Photoshop中的环境概念艺术实践

与项目无关的大量作品 - 随机草图和实践 - 从类似的情况开始：一个关于照片环境的有趣想法，根据直觉的提示进行变换和改变。 在两个方面分析原始图片可能会有所帮助：空间如何组织（有一条通往某种入口的道路，一条沿着道路流入背景的河流）以及使用什么材料（砖石，低层 一棵锯木，草，灌木和河流的树桩）。

通常可以改变格式，增强空间的现有特性，添加一两个物体，并使其更加史诗化（增加一些危险，悬念，浩瀚或类似的东西）。 此外，我总是在一个新的故事，你可以简要地介绍一下你的工作，展示这个世界的一部分（这是环境概念艺术实际上是关于）。

Reference

The earlier I collect the main references the better. Since originally this was a practice of detailed elaboration in the manner of Asian artists (thorough study of materials, preserving the dabs of paint, meaning not photorealism, but a drawing good enough to read the scene and the materials). My first step was finding drawing and additional material/color references - the orange accents. And then I came across a picture of a spoonful of red caviar and the story became clear!

In concept art, color and material are very closely connected: to avoid confusion different materials are usually created in easily distinguishable colors and shades, so that the player can quickly tell what environment he is dealing with. So in most cases, color means material.

参考

较早收集的主要参考文献越好。 原来这是一种以亚洲艺术家的方式详细阐述的做法（彻底研究材料，保存油漆，意义不是真实感，而是画出足够好的画面和材料）。 我的第一步是找到绘图和附加材料/颜色参考 - 橙色口音。 然后我碰到一勺红鱼子酱的照片，故事变得清晰！

在概念艺术中，颜色和材料是非常密切的连接：为了避免混淆，通常会以容易区分的颜色和色调来创建不同的材料，以便玩家可以快速地了解他正在处理的环境。 所以在大多数情况下，颜色是指材料。

Finding the story

After I decided to tell a story about mysterious sores that look like caviar, the plot became clear: two adventurers cautiously examine the entrance of an infected cave. Since the aim of the picture is focused on the entrance, the main cluster of this "caviar" should be placed there - close enough to be easily noticeable, but far enough for it to be clear that the "caviar" is glowing (that's +1 in epic, which means +1 to mystery).

Here we should note that in environment concept art, every picture has a specific goal. In this picture the goal is to show the entrance to a mysterious cave through the player's eyes, and the characters' figures are supposed to help scale the situation: this is how the player will see his characters when he or she visits the scene. Giving a general idea about its structure and relative sizes of objects is the goal of the picture.

At this stage you make up your mind about a couple of other important things. First of all, since the picture is about the cave entrance, you should focus on it not just by placing the "main cluster of caviar" there, but also by arranging the rhythms of the tree roots (shown with arrows) and creating a contrast in shades (from a well-lit place where the characters are standing to darkness).

And secondly, you should set up the palette - here it's mostly the triad shown against the sky; in a couple of spots in this work you can see little purple patches, which I gradually abandoned later on. The breakdown of materials is strict: the yellow-green palette for the ground and the plants, blue for air and water, red for the "caviar". The air perspective for the far-away zone is set up here as well, with a simple gradient from dark to light blue.

发现故事

在我决定讲一个关于鱼子酱的神秘疮的故事之后，情节变得清晰：两个冒险家谨慎地检查一个受感染的洞穴的入口。由于图片的目的是集中在入口处，这个“caviar”的主要集群应放在那里 - 足够容易看出，但足够明确的是“caviar”发光（这是+ 1在史诗般的，这意味着+1到神秘）。

这里我们应该注意到，在环境概念艺术中，每一幅画都有一个特定的目标。在这张照片中，目标是通过玩家的眼睛显示神秘洞穴的入口，人物的数字应该有助于扩大情况：玩家在访问场景时会看到他的角色。给出关于其结构和物体的相对尺寸的一般概念是图片的目标。

在这个阶段，你会想起一些其他重要的事情。首先，由于图片是关于洞穴入口，你应该把重点放在不仅仅是把“caviar”放在那里，而且还要通过安排树根的节奏（用箭头表示）并创造一个对比在阴影（从一个光线充足的地方，人物站立到黑暗）。

