Creating the concept board frames artist Sydney has a lot more to offer job opportunities. ‘Optimus Prime’, ‘Prince of Persia’, ‘Green Lantern’ and many more such characters that have managed to capture our imagination over the years, simply started out as Concept Art. In fact, movies such ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Avataar’ and ‘Planet of the Apes’ have some extensive concept art that goes into them before they can materialize onscreen. So when you see one of the Transformers “transform” in and out of their actual form, remember that they were first put onto a piece of paper, or monitor before any of the “transforming” could take place. Every feature, mood, and personality was captured at this very stage of conceptualization.
So, what is Concept Art? Very simply put, it is a form of illustration that’s used to create a tangible, visual representation of an idea. This idea could include a design, a backdrop, a character or even a mood. In short, it is the basic look and feel of all the elements that the game, movie, animation or comic is going to present to its audience. It is the base upon which most sci-fi and fantasy movies, video games and comic books are rolled out. The idea of ‘concept art’ was first introduced in 1930 and further popularized by artists in the automobile and gaming industry.
Concept art earlier involved fine artists wielding out their paint brushes and palettes to stroke out characters and the basic environment with which they will interact. In the more evolved era, the use of software like Photoshop and Corel Painter, as well as dedicated graphics tablets has made life much easier for concept artists to put across their vision, that too within the deadlines. However, to successfully enjoy the benefits of such technology, the artist must be familiar with how paints would blend on an actual canvas.
With the advancement in technology and expectations of the audience, concept art has come to include traditional painting techniques to photo realistic practices. A concept artist begins working with simple sketches of the initial idea, and refines them to finally transform into the realistic pictures required by the company. This makes concept artists almost enigmas of the art world.
So the next time you decide to collect the sands of time in a Prince of Persia, or fling across an Angry Bird, or choose a weapon in Mafia Wars, remember it was all just concept art at one point in time!