Bad Idea to use concept art someone else has before?

skyline5gtr

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

DireWolf

If I like it and the art motivates me, I'd go ahead.

Joost

If you're not sure if you can do a better job then I wouldn't personally. Otherwise go for it.

CrackRockSteady

Agree with Joost. If you're going to do something that people have seen before (especially if it is something that a lot of people have done), make sure you knock it out of the park. The last thing you want is for people to see your work and think "Eh, I've seen this done better" and quickly move on.

Tobbo

You HAVE to do it better if you're going to do that. You have to try much harder to stand out this means you may want to add or change things that are not exact in the concept. You could make the server towers broken and destroyed, computers knocked over/broken. Let the scene tell a story.

skyline5gtr

Very solid points guys, I feel Neil did an awesome job so I will look elsewhere

beefaroni

skyline5gtr wrote: »

Very solid points guys, I feel Neil did an awesome job so I will look elsewhere

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.

aajohnny

I'm going to have to disagree with the above comments.

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.

Tobbo

I don't think anybody is telling you not to do it. You brought up the issue of it possibly being a bad idea when you started this thread. We're simply telling you to do it well and make it stand out and be memorable in a good way.

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!

EarthQuake

Simpsons did 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.

skyline5gtr

Interesting read guys

CrackRockSteady

Tobbo wrote: »

I don't think anybody is telling you not to do it. You brought up the issue of it possibly being a bad idea when you started this thread. We're simply telling you to do it well and make it stand out and be memorable in a good way.

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!

^^This

PyrZern

I think if you want to do it, you should do it. And do it good. Will it be the best piece in the entire World ? Absolutely not. Will it still be good ? That's up to you. People still do Batman and Iron Man all the time. Just do whatever you want and make it good. Who cares what other people make. It's up to your prospect employers to pick the one they like anyhow. Wanna make Sci-Fi Hallway #351 ? Do it! Someone else later does the exact same thing but better ? You're not going to flip the Internet upside down to take down yours, are you ? Just make what you want and make it good. If the World has room for more than one single version of the best Superman, then you make anything to your heart's content.

DavidCruz

skyline5gtr wrote: »

Very solid points guys, I feel Neil did an awesome job so I will look elsewhere

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:

OMG the ironmans, dude, there is an artstation with just ironman versions. (lol) i think he/she likes ironman but i cant tell.

DireWolf

I'm with Johnny here. My point is motivation. You want to start your piece and finish your piece. Finding an art that motivates you is already difficult enough. If I found one, I'll use it and I don't care if others made a phenomenal job off of it. That does not concern me, nor affect me in any way.

gsokol

Who cares if its been done by somebody else. If it excites you and you want to rock it out then go for it. If you think you can learn by comparing yourself to the other guy then that's good!

If you are really worried about it you can always try to put your own spin on it or embellish it a bit.

dr jekyll

You mention that the piece is for a study, so disregard the following. But thought it might be worth mentioning that I have wanted to model after some inspiring concepts but after I could not reach the original artists I felt that to create those pieces to then promote my sorry self would have been disrespectful to the original artist. I would not feel right without their permission. Then again I won't even use a google searched image except for the most basic of research in a "finished piece" which I am told is overkill?

Axcel

I am also concerned about right to remaking someone's artworks. There was a time when I wanted to make 3d version of someone's concept. I have sent e-mail to author but didn't receive response so I abandoned my idea.

RogerP

To the main point of the thread, I don't see any issues with you making "something" someone has already made before. I also don't agree that "you have to make it better than the other person who already took a stab at it" just make it and learn from it. Make sure to credit the concept artist for their artwork and move on, if the artist has any problems with it they'll let you know.

Tobbo

For job seeking portfolio purposes I have to disagree. You should absolutely strive to make it better than others that have already done it.

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.

skyline5gtr

All awesome points gentlemen . I have decided since this will be portfolio piece to showcase my skills and to learn from I will do a fresh piece. Big thanks to beefaroni for linking me to some im going to go with this server room

ironbelly

I see the value in saving time/money by re-using existing assets and then making those assets "yours" - but of course, I would be remiss to believe it will produce better results than trying to craft something that fits your vision perfectly.

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.

Shiniku

ironbelly wrote: »

I see the value in saving time/money by re-using existing assets and then making those assets "yours" - but of course, I would be remiss to believe it will produce better results than trying to craft something that fits your vision perfectly.

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.