The Concept Art Idea Book!
Concept art is a wonderful way to flesh out larger ideas by creating simpler designs. If you have a compelling story to tell but haven’t worked out all of the story telling elements such as the locations, the characters, or the props, using concept art helps you to visualize all of the elements together so you can see how they work together. Last month I published my first book, The Concept Art Idea Book. to share my lessons learned and creative processes to help other artists.
Are you struggling with an idea? Are you looking at a computer screen or a blank piece of paper wondering what to do next? All artists struggle from time to time when translating their ideas from a concept in their mind to a completed piece of artwork. The Concept Art Idea Book is a collection of my own original designs over the past year and an explanation of my creative processes. I discuss how some of my pieces were imagined and the methods used to bring them to life. The goal of this book is to turn frustrations into inspiration.
The Concept Art Idea Book is out in e-book format and located on Amazon.com. This book is for all artists at any level to benefit from. Experienced and amateur artists will benefit from this book. The book can be purchased absolutely FREE if you are an Amazon Prime member.
Below are some samples from my book. All artwork was created using Clip Studio Paint (formerly manga studio 5). This is the most cost effective and flexible design program out on the market.
Ghost Orbs Concept Art
Ever walk into a forest and see ghostly orbs fly around you? This is what it might look like if you do. I imagine a lot of activity all at once as if an energy burst is suddenly being released until finally pulsating out of existence. This piece was designed in black and white to create a spooky mood accentuating the darkness and shadow of the night. The orbs are a bright contrasting white so they are able to communicate their presence, movement, and let everyone know they are there.
This piece was designed using Clip Studio Paint and consists of four layers. The initial pencil layer was later converted to detail layer toward the end of completing the piece. The other layers are an ink layer, background layer, and shadows layer.
To create a more 3 dimensional appearance, elements of shadows and highlights were placed throughout all of the layers with a proper amount of blending where needed to fuse the elements together.
The trees were created with a thick inking brush with fine detailing afterward. A tree texture tool was used to give more of a bark look to the skin of the tree. This also allows for more interesting shadows as they were placed with an air brush tool. The bushes in the foreground were created with an ink wash set to a grey tone much like taking a sponge to a piece of paper with ink. Just enough texture to provide the look of bushes without much more but it helps to frame the piece together.
In the background I placed a slow moving mist moving throughout the trees again to provide some more depth and make it seem as though the orbs were traveling through the woods. The far background has a number of different tree and grass designs making it seem dark and very difficult to find your way through.
The Castle on the Edge of Tomorrow Concept Art
This was my first real attempt at a digital landscape. I really enjoyed putting this one together. Imagine yourself looking through a portal at a castle that divides the point where one world ends and another begins. Is it keeping something in or is it keeping something from getting out? Only your imagination knows the answer to that. This piece was inspired by looking at pictures of old castles.
