Keeping Things Loose

I have been talking a lot about the speed at which I work and my concerns regarding it. I am yet to return to the sketchpad, as I am currently enjoying working entirely in photoshop, but for this next set of images, I decided I would try to work fast and loose:

I was initially working with the idea of a more streamline vessel, as you can see with the first three images from left to right. For the first image I began by trying to draw inspiration from my previous ship design, whilst trying to straighten things out as appose to using the organic curves I applied originally. I quickly decided I wanted to draw something from a more dramatic perspective to make my design more exciting. With the next set of designs I tried simplifying things even further. As you can see with the top right image, I originally included a fin, and more expressive and jagged curves on the wings. This design almost looks shark-like. I felt that this would emphasise that this vessel is occupied by the antagonist in our particular piece of narrative. Re-visiting my whale moodboard however, I felt the inclusion of a blowhole style vent on the top of the ship could look interesting. I also further simplified the lines as I felt the exaggerated curves on the previous design felt too cartoon-like.

For the last design, I was looking at tails I had gathered as source material. I wanted to attempt something from an angle that drew more focus onto the rear tail mechanism of our potential vessel. I feel this design also feels smoother and more Orca looking. In one sense this contradicts the designs purpose as the lines are too soft and delicate, however, it could be debated that the silhouette also bears connotations of the 'Killer' whale. Another quality I like about this final design is that it showcases the propulsion system of the ship. Although the ship is slightly more organic looking than the streamline vessels, it doesn't appear too joint driven and more rigid as you would imagine a spacecraft to be.

I found this looser method of working much more efficient, and not only that, I felt that my ideas developed more freely. At this stage, it is easy for me to get tied down on one concept and my ideas become too laboured. With this study I felt that I developed more of a flow with my ideas. I would quickly get down a mental image I had in my had, and any ideas that were sparked from that, I was able to capture them before they were lost. Workload is not the only concern associated with my tedious workflow, it can also have a strong impact on the development of my ideas. It feels rewarding to produce images I am happy with in a considerably shorter amount of time to previous concepts, and also, to feel that my ideas are moving forwards.

'SWOT' Analysis

As this year there will a focus on our future careers once our three year course is complete, I filled in a 'SWOT' analysis sheet to identify my strengths and areas for improvement:

I feel that one of the key strengths that I identified is my ability to be analytical of myself and constantly asses the task in hand. I try to be focused in my work to achieve the best possible results based on my abilities. Hopefully by maintaining this work ethic, I will see a considerable improvement in the quality of my concept work throughout the year.

The main weakness I hope to improve on, is the speed at which I work. This is not the result of procrastination, but of being over clinical and tedious in my methods. I have been meditating this concern, and perhaps working on paper at stages in the process could help speed development along. When I work in photoshop, I become very precise and deliberate. Perhaps scribbles in a sketch pad could later be refined as protfolio-standard digital paintings. Less successful ideas however, can be dropped without going through the long photoshop process before coming to the conclusion.

It seems that with the influx of indie games, there are opportunities for a concept artist everywhere. No longer must I worry about trying to catch a break with the leading game developers in the industry. Now small teams are being formed everywhere to produce creative titles. My one key weakness which I feel must be improved upon, is my workflow. I will continually strive to improve my methods and develop good practice. I feel it is important to reach an understanding of how I work most efficiently. Perhaps a fully digital approach isn't the most effective means for me. I will revisit the sketchpad and see how it impacts the momentum of my work. I could possibly discover that an entirely digital process drawing everything on a graphics tablet does prove to be the most effective in the end. 

Refining our Chosen Direction

Now that we have a storyboard, our approach to producing concept art has now become much more focused. I suggested that we begin to figure out what exactly is required to move forward and assign tasks to each member. Joel was happy to focus on developing the Ninja style protagonist, whilst Dan is happy to take on the security guard character design process.  

My focus will be on producing the exterior of the ship, and then focusing in on the set (interior) where our cutscene will take place. We are also aware that the camera will need concept art behind it as well as the explosive device the protagonist is attempting to plant. Joel has agreed to take on the camera, whereas Dan is happy to design the bomb. There is also the matter of the Ninja's small getaway craft, which at this stage may or may not be included in the final product. I will gladly put myself forward if the requirement should arise.

I feel that I am beginning to understand how to function within a team, as I feel have the rest of the group. As we all have strong ambitions in concept art, there is a desire within all of us to design characters, Levels and props in a very generalised manner. I enjoy character design, despite taking on the environment aspect of things. I see this not as a pit fall in my development, but as a chance to work outside of my comfort zone and develop my abilities. This is something I can relate with when we think of SWOT analysis, and consider areas for improvement as well as areas of strength.


I began the second phase of my concept art process by considering how the exterior of the ship could look. Working from our moodboard as reference, I began creating silhouettes. Something I found with the shapes I created, was that I could relate certain designs to that of particular animals. I am always interested by the idea of 'morphing' particularly when creating vehicle concepts. This is where features taken from living organic creatures can be applied to create unique structures. You can see from my annotations how some of my silhouettes can be related to organic forms:

One of the links I liked was the relation to a wasp, with it's lower stinger bearing abdomen. I thought this could make for a very unique looking vessel. I developed this idea further, creating a ship concept working from a source image taken from the internet:

I like the result, however,  for the scale required for our vessel, this design perhaps is more fitting for a smaller pod based craft. Firstly, it looks exo-skeletal and lightweight. One can't really imagine long corridors running through the structure. Perhaps I could translate the key elements of this particular idea, and translate them into something much larger and less fragile.

Still, one element I do like about the design is it's organic living feel. I am reminded of the reapers from the 'Mass Effect' game series, a very organic looking machine race. They seem to take there design from the squid, with torpedo-like bodies and arms resembling tentacles. 

I would very much like to keep this living element with the vessel where possible. Perhaps studying larger subjects such as the whale family would be more fitting. This more exo-sceletal design could be used for the Ninja's stealthy getaway craft instead.

Taking a moment to analyse my progression with working in Photoshop, I feel I am gradually improving. If there's one thing that still concerns me it's the speed at which I work. I see my teammates beside me developing ideas at a rapid rate, and I can't but feel I am lagging behind. I am hoping to start working with layer masks to speed up the process of creating concept art. This will help particularly once I've blocked out my image, when adding detail and highlights, eliminating the need to constantly tidy up edges.