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From Concept To Screen

by Jess Gurr

03 Jan

concept-art topslice

Concept art is a very underrated and little spoken of element of film-making. Unless you have an interest in art and design - or are perhaps an artist/designer yourself - it’s unlikely you’ll have come across it very often. A specially trained concept artist will interpret the ideas of (usually) the director and bring them to life on paper for the rest of the crew to use to help create the look and feel of a film.

Looking at these designs, you can see that the finished article can vary quite dramatically from the original concept – take look at Yoda’s original form! Sometimes a character or scene will develop as the production progresses; a character’s appearance will alter the tone of the entire movie depending on its colours, style and overall look. Practicality and relevance to the rest of the story can also have a big effect on the final outcome. Can you imagine what the film Shrek would’ve been like if he’d ended up looking like his concept design?

Some great examples of concept art for film include books like The Art of "The Matrix" (including the amazingly detailed black and white graphic novel style work of Geof Darrow), The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook: Portfolio , The Illustrated "Star Wars" Universe , as well as books for pretty much every Pixar and Dreamworks film ever made. They make great coffee table pieces, but are also useful resources if you’re an artist in need of some inspiration.

My personal favourite of this bunch is the adorable little Buzz Lightyear.

Click to enlarge

Source: http://imgur.com/a/B08t0

AdmirorGallery 3.0, author/s Vasiljevski & Kekeljevic.

Jess Gurr

Jess is a freelance writer and illustrator with a penchant for Nathan Fillion and a decent ‘chase’ thriller. Raised on a steady diet of popcorn, geek ephemera and The Matrix, she is classically trained in the way of the movie and counts Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams and Akira Kurosawa as her most admired auteurs. When she’s not watching films, she can be found working on her first novel and screenplay, doodling a new illustration under her artist name, Wildfire198, or writing for her own blog, Skwigly or for AnyForty magazine.

Website: www.wildfire198.com

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