Art Direction

Researching images that relate to my novel has really allowed me to think about the kind of art direction I’d like to peruse in this unit. I’ve come across contemporary artwork which could play a part in the designing of my environments.

I don’t want to focus too deeply as this will come later when the novel arrives, the main focal point now is just gathering ideas and thinking about the art direction.

Art styles
(Futurism)
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It was largely an Italian phenomenon, though there were parallel movements in Russia, England and elsewhere. The Futurists practised in every medium of art, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, theatre, film, fashion, textiles, literature, music, architecture and even gastronomy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism
http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/styles/index.html
I may make an attempt to look upon an art movement of some kind to influence the art direction.

Contemporary structures and designs.

http://www.icehk.com/work_3v.html

The library is a great resource therefore the next stage is to take a gander round in there to see what I can find and build my imagination ready for design stage. It’s clear that a large amount of my design will come from futurism artists and there work simply because of there broad lines and distinctive colours.
Josie Cox

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-pictures/Futurist+art+exhibition+at+Tate+Modern-latest.do?id=23370433

Christopher Richard Wynne

http://www.italianfuturism.org/2009/06/futurism-opens-at-tate-modern/

Notable futurist artists: Umberto Boccioni, Nikolay Diulgheroff, Angiolo Mazzoni, Giacomo Balla

Valve's Francke: Game Art Direction In Its 'Infancy'

I have come across review of an art director Valve’s Francke discussing at Lyon Games Developers conference his distinctive art style on ‘Team Fortress 2’.

For future projects, do you think you’ll get to do other interesting, strange art styles? What do you want to try next?

The next thing I’d love to do is not based on realism, but stylizing with a little more in-depth look to the materials in the world. Instead of just having an impressionistic background, or having highly stylized characters. Making the characters a little bit more believable, even incorporating bold design, getting a little bit more specific.
So it would be a little bit slash realism and stylization all at once. And it can be achieved. We’ve done experiments like this, where you take a character and you make them -- instead of taking photographs of the character, you base it off of lots of drawings and studies and paintings of the character, with real proportions. But with true design to it. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.
Human beings are a very interesting species. There’s not one generic person. Everybody’s unique. So you can get some really amazing face shapes and body designs and clothing and all these things fit into that.

The question raised at the conference is very interesting whilst reading I noticed that some of the things that Valve states I can relate to for example not basing the work on realism but more stylized this is evidence from the last project. Perhaps its time to break out of that realm and try a more realistic approach and base this project on a more believable art direction.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16498

Team Fortress 2 - Trailer