Okay - so Isaura it is, with its water gods etc. I must say I like the way you've worked onto strong bold colours for your thumbnails - that's confident. I'd like to see you trying out some of the more 'painterly/custom brush' techniques you've been exploring with Simon, as for many of your classmates, this has proven to be a transformative process in terms of producing more evocative thumbnails.
So - I have a question for you, Coyle: you've identified this Gothic-vibe for Isaura... and I'm wondering if that decision is supported by Calvino's text, or if instead it's coming from your existing affection for concept art of Brutal Legend? I'm looking for clues in Calvino's text to support this dark world of Northern European architecture and interiors... and I'm not 100% convinced it's there. In design terms, there is a process of discovery and detection you need to undertake that moves you towards a visual concept that is 'from' the text, as opposed to 'from outside' the text. For example, Calvino talks about Isaura's belief in water deities - indeed, it seems the whole city is predicated upon these beliefs. The first thing I'd do in your shoes is research 'water deities' and the cultures that worship them... for example:
Next, I'd want to find an existing culture that worships water deities that I felt matched successfully with Calvino's text. Calvino implies that the city exists over the underground lake, but that it must dig down really deep in order to access the water; this suggests perhaps that the world 'above ground' might be dry, arid and hot (otherwise why would they need to dig down in the first place?). With that in mind, I might be looking at water deities that relate to cultures that come from very dry or hot parts of the world - so Egyptian, Greek, Indian and so on. Once you've established this logic, you can start to get into some visual research inspired by the architecture/culture/industry/irrigation of those specific places... and then you can begin to conceptualise Isuara 'from the inside out'. Right now, I think you maybe dressing up Isaura in a sort of fancy dress from your own personal preference and you have to remember your job role: you are a concept artist who is employed to visualise Calvino's Isaura in accordance with Calvino's vision.
I hope that process makes sense. My advice is that you start with those water gods and work out everything else from there.
OGR 04/10/2018
ReplyDeleteMorning Coyle,
Okay - so Isaura it is, with its water gods etc. I must say I like the way you've worked onto strong bold colours for your thumbnails - that's confident. I'd like to see you trying out some of the more 'painterly/custom brush' techniques you've been exploring with Simon, as for many of your classmates, this has proven to be a transformative process in terms of producing more evocative thumbnails.
So - I have a question for you, Coyle: you've identified this Gothic-vibe for Isaura... and I'm wondering if that decision is supported by Calvino's text, or if instead it's coming from your existing affection for concept art of Brutal Legend? I'm looking for clues in Calvino's text to support this dark world of Northern European architecture and interiors... and I'm not 100% convinced it's there. In design terms, there is a process of discovery and detection you need to undertake that moves you towards a visual concept that is 'from' the text, as opposed to 'from outside' the text. For example, Calvino talks about Isaura's belief in water deities - indeed, it seems the whole city is predicated upon these beliefs. The first thing I'd do in your shoes is research 'water deities' and the cultures that worship them... for example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_water_deities
(You'll see there are many!)
Next, I'd want to find an existing culture that worships water deities that I felt matched successfully with Calvino's text. Calvino implies that the city exists over the underground lake, but that it must dig down really deep in order to access the water; this suggests perhaps that the world 'above ground' might be dry, arid and hot (otherwise why would they need to dig down in the first place?). With that in mind, I might be looking at water deities that relate to cultures that come from very dry or hot parts of the world - so Egyptian, Greek, Indian and so on. Once you've established this logic, you can start to get into some visual research inspired by the architecture/culture/industry/irrigation of those specific places... and then you can begin to conceptualise Isuara 'from the inside out'. Right now, I think you maybe dressing up Isaura in a sort of fancy dress from your own personal preference and you have to remember your job role: you are a concept artist who is employed to visualise Calvino's Isaura in accordance with Calvino's vision.
I hope that process makes sense. My advice is that you start with those water gods and work out everything else from there.