Art Direction
The following excerpts of process are the results of an independent study in Art Direction with Professor Austin Shaw. All projects cover the processes of ideation, conceptualization, and visualization up until the point that animation production begins.
Modern Aesthetic: Primitive
Brief
"Less is More... This phrase gets thrown around a lot in art & design discussions. For this project, you will examine what this idea really means and see if you can apply it to an original design aesthetic. The modernist movement seeks freedom from the constraints of realism. The challenge is to say the most/ created the strongest impact with the minimal amount of words, strokes, etc... Find the essence of what you want to express, and strip away anything that is extraneous."
Process
Treatment
Following Austin Shaw’s creative process for project execution, broad ideation gives way to subsequent rounds of reduction in an attempt to simplify and unify components of a message. Still, throughout the stages of reduction, past ideas may reenter but in new ways, possibly altering the course, possibly being discarded, before ultimately finding their way into a compact singularity.
Abstract imagery defines the mindscape. Lit representations of ideas, combinations of old and new perspectives, and elements and principles of design draw a picture of a journey to the end: a flat box, eternal and bright in the dark surrounding.
Final Style Frames
Process
Collage: Wayfinder
Brief
"For this Project you will create a Design Board in the aesthetic of Illustration, Character Design, or Collage (Or a combination). These disciplines have long and rich traditions in various media and certainly speak loudly in the realm of Motion Media Design.
Be sure to research a variety of Illustration, Character Design, and Collage. Look at both contemporary and classical examples. Do not limit yourself solely to commercial art, as there are many examples of ne art that could be informative, especially in the discipline of Collage."
Process
Treatment
Where to go? How to get there? Some of the best advice I’ve received: “Figure it out.” Reality is entirely what we make of it, how we interpret our surroundings and act upon them. Apply yourself.
Final Style Frames
Tactile: Got a Light?
Brief
"For this Design Board you will explore the more physical aspects of Design. Tactile, Tangible, and Paper Craft are a few terms that describe design processes that possess an analog nature in either aesthetic or material.
The goal of this design board is to translate graphic/design principles spatially as well as delivering a hand made look and feel. This is an opportunity to combine analog and digital methods. Do not be afraid to get off the computer, at least partially in the creation of your assets. Found objects, hand construction, photography, scanning, clay modeling, cutting and pasting are all encouraged. Alternatively, if you want to use CG modeling, aim to give your textures an analog aesthetic. You could also combine CG with handmade assets as well."
Process
Storyboard
Final Frames
Type-driven: Booze Hound
Brief
"For this project, you will create a design board for a type-driven project. Typography should be the hero and focus of your concept. Type as hero for motion graphics projects are typically Title Sequences, Kinetic Type, and Info Graphics projects. Any of these can work for this assignment as long as type is considered and treated in an interesting manner."
Process
Final Frames
Matte Painting: Ants
Brief
"... For this project, you will create a matte painting that serves as the visualization of a motion design concept. The matte painting should also be suggestive of a story or narrative. Develop a concept based off of a keyword. Regardless of the keyword chosen as a jumping off point, be bold in your approach. Create a scene that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to photograph. The point of this exercise is to create a dynamic composition for a scene that would be impractical to shoot. Simply creating a composited landscape would be an underwhelming outcome for this project. Dream big for this concept and push the limits of your imagination. It is an opportunity to practice and challenge your image-making and compositing skills."
Process
Layout
Value
Underpainting
Photographic Assets
Composite