其次，你应该设置调色板 - 这里主要是反对天空的黑社会。在这项工作的几个点，你可以看到一点紫色补丁，我逐渐放弃了。材料的细分是严格的：地面和植物的黄绿色调色板，蓝色的空气和水，红色为“caviar”。远处的空气透视也在这里设置，从黑暗到浅蓝色都有一个简单的梯度。

Drawing

The drawing stage. Here I tried adding another material: smooth dark gray stones, but apart from that I elaborated on all the other fronts. For example, the scattered masonry was added to the ground material, having almost disappeared since the sketching of the original photo-idea. Here it is a scattered road, and it's doing an important job: it's creating a background story for the stage, because such roads are manmade. So, once upon a time there used to be a paved road here, which specifically led to the cave.

The pillars made of smooth gray stone can suggest either a unique type of stone or mineral that could have been mined here once, or a sacred place for worship or rituals, if the stones were brought here on purpose to decorate the cave entrance. The brook has its job too: it separates the characters from the entrance, it's a symbolic obstacle. The right part of the picture establishes the general context: rocks, bushes, the infection has spread not just right next to the cave, even though it's clear that that's the origin or a sort of cluster.

The diagram on the right shows the main brushes that I used for elaboration, they are mostly smooth for small details or textured for wide strokes. Some more detail about the bottom two: I believe that the freedom of strokes for me is the most important aspect of form control (when the stroke is working according to the form, it bolsters the visibility of volume in the flatness of the work), so I use flat brushes with a Wacom Art Pen - a stylus with a tilt and rotation sensitivity. The Photoshop setting that accounts for the flat brush angle automatically works with Art Pen.

绘画

绘画阶段。在这里我尝试添加另一种材料：平滑的深灰色的石头，但除此之外，我详细阐述了所有其他方面。例如，分散的砖石被添加到地面材料中，从原始照片概念的草图几乎消失了。这是一条分散的道路，它正在做一个重要的工作：它为舞台创造了一个背景故事，因为这样的道路是人造的。所以，曾经有一段时间，这里是一条铺好的路，这是专门导致洞穴的。

由平滑的灰色石头制成的支柱可以提出一种独特的类型的石头或矿物，这些石头或矿物质可能在这里被开采一次，或者是一个神圣的地方进行崇拜或仪式，如果石头被带到这里来装饰洞穴入口。小溪也有它的工作：它将角色与入口分开，这是一个象征性的障碍。图片的正确部分建立了一般的背景：岩石，灌木丛，感染已经不仅仅在洞穴旁边传播，尽管这很明显，这是源头或一种群集。

右边的图显示了我用于精心制作的主刷，它们对于细小的细节来说大多是平滑的，或者是用于大笔画的纹理。关于底层的更多细节：我认为，对于我来说，笔画的自由是形式控制的最重要的方面（当笔画根据形式工作时，它可以提高工作的平坦度）所以我用平板刷与Wacom艺术笔 - 一个倾斜和旋转灵敏度的触控笔。用于笔刷角度的Photoshop设置自动与Art Pen一起使用。

More elaboration: the materials inside the character figures (metal corresponds to "water + air", cloth and skin with minimum elaboration - to "ground + plants": since the picture is not about characters, I thought it was unnecessary to add new colors). Here an advantageous (in my opinion) element was added to the "caviar" - a sort of snot and veins, placed, like blood vessels, intricately, so that it is clear that they are tense and watery at the same time - this suggests the organic origin of the "caviar" and adds some more nastiness and mystery.

更详细的说明：人物中的材料（金属对应于“水+空气”，布料和皮肤，最小化 - “地面+植物”：由于图片不是字符，我认为没有必要添加新颜色）。 这里有一个有益的（在我看来）的元素被添加到“caviar” - 一种鼻孔和静脉，像血管一样被错综复杂地放置在一起，这样就可以清楚地表明它们是紧张的和同时水的 - 这表明 “caviar”的有机起源，并增添了一些更加肮脏和神秘的东西。

Tweaking

My favorite moment! You go and repaint the foreground. My senior colleague suggested this successful trick, which I admit with pleasure: this option has plenty of advantages. In the work of a concept artist remarks and ideas from outside are heard and specified constantly, so it's a normal and productive working environment.

If the tall pillar in the center of the picture used to battle with the entrance and the characters for attention, and the right zone used to be "just context", and the dialogue between the characters and the main object of the picture - the entrance - used to be much less energetic (they used to be too close, almost blended), now all of these aspects have been improved.

