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Creating environments without a Concept and having no Ideas.

TirvasFreeze
TirvasFreeze
polycounter lvl 4
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TirvasFreeze polycounter lvl 4
Hey everyone!,

So I've got 2 Issues where I just can't find a solution for.. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

My first Issue would be:

Project Ideas:
I search days over days on Pinterest for something I find interesting and it always ends the same - Its 1am, I wasted my whole day searching for Ideas, I have a headache and go to sleep unhappy.

I try to search for the "perfect" Idea but the truth is right in front of my eyes - There is no "perfect" but I just can't get rid of this.

Today I decided to just take a break from 3D for just 1 day but here I am thinking about 3D and writing a Polycount post - I seriously have no Idea what to do anymore, If you have any advice about that I would really appreciate it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

My second Issue would be:

Working without a Concept:
Well, If a Project Idea pops in my head (which is unfortunately really rare) I have no Idea what to do next. I try to avoid Concept Art from Artstation because of a couple of reasons:
  • I want to be as original as possible.
  • Improve my composition skills.
  • More artistic freedom.
  • Improve my color skills.
I see some incredible artists on Artstation which have a Idea pick some random reference pictures and create their own layout of that environment without any Concept Art - That's something which just seems impossible to me, I can't work on something from scratch. I also think about the risks because you never know how it is gonna turn out in the end.

What is your workflow? What tips do you have for me?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I would be very grateful for any answer I can get, because I am really stuck currently and can't seem to find a way out of that.
Thank you so much in advance.
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Replies

  • Larry
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    Larry interpolator
    I'm sorry to hear that. 
    But if you think your idea must be unique and something that hasn't been done at all, well, that is unrealistic.
    Generally speaking only few true inventions came out of nothing, and everything else is being derived from things we already know about.
    Even electricity was made with thunders in mind.

    Plus, to create something trully original you need to understand it inside out, and the conditions that led to it. Your story must be really in depth, and mostly experts are able to invent new things in every market.

    What artists actually do, is gather reference from sources, keeping what they like and discarding what they don't. It is our ability to manipulate what already exists and create our own unique combinations. Whenever you see someone's final result you think it's new, but there is always an idea "borrowed" from somewhere, and some times even blatantly stripped off the exact same thing.

    That being said, If you don't have a solid idea on what to do, there are a couple of options to form an idea. You could start by asking yourself "what is my portfolio lacking? An environment with plants? Or a desert environment ? Which one is easier for me? Interior or exterior?" 
    Always a rookie mistake: Do you have the required experience to do an environment, or do you THINK you can do it? Many people, myself included, start creating an environment then they realise they have no idea what props it needs to be filled with (e.g. how many rocks should I sculpt? How many trim sheets do I need? How am I going to build it?). This comes with experience, you start with small environments, even props, then go bigger. Can you tell a whole story with just 1 prop? That's more valuable than a whole environment

    That's why my advice for you is, start small. Make a small room and populate it, and try to add a story. Heck, even without a story, just start creating a room you like. E.g. steampunk, post apocalyptic, or sci-fi, etc. Start by visualising how that room is, and then actually make a room with this style. Understand how it has been created, find the terminology, e.g. why are there skirting boards around the walls? In the meantime, ask yourself: What is this room used for? Has something happened? Then try to populate it with assets.

    I guess the reason you are getting stuck and burned out is because you are trying to create something you have a lot of gaps in knowledge. Technical part is a MUST to understand, from big scale to small scale. How is a house being built ? Why is the metal shiny? Why are there different kinds of polishing metals or wood? How is erosion applied to statues, why they get efflorecense, and how does lichen grow on them? According to the type of thing you create, the better you understand how everything comes together, micro to macro scale, the better you will be able to make a project. Imagination is a different part and ideas might come later in the project, once you start building it. Sounds like a lot of work? Well, it's because it is. People seeing others' final render and don't understand that even 2 months or even a year could have been spent on 1 prop.

    That's why I'm telling you. Start small, make a magic box with blood on it, or a broken vase glued back together with gold. Make a portal, a small robot, or even a garbage can with some story in it, like a graffiti or gun holes. then move to rooms, dioramas and eventually environment settings.
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  • TirvasFreeze
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    TirvasFreeze polycounter lvl 4
    Larry said:
    I'm sorry to hear that. 
    But if you think your idea must be unique and something that hasn't been done at all, well, that is unrealistic.
    Generally speaking only few true inventions came out of nothing, and everything else is being derived from things we already know about.
    Even electricity was made with thunders in mind.

