Unit 10 - Digital Photography for a Media Product : HA3 - Task 1 Island Quest Concept Art Reference Pack

Task 1 - Ancient Greece, Reference Photography and Shoot plan.

To show my suitability for the position at flip studios I first did some research into the theme of island quest (ancient Greece) and reference photography, Mainly how reference photography is structured. Here is a presentation of the research I conducted into the two subjects.

Ancient Greece and its Mythical Creatures

The ancient Greeks have impacted the world in many different ways, Mainly creatively but also technologically they were one of the first civilizations to a have a water irrigation and purification systems and on top of that they invented the gear and screw components used in the majority of devices to this day. They were creative people with a culture heavily focused on many different forms of arts. From a trademark pottery and theater style to wild and exciting stories and fables of mythical creatures believed to exist at the time. These stories came about due to them being part of the teachings of the then Greek religion. The mythical creatures of Greece are a concept widely still used to this day Satyrs, Gorgons, The Hydra, Centaur and even dragons are Greek mythical creatures.

The Hydra was a 9 headed reptilian monster of Greek legend. The legend told that the middle head of the 9 was immortal and had the most venomous bite and breath and that if any of the heads were to be cut off two would grow in its place.

Medusa was originally a beautiful priestess of Athena and was devoted to a life of celibacy however she fell for Poseidon and was punished by turning her golden blonde hair into snakes and her fair skin a sickly green hue.

Satyr were creature soldiers half man half goat they played the pan flute with great skill and improved morale in Greek armies, according to legend.

The Minotaur is possibly the most well known Greek myth, a half man half bull who lived in the labyrinth, a maze like structure built to contain him he was slain by the Athenian hero Theseus

Reference packs and how they help designers.

Reference photography and reference packs are what designers artists and other creators use as a reference to the subject they want to create. If a designer wanted to create some concept art of a character in multiple different poses or exhibiting different facial expressions the designer most likely will use a reference pack to aid with visualizing the character in those poses. a reference pack isn't just for poses however, A reference pack can just be a collection of images designed to inspire a characters design rather than pose. Such as, furs, horns, hooves, scales etc This kind of reference pack would help a designer create a monster or creature.

A characters personality can be conveyed through their facial expression quite a lot, Which is where a facial expression reference pack would come in handy.

As mentioned before animals can be used in reference imagery also. The shots in this reference pack are clear enough so as the feathers colour and texture can be seen and used as a reference point for a character such as a monster like a harpy.

Character poses can be achieved through the help of anatomy reference packs showcasing the form of a body which in turn would lead to a proportionate character.

Hands are often tricky to draw/animate so reference pack of hands engaged in various actions also helps.

To better understand the process of creating a reference pack I emulated creating one myself with stock images and an end product. The end product being the character concept artwork. This gave me insight into what a designer would want from a reference pack. As I took into consideration what I would have wanted from a reference pack in order to create the center character.