Concept Art - Prison room - John Howard

Intro
As my initial role within the group has been designated as a concept artist I have begun to piece together some environment ideas so as to have some concepts ready for when the environment artist has finished their level designs.

Overview

In regards to the first room I have been given by the group some general key themes. Firstly it is to be an underground wizard holding area. With roots coming through the walls and a general feel of disarray and unnaturalness. Basically a blend of a classic dungeon with more magical elements too it.

Stage One

The first concept I came up with is the one above. The idea of the roots holding a crystal/rock prison in which the main character is imprisoned in. I wanted to portray a large space as well as getting some architecture and potential game routes shown. The colours are very cold as I was trying to get a dingy feel to it. However the perspective felt too stiff and the room not extravagant enough for the purpose of the room itself, as it is meant to hold a powerful wizard. So I decided to leave this concept as it is for now and move on to another idea.

Stage Two

Within this second image I wanted to try a more minimal approach to the prison structure itself. I approached this concept with the notion of a giant root system acting as the bars of the prison itself. I then included two crystal braziers as a means of holding his power back. This is because the group has decided that the player gains his powers back by retrieving them from crystals. This meant a portrayal within the starting area might help the player understand their importance rather than just saying  "hey heres a crystal you now have a power". The colours of this image feel a bit more successful than the previous one and the design itself feels quite interesting with the crossroad notion. However this concept must be halted as the group as a whole have decided that they would rather a statue be within a room such as this rather than a prison. So whilst this idea may be developed further along in regards to another room. For now I must develop a newer concept.

Stage Three

The final stage. In the end the group decided to go with something similar to this last concept. I tried to take elements from the two previous concepts. The hanging roots from the first and the crossroad/pit idea from the second. I then introduced the notion of a statue as mentioned above and made that hold the crystal that would drain his powers. I tried to experiment with the perspective a lot more within this image. I find that I tend to create very static and side on environments. And whilst i believe the attempt was not in vain. I feel it could be a lot better. And that I should take much more time on construction lines rather than trying to fix these elements within the painting phase, However the idea as a whole I am quite fond of. It sets the scene and feels dramatic enough to have a sense of importance. The idea of ascending out by having to climb the stairs helps provide the notion that this prisoner was supposed to be long forgotten and buried.