Senior Project reflection

PART I: Two-Hour Presentation
(1) Two-Hour Presentation Student Assessment
--I beleive that i have should earn a P because i met my speaking time and the activitiies were set to a level where anyone could draw or follow along with certain skill levels of others.
(2) What are you most proud of in your 2 hour presentation and why?
--I was most proud of the fact that along with my visuals i was able to explain the process of how it was made or what the thought processes for them were along without the use of any notecards other than referencing the powerpoint.


(4) What is your EQ and what is the best answer to your EQ? 
--My EQ: "What is most important in communicating an artistic concept?"
Me best answer : Detail through Composotion

(5) How has the last month of culminating events (e.g I-Search, Two-Hour, Exit etc) affected your answer to your EQ? Has it changed? Why or why not? 
WIth the exit interview and the house advisory meeting i was able to transorm my best answer which was detail and evolve it towards detail through composition, it makes more sense and also changes the way it relates to my first answer completley. The answer was only changed slightly by adding more meaning to it and really it was only to give a better clarifcation

(6) What suggestions do you have in order to improve the senior project?
--There needs to be more house adviosry meetings and maybe one general blog for all houses showing upcoming senior project due dates.

(7) Overall Senior Project Assessment
--My project should be worth at least a P or more i believe because not only did i try hard to find answers and even questions to my project, but i alwasy tried to look for the right solutions in order to get where i needed, I may not have the best grades for my components but the whole idea of the project definitley gave me a better understanding of possible future careers and i feel thats one of the goals i had wanted to accomplishPART II: Overall Senior Project Experience
(3) What do you think you did well on in the project? What could you have done better? Please explain.
--FOr the project it would definitley be my second independant task because it gave me a freelance cleitnele based thinking when working with students to define and create concepts, I also feel that when presenting my information it sounds good because i try to explain as much of it as i can before i try to continue. Something that needed improvement was my science fair because although it did seem like there was very little science involved it did help out accumlate one of my answers and if i continued it could have been much better

Service Learning

(1) LIA Response to blog:
Literal
•The things completed during the service learning
-Looking up game concept art and discussing about it
-looking at movie storyboards and cinematic storyboards as well
-him draw some techniques and have me name them out
playing games and unlocking the concept art and looking if they match the aspects of what was showed in the games
working
• Noe Camarena
*same number

Interpretive
He showed me what its like to work with clients that look for free lancers and even showed me some other people that free lance work like Jonathan ulloa who i met with to see their videogame project, Ive also learned that its hard to network yourself out there and throw your ideals in as well, i would say all this was essential to learning about my topic because i got to learn from the freelance perspective and have a small learning aspect of the game industry.
Applied
The way it helped was learning the concept art views based on a free lance perspective, and getting a samll taste of how hard this industry is for all artist.

(2) we have about 62 hours confirmed and still going

2 hour lesson plan

2 hour setup Ortega

Sponge activity:  i want to start people with something like this

 Pass out a box of colored pencils or colored crayons, where each student may take only one. Then give your students a theme, say, transportation, Thanksgiving, or sports. They may not say a word the entire duration of the exercise, so there is no communication. One student (you can start a different paper in each row if you are worried about maintaining a quiet classroom while the paper makes its rounds) starts with a piece of paper, and has only 5 seconds to start a design. He or she may have something entirely different in mind for the picture than the next student, so it’s always interesting to see how it turns out. Give your finished picture a title, and put it on display.

