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Concepting Dark Bramble!

10/22/2015

 
Our design team has finished greyboxing Timber Hearth & Timber Moon and are turning their attention to Dark Bramble. Just as working on Timber Hearth allowed them to create a way more functional, dynamic, and grounded home village, the designers are now re-thinking how to create the tension and wonder of Dark Bramble.
Picture
Dark Bramble Alpha: Creepy, but very basic artistically.
The alpha version of Dark Bramble was frightening but very basic in its artistic implementation, so flushing out the story and design gave our team a different idea of how the planet was formed and how that would look to the player. We're super excited about what the redesigned Dark Bramble will look like! Let us know what you think about our concept art on our forums!
Picture
New concept art emerges to match the emergent nature of the design team's concept.
There are some very specific concepts for how the planet grew to be what the player experiences, but we'll save those for a narrative update from Kelsey! For now, we'll just throw a juicy hint that no planet is getting as much of a experience & content overhaul as this gaseous terror of a planet!
Picture
As the design is refined, so too is the concept art: thornier, foggier.
With this concept art in place, Alex is now doing a combined scripting/greyboxing of Dark Bramble that allows for procedurally generated vines interweave with sculpted content. Combined with the fog shader that Logan's working on, the planet's only going to get more intense!
Jamison link
10/22/2015 02:15:52 pm

I've recently been looking into going to college with the intention of becoming a concept artist. I was wondering what it's like, as far as how enjoyable, difficult, and fulfilling it is as a career, and possibly what major and degree you'd recommend for concept art. I've been doing some research, but nothing beats first-hand experience, so any input would be much appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

Wesley_Mobius
10/22/2015 03:01:37 pm

Hi Jamison! Getting into the concept art industry is pretty tough - it will take a lot of time, money, and effort. Because the competition is so tough, you will have a lot of ground to cover before you will be able to start getting gigs. Most successful concept artists put in 12+ hour days for years before they are able to find work, and many continue that pace in order to keep their skills up. Schools can be very helpful if they are based in classical technique, but try to avoid conceptual or modern art programs. If you're looking for a degree, I recommend LCAD or Art Center. If the career is your focus, ateliers such as LAACMA or The Safehouse are great for developing your skills. Ultimately, it's all about practicing as much as you can and learning techniques from the masters. Drawing from life is the best way to improve your visual vocabulary and technique. As for whether or not you enjoy it as a career, that varies from person to person. You will be doing creative work under the direction of others, often with many restrictions. If all that sounds good, go for it! There are many resources to help you out if you look for them!

Wesley_Mobius
10/22/2015 03:04:18 pm

*The Atelier is LAAFA, not LAACMA.

Jamison
10/22/2015 04:10:40 pm

To be honest, the entry difficulty is more than a little intimidating, but I feel creating designs based on given parameters is just my forte. Thanks for the help!

Alice_Mobius
10/22/2015 03:49:37 pm

Enjoyable? Yes. Difficult? Yes. Fulfilling? Maybe.

Wesley has already mentioned all the biggest factors to consider for being a concept artist. One other big factor is which field you are interested in doing concept art for. The kind of portfolio you cultivate for games (more generalist) is going to be very different from animation (more focused) or movies (varies).

In terms of majors and degrees, it's going to vary from school to school. If you go to an art school, they should have some kind of entertainment art path or similar. At general colleges, it's not as specific and it's good to take their fine art/studio art path so you can have access to their equipment. Just a tidbit of my experience: I went to USC for Fine Arts, which worked ok because it was pretty easy and that left time for me to take a lot of classes on my own at The Animation Guild (great for foundation). From my POV, an art-specific college is not absolutely necessary, but it definitely gives you a step up. I've heard that CSUF has a good illustration program, and Art Center is definitely up there. I don't recommend USC, but for me it was useful in giving me connections to the game industry because of its IMGD program.

One of the most important skills to have as a concept artist is going to be your ability to illustrate your vision. This may include character designs, environments, and quite a bit of world building. It can be a great challenge to your creativity and technique to do all that. However, if you have the passion and drive for it, you will definitely do well!

Feel free to email either of us if you have more questions. :)

Murplesman
11/2/2015 10:32:29 am

You guys should add an option for keyboard and mouse use. It is quite hard to play without a keyboard and mouse, currently.

Murplesman
11/7/2015 07:25:58 am

Also, great work guys, I hope you will get the attention Outer Wilds deserves.

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12/14/2018 09:26:28 am

When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

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