2.1 - The Importance of Research/Referencing

  Now that that we've covered a baseline understanding of what concept art is, these next posts are going to cover the topic of research/referencing. We're doing this at an early stage because despite its importance in the concept art process, research is a step that is both neglected by beginners, and advocated by professionals. 

Why is research important?

From speaking to concept artists on games from studios such as Playground Games, SloClap and Ember Lab, it has been made clear to me that as a concept artist you should always aim to ground your designs in some form of reality, with very few exceptions to this rule. This is because even fantasy worlds should make sense, at least within the confines of their own rulesets if not those of our own world. The best way to ensure this, according to these professionals, is to always start by conducting research, to establish for yourself a foundation in reality from which to develop your more fantastical ideas. The world is a vast and varied place, and there's always something you can draw from.

As well as establishing a real-world foundation that will make resulting concepts more believable, research is also important for delivering concepts with more depth, as it builds your understanding of the subject matter. For instance, if you are designing a fantasy creature for a certain biome, it would be worth researching the evolutionary adaptations of animals that live in similar conditions in the real world, to see if you can translate those ideas to your design. This of course feeds back into developing the believability of your concepts too. 

The best way to see research is to think of it as doing your homework, or due diligence. It might seem like a chore, but neglecting it can lead to problems down the line when you begin the concept work and realise you don't have the necessary knowledge and understanding to successfully realise your vision. Not doing your research before working on a concept is like turning up to a class or exam that you've done no preparation for and feeling out of your depth as a result - not fun. Often times, you'll also find that simple image and engine searches aren't going to cut it when it comes to research. Don't be afraid to read a book/article or seek out informative videos if the subject matter is something that is relatively alien to you. 

Referencing

Alongside developing your understanding of relevant subject matters, a key part of research is gathering reference imagery that will aid you in completing your concept. References can help either by providing you with a visual direction/motif to expand upon, or by helping you to render your subject accurately. Hands are a classic example of something that is exceptionally difficult to draw without reference. 

There are commonly two self-destructive mindsets that exist surrounding the idea of using reference in art/design, so let's quickly break these down.

The first self-destructive mindset is that using reference in art is somehow 'cheating'. This is wrong on so many levels. Firstly, as long as you aren't just tracing over someone else's work and calling it your own, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with using imagery as inspiration or reference, as it can only benefit your final result, and is in no way plagiaristic or deceitful. Secondly, let's just remind ourselves of what we established in the previous talk: concept art is a tool. The aim of concept art is not to display talent in memory recall (or anything else for that matter) but rather to be as effective and efficient as possible, and part of that means making it in an effective and efficient way too. To use the example of character design, a concept that displays correct/logical anatomy is going to be far more successful in clearly conveying information to the modeller than one where the proportions and forms are wrong, leading to their confusion and doubt. So what's the best way to ensure that a concept conveys anatomy correctly and doesn't create more problems than it solves for the modellers? That's right, getting comfortable with using plenty of reference!

The second mindset belongs to people that don't bother to reference either out of laziness or because they don't believe they need to. Yes they do. To use a famous example, try a quick sketch of a horse from memory, then compare it to a photo and see how you did. Under the same timeframe, do another sketch with photo reference in front of you and it will almost certainly be an improvement. Taking a little time to gather some reference can only help, and it can't possibly make things worse, so it's well worth doing. Don't let either laziness or arrogance make your job harder than it needs to be. You may even also come across something that inspires a new idea or angle of approach during referencing, so please don't neglect it. At the start of this year I definitely fell into the category of people that are lazy with referencing, and I can say I've noticed some pretty big improvements in my work since I've come around to the idea of thorough research.

Some tips and advice from professionals

To finish off, I want to share some valuable bits of advice that I've received from professional concept artists over the last year regarding research. First is that if you're into photography, this can really be something to exploit. Image searches can be great, but you might sometimes struggle to find exactly what you're after, and it might be something you're either able to get yourself or have already taken photos of that might prove useful. Photography also allows you to get very particular with your reference images, adding personal touches that will benefit you. In a similar vein, one of the concept artists that I spoke to discussed the benefits of adopting a 'healthy visual mindset' in your everyday life. The idea is to passively train your observational skills by implementing them throughout the day, always being on the lookout for anything that is visually stimulating or could help with concepts. Finally, wherever possible, try to use places that you've been to in person as inspiration/reference. This idea mainly helps for environment concepts, but I'm sure can it can be useful in other areas too. It was recommended to me on the basis that having the experience of how it feels to exist in a place, alongside the usual photo reference, can really help in envisioning your relevant concept and bringing an extra authenticity to it.

Next talk

My next post will be sticking on the topic of research, looking at an in depth example of the process and the implementation of research in design work.