Environmental Concept Art- Starting with perspective drawing?

[BGrizzMayne]

Hey guys-

I'm quite new to concept art and honestly art as a whole. I'm taking quite a few steps towards becoming a better concept artist, such as The Structure of Man DVD's by Vipplu, Loomis books, and working with a study partner on this site. (You can see where I'm at in my sketchbook and artblog- it's not too good.)

Anyways, I don't want to be a one trick pony and simply be able to illustrate characters. I want to concept my own environments, buildings, and etc for my characters to reside in.

I was just wondering how you all got started into environmental concepting- Are there any good DVD's or online sites/e-books that might be helpful? Or should I simply start with basic perspective and go from there? (I am working on perspective in school right now)

I also have the scott roberson basics gnomon dvd, maybe I should give that whirl?

[dpaint]

Perspective is good but combining it with geting outside and sketching and painting is better. You need to understand light in real world situations to be a good environment artist.
Consume a lot of information about architectural movements through history. Look at how buildings and rooms are laid out and why.

[JeffX99]

Perspective is good butcombining it with geting outside and sketching and painting is better. You need to understand light in real world situations to be a good environment artist.
Consume a lot of information about architectural movements through history. Look at how buildings and rooms are laid out and why.

Abso-fricking-lutely! My main gig in my career has been worldbuilding, environments, level design, etc. and I would recommend Jack Hamm's book "Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes" - it is not expensive and the first 72 pages are gold. Also study the work of James Gurney and pick up his books "Imagainitve Realism" and "Color and Light". Good luck!

Edit: Oh, and study the great landscape artists and movements throughout history - Hudson River School, Sargent, Maynard Dixon, etc. Also architects and architectural illustrators - Hugh Ferriss, Lebbeus Woods, Eero Saarinen, Santiago Calatrava, Buckminster Fuller, Vauban, etc. Plus study your ancient cultures that left fascinating architecture, temples and ruins...have fun!

[BGrizzMayne]

Thanks for the replies guys- Jeff those resources are likely good starting places! My fundamentals in drawing and quite weak, and environment/architecture seems to make that more apparent.

Are there any books that pertain more to modern concept art, or should i start with basic landscape and move toward concept type stuff?

[pokepetter]

Here's a link to a digital version of the book recommended: http://www.scribd.com/doc/33717345/D...s-by-JACK-HAMM

Every piece of concept art starts from observing the real world, so start there. Also, for architecture I recommend to practice drawing boxes in correct perspective and then study architecture to get a mental library and basic understanding. The wikipedia artices on achitecture styles are pretty good for that, but don't forget to study the buildings around you.

[JeffX99]

The main thing you need to focus on right now is basic drawing fundamentals. Take a class or two at a community college near you - work on still life setups at home - go outside and draw. The books I mentioned will help, along with Deborah Rockman's "Drawing Essentials".

Thanks for that link pokepetter - I still recommend just buying it - it is very inexpensive and always better to have a book handy.

[BGrizzMayne]

Thanks for the tips guys! I'm actually in two drawing classes this semester- concept art for animating and beginning drawing. However a lot of stuff we do is perspective grids with a ruler. I'm sure it will translate to drawing actual stuff later on, i just dont like the idea of relying on a straight edge to develop perspective.

This is a question along similar lines: I'm looking at Scott Robertson's basics drawing DVD. He does all of his perspective drawing without a straight edge. He's trained himself to draw straight lines.

Well, I'm definitely not at that point now. Do you think I should bother completing Robertson's DVD with a straight edge, or wait until I can draw straight lines without a ruler?

Thanks.

-BGM