Concept Art – Page 3

The Importance of Still Life Drawing

Before we discuss the importance of still life drawing, it helps to clarify just what is is. Interestingly, still life art typically depicts everyday natural or man-made objects that are inanimate and, in contrast to the name, generally lifeless.

But it’s the depiction of what may be a lifeless (actually including dead animals in some cases!) object in a way that draws in the viewer, almost as if it was somehow ‘alive’, offers the first clue to its importance.

Whether you’re considering a career in 3D or 2D animation, gaming graphics, fashion design, advertising art, or any graphic-related profession, the importance of learning still life drawing shouldn’t be missed.

1. Creating the Illusion of 3D in 2D

Even if you want to jump straight into 3D animation, understanding how to make a two-dimensional object look three dimensional gives you a practical understanding of what you’re doing on the screen.

2. “Animate” the Inanimate

The art of still life drawing is depicting objects that we might never notice day-to-day, other than for practical purposes (like a can of tomato soup!), in ways that lets the viewer see them differently, see different aspects and even different meanings in them.

If you can do that in a drawing of a bottle, you’ll be better able to do it in any graphic art form.

3. Setting the Scene

Still life artists take time and care to choose and compose their subjects before composing their drawing. It’s like sketching with the objects of your art instead of with pencil and paper. And it helps your ability to compose any scene, whether it’s on paper or digital.

4. Capturing Colour Theory

In addition to composition, still life art can rely heavily on colour theory to add meaning, mood and dynamics to the subject. All of which are valuable tools for every artist and animator.

5. Adds an Interesting, Unexpected Dimension to Your Portfolio

In addition the your areas of specialization, still life drawings add a sense of versatility and depth to your portfolio.

Still life drawing is a major component of the Fine Art Portfolio Skills Class at Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design.

5 Skills a Concept Artist Needs for Creature Design

From the earliest days of film and digital animation, including the Ray Harryhausen classic films, and digital games, like 1993’s Doom, creature design has been a central process on which the success of the entire project can hinge.

If there is anything in common with Harryhausen’s Cyclops, Doom’s monsters and even the Clickers who prowl in ‘The Last of Us’, it is that, despite being unlike anything we’ve ever seen, they are believable, relatable and potentially real.

That means a concept artist for creature designs needs a fairly wide-ranging skill set to create thoroughly realistic, yet previously unimagined creatures to capture the audience’s imagination.

Among many others, that skill set would include the following.

1.Ability to draw both humans and animals, and an understanding of basic anatomy and structure for both

Audiences will only fear or fall in love with a fantasy creature they can relate to. That means, to be both realistic and relatable, fantasy creatures should be inspired by real-world creatures.

2.A Practical Imagination

Designers are usually brought in early in the story and script development and their designs may influence the storyline. Concept artists need to be able to take verbal directions and come up with designs. Sometimes the artist is given a story or character brief that may only be a few sentences long. Where does he or she go from here?

3.Research & Reference Gathering

If the direction was to create a creature that lives inhabits a rocky terrain. An understanding of that terrain. And the physical attributes the creature would need to live there is needed before design can begin.

4.The Process

Now the artist starts doing rough thumbnails of as many creatures as come to mind. From here, the concept artist narrows down the possibilities to a few ideas that he/she develops further. At this point. The 2 or 3 choices may be shared with the Art Director for approval and/or suggestions before settling on a final design that will be fully developed.

5.Traditional Drawing Skills

Traditional drawing and painting skills help give understanding and direction to what you’re trying to accomplish on digital 3D platforms.

Creature design is just one element of the Concept Art Diploma program at Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design.

Why Concept Art is So Important

Even if you’ve heard about concept art, it can still be difficult to understand why it’s so important for animation and video game projects.

What is Concept Art?

It might help to start with what concept art is not. It’s not a simple illustration of a concept. It’s not a sketch or layout of an illustration. It’s not a promotional illustration used to sell a video game or animated film.

Concept art helps to convey the look, feel and mood of a design idea. It is used to capture and convey the overall design vision of a project before anything goes into production, versus trying to express everything in specific terms at the very beginning of design development.

Concept art can be used in animated or even live-action films, video games and comic books. It is particularly helpful in introducing new ideas into existing projects, or even to help quickly convey the direction of an entirely new project.

Why is Concept Art so Important?

This is a great time for artists, animators and video game designers to be alive. Why? For the first time in history, just about anything you can imagine or envision can be expressed visually. Any new world, any re-imagination of the laws of physics, any lifeform; if you think it, you can probably create a visual representation of it.

But if you’ve ever had a hard time telling someone about one of your wildest creations, you can begin to get an idea of how and when concept art can help. Think about the tough time you’d have explaining your idea of a new world, it’s mood, and even potential story arcs that can take place in it, to your grandmother.

Now what if you could show her a single image that would express the thousand words needed to get her to really understand what you have in mnd.

That image would be a piece of concept art.

And its ability to give your grandmother a clear idea of your vision is why it’s so important.

And if your grandmother was the head of Disney Animation Studios, or Konami, well, it could just make you a rock star.

Is that All There is to Concept Art?