• Introduction: What is most important in communicating a concept artistically?
• Breakdown: The question im trying to answer in terms of this is that, what feature out of a concept gives out the best sense of what you are trying to tell you target audience, also as in what feature of the drawing tells the best story
• Reason for choice: Concept art is something always something that i have loved but i just never knew what it was, when i would always read game magazines and see posters with new games that are coming soon theres is always an art section that gives a sense of feel of how the game is going to be, its what catches the most attention for me and art is something that i continoulsy do even when i dont want to

Foundation:  The core of the presentation will be going throught the same process that i took under my service learning teacher which was learning what is needed how to portray it in a story flow and how it all comes together, i will be teaching techniques of hoe to do certain task and i will also be talking about how each one relates to the industry in a certain way

Body:

Answer 1: sketching/client communciation  

-----Activity 1:  i will have people pair up in groups of four two clients and two artist , the cleints will have a couple of minutes to work together to make upp something they want for a character based off of a short story that i will give them, after that the artist is goingt o interview him/her and see if they can get the detaisl out of what they want for the character, this after that the artist will draw out a sketch of the characters that the cleints described(will be covers) and then the cleint will determine whether or not the cahracter met their specs.

Answer 2: Storyboarding

-----Activity 2:  Now that the cleints gave the idea for a story of the character they will be given story boards and the new clients will be given them and idea of what they want for a quick intro to show off what the character does in this world and how they are affetced by it

Answer 3: detail through compostion

-----Activity 3: i will hand out a paper with a theme on it the group will have 10- 15 minutes while i talk more about concept art the original client must help the artist come up with a sketch that shows off the character performing that theme on there drawings

Conclusion

• What is your best answer and why?--Detaill through composition, When it comes to showing off a concept art there is always something thing that me and my service learning teacher notice and that is the amount of detail color and placement in a concept that gives off a story to the character, wheter it be the time of day, the clothing that he wears and even the posing placement of the character
• 
  
• What is your 3 most important sources and why?--Service learning teacher and interviewee Noe camarena, The book how to creat fantasy art for videogames and the video series of The art of the game, the reason why all theses sources are important are because my service learning gives a hand on experience to my conecept art, the second is a book from an actual videogame company, sony and other labels and shows all the work and process that goes into making concept art for games, and finally is actual video interviews asking concept artist about how their jobs run and the environment affectss their work
• What is your product and why?----When i apply this into real life it gave me a better view on how hard this industry can really be and see that even some professional artist have troubles finding the work. it shows me that if i ever want to take a career in art i better be prepared to have a back-up career in mind

independent Task 2

Screen shot of my artwork in task 2, Not all drawings featured, number corresponds to the number next to each persons critique, under each name. thank you and heres the link to the rest of the folder http://leonerd115.deviantart.com/gallery/28699353  PS. Not all artworks are scanned, just work in progress and finals

Starting off with critiques:

General Critique by Andrew Alexander:
Pros:
You seem to figure out the design for a character based on description pretty easily which is tough to do
You also some to be able to balance the character composition very well

Cons:
Most of them are in poses with is good for presentation of them but it good to front view, back view, side view, 45 degree view, because it will give you characters a better sense of depth

Sarah Allen Digital artist/ Photographer Positive Critiques 
# V
The anatomy for the character with white hair is perfect, as well as the proportions for the dragon. The pose for the character looked difficult to draw, but you also drew that perfectly! I loved the scales and detail on the dragon and the fire on the flaming sword. You drew the shadows in detail and the ground looks amazing! There isn't much to improve on in the picture, though maybe the sky didn't look blended in enough, but it looks like you meant to draw it that way.
# IV
This picture was cool because the character seemed really interested and the colors that you used to adorn him with seemed to compliment each other. The way you made the jewels look like they were sparkling was cool as well! The anatomy of this character is perfect, and he's in a pose that suits him.


 Not in screen shot. colored version of I
This one was really cool because the colors you used for the character really stood out. The outfit as well seemed really unique. The position she was in looked difficult to draw, but you drew it well. The shading was perfect too, the shadows blended in really well with the rest of the coloring and looked natural, and the shine in her hair made it look more realistic!

 Lindsey Western Traditional/digital artist


# XIII
I like the hand there at the bottom and the concept seems pretty cool. I like it when characters have face paint and markings.Practice figure drawing, cause overall the body seems disproportional.

