Initial Carnival Concept

A quick concept piece taking one of my thumbnails into Photoshop, experimenting with the composition and atmosphere of the piece. Here I'm trying to portray the carnival in an unhomely, eerie and unsettling manner.

Blocking in shapes with quick perspective lines.


The scene seemed far too static at this early stage, so I adjusted the horizon line to an angle for a more dynamic composition with additional details.


Some lighting effects and details to bring more atmosphere into the piece


As an initial piece, I believe it captures some aspects of being unsettling, yet I feel the scene could be much more ambiguous and unhomely given some more experimentations in framing and composition. Getting things right at this stage is pivotal to ensure a smooth transition into the realm of CG, and with this I've got a good idea what I need to look into next to better realise my initial concepts.

Any thoughts and feedback is most welcome.

3 comments:

matt hyland said...

these are really amaizing... I like the way you got the camera off tilt, and the barreness of the park. I also like the light aswell and the siloet of the feres wheel good work :D

tutorphil said...

Online Interim Review 15/12/09

Hi Leo,

If proof were needed of the importance of thumbnails and concept art in pre-visualising and art directing a given scene, your 'canted carnival' image supplies it; suddenly, your scene goes from ordinary to ominous... Some very encouraging visuals here, and I note too, how, in the third refinement you begin to consider your foreground, which adds depth and a hint of voyeurism to the scene; you should push this a little further - if, for instance, the 'camera' was viewing the scene from within some kind of stall, you could have souvenir bears or similar hanging down in the immediate foreground - something for looking past anyway; likewise, it might be worth considering putting an object in the path - some disembodied something - to add interest and another forlorn 'note'. Another possibility might be strings of coloured light bulbs zig-zagging from one side of the arcade to the other, to draw the eye deeper into the back of the image... you see, your concept art makes it possible for me to 'see' your space in my own head and therefore offer up these potential embellishments; it's powerful stuff, and will prove vital in later projects for just this reason - a platform on which to build creative discussions and refinements.

I look forward to the next phase of visualisation - colour values and lighting - and then the modelling begins!

See the next 2 posts for general info re. the written assignment as posted on all first year blogs.

Leo Tsang said...

Thanks for the feedback as always Phil, will definitely try pushing the foreground element as well as the other ideas in adding objects of interests.

@Matt
Cheers Matt, glad you like the piece :)

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