A Plan

I read the concepting link on Blackboard years ago, completely forgot about it until i saw it again. It is a great example of the process an artist should go through in order to create an image.

I'd like to think it's exactly what i have been focusing on this year. Really making sure i do my research before starting a final. Generally my process involves generating a successful thumbnail and a few variations, then to produce either a pencil or digi paint of the values as a quick paint over. If i'm working in colour i will then spend some time creating a palette, and outline in my head the order in which i will work through the picture. Lastly, before getting in to rendering i will get my reference images. Once all of this has been done, it really is as simple as painting by numbers.

The only problem i'm having this year is that i feel as if i have rushed alot of my final pieces, most notably the first few weeks.

When the vehicle project rolled around i thankfully had last year to fall back on. I spent ages on it last time trying to learn how to concept something and thankfully i recalled the same process this time.

Using photoshop i bring in random photos and start sketching the negative space and just look for any interesting shapes that i can pick out. Once this is done i do some additional scribbles off the top of my head. Then i go through and pick say about 6 that i really like and work them up a little bit. Up until this stage i stictly focus on the silouette but here i add some detail. Then i may wipe the detail and work into the same designs with different detail. Generally i will repeat this process a number of times until i have a design i like.

Once i pick one it is then time to get reference together and render up!

My process is ok. It isn't great, but it's way better than it used to be. This year i would rather spend all my time concepting stuff and not produce any finals at all. It sounds stupid, but i know i can produce a final, rendering is my thing, there is no point in endlessly rendering things. I'd much rather spend the time concepting and doing quick paintings, so that when i do sit down and spend some serious time on a final it's better because of it.

I think the main thing i need to do to continue to improve my process is to make it more habitual. Although my process works for me, when set a task my first instinct is still to jump straight in and that's holding me back because i think it influences the process and makes it less free. My first thought literally needs to be open and free and just dive into shapes and compositions first.

Essentially a professional process will produce a professional outcome (or at least it will go a long way in doing so)

And in this industry, concepting and design is everything!

Guest lectures

Thought i'd cover Blitz and Del's lecture in one. The Blitz lecture was great. It was extremely helpful and encouraging to hear that they are interested in the people on our course and also to hear what they are looking for in a potential employee. Jolyon's talk was much the same as last years albiet with a slighty greater amount of content. The premise was however the same. I asked a question regarding our chances of being hired compared to people that have been in the industry much longer. I kind of figured that they would have the edge, being better artists and more experienced however both Aaron and Jol said that they tend to prefer competent graduates over more experienced industry veterans. The reason being for this is that veterans tend to be a little jaded and less passionate and enthusiastic. This was good news to me as i have always had the mindset that there is always a better artist than me out there. Perhaps not the most productive mindset but there you go. Solid core skills and a real passion to do well should be a good start in getting noticed.

Del's lecture was a real surprise. Not that i thought it would be bad, just that i had no idea what he was going to talk about. He made some great points and though he was slightly nervous at first he delivered in my opinion a fantastic lecture. I particularly liked the few stories he told. The one about badly wanting air hit home the most. I feel that last year i wanted air more than anything else but this year i'm quite content under water. The problem is that i can't figure out what changed. I guess the ridiculously long summer didn't help but although i didn't do much work i was still regularly learning, studying anatomy and colour plus learning to use Painter. I think the real reason i feel a bit stagnant right now is that im not learning.

Having said that, i wrote this entry last week in my sketchbook on the train. In the time it has taken me to type it up i feel like i'm back on form. I'm slightly behind with one final but other than that i feel i'm on top of things and my current final i'm working on for this week feels like a real step up from last year so i'm pretty chuffed with it. I have always tried to make each piece of art the best thing i have done up until that point. Last year i can safely say that that was the case for most of the finals as i did them. The first 4 weeks this year however were pretty terrible. This in turn had me feeling rather dejected. I'm glad i've put that behind me now and i guess it was an important process to go through.

Additionally, in regards to the guest lectures, it would be awesome to get some experts in their field in to give us specific lectures. For example a 2 hour session from a perspective expert or colour theory master would do wonders for everyone. A friend of mine on a design for film and television course had a perspective expert in and she said it was extremely helpful.