with other characters
Impressions of how the creature/character makes other characters feel or react
Reference photos, or other media that demonstrate characteristics or have a feeling of the creature/character
The script
Answers to our questions
Some teams come to us with a ton of materials. This is extremely helpful. That way we can hit the ground running, already having a base to work on. When we know what you like, we are much more likely to provide you with designs that are in-line with your vision.
Other teams only know that they need “a monster” but really don’t have a strong vision of what that monster should be. If this is you, don’t worry! At StevieFX, we’ve worked with many production companies that have been in the same boat.
Creation of Concept Art in Photoshop. Our artists create all of our concept art digitally. Nothing is ever done on paper. This allows us to:
create changes in layers
make non-destructive changes quickly
provide color changes or other variations side by side
Because we understand that it can be very difficult to visualize a final product from an unfinished drawing, we don’t provide sketches or works-in-progress to you. All of our Concept Art is provided to you as fully-rendered images, so that you can see the details of your creature or character without any guesswork.
Our fully-rendered images are layered with real items so that you can see exactly how the makeup will look in reality.
Although all of our concept art is presented to you as fully-rendered images, changes are part of the process. Once we get your feedback on what you see, we make the requested changes to the artwork and send you another round. Steps 2 and 3 repeat as many times as needed until we’ve gotten all of the details exactly as you want them.
When you’re happy with your Concept Art and don’t need any other changes, it’s time to move into Life Casting.
