You've been very patient - thank you! Individually, there is lot to admire here - some very deft thumbnails, though, the best of them aren't so much 'thumbnails' (meaning quick, instinctive working drawings), as preparatory sketches. In regard to the specific advice re. the foreground, perhaps the question should be 'where is the viewer?' With the exception of the 'man in hole' image, the majority of your images have this 'establishing shot' privilege - a disembodied, all-seeing third person. Perhaps, if you were to make your pov more subjective, the foreground issue would be resolved; imagine that this view is glimpsed as one of your characters pushes through to the edge of leafy plateau, or pauses on the edge of a cliff path or similar; yes, this may move you slightly from the geographic relationships as strictly described in the book, but hey - you're designing a world here, not providing a parallel illustration for the book itself (there is BIG difference and a number of students are yet to step away from the mere illustrative to the real challenge of world-building via production design and the visual concept).
This particular book has a very specific problem/challenge. It is largely 'real world' and the fantasy elements come not from the geography, but the dinosaur inhabitants. For you, the issue of style is of paramount importance. It is perfectly clear to me that you are more than capable of generating any number of striking and technically accomplished landscape paintings that artfully evoke the scale and grandeur of The Lost World... so, honestly, where's your challenge? I'd suggest the challenge for you is to escape the generic, and you do that by cleaving to a bold visual concept and STYLE. Remember, you are generating concept art for an ANIMATION, and photorealism is but one aesthetic of which cg imagery is capable. If I was commissioning an animated adaptation of The Lost World, I'd want to know what the 'point' of a photorealistic cg adaptation would be - why not, for instance, film it for real and insert cg dinosaurs as in Jurassic Park? Perhaps the creative question you need to ask yourself is what should my world look like when it's not the 'real' world, but an animated one? Animated worlds tend toward the simplified, the stylised, the abstract. They make bold and theatrical use of colour as a means of expression emotional 'temperatures' - the make use of a system of shapes to induce psychological reactions. In other words, the production design for animation tends toward the theatrical - not the cinematic: for example
Perhaps, Paul, you need to take a moment to reappraise your role as the production designer (the concept artist knows his stuff, obviously, but he needs to be told what to do - WHY do it...). What is your visual concept, Paul? You'll need one, because that's the question I'll be asking everyone come crit time. If you haven't read the post production literature on myUCA/Space/Unit Materials I suggest you do so now.
Regarding your essay, and the suitability of your case-study, the advice I've given everyone else is simple; before commencing it, make sure there is enough supporting data/evidence/sources on which you can draw to structure an insightful, specific investigation. If not.... For more guidance notes, see below:
Here is a list of links back to the CGAA Group Blog, where I have recently uploaded loads of information regarding the way I want students to tackle their written assignments. As you now prepare your unit 2 assignments on production design, pay close attention to the advice given. I will be looking for clear improvement in terms of use of language, academic ‘voice’, use of conventions, argument structure and correct methods of referencing.
Also – be sure to check out the 2 student essays uploaded to myUCA/Space/Unit Materials – good examples of degree level written assignments. Take the time to read them.
2 comments:
Interim Online Review 09/11/10
Hey Paul,
You've been very patient - thank you! Individually, there is lot to admire here - some very deft thumbnails, though, the best of them aren't so much 'thumbnails' (meaning quick, instinctive working drawings), as preparatory sketches. In regard to the specific advice re. the foreground, perhaps the question should be 'where is the viewer?' With the exception of the 'man in hole' image, the majority of your images have this 'establishing shot' privilege - a disembodied, all-seeing third person. Perhaps, if you were to make your pov more subjective, the foreground issue would be resolved; imagine that this view is glimpsed as one of your characters pushes through to the edge of leafy plateau, or pauses on the edge of a cliff path or similar; yes, this may move you slightly from the geographic relationships as strictly described in the book, but hey - you're designing a world here, not providing a parallel illustration for the book itself (there is BIG difference and a number of students are yet to step away from the mere illustrative to the real challenge of world-building via production design and the visual concept).
This particular book has a very specific problem/challenge. It is largely 'real world' and the fantasy elements come not from the geography, but the dinosaur inhabitants. For you, the issue of style is of paramount importance. It is perfectly clear to me that you are more than capable of generating any number of striking and technically accomplished landscape paintings that artfully evoke the scale and grandeur of The Lost World... so, honestly, where's your challenge? I'd suggest the challenge for you is to escape the generic, and you do that by cleaving to a bold visual concept and STYLE. Remember, you are generating concept art for an ANIMATION, and photorealism is but one aesthetic of which cg imagery is capable. If I was commissioning an animated adaptation of The Lost World, I'd want to know what the 'point' of a photorealistic cg adaptation would be - why not, for instance, film it for real and insert cg dinosaurs as in Jurassic Park? Perhaps the creative question you need to ask yourself is what should my world look like when it's not the 'real' world, but an animated one? Animated worlds tend toward the simplified, the stylised, the abstract. They make bold and theatrical use of colour as a means of expression emotional 'temperatures' - the make use of a system of shapes to induce psychological reactions. In other words, the production design for animation tends toward the theatrical - not the cinematic: for example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWe6f9uR7qk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txo06c1k9sk&feature=fvst
Perhaps, Paul, you need to take a moment to reappraise your role as the production designer (the concept artist knows his stuff, obviously, but he needs to be told what to do - WHY do it...). What is your visual concept, Paul? You'll need one, because that's the question I'll be asking everyone come crit time. If you haven't read the post production literature on myUCA/Space/Unit Materials I suggest you do so now.
Regarding your essay, and the suitability of your case-study, the advice I've given everyone else is simple; before commencing it, make sure there is enough supporting data/evidence/sources on which you can draw to structure an insightful, specific investigation. If not.... For more guidance notes, see below:
Here is a list of links back to the CGAA Group Blog, where I have recently uploaded loads of information regarding the way I want students to tackle their written assignments. As you now prepare your unit 2 assignments on production design, pay close attention to the advice given. I will be looking for clear improvement in terms of use of language, academic ‘voice’, use of conventions, argument structure and correct methods of referencing.
Academic style/Do’s & Don’ts
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.com/2010/11/cgaa-yr-1-written-assignment-stuff-or.html
1st Person to 3rd person conversions
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.com/2010/11/fao-1st2nd3rd-cgaa-students-from-1st-to.html
Use of footnotes
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.com/2010/11/fao-1st2nd3rd-cgaa-students-use-of.html
How to satisfy essay criteria/assignment presentation/hyperlink to referencing methods
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.com/2010/11/fao-cgaa-yr-1unit-2spacewritten.html
Also – be sure to check out the 2 student essays uploaded to myUCA/Space/Unit Materials – good examples of degree level written assignments. Take the time to read them.
Post a Comment