BA3b Creative Practice

Week 8 - University Art Test

University Art Test - Part 2

Because I wasn't happy with my previous iterations, I've decided to redesign my asset but with the same setting and initial ideas. I'm still riding with the Scholomance (Sibiu, Romania) theme, however will be going into much more iteration and depth with what I will be imagining/creating.

My first thought would be to figure out where this place would be actually located, so I did some research on the area and came across this lake within the nearby 'Cindrel Mountains'. I'm not going to go too deep into how the player/main character would reach this point if it were a game, but the only way to approach Scholomance itself would be through an underground tunnel/cave under this lake (possibly through a secret door that needed some sort of artefact/key to access).

Getting to Scholomance Part 1

For Scholomance itself, it was thought of as not necessarily being devil worship - but a place for druids to practice magic. In my drawings I will be taking inspiration from satanic symbolism, but in a way that doesn't look to grotesque or scary - since this was essentially a school for scholars to learn.

Because one of my biggest strengths is organic shapes and characters, I wanted to convey that within my asset design. On the left side I have drawn some mock-ups of how my figure would be placed against a frame and lower foundation. The main symbolism I want to convey is the serpent along with the book and apple, symbolising sin and knowledge.

I asked Johan for some feedback on which direction I should go with, and he suggested playing around with the hood covering the face - as it adds so much more mystery to the figure. This was noticeable to him with the 5th design on the second row, where the girl looking up with her face covered seemed much more interesting and gave a different approach/meaning to the whole statue.

Looking over these again I can also understand why the more 'Adonis' male bodies would also seem less interesting since we see countless numbers of them from ancient Greek imagery, and since this is a more secretive and dark topic - I will be playing with the drapery and cloth a lot more in newer designs.

Cloth Iteration and Wings

I also wanted to experiment with wings on my statue, but mainly down-turned as it would further symbolise that Lucifer (the devil) was considered a fallen angel. I also imagined the wings to be made from a darker material than the rest of the statue - or painted dark grey/black.

The Foundation - Part 1

Next was the foundation for the statue itself, where I played with the idea of having sculpted drapery or parts of it being broken.

The Foundation - Part 2

Despite the statues laying down having interesting forms, I really liked the female sitting with the book. I decided to take the wings off because I realised it may have been a bit too much or even biblical, when I wanted it to convey the opposite.

The Back

Next was the back panel, since the asset specifications were that it needed to be against a wall/unable to be seen from behind. I decided to take away the snake since it was drawing too attention much away from the original statue but instead added a swirly snake trail along the sides in the form of a design (but still representing the same thing). My favourite is the last one because even thought the design with it on the outside and inside looks quite bold, it may be a bit too busy. To compensate and add more interest to the back behind the figure I was thinking of adding some areas of decay/cracks e.t.c.

Rendering

Next was taking my sketch to something that looked like it was actually something that could be placed in the world! For this I literally just made the background grey and started drawing on top of it, in addition to adjusting some of the proportions so the form looked more realistic.

Jobs

At the end of each week I will be looking at job opportunities in my chosen specialism, relating to the role of a Concept Artist and/or Illustrator to further my knowledge of what it takes to be hired within the industry and what employers are looking for. These will include unrealistic expectations that I don't meet as of yet, but I feel that it's good to be aware of them.

Important: Some links may be available at the time of submission if the job has been filled, which is why I have written the date accessed and have presented screenshots.

Company: Telltale Games Job Title: Character Concept Artist Link to Job Page (Accessed 21st March 2017)