    Plus, to create something trully original you need to understand it inside out, and the conditions that led to it. Your story must be really in depth, and mostly experts are able to invent new things in every market.

    What artists actually do, is gather reference from sources, keeping what they like and discarding what they don't. It is our ability to manipulate what already exists and create our own unique combinations. Whenever you see someone's final result you think it's new, but there is always an idea "borrowed" from somewhere, and some times even blatantly stripped off the exact same thing.

    That being said, If you don't have a solid idea on what to do, there are a couple of options to form an idea. You could start by asking yourself "what is my portfolio lacking? An environment with plants? Or a desert environment ? Which one is easier for me? Interior or exterior?" 
    Always a rookie mistake: Do you have the required experience to do an environment, or do you THINK you can do it? Many people, myself included, start creating an environment then they realise they have no idea what props it needs to be filled with (e.g. how many rocks should I sculpt? How many trim sheets do I need? How am I going to build it?). This comes with experience, you start with small environments, even props, then go bigger. Can you tell a whole story with just 1 prop? That's more valuable than a whole environment

    That's why my advice for you is, start small. Make a small room and populate it, and try to add a story. Heck, even without a story, just start creating a room you like. E.g. steampunk, post apocalyptic, or sci-fi, etc. Start by visualising how that room is, and then actually make a room with this style. Understand how it has been created, find the terminology, e.g. why are there skirting boards around the walls? In the meantime, ask yourself: What is this room used for? Has something happened? Then try to populate it with assets.

    I guess the reason you are getting stuck and burned out is because you are trying to create something you have a lot of gaps in knowledge. Technical part is a MUST to understand, from big scale to small scale. How is a house being built ? Why is the metal shiny? Why are there different kinds of polishing metals or wood? How is erosion applied to statues, why they get efflorecense, and how does lichen grow on them? According to the type of thing you create, the better you understand how everything comes together, micro to macro scale, the better you will be able to make a project. Imagination is a different part and ideas might come later in the project, once you start building it. Sounds like a lot of work? Well, it's because it is. People seeing others' final render and don't understand that even 2 months or even a year could have been spent on 1 prop.

    That's why I'm telling you. Start small, make a magic box with blood on it, or a broken vase glued back together with gold. Make a portal, a small robot, or even a garbage can with some story in it, like a graffiti or gun holes. then move to rooms, dioramas and eventually environment settings.
    Wow, Thank you so much!
    That's really helpful and I try to follow that path to start small, and really good point about "what my portfolio is lacking?" I definitely think about that too.

    Thank you so much for your time writing that, you have no Idea how much I appreciate that
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  • Alex_J
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    Alex_J grand marshal polycounter
    you could look at recreating scenes from some of your favorite games, especially if they are older and could benefit from a modern graphics update. 
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  • Ashervisalis
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    Ashervisalis grand marshal polycounter
    If you want to create something from your own head, without concept art, it IS possible. I have done it a few times and here are my tips;

    - Very beginning should be about composition. Throw in some basic primitives into a basic blockout and try to figure out what kind of composition you're trying to achieve. If you want a character to be looking in awe at a giant pillar on a mountainside, get those primitives into UE4, a super basic blockout, adjust the camera's FOV and all that jazz, and try getting it looking sick before even creating nice assets. Since you're not working off concepts, you should really spend some time learning about various composition rules/guidelines. If you're uneducated in this matter, check out this book. I recently bought it and it's doing wonders for me;

    - Second tip is to collect a ton of references. Have references for composition, style, quality, real life prop references, etc.

    - Come up with a story for the environment. Why are we here? Why do we care what we're looking at?
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  • kanga
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    kanga quad damage
    Seems like you are under pressure to win. Maybe a mind shift to becoming the best that you can be doing something that you love would be a less dramatic aim for you.

    Sounds like the artist/writers block of the blank canvas/page. Relax a bit, enjoy the process. Make some scratches and scratch around till you find your way. Stop choosing to be miserable, success is a poor excuse.

    Have fun already! This stuff is a blast.
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  • sprunghunt
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    sprunghunt polycounter
    You don't have to start from nothing even if you're creating original art. You can get inspiration from the world around you.

    The best example of this is the work of Eric Guez. He transforms everyday objects into spaceships. 

    like this:

    https://www.artstation.com/artwork/W28xxv


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