Sam HeislerBA (Hons) Computer Arts

My goal is to become a 2D artist/concept artist after studies. For my honours project in particular I want to focus on environment art. Therefore some general research into this area covering the main aspects of environment design is fundamental.

Though I have not defined my research area for my dissertation specifically as yet, on the practical side my main aim and objective is to gain experience in capturing and communicating a mood and atmosphere through environment design.

My Honours Project

How does colour affect the mood and atmosphere in environment design?

What impact do staging and lighting have in the creation of believable and atmospheric environments?

Possible Research Questions

Examine the impact staging and lighting/ colour has in the creation of believable and atmospheric environments.

 

1. Search for and evaluate existing media concerning staging and lighting/ colour to build up an atmospheric environment.

2. Analyse films/animations/imagery in which environment design is enhanced through staging and lighting as a case study.

 

3. Test stage: Design and create an environment with two different settings/atmospheres. The basic layout/story of the scene will stay the same and the experimentation of different staging and lighting approaches will show how it influences the environments mood through different lighting, staging, composition, colour schemes and camera perspectives.

-> media tests and concept design

4. Final product: A series of concept designs related to each other capturing and communicating a mood and atmosphere through the environment design.

Project Aim & Objectives

Bacher, Hans (23 Nov 2007). ‘Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation’. Focal Press.

Overview of researched topics:

◦ Staging◦ Lighting◦ Camera rules◦ Floorplans◦ Composition◦ Colour schemes◦ Values

Research (Books)

Edwards, Betty (23 Sept 2004). ‘Color: A Course in Mastering the Art of Mixing Colors’. Tarcher.

Overview of researched topics:

o Color Theoryo Seeing Colors as Valueso How Light Changes Colorso How Colors Affect Each Othero Mixing Colorso Hue, Value and Intensity

Research (Books)

Loomis, Andrew (1947). ‘Creative Illustration’. Viking Press.

Overview of researched topics:

◦ Tone e.g. The Four Properties of Tone Explained

◦ Color e.g. Spectrum as Related to Light and Shadow

Research (Books)

MacLean, Fraser (1 Sep 2011). ‘Setting the Scene’. Chronicle Books.

Mascelli, Joseph V. (1 Oct 1998). ‘The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques’. Scb Distributors.

Research – to do list (Books)

Color Theoryhttp://handprint.com/HP/WCL/wcolor.html Color Theoryhttp://www.worqx.com/color/ Concept Art Tutorialshttp://www.fengzhudesign.com/tutorials.htm Is Your Concept Art Portfolio Versatile Or Just Confusing?http://chrisoatley.com/concept-art-portfolio-confusing/ Game Design Artisthttp://www.animationarena.com/game-design-artist.html

Research (Online)

◦ Drawing/illustration skills◦ Effective communication skills◦ Ability to visualise perspective and 3-dimensional space◦ Visualisation/interpretation of other people's ideas◦ Flexible, concerning art style, in able to adapt to new projects/

change when requested

Key Skills I Want to Improve

Improve anatomy and drawing skills in several fields->Gain versatility

Also, Characters help demonstrate the scale of an environment

(On the right a practice study of mine)

Life Drawing and Figure Studies

Recent Practice Concepts

Thank You. Any Questions?