No. Concept art isn’t just about pitching overall concepts to grandma. Let’s say she really was the head of an animation studio and you got the gig. Now lots of cash gets plowed into getting hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, in locations around the world, to make your idea come to life in a film or video game.

But your initial concept art only helps to convey the setting, mood and tone of the overall story. Typically, to help fill in the rest, you’d carefully create a game design document, including painstaking descriptions of characters, for the entire project. Cool. Now everyone has a single reference point for designing not just characters, but settings, features, gameplay elements and so on.

But any two people can read the same physical description of a character and develop two very different looking and functioning beings. If no one is able to capture what you mean from a written description, the development of your character goes back to square one and your project goes way over-budget. And then you’ve upset your grandma.

So concept art can be a mood shot, or the schematic of a vehicle, or any artwork created before the real work begins to make sure everyone works towards the same vision. It might be a single image, a series of images or a mosaic of images that will all together communicate ideas quickly and clearly.

An increasing level of concept art proficiency is required in the video game and animation industry to help streamline the production process. To learn more about how you can earn your Diploma in Concept Art, get in touch with us here at Max the Mutt College of Animation & Design.

Max the Mutt Ranks 3rd Worldwide, First in North America, for Digital Illustration & Concept Art !

art by: Boris Radevski - current year 3 Concept Art student — art by: Boris Radevski – current year 3 Concept Art student

“The Rookies” has ranked Max the Mutt 3rd worldwide for Digital Illustration, and first in North America, for their 2017 School of the Year Official World Rankings.

art by: Dhenzel Obeng - current year 4 Concept Art student — art by: Dhenzel Obeng – current year 4 Concept Art student

The Rookies is an international website dedicated to emerging artists and supported by major companies worldwide. Every year students around the world submit work and compete for scholarships, internships and prizes, and, most important, to get their work critiqued by major international digital artists. Each fall schools are rated based on the work uploaded by their students.

Environment Design by: Boris Radevski - current year 3 Concept Art student — Environment Design by: Boris Radevski – current year 3 Concept Art student

As stated on The Rookies: “The Best Creative Media & Entertainment Schools in the World 2017 is based on the quality and performance of student work that is submitted to our judging panel between March 2017 – May 2017.” The judging panel is composed of respected professionals from top companies.

Last year was the first year Max the Mutt students entered, and we were delighted to discover that for 2016 we’d ranked 5th in the world.

Character Design by: Zabi Hassan - current year 4 Concept Art student — Character Design by: Zabi Hassan – current year 4 Concept Art student

This year we rank 3rd! We received the highest ranking of any program in North America. Work was submitted by students in years 2, 3 and 4. Our ranking is particularly exciting because Max the Mutt’s Concept Art Program is small, especially when compared to some of the university programs both in Canada and the USA that we’re competing with. We never have more than 15 students in a class, and frequently fewer. For such a small program to have so many students with excellent work that we have come out this high, is the end result of everyone’s caring and passion, a well-thought-out curriculum, dedicated students, small class size, and inspired instruction.

Environment Design by: Desiree Moffatt - 2017 Concept Art graduate — Environment Design by: Desiree Moffatt – 2017 Concept Art graduate

Hats off to all of you!

Just an additional note: special congratulations to Zabi Hassan, who having completed a summer internship at UbiSoft Toronto, is now working for UbiSoft. by special arrangement, as a Junior Concept Artist (joining 4 other former MTM students) while completing his fourth year at Max the Mutt. Congratulations, Zabi! Well done.

Max the Mutt offers the only in-depth Concept Art Program in Canada, and we are looking for applicants who have imagination, passion, work ethic, grit, and a desire to learn and develop as designers and digital artists. Because this program prepares you for both animation and games, in addition to working digitally, it requires a serious interest in developing traditional fine art skills, including painting in oils. If this description fits you, we encourage you to contact us now!

We offer private tours and consultations, and also host one Open House weekend each month (the first is Sept 30/Oct 1).

Join the Max the Mutt students and graduates who year after year produce exciting, imaginative and artistic digital illustration recognized worldwide.

admissions@maxthemutt.com 416-703-6877, toll free in North America 1-877-486-MUTT

We look forward to meeting you soon!

art by: Damjan Lazic - 2014 Concept Art graduate — art by: Damjan Lazic – 2014 Concept Art graduate

Congratulations!! To Kristiyan Bechev and Welcome to the Concept Art Program at Max the Mutt!

Congratulations Kristiyan Bechev, who has been accepted into our Concept Art for Animation & Video Games Program, and has received a glowing write up in the Alberta, Canada publication, the Okotoks Western Wheel.

The link to the Okotos Western Wheel article is displayed below:

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/Student-captures-the-anatomy-at-work-20170705?orgid=106&infoID=8503968&sid=-99&linkID=838442

Here are some pieces that Kristiyan submitted for their application to the Concept Art Program:

Environment Krystiyan Bechev — environment by Krystiyan Bechev

character01 Kristiyan Bechev — Character by Kristiyan Bechev

More fantastic work from their online portfolio may be found at the following link: http://kristiyanbechevarts.com/portfolio.html

We are looking forward to meeting Kristiyan this Fall!

