Concept Art 101

[Reject-D]

good job on this topic.. it was very usefull when i wanted to know everything about it

[GlitterGuts]

You gave me advice when I was looking for critique, so I had a look at these tutorials you linked, and I am really grateful that I did. This was a fun learning experience and I look forward to doing more. I uploaded them to my sketchbook thread [third post down] here.

[Cryha]

Hey is it to late to join this? I hope not because it look like a really great way to practice. I really want to be a concept artist someday so please critique and give me as much advice as possible! I could really use the help and I will do anything necessary to improve. Here is my first assignment here in concept 101 lol first a regular old art stool then a cool robotic futuristic version of it.

[Seedling]

Hello Cryha! This is more of a self-guided educational experience than a class, so I’s never too late to join. Nice job on the stool-claw!

Sorry, everyone, for not coming around much. I'll be starting up an actual class in the Mentoring section soon if anyone is looking for that sort of thing.

[Takai]

This is wonderful topic.. This is exactly what I need.. I am starting doing the assignments so I will be around a lot for tips and answers.. Will check your new class in the mentoring section as well..
Thanks billions for your help and efforts..

[Henglong]

Cadavers aren’t a dime a dozen, so medical models make a good substitute. Medical models aren’t cheap or easy to come by, either. So, you need to get creative. Does your school own a plastic skeleton? See if you can schedule some time to draw it. One skeleton can provide hours and hours of sketching fun. Draw the skull, draw the rib-cage, draw the limbs, draw the whole thing. If you ask very nicely, the school might even let you take the skeleton off of its hook and lay it on a table or set it in a chair.

This is true and a great reference, but the only problem is that it is not inside a real person when you are drawing from a skeleton. It will not move like bones do.
Learn the bones and palpate (press-feel) them on yourself and/or others (if they will let you). On most skeletons the tenth rib is about three to four inches from the iliac crest of the os coxa (top of the hip bone). On most living people it is only about one to two. Some it is even less. This will help you be able to draw more realistic skeletons and have the other organs sit in the correct places.

I hope that made some sense.

[Seedling]

This is true and a great reference, but the only problem is that it is not inside a real person when you are drawing from a skeleton. It will not move like bones do.
Learn the bones and palpate (press-feel) them on yourself and/or others (if they will let you). On most skeletons the tenth rib is about three to four inches from the iliac crest of the os coxa (top of the hip bone). On most living people it is only about one to two. Some it is even less. This will help you be able to draw more realistic skeletons and have the other organs sit in the correct places.

I hope that made some sense.

I have the same philosophy about teaching as I do painting: work big to small. To a novice these details are small, so I have not covered them. CA101 is intended a starting point, not a complete class in any particular subject.

[Wulfsbane]

Hi Seedling. I just found out about this thread and I just wanted to express my thanks to you for making it. This is just the thing I needed because I've been sort of without direction for a while when it comes to my drawing. Looking at the first assignment alone has gotten me hooked!

[amit3d]

All this things really really helped me. Thank you for this.

[Hundreds]

Hi there, i'm greatly interested in your assignments, so i started by #1, and i'm going through them one by one, using my tablet.

But i don't want to spam here, so instead of replying each time i finish an assignment, i'll post it on my deviantArt journal ( here )

If you have a deviant account, could you give me your thoughts on this? :3

(there's only #1 for the moment, but soon i'll post #3 -i dont have mirror for #2 lulz )

[Chizome]

I think I left off at #21? Alright! Time to get crack-a-lackin'! xD

[Nuttermonk]

Woow, these lessons are fantastic! No, Fantasmagorical! I've already got ideas bussing. I can't wait till semesters over so I can get stuck into them. Thanks muchly! I can see these are gonna help me oh so much..

(If you don't recognise me it's because I've never posted before. Ten points! You caught a LURKER!)

[Mayu_Zane]

I'm just posting to say thank you to Seedling.

I'll try out the assignments when I'm done with my current projects.

[Seedling]

Hi everyone! I'm delighted that you've found this thread to be such a help! I'd just like to point out that if you want an activity with a live person hanging around to give feedbck, Ilaekae and myself are running something called the "Classroom for All" that features a weekly assignment and an on-dudy teacher. The link is in my sig if you are interested. Cheers!

