Bad Idea to use concept art someone else has before?
polycounter lvl 9
Hey guys, is it taboo or a bad idea to create an environment off a piece of concept art that someone else has done in the past? I know I should try to be unique, I worked on a environment piece years back and want to redo it. Someone else 3 years ago did a piece on the same concept and did a stellar job on it. I almost wanted to use it to study as well
Neil Gowland did it 3 years ago
Neil Gowland did it 3 years ago
Replies
If you want some good small sci-fi envs feel free to PM me. I saved a bunch of good 1-2 month (project length) ones and wouldn't mind sending them over since I don't think I will ever actually make them.
If you feel you will learn and benefit from making this environment then do it. I don't see why you HAVE to make it look better, as long as you learn from it that's all that matters, you can take what you've learned and make whatever you make next even better. Just because somebody did a great job with it before doesn't mean you shouldn't take it on... Challenge yourself and just make art, especially if you are really interested in it and want to do it.
But this should be true for all portfolio work regardless of if it has been done before or not.
Ultimately you can do whatever you like and if you think you can hit this one out of the park, go for it!
Naa, seriously there isn't much of an issue here. There is no rule that you shouldn't do something someone has done before. However, unique work tends to stand out moreso than cliches, so if you can find some original inspiration that's always a good thing, that's more general advice rather than specific to this concept though.
^^This
Well maybe you can still make the scene but not the content therein.
So say instead of going futuristic you go hacked up end of days scrounging materials and slapping those around that resembles this area?
Or a hardcore damaged version of it?
Otherwise yea you should go with something similar but not that one, usually most say if someone did a great job it is best not to put in the time into a similar piece as your just up against the current ("best") and you can't top it don't, even though it is 3 years old (for me) it still holds up today.
Off/T:
If you are really worried about it you can always try to put your own spin on it or embellish it a bit.
For learning purposes, sure, do whatever you want from it, and learn from it!
But for portfolio purposes, why would you even attempt it if you're not going to strive to do it better? You're not impressing anybody with it, you're just showing that you're not as good as the one who did it previously.
In that case, your time would be better spent doing a piece that is fresh.
I think as long as you dont tell the world "I stole this concept piece to create my game" you're pretty safe. I could totally see how one concept piece could produce two incredibly different results.
I think you entirely missed what's being discussed in this thread, but also.. that sounds kinda shady dude.