Game Concept Art - Week 1 (Spring 2020)

Game Concept Art - Introduction

Spring Semester - JAN 21, 2020

Who is Frederick Gardner? 

Discuss education and work experience. 

Frederick Gardner Film/TV Credits

Class Structure will be as close to a studio environment as possible. 

Life Drawing

Artists will participate in Life Drawing :30 min before Call Time in the studio. One volunteer will be asked to pose for various 3 minute poses while the rest of the artists execute quick gesture drawings in pen and marker, pencil or other medium of choice. The goal is to have the model sit for 8 poses in :30 min. Life Drawing will be held every week before the studio lecture and production time.

Life Drawing Examples:

Suggested Materials for Life Drawing:

- Small Sketchbook to fit in pocket or backpack. Paper quality is important! Moleskin Sketch Book is the best brand.

- Pencil and Pencil Sharpener

- (or) Mechanical Pencil

- (or) 30% Gray Marker and Fine Point Black Sharpie

- (or) Black, Sepia or Brown Brush Pen

The best place to shop for Art Supplies is Asel Art Store  or Blick Art Supplies (online). Always ask for a student discount, usually 10%. 

Asel Art stores are located all over Dallas:

Asel - Cedar Springs
Retail Store & Corp. Office
2701 Cedar Springs Road Dallas, TX 75201 

Asel - Warehouse
8900 Premier Row,
Dallas, TX 75247

Asel - Plano
2929 Custer Rd. #340,
Plano TX 75275

Asel - Richardson
101 S. Coit Rd. Ste #375,
Richardson TX 75080

Asel - Arlington
618 W. Park Row Ste. C,
Arlington TX 76010

 

Lecture 1 - "World Building, Materials & Creating Drama"

Discuss the production design of the Book of Life. Note the difference between the 2 worlds, wood (Land of the Living) and stone (Land of the Dead). How do the materials affect the story and limit the characters?


Discuss the concept of the world in 1890. What are the inherent limitations? How does the period and technology guide the story and the character quest? Steam Power, Disease, Electricity, Revolvers, Balloons, Exploration, Bicycles, Chemistry, Psychoanalysis, Medical Operations
  

Assignment 1 - "Circle, Square & Triangle"

Design (3) 8 1/2" x 11" compositions using a circle, square and triangle in line or shape or a combination of the two. You may use black, white or any shade of gray. Do not use color. The goal is to tell a story or multiple stories in your composition using shape, line, contrast and composition. Save the files for your designs as jpeg files (300 dpi) on a USB drive and bring them to Game Concept Art 2 the following Tuesday for a review.

How to get Adobe Photoshop using a Student Discount or for FREE using the Free Trial:

 If you want to get Adobe Photoshop for Free, Adobe gives you a couple of options.You can order Adobe Creative Cloud which includes a Free 7 Day Trial or you can order the Student/Teacher version of Creative Cloud (which includes Photoshop) for $19.99/mo. Photoshop is no longer offered as a downloadable program and is sold as a monthly cloud program for $20.99/mo. It makes more sense to sign up for the Creative Cloud using your student discount at $19.99/mo.

Here is the link to the latest Adobe Photoshop trial: Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud - Student Discount

Textbook:

- The Noble Approach by Tod Polson (& Maurice Noble)

The Noble Approach on Amazon

The Game

Watchmen 1890, Night Watchmen, Knightswatch

Scientists, Authors and Fictional Characters team up to fight the horrors of London in 1890. 

Create a team of period super heroes, discover clues to the chaos in the fog, sewers and sea. 

Stolen Time Machine! Who is murdering scientists?