concept design

this makes me excited. very.
first day of class we learnt of concept design, character development, and the research involved in the process.
this is what i came to australia for, the technical education. ohhhh i can't wait.


this post is adapted from Marks lecture, more than anything it will provide for refreshers on those allnighters...
here she goes:

CONCEPT DESIGN:

"A concept artist’s job is to create conceptual artwork that explores the visual possibilities
in a literary property. This exploration of possibilities invests a rare and unprecedented
amount of freedom to the artist, as images are often drawn without the compromise or
restrictions normally associated with film production procedures (that being money or
actors safety) "


A concept artist will conceptualise:
The appearance of the characters and their relationships
• The action’s locale
• A sequence’s mood and colour
• Costume and set designs
• Suggestions for staging of scenes
• Gags
• A production’s overall style

Through these drawings they attempt to “find” the film. To “find’ the film refers to the
artist creating a level of integrity of design throughout a given production.

Integrity or cohesion is achieved through providing the audience with certain
“mechanical” functions of the story on screen.

These “mechanical” functions are as follows:

• A context
• A sense of place
• A sense of time
• A setting

...and the emotional elements of:

• Mood
• Atmosphere

Mechanical Functions

Context:

Character is context. The contexts in which we see a character perform within his
surrounding helps us to identify, or define that character.


A sense of place:

All stories take place somewhere, and the concept artist’s job is to supply information
about that place. Defining locations is the most basic function of concept art. A good
design will often carry subtle extra layers of information called-symbolism.

Concept art will often use symbolic description so as to satisfy the viewer’s expectation
of the narrative. A location often needs only a few visual clues for an audience to
understand what sort of a place is being depicted.

Location designs have two different jobs to do:

• Reflect a character’s emotional state as well as other feelings the film maker
want an audience to have about a location
• Reflect what a viewer expects to see in any object, rather than an exact
description of a particular, unique object. It used general descriptive visual
language to do this.


A sense of time:

A concept design will always convey a sense of the time and although, at times it is the
simplest of “mechanics” to convey, it is none less vitally important in, whether it is:

• The time of day
• Or in which period or time in history a narrative takes place

A sense of time within a design came carry with it symbolic inferences which can be a
powerful tool in depicting a characters emotional state or in fulfilling audience
expectations.

A setting provides a sense of suspension of disbelief.

Any characters need to look as though they belong in the setting that is created for them.

This sense of setting supplies the audience with ideas about the dramatic content of the
film as well. Successful setting will heighten the audience response to any action about to
take place within the narrative.

Emotional Qualities

Mood:

Often, concept designs are coloured with only ‘one emotional’ brushstroke that simply
mirrors the characters emotional state This is called a global approach to the
emotional design of the shot.

However, it is easy to imagine situations where character’s inner state might be in
contrast with the surroundings ). This is called a ‘local mood’, or ‘personal
atmosphere’, which projects the character’s inner state on to part of the design, and can
be used to offer the audience insights into the character’s intimate felling within a shot.

Atmosphere:

Atmosphere is an extra layer of information about a location, which suggests in the
designs about how you might feel about events to taking place there. The quality of
atmosphere can be finely controlled through changes in composition, tonality, colour and
lighting.

Summery: a good design, will at all times, support or enhances the narrative that is
being depicted on screen. Design will not run at odds with it! Remember- keep your
“mechanical” functions in mind at all time....REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Character Development:

Coming up with an idea is separate to character development. The ideas for characters
should already exist in a locked off script or pitch. The concept designer’s job is to
develop the characters visual presence that is to be shown on screen.

The first step in character development is in creating a plausible history for the character
using the narrative as a springboard. Although when dealing with character concept
design you are narratively placed in the “now” – there are other historical periods in the
life of a character which can inform your design. Namely, the:

• Past
• Present
• Future

There are also a number of other considerations in fleshing out any character design:

• The character’s everyday environment
• The character’s personality
• The character’s personality traits
• The character’s look
• The character’s general physical characteristics
• The Character’s body type(or morpho-type)-
• The character’s proportions
• The character’s makeup
• The characters gender
• The character’s surface
• The character’s colour
• The character’s facial
• The character’s movement


NOTE: Just remember, your narrative informs you character design decisions! AND
ABOVE ALL THIS, ALWAYS STEP OUTSIDE YOUR SAFETY ZONES AND BE
ORIGINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Research and its application to concept design:


Research:

In visual storytelling of any form, the parameters of what needs to be researched are
guided by the details and subjects inherent in the narrative. In Animation, as in live-
action film, that narrative usually takes the form of a finalised or shooting script. Scripts
are departmentalised into themes or subject matter to be designed-items that are prevalent
in the narrative. Not everything you want to include in your research is in the script .To
give a real vitality to the sets, props, locations, and characters include design elements
that will help establish a sense brain storming for ideas.

Sources for motion picture research can be diverse. Real life, photos, memories.

Analysing your reference:

Understand the key functional elements, structure and symbols


Research is vital to what you are attempting to depict. You must understand the subjects:

• Structure
• It’s variety
• It’s physical mechanics
• It’s history


Once you’ve amassed a sufficient amount of research, the next step is to soak yourself in
this reference. Familiarise yourself with your subject. Sketch from the images. Study the
photos. Try and figure out the essence of the subject. A subject’s essence can be
categorised by:

• The key functional elements and structure of a subject
• The symbols associated with that subject

Key functional elements and structure

First you study key functional elements-and simultaneously try to understand the
structure of the subject- the arrangement of the key parts to the whole, in relation to each
other. By ‘functional elements’ it is meant the different basic parts of a structure (in the
case of a man made object) that allow people to use it or interact with it. These elements
vary depending on the complexity of the objects. First gain an understanding of the
key functional parts, and how they are arranged in relation to each other.

The reason for this is a certain number of parts must be present together for any
“machine” to function. A door must have hinges to swing, and a handle or door knob to
grasp; if any one of these elements is missing, it can not function properly as a door.

As mentioned earlier, the study of functional elements occurs simultaneously with
understanding of the structure of an object. Structure is the order in which functional
elements (or parts) work together to become an object.

Symbols

Symbols are visual identifiers that have a degree of resonance with the audience-that
people today associate with a given item. This makes a design instantly recognisable
without the need for either spoken or written explanation that will invariably slow down
the ebb and flow of the story. This
recognition or ‘readability’ by an audience is an essential component to a good design.