Besides, there appeared an important complication of the scene: an abrupt height difference. In order to get to the cave the player has to come down to the river in the foreground first. Even this insignificant change brought to the scene is important in terms of composition of the game level. And, as a cherry on the cake, the river is widened, and the "caviar-infected" roots serve as a sort of bridge, which intensifies the general suspense of the scene as well.

扭捏

我最喜欢的时刻！你去重绘前景。我的高级同事建议这个成功的技巧，我很高兴地承认：这个选择有很多优点。在一个概念艺术家的工作中，外界的言论和想法不断被听到和指定，所以这是一个正常和富有成效的工作环境。

如果图片中心的高柱用来与入口和人物进行对战，而正确的区域曾经是“正义的上下文”，以及人物与图片的主要对象之间的对话 - 入口 - 过去很少精力充沛（他们以前太接近，几乎混合），现在所有这些方面都有所改善。

此外，现场出现了一个重大的并发症：突然高度差异。为了到达洞穴，玩家必须首先到达前景的河流。即使这个微乎其微的变化带给现场，在游戏水平的组成方面也很重要。而且，作为蛋糕上的樱桃，河水扩大了，“caviar-infected”的根源也是一种桥梁，也加剧了现场的一般悬念。

Light

At this stage of elaboration I think it's important to talk about light: so that the glow of "caviar" isn't surpassed by anything. I chose a gloomy daylight from above; it allows for the highlighting of flat surfaces and emphasizing the depth of the entrance. It also helps easily achieve the goal of showing the depth of the scene where we see mountains in the distance: using a minimum of details you can mark which rocks are further, and which ones are closer with simple plaques, creating a gradient from dark to light with intermittent fog.

At this stage the depth of the cave is still too dark: the shade is competing with dense shadows in the foreground, the cave is "sticking out" forward - at the next stages and in the end it will be corrected with wide half-transparent strokes of a very big soft brush - the so-called glazing. I do that on a separate layer, so that it's easy to regulate "fogginess" and, as a result, the visual perception of depth.

灯光

在这个阐述阶段，我认为谈论光是很重要的：所以“caviar”的光芒不会被任何东西超越。 我从上面选择了一个阴沉的日光; 它允许突出显示平面，并强调入口的深度。 它也有助于轻松达到展示远处景色深处的景象：使用最小的细节，您可以标识哪些岩石进一步，哪些岩石更接近简单的斑块，从黑暗到 光与间歇性雾。

在这个阶段，洞穴的深度还是太黑暗：阴影与前景中的浓密阴影竞争，洞穴向前突出 - 在下一阶段，最后将用宽半透明 一个非常大的软刷的笔画 - 所谓的玻璃。 我在一个单独的层上做到这一点，所以很容易调节“fogginess”，结果是深度的视觉感受。

Composition

Let's talk a little bit about composition, the direction and spreading of attention. In reality, these ideas were set in the very beginning, and are just being developed later on, but it's easier to show them at the final stage. First of all, I really like organizing the main elements by the golden ratio. And even though it's only useful for a more pleasant overall feeling of the picture, while the scene itself can be perceived differently in the game (for example, the player might arrive from another angle), I think it's important to strive for artistic harmony in any picture - then it would be more likely to be accepted in a project, if we were talking about video game development. Subjective perception of concept art is just as important as the perception of a good illustration, even if we take into account its specific applied features.

As part of the same striving all truly interesting objects are not scattered around the edges, but gathered towards the center of the work - keeping in mind the spreading of attention. Visually, objects that are situated on the periphery are considered less important or concealed, and that's why there is nothing extraordinary or important around the edges. There is also a clear entrance to the scene (the large arrow), so that in a split second the viewer could easily "go into" the scene and then start looking around and noticing details.

