Unit 69: The Purpose of Concept art

Unit 69 Task 1

The Purpose of Concept art. Safa Radwan.

Concept art, from the cartoon Steven Universe, more specifically, the character Garnet:

These were the first few sketchs of the character while she was being developed. Because these are the first few drawings they are very simplified, and don’t contain a lot of detail or accurate anatomy. These are rough designs draw by pen and pencil.

The purpose of theses sketches is to try and imagine how this character would look before she would be animated. The concept artist wanted to figure out the shape of the body and the outfit she would wear.

Her design has gone through many shapes and sizes, from her figure being skinny to curvy to muscular, and her outfit being sleeveless to using shoulder pads.

The lines are very loose and have been drawn over multiple times. Because these aren’t the final design, the drawings are rough and don’t have to be entirely accurate. The first drafts are always monochrome (black & white),

 

A colour scheme needs to be decided after the initial character design. It is important that the colours fit with the character, for example you wouldn’t paint a happy character blue, or a sed character red. Also the colour scheme must not be too jarring – the colours must fit together well. The colours chosen in the picture above fit the character pefectly; the red/brown illustrates anger and fury, while in contrast the pink suggests a girly side.

The headband is also a sign of fighting and strength.

  

 This was the design chosen to portray Garnet (the character below) in the show’s pilot (first episode) to pitch to cartoon network. The design was later scrapped and simplified, so it could be drawn quicker.

 

She was then redesigned again after season 1 and had her colour palette swapped with a more fluorescent and neon version.

This art style was chosen for the pilot because it was simple to draw over multiple times, as expected for an animation.

However, while lacking shading or realistic details, the design does effectively portray the character’s personality.

The most recent and final design chosen.

The animation & art style involves basic and simple shapes (like square for the afro, and a smooth circular body). And also includes bright colours and a pastel colour scheme, never using dull or sombre hues for the design. This gives the impression of a soft colourful show, ideal for the audience that it is targeted for.

The art style has also been simplified so it can be drawn easily and quickly by animators.

  

Concept art for the main house in Steven Universe. This was drawn so the team could locate and create a realistic interpretation for the house, and map out where everything would be.

It is drawn in greyscale, because the colours were not important, the purpose was to design what the house would look like, and what features it would have. Colours would come later once the first design was finished.

Because it is an important figure in the show, the design had to be drawn multiple times so that they could decide on an appropriate environment.

Compare this with some environments in Rick & Morty, which were done quickly because they would only be on the show for one episode, this design is featured in almost every episode.

The second concept art is from the cartoon Rick and Morty:

Concept art of Rick/model sheet

 

The purpose of these drawings is to work out different poses, so that the animators would know how to animate him, and his expressions are exaggerated so they could draw him in a variety of situations. 

This design went through many changes before they decided on a final design. This was the concept art for ‘pickle Rick’, a one-time character. They are working out how the figure is going to move and be presented, as well as that, also how it is going to fight in combat.

These were first drawn in pencil, but when a concept for the character was decided, the creators could colour it and see how it would appear in the show. 

These drawings are concept art for the environment, some were coloured straight away so the crew could get an idea and understanding for how the scene should look – for example, the scene above is drawn in gloomy colours with a bright orange/yellow sky to signify danger. The relevance of the dark melancholy browns and greys is to give the effect of a corrupt and broken city in the apocalypse.

As for the first image, the bright colours of blue and green stand out, giving the effect of a healthy world inhabited, and thriving with life.

The second image features vivid and neon colours purple and green to create the atmosphere of a foreign and alien planet, with unknown plantation and lifeforms growing out of the corners.

 

Concept art for a character - how it would move, and how the main characters would interact with it.

The numbers 1, 2 and 3 are written in the image to show where and how Slippery Stair would move and transport the characters.

Two different deigns where produced on how Rick and Morty would ride the slug.

 

Concept art for the portal gun used in the show. Concept art is needed for everything, even objects and weapons.

Because it is a prototype colours have not been chosen yet.