Deleted member 157129
D
Deleted member 157129
I wanted to start with a clean slate here and keep this thread as the primary discussion thread for all concept art contests in the future. In the second post, all the acceptable themes (or, rather, problems) will be listed for convenience.
What is a theme?
In visual art it is described as roughly; an emotional atmosphere, a message, a well established idea, or a combination of these. However, concept art is not your average visual art. As a concept artist you are more often than not given a specific problem to solve. Therefore, when we talk about theme for a concept art contest, we are in fact referring to the problem, and not a theme. A problem is best described as a specific object with various additional details. For instance, you could have something as vague as Protagonist - it is a perfectly legit problem, and it is very common - but it will provide a plethora of options that will be very difficult to compare. Often, when making a film for instance, you'll have some idea of what this film is about, when it happens and who the protagonist is. In short, your final product has a theme. So if your film project is about the Roman Empire, centred around Augustus Caesar, with a serious, neigh documentary approach you don't want your protagonist to be a Sith Lord from the future. Therefore, you will have your concept artists work on a character that fits the era, is human and suits the environment of the film. You'll probably know whether this character is male or female as well. As such, the problem could be Protagonist - Decorated (Male) Roman General (serving Caesar).
I hope this clarifies a few things that we fought over in the previous concept art contest thread. When you suggest a theme, suggest a problem to be solved. If you're unsure of how to summarise your idea in a few words, feel free to elaborate, but another beautiful thing about problems as themes is that when contestants are presented with it, they will immediately know what it is or know exactly what to search for to find out.
Let's make this a friendly discussion about themes and contest rules, and not a battle of who's more right than the other. Thanks.
What is a theme?
In visual art it is described as roughly; an emotional atmosphere, a message, a well established idea, or a combination of these. However, concept art is not your average visual art. As a concept artist you are more often than not given a specific problem to solve. Therefore, when we talk about theme for a concept art contest, we are in fact referring to the problem, and not a theme. A problem is best described as a specific object with various additional details. For instance, you could have something as vague as Protagonist - it is a perfectly legit problem, and it is very common - but it will provide a plethora of options that will be very difficult to compare. Often, when making a film for instance, you'll have some idea of what this film is about, when it happens and who the protagonist is. In short, your final product has a theme. So if your film project is about the Roman Empire, centred around Augustus Caesar, with a serious, neigh documentary approach you don't want your protagonist to be a Sith Lord from the future. Therefore, you will have your concept artists work on a character that fits the era, is human and suits the environment of the film. You'll probably know whether this character is male or female as well. As such, the problem could be Protagonist - Decorated (Male) Roman General (serving Caesar).
I hope this clarifies a few things that we fought over in the previous concept art contest thread. When you suggest a theme, suggest a problem to be solved. If you're unsure of how to summarise your idea in a few words, feel free to elaborate, but another beautiful thing about problems as themes is that when contestants are presented with it, they will immediately know what it is or know exactly what to search for to find out.
Let's make this a friendly discussion about themes and contest rules, and not a battle of who's more right than the other. Thanks.
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