#V
I like the textures you added on the dragon! Very cool
I would shade the character, he looks a little flat and also shade more of the dragon.


 Drawing # IV
I really like this one I like the colors and how you shaded and highlighted
Just work on proportions cause the legs are little funny looking and outlining.

L.I.A

Literal
“I, Leo Mendoza, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
I believe that my Task has helped verified my answers and questions that i had for my EQ, I feel through the process of this task i have learned to better use all possible resources , including independent researching as well as constant client communication between, Andy Rodriguez, Lindsey Western, Andrew Maciel, & Garrett Cruz, Ive met with each several times to discuss their character with them giving me a better understanding of how they want the final product to look. 

Interprative

I believe that my work played a significant role in my project because just based off of my topic continuous drawing practice is the first way and easiest way to go when trying to improve. as a plus i also learned to make digital drawings as well and improved my overall anatomy skill's but now my linearting needs wrok as stated by lindsey that my "lines look choppy"The digital process overall can take up to a minimum of 2-3 hours as well as preliminary sketches and see if any changes are needed, i had at least one revision for each character. My total art work i have on gallery is 16 but my overall amount is about 28+
( the rest werent scanned because of scanner issues)


Applied
 While working on this task i had to keep in mind my first and third answer with my second coming last if all clientele were not met with. this gave me a better understanding of also learning the time crunches of the actually industry as well, showing me the stresses of working for certain amount of times as well as other work(schoolwork) and learned just how busy the whole process is. AS another reason why this component was significant to my senior project topic is learning to use detail and sketching as fundamentals and finals to gain the approval to move on to the final concept piece that will be done, I tried to meet with as much people as i could but some were to busy, showing that i wasn't quick enough o meet with them, displaying that in real life i would have lost clients interest. As a bonuses all sketches that have the name of the client on the log sheet made a character based off a mock video game story i collaborated with Andy Rodriguez in, this taught me story and also keep my work consistent which goes into me second answer, story boarding, if you cant keep consistency then you wont show effectively what you are trying to tell

Interview 4 questions

What is most important to communicating a concept artistically?

1). What do you believe are essential materials that a concept artist must have in order to successfully prepare himself for his work?

2). Why are some Concept artist expected to create storyboards of their works once the character concept is complete?

3). How Can a story board help bring your character to life and how does it affect the creation of the video game or animation?

4).  What would be the best format to present your concept work when showing your overall design of the character and or environment?

5). How are the concepts chosen when presenting the layout and what features make for the best concept?

6) DO you believe the storyboarding process of concept art is essential for a concept piece to show off its potential or is unnecessary?

7). How do you know what amount of detail to put into a drawing and how do you relate that amount with the given story

Follow Up: Is any independent research required to complete a certain aspect of the concept?

8) What is color theory and how do you apply it to a concept that will satisfy the requirements of the art director and animation supervisor?

Follow up: What are some rules that are always said and kept about color theory?

9).What do you believe are three aspects of concept art that are most important into appealing the public audience and why do you believe so?

Follow up: what about the art directors and animators.

10). What exactly makes a concept drawing dynamic?

Follow up: can you list some things that help improve a concept piece.

11). Are there methods that people have as a standard to describe an idea?

12) 1How many variations does a typical concept require?

13) To what degree of professionalism must a concept artist have with his client when communicating

14) What helps a single, particular concept artist stand out within the industry?

15) What limits are there to what a concept artist can do, whiles still maintaining artistic integrity?

16) What technologies are utilized for a concept artist to reach their maximum artistic capabilities?

17) What is the best way to get materials for your textures?

18) What is the best way to get multiple concept artists to work cooperatively?

19) What roles on development teams do concept artists work with the most?

