Carolyn Concept art, also called visual development, is a branch of illustration and is known as the discipline that create solutions to narrative problems, through images and visual designs. Therefore, it is used in fields such as cinema, animation, and video games, since it allows the formation of environments, characters, and accessories such as clothing, accessories, and much more.
Now, its history goes back to the adoption by cartoonists of the Disney studios, and the beginning of the animation or digital illustration industry. So, thanks to this concept, illustrators they managed to establish traits in each character animated, as well as they could make drawings more quickly in the production of films.
What is concept art for?
This type of art has various applications, being very frequent in the entertainment industry, such as video game creation, movies, TV series, comics and animation. Furthermore, its main purpose is to visualize and develop optical ideas before the final production of a project. Some uses are:
- Character development: It is used to design and visualize figures before they are created in their final form. Therefore, artists explore different looks, traits, and personalities, where a visual representation of what the characters should look like is made.
- Design of scenarios and environments: It is used for preliminary sketches and analyzing options. Before building sets or generating graphic environments for movies, video games or multimedia animation, concept art allows visualizing and designing the settings. This includes the architecture, lighting, landscapes, and visual elements that make up the framework of a story.
- Aesthetics and art direction: Establishes the visual sense of a project. This helps to determine a coherent and attractive optical style that can guide the artistic production in general.
- visual narrative: Through illustrations and image sequences, key plot moments, important events, and emotional scenes can be depicted. This can be useful both in pre-production and promoting a project.
Benefits of using concept art
It is of great benefit, since it allows explore different options and optical approaches to characters, settings, and design elements. This helps creators make informed decisions and find the most appropriate aesthetic direction for the project. Also, visual illustrations can be more understandable and expressive than written descriptions, making it easier for team members to communicate and helping to avoid misunderstandings.
It also allows adjustments and modifications to be made early in the production process, before investing large amounts of time and resources in the generation of 3D models, animations or construction of physical sets. This helps avoid costly mistakes and optimize the brewing process. As well as providing consistent guidance for the artists and production team, ensuring that everyone is working towards a common aesthetic goal. This helps maintain a strong and consistent visual identity throughout the project.
Importance of concept art
Concept art plays a fundamental role in the entertainment and design industry, and is of great importance in the development and production of creative projects. Since, it allows the creators convey your ideas clearly and understandable to other team members, investors and students. Managing to visualize abstract concepts and allowing a better understanding and informed decision making.
It’s also important for showing settings, characters, and visual effects in detail, which helps define composition, lighting, perspective, and more. Therefore, decision making is facilitated in the initial stages and saves time and resources.
In short, it plays a crucial role in the development of artistic vision, communication of ideas, planning, guiding the production team and promoting projects. Its impact ranges from the initial stages to the final commercialization of the product.
What are the uses of concept art?
Concept art has a wide range of uses in different creative industries. Here are its main uses:
- Character development: Seeks to visually explore and deploy characters in different projects. Concept artists create detailed illustrations and designs that help define the look, style, and personality of the characters before they are produced in their final form.
- Design of scenarios and environments: Illustrations and paintings are created that depict landscapes, cities, or interiors and exteriors. In this way a guide is provided for set designers, production designers and artists in the execution of the environments.
- Aesthetics and art direction: It also helps to establish the ocular and decorative direction of a project. Well, different styles, color palettes and visual atmospheres are explored to create a coherent and attractive identity.
- visual narrative: Artists look for illustrations that depict key plot moments, emotional scenes, and important events in a project. These images can help writers, directors, and other team members to visualize and understand the narrative more clearly and effectively.
- visual reference: It is used for production equipment in various fields. Artists generate detailed illustrations and designs that guide others, animators, 3D modelers, and designers in working on visual assets and final production.
movie making
Concept art plays a crucial role in movies, as it contributes to the visualization and planning of various visual and aesthetic aspects. Since the beginning of the project, helps filmmakers develop the visual vision for the film. Concept artists work closely with the director and production team to create artwork that represents the desired style, mood, and color palette.
Also, generate storyboards, which are illustrated sequences from the film that help plan and visualize the narrative. Concept artists make detailed drawings that represent the different shots, camera angles, and transitions between scenes. These storyboards are an essential tool for the director and the production team to plan the shoot and communicate the cinematic vision.
However, it is essential when planning visual effects (VFX). Since artists make illustrations and designs that show how will they look in the movie. These renderings help VFX artists understand and manage the digital elements required for specific scenes.
Video game
It is essential in video games, as it helps to visualize and bring virtual worlds to life, figures and visual elements that make up the gaming experience. This is how the characters are developed, with detailed designs that represent their clothing, their facial expressions and distinctive features.
Similarly, it is used for design the scenarios and levels of the video game. Where paintings are created that represent the landscapes, architecture, vegetation, and other elements that make up the game’s environments. These images provide a visual guide to the 3D field artists, who work on creating the scenes in the game engine.
Other forms of visual media.
In addition to its application in movies and video games, concept art is also used in various forms of visual media, such as comic books and graphic novels, where artists design the characters, settings and visuals that appear in the cartoons. These illustrations serve as a reference to comic book artists, who draw on this concept to create the final illustration.
It is also used in the design of toys and entertainment-related products. Since these images serve as a reference for toy creators and are used in the production of merchandising items. As well as in the world of advertising and promotion of products and services. Where visual, attractive and striking images are executed that capture the attention of the public objective and convey the essence and benefits of the product or service. These images are used in advertisements, posters, billboards, and marketing campaigns.
Examples of how concept art influences the creation and appreciation of visual arts.
It should be noted that concept art has a significant influence on the execution and appreciation of visual arts in different forms. Some prominent examples are:
- Artworks: It can be a tool used by artists to develop and visualize their ideas before executing a final artwork. These performances allow them to experiment and refine their artistic vision before carrying it out in a more definitive form.
- Expression of abstract concepts: It usually helps artists to express vague concepts or complex ideas. Therefore, they can use symbolic images and designs to convey emotions, moods or philosophical concepts.
- Influence on production style: Designers and set designers use concept art to develop and visualize the aesthetic of a production, whether it be a film, play, or event.
- Inspiration and appreciation of visual art: It can be a source of muse for artists and a way to admire conceptual art itself. Illustrations and conceptual paintings can be self-contained works that engage and evoke emotions in viewers.