[Farvus]

The "Assignment #5: the Art Direction Game" sounds like it could be really educational so I'll give it a try. However not random point but all of them.

I sketched some boring generic dwarf warrrior and...
1. Make it creepy.

[Farvus]

2. Make it in the style of Art Nouveau

I've done quickly some research. Art Nouveau has actually the opposite feel to what fantasy dwarfs are about. It's so poetic, delicate, subtle while dwarfs are more about heavy, awkward but well crafted. I think these patterns are definately suited more for elves. Dwarf in such Art Nouveau outfit would be propably laughed at by his comrades . But everything in fantasy is possible so here's Art Nouveau dwarf warrior.

EDIT: Corrected the position of knee protection pad. It looked like he twisted his anke.
EDIT2: Geez... I realized that I placed the knee too high. He looked weird. This is what happens when you draw character with unusual proportions

[Farvus]

3. Reduce it to utter simplicity.

I tend to draw characters that are a bit too simplified for realistic drawing. I think it's my weak point. The dwarf was already very simple but I decided to make it more like cartoony character. There's either curve or straight line.

[Farvus]

4. Double the number of interesting details.

Animal rights defenders might be terrified but this dwarf don't care. I tried to improve the silhouette with those minor changes.

[Farvus]

5. Redraw it in the style of a Chinese ink painting.

I tried emulating Chinese ink in openCanvas but I'm not sure how it's supposed to look like. Maybe something like this.

[Chizome]

I'm going to redo a few of the assignments first in my new media of choice- Photoshop. :3 I'll post them when they're done~

[keith eager]

I started with activity # 2. Bad photo though: tonal pattern looking garish. It's prettier in person. Comments and crits welcome and would be much appreciated! I can't wait to try the rest of the exercises.

[Farvus]

Nice one Keith. My only suggestion would be to keep your pencil sharp .

Here's my update. Next one is:

6. Add foliage

Not a bad idea. In the morning our dwarf can defend fortress and in the afternoon he turns into passionate gardner. He holds here some real life plant - Yucca gloriosa.

[keith eager]

I guess I not Piazetta yet, still have to figure out the right way to mix sharp and soft mark making

[Farvus]

7. Add horns, spikes, or other pointy bits.

I added horns, spiky armour as well as other small things. These include angular eyebrows that make the face feel more agressive. To streghten that I made the helmed follow their direction. Big jaw like protection which works well with the beard I think. The horizontal belt is in complete contrast with all the diagonals. Propably beacause of that those triangles feel even stronger when they come out from behind it. This kind of pattern with triangles and strong belt is Polish highlander's traditional clothing. I guess it wasn't by accident. I changed hands to more bony which gives a bit spiky feel to them.
There are also some very sublte things. The cuffs of gloves are spiky. I added some tiny spikes at corners of armour edges to increase the feeling. The beard and nose are also more pointy. And of course he now has battle axe. Not some simple one suitable for chopping wood.

[Lorkking]

Thank you this is a great help.

[Farvus]

8. Replace one of the major elements with something cute.

I changed his face to more cute. I hope it's succesful. Happy Birthday dwarf warrior!

[Seedling]

I've been getting a kick out of what you are doing here, Farvus.

[Farvus]

Seedling - Hehe. And I'm just having fun .

9. Replace part with an element of Japanese architecture or culture.

I was curious how would our dwarf look like in typical samurai warrior outfit. I think it's not very interesting combination.
Used some old photos for reference.

[Farvus]

10. Replace part with an element of African architecture or culture.

It's mostly Zulu warrior stuff but I added some other minor things . Body patterns, beads on beard and other places, simplier belt, bare feet.

[Farvus]

My arms and hands are really tired beacause I was clearing the snow in front of my home. I managed to sketch this new dwarf and duplicate it instead of inking everything.

11. Add an element of Gothic architecture.

I added helmet with rather crappy gargoyles, bunch of patterns from gothic architecture and sharp ended arches here and there.