Concept Artist's Workshop

NAJLEPSI POLSCY ILUSTRATORZY THE BEST POLISH ILLUSTRATORS Concept Artists EBOOK No 002/02 EN VIRTUAL GALLERY The series includes 161 eBooks in two language versions https://gallery.beslow.pl THE BEST POLISH ILLUSTRATORS is a non-profit project. It is thanks to the trust and money of the Readers and the support of Partners that the implementation of this project is possible. We thank you for your trust and support. SLOW Foundation 2020 WHAT IS CONCEPT ART By Dr. Kamila Tuszyńska The term – Concept art is more and more commonly used these days. Illustration though is a final product, a viewer can see – it is a process With its growing popularity there is a problem of understanding the and aim in the same time. term and, in the same time, of setting the border separating it from Concept art is story telling with picture. It consists of many drawn illustration, sketch or model design. Everything artist does in the form of elements, and their sum carries the story which must be interesting for concept, an idea is considered to be a concept art work. Does concept a viewer. Each of these elements means something and in a message art include any idea presented in the form of visual means? What about of 2D picture serves a particular role thus concept art verges on the stage designers or scenographers who draw their ideas for decorations border of art and communication. and costumes? Shall we consider them concept artists? When can Concept art is expressive and impressive. It has to be coherent and we call someone a concept graphic artist and when only a designer functional, i.e. it must carry a certain atmosphere, features or emo- or simply a graphic artist? What is concept art in its essence, and tions in such a way to evoke certain impressions in a viewer. Choice of what is certainly not? means to depict an element has to be logically adjusted to the way it influences viewer with retaining unity of form, content and expressive Attempt to form a definition. value – means of expression should be adequate to planned way of Concept art uses various visual means – digital techniques, drawing, influence on emotions, to build certain air. painting, sculpture. The very essence of concept art is visual presen- Conceptual art is often associated with concept art. Both terms – some- tation of a certain idea i.e. character image, place, weapon, product or times used interchangeably – have been crossing ways for over half the whole presented world. The concept precedes the final product. of century. In other words, a concept is a vision allowing definition of the final Chronologically, the term concept art appeared first. Already in 1960 effect of any production – animated film, feature film of computer Henry Flynt wrote in his work, Essay: Concept Art: “concept art is the game. Often concept has several dozens of iterations or proposals first of all arts where material is concept”. In fact, the philosopher of visualization of a theme which differ in small details but also they using the term concept art, actually meant what seven years later Sol can be totally different ideas. LeWitt in his “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art” would call conceptual Concept is not a sketch. Sketch is outline of an idea, a simple initial art pointing idea or concept as its most important aspect. Since then, draft. The idea in question is certainly not a draft due to the necessity instead concept art the term of conceptual art would be used, and of quickness of creation and certain “incompleteness” but well-thought- concept art itself would mean something quite different. out design albeit not presented in details. In concept it is allowed to omit The difficulties in understanding of both terms of two different art details since its overreaching objective is to transmit certain idea and domains result from similar words describing them in English. In Polish to evoke specific sensations and emotions in a recipient. language if we stick to English terminology, the association between Concept is not an illustration either. Albeit in technical aspects both them is less obvious, however in other languages it is hard to avoid: forms seem to be close, there is a major difference between both tech- concept art / le concept par l'art and l'art conceptuel in Frech, Concept niques. The aim of a concept artist is to design next ideas as quickly art and Konzeptkunst in German (literally, concept art), concept art as can be and to present them in most effective way, while the aim and arte concettual in Italian, kонцепт-арт i kонцептуальное of an illustrator is creation of final, finished work of art. искусство in Russian. Concept is created for all of production team of a film or a game to save As you can see, concept art exists in the original version in the majority time during designing necessary visual elements for a particular project. of languages. Spanish version with a homonym is an exception: arte In the same time, visual form allows to carry out an analysis of its conceptual and … arte conceptual! and Polish where concept art is used expressive qualities. In this context, visual concept is a form of an interchangeably with grafika koncepcyjna. The Polish name is exception- outline of a representational idea element or a group of elements and ally accurate since firstly it moves the whole term from art to graphics it is not the final version of visualization called „atwork”. It is a part of narrowing its meaning, and secondly stresses two key components for bigger production process, a half-product – something a viewer can concept art: graphics and concept in the same time not obliterating see, but in its essence it was not created for a viewer to see. link with conceptualism. Conceptual art according to Władysław Kopaliński’s “Foreign words huge success of “Snowhite and Seven Dwarves”. There were many dictionary” is defined as: „Contemporary art current aiming at presen- sketches for adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s masterpiece and most inter- tation of plan, sketch, draft, schematic diagram, rough copy of a work esting were created by David S. Hall in 1939, however the film was finally without its completion” [Kopaliński 2007, p. 304]. Conceptual artist completed only in 1951 after introduction of next successive changes. uses any material and chosen form as the most appropriate means The first, full-length Walt Disney’s animation – “Snowhite and Seven to present the idea. The presentation of a concept without “completion” Dwarves” is a pioneering movie since a concept artist, cartoonist Albert links a conceptual artist with a concept artist and in the same time Hunter had a great influence on art, or perhaps visual shape, of the conveys the essence of concept art itself. whole production. Although formally he was not the Artistic Director, in fact he directed a team of several artists working on it. Every designed History of concept art detail – from the characters to the mirror frame – had to have his approval History of concept art as a certain form of expression is more complicated before they went to animation board. than the history of the very term. It begins much earlier, log before the The second significant figure in “Snowhite” production was Gustaf computer era, although concept art is undoubtedly connected with Tenggren, responsible for instance for concepts to “Fantasy” from 1940, development of video games. In the same time, it is difficult to give the final art design for “Pinocchio” from the same year (he created a precise date of including concept art into process of pre-production, Gepetto’s workshop) and also animated scenes in the forest in “Bambi” or the phase preceding production itself with a source code, graphics from 1942. and sound layout. All researchers agree, all visual areas stem from Tengreen, along with Mary Blair – the concept artists for “Alice in late Palaeolithic rock art from the period between 14 000 to 8 000 B.C. Wonderland”, “Peter Pan” or “Cinderella” – is considered to be one Our ancestors could create first “media messages” with their paintings of the artists responsible for formulation of Disney’s animation style. presenting ideas and designs. Ancient Egyptians via their visual presen- There are numerous works from location idea, or places painted in tation – hieroglyphics – transferred their ideas on agriculture, ceremonial watercolour or gouache contained many detailed information, even rites like burials or architectonic solutions on building pyramids. lightning directions. The ancients sketched what they worked on. In the same time they Another industry which employed concept artists in the 30s of the informed their contemporaries on final effect of an idea. Through the XX century was automobile industry. Concept cars were prototypes, ages, artists from different civilizations used papyrus, parchment, paper studio vehicles, “cars of the future”, which were supposed to show tech- and other information media writing down the following stages of more nical and design potential of a producer or designing studio surpassing or less complicated designs including ship, armour, city walls. Humans contemporary achievements in the business. had always created concepts, although in the history of humanity they The first world’s concept car was made in 1933. Gustaf Ericsson designed were not called concept artworks. Venus Bilo for Volvo, a vehicle very much digressed from contempo- However it is not known who coined and spread the term concept art rary cars. Venus Bilo had side doors in the bonnet which gave access in the context of a key process of pre-production, it is certain it was to the engine, and vertically set second spare wheel served partially mentioned for the first time as early as in the 30s of XX century.

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