Max the Mutt’s “Industry Night 2017” Event Brings Graduates and Recruiters Together!

Our Industry Event was a huge success! From 3:30 pm until 9:30 pm on Wednesday, May 23rd, Max the Mutt was filled with visitors, including art directors, recruiters, and industry professionals, all visiting to see the work produced by 2017 graduating students from Animation, Concept Art, and Illustration for Sequential Arts and meet the graduates in person.

This year’s event was electric! The video interviews we are happy to share with you here, reflect what seemed to be unanimous amazement at the level of 2017 graduate work!

If you would like more information about this unique college, Contact us at admissions@maxthemutt.com to ask for more information about our diploma programs. A very few openings are still available for Sept. 2017.

For summer “workshops” to sign up directly through the website right now!

Max the Mutt Ranked One of The Best Illustration Schools Worldwide!

Max the Mutt has been rated one of the best Illustration Schools worldwide! “The Rookies” today announced the official rankings for the best creative schools in the world for 2017. The results were calculated based on the voting of 1,800 submissions of portfolios from students and recent graduates studying at over 500 international schools and training facilities.
Each school was awarded points based on data collected from the performance of submissions from students across nine of the Award categories: Architecture, Film Making, Graphic Design, Illustration, Motion Graphics, Next-Gen Gaming, Photography, Visual Effects & Animation, Web & Mobile.

Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design has been chosen one of the Best Illustration Schools 2017 worldwide! What an honour! Congratulations to all our hard working students and the committed industry professionals who are instructing them

Max the Mutt offers a 4-year diploma program in Concept Art that includes traditional representational fine art training, as well as training in character design, environment and location design, prop design, and much, much more. We are a small community of dedicated students and instructors and feature small class size, mentoring, and working professionals instructing.

(Attention all you animation and sequential arts students: your work is great! Upload it to The Rookies and try for prizes, internships, and personal critiques of your work!)

Check it out on “The Rookies” website!

Contact us, admissions@maxthemutt.com, or check out this website, for more information about our programs and how to apply! Call us, toll free in North America, at 1-877-486-MUTT.

Angela Matinong Character Design Process On “The Rookies !”

Skilled Character Designers Are in Demand Worldwide!

Angela’s article shares step by step process information….

Tekkonkinkreet Characters Designed by Jing Matinong

Jing Matinong’s article on Character Design process is currently featured on www.therookies.co, an international website devoted to emerging design talent worldwide. This truly is an honour for a student about to graduate this spring!

“The Rookies,” is dedicated to emerging artists worldwide. In addition to allowing students from all over the world to upload their work for critical review by professionals, they offer awards and internships, and articles sharing process information.

Founder Alwyn Hunt, while in Toronto on a visit from Australia, addressed Max the Mutt students and looked at their work. He was so impressed by Jing’s work that he asked her to create an article on her design process for The Rookies website. Jing’s creativity, imagination and hard work are prime ingredients of her success, but she definitely would tell you that her ability to express her vision has been helped by the depth of the curriculum offered by Max the Mutt’s 4 year Concept Art Diploma Program, the individual instruction our students receive, and the depth of knowledge their instructors, all working professionals, share with them.

Congratulations Jing! Max the Mutt is proud of you!

See more of Angela “Jing” Matinong’s work....

View more student portfolios…

For more information, or to book a tour, contact us now through this website, or email us at admissions@maxthemutt.com, or call us at 416-703-6877, 1-877-486-MUTT toll free in North America. We are still accepting applications for September 2017.

The Royal Winter Fair, Annual Drawing Event for MtM Students & Faculty 2016

Every year Max the Mutt takes a trip to the Royal Winter Fair. The fair is filled with excellent exhibits and animal shows, offering an opportunity for our students to practice their animal drawing, and gain more experience with on location studies that include people as well as animals.

Here are some thoughts from one of Max the Mutt’s Drawing Instructors, Ed Shawcross, about this year’s visit:

..… the event was quite successful with most students seeking feedback and exhibiting excitement as they worked throughout the copious arenas finding of diverse subject matter to draw. It was also great to see some recent grads who joined us, continuing the tradition started at MtM, and now attend to draw for themselves.

Ian Culley, a former instructor, was a special surprise guest. I was delighted to have him assist us as an added member of the teaching team.

Tina Seemann, Director of Animation, offering animal drawing advice at the Royal Winter Fair — Tina Seemann, who heads the Animation Program and also instructs Animal Drawing, offering drawing advice at the Royal Winter Fair.

Tina made a good suggestion for next year: perhaps we should extend an offer to all our grads to join us on the day we visit the Royal Winter Fair! They could benefit from the reduced entry fee and enjoy the camaraderie of drawing on location with mentors and peers.

Kent Burles, MtM Illustration Coordinator, looking over MtM student's sketches at Royal Winter Fair — Kent Burles, Illustration Coordinator, looking over MtM students’ sketches at Royal Winter Fair

A quick note of thanks to everyone for all efforts- both physical and artistic – as we worked with the students on location at the Royal Winter Fair. A big hurrah goes to Noelle for organizing the tickets and scheduling the event; it went as smoothly as silk