20) What advancements within the industry will affect the concept artist’s job description

Interview #3 Noe Camarena

1.  How do you use real life sources or inspiration to create a drawing?
When i create a drawing i look for anything like bansky or even murals. Pieces like these can help you come up with characters or even environments that give you a better edge in the game or movie industry

2.What do you think makes someone a good concept artist?
In my opinion a good concept artist is one that can get the best detail and the best replica of what your trying to design when fitting a story or a directors basic idea. If two concept artist are competing for the same job then the one that captures the idea better or is quicker will most likely succeed in getting the job.

3.In the game industry what do art directors prefer more Traditional or Digital Based artwork?
Concept art as a whole is preferred to be presented in a digital concept because you can work with finer details and you can make the colors more suiting to the picture or feel of the game idea. Although in some cases people do prefer traditional for older style games because it gives a more ancient feel sometimes rpg based or fantasy.

4. In concept art do you prefer traditional or digital mediums?
For me i usually always start with traditional its easier you can get work done more efficiently but that doesnt work out to well when applying for jobs. I personally dont like Digital for several reasons i cant get the same feel when using a mouse with me using a classic pencil and graphites.

5.What would be considered the most important difference between the two styles of completing a concept art, Digital or traditional?
With Traditional there are several things you can work with, being there are many more tools you can use then going completley digital. there is much more space to work with and you have a wide variety of equipment that if used properly can make a great concept art piece.
With digital you can have a wider spectrum of what you can draw and even readjust and organiz your artwork using layers on most art based software.

6.What are other roles that the concept artist performs in the video game industry?
The Concept aritst usually also takes over scripting and art directors at time when either isnt there to prerform the task. luckily though in most cases you wll have team of concept artist that help you with most projects. another job the concept aritst somewhat takes over is partly the manger of the other art based groups.

7.What are other jobs that require the artist to collaborate with in order to finish a concept?
Other roles the artist ususally incorporates himself with is the animtaion supervisor who continuaslly asks the artist why do you think this is a good piece and why should we use this in the game, the other roles also incoprated with this is the environmentalist designer and also the script writer these jobs balance each other out and allow for more time to work on their designated jobs.

8.What techniques can be achieved in digital Work that can’t be done in digital?
Digital work you canachive quicker concept art throught the use of cell shaing and tecture shading when using art software. theses two techniques are really something that are hard to learn but once learned can become an effective tool to use when competing for jobs. another thing is that with layers you can easily fixe mistake that cant easily be edited using traditonal work.

9.What techniques can be achieved in traditional that can’t be done in digital?
With digital you can be much more precise and accurate depicting what your drawing and can be a very great first step in also producing digital work if a scanner is owned. With digital also shading and smoothing along witht he cross hatching technique are your most effective methods that allow for nice clean and presentable work for a portfolio

10. What is the average time done that requires a piece of concept art to be done?
THe average time for a drawing to be completed and requested by the directors ranges to about 2 to 4 day. When completeing these drawings the oart that consumes the most imte would have to be getting the approval to move on from the art director if they dont approve or like the feel of the drawing your giving them then they cant continue with the rest of the project.

Creative Arts

Leo Mendoza

Topic Concept Art

What is most important to communicating a concept artistically?

Idea: I want to create a piece of concept art on a larger scale paper in order to help me draw in different sizes. Want to have a friend pose for me so that i can capture the image better

How: The way this assignment relates to me eq is using two things that i mentioned in my 20 minute, learning to use reference better and create a full piece concept art with it to show effective detail.

*Update-
I changed my creative arts to a sort of demonstration video format of one of my digital drwaings. I plan on recording the canvas while drawing on my tablet and editing it together for a clean flow and add some music tat will show the things i sort of listen to that give me a kick start. The reason i changed it to this is to show just how i use my creativity to create a apiece of concept art since that also is a commonly asked question when i talk to people

*update* Drawing will be a collaboration based type where people will make up characters and i will design them into one giant poster, depending on the size of the edited video and how long it might be ill adjust the time i need to just show what i mean