组成

我们来谈谈一下组合，方向和注意力的传播。在现实中，这些想法是在一开始就设定的，而且正在稍后开发，但是在最后阶段更容易展现出来。首先，我真的很喜欢按黄金比例组织主要元素。即使它只对一个更愉快的整体感觉的图片有用，而场景本身可以在游戏中被不同地感知（例如，玩家可能从另一个角度到达），我认为重要的是要争取艺术和谐任何图片 - 那么如果我们谈论视频游戏开发，那么在项目中更有可能被接受。概念艺术的主观感觉与一个很好的例证的感觉一样重要，即使我们考虑到其具体的应用特征。

作为同一个努力的一部分，所有真正有趣的物体都不会分散在边缘，而是聚集到工作的中心 - 记住注意力的传播。在视觉上，位于外围的物体被认为不太重要或隐藏，这就是为什么在边缘周围没有什么特别或重要的原因。还有一个清晰的入口（大箭头），所以在一秒钟之内，观众可以很容易“进入”现场，然后开始环顾四周，注意细节。

Final flourishes

Finally, about the horizontal reflection. I'll repeat the well-known piece of advice that it is useful to mirror your work often (vertically as well as horizontally) to keep your own perception fresh. And secondly, since we read from left to right, such disposition suggests that the plot will develop to lead the characters into the cave, because, roughly speaking, everything situated on the right means the future.

最后的发展

最后，关于水平反射。 我会重复众所周知的建议，经常（垂直和水平）镜像工作是有用的，以保持自己的感觉新鲜。 其次，由于我们从左到右阅读，所以这种处置表明，情节会发展成将人物引入洞穴，因为大致来说，所有位于右边的都是未来。

A little bit about details: as you can see in these fragments, strokes and roughness are visible everywhere, as I had planned. But the details that I considered important are well placed. For instance, the glazing of shades between the knight's shield and the mountains in the distance where the brook ends. Or the archer's butt and heel, mildly lit by the "caviar", whereas on the knight the orange accents are only seen on the edges of the metal parts of his armor (metal reflects local light better, even if it's fairly far away).

有一点细节：正如你在这些片段中看到的那样，笔画和粗糙度随着我的计划到处可见。 但我认为重要的细节是很好的。 例如，在布鲁克结束的距离内，骑士的盾牌和山脉之间的阴影玻璃。 或者弓箭手的屁股和脚跟，轻轻地被“caviar”点燃，而在骑士上，橙色的口音只能看到在他的护甲的金属部分的边缘（金属反映了当地的光线，即使它相当遥远）。

In this fragment you can see the differences in the shades of water: different shades are used where it's foaming, falling from a height, and where it's flowing calmly. Here we also see that among the "caviar" there are brighter and duller "sores", which is shown on the ones on the right and which enhances the organic element in the perception of the "caviar" pieces as well.

在这个片段中，你可以看到水中的不同之处：不同的色调被用于发泡，从高处坠落，平静流淌。 在这里，我们也看到，在“caviar”之间，有更明亮，更肮脏的“sores”，它们显示在右边，并增强了对“caviar”作品感知的有机元素。

And the last fragment is about the dialogue between rough and tangled roots and smooth "caviar" balls that are covered with intertwined "vessels" and "snot". This contrast also adds to the effect of suspense and a vague feeling of illness and danger - since we know that the texture of wood is hard and rough and that it's not supposed to be sticky and moist, we feel that nothing "good" can come from such a tree. Obviously, at the cave entrance this effect should be the strongest.

最后一个片段是关于粗糙和纠结的根之间的对话，以及被交织在一起的“血管”和“鼻子”的光滑的“caviar”球。 这种对比也增加了悬念的影响和模糊的疾病和危险感 - 因为我们知道木材的质地很硬，粗糙，不应该是粘稠和潮湿的，显然，在洞穴入口处，这个效果应该是最强的。

Finalizing the picture, I check the shades of the work once again, including the layer of discoloration (over my work layers I always have a layer with notes and a perspective grid, if it's needed, and a layer like the Adjustment layer - Hue/Saturation... with 0 color saturation, which allows me to see just the shades of my work, helps me check plans and composition).

Then I reduce the size (depending on the goals of my work I draw on 2000-5000 dots long canvas), and add one of my favorite sharpness filters (it's often Paint Doubts on 30-50%). I once again reflect the work vertically and horizontally, and if everything is alright, I sign it and consider my job done!

完成图片，我再次检查工作的色调，包括变色层（在我的工作层上，我总是有一个带有笔记和透视网格的层，如果需要的话）和一层像调整层 - 色相/ 饱和度与0色饱和度，这使我能够看到我的工作的阴影，帮助我检查计划和组成）。

然后我减小尺寸（取决于我在2000-5000点长画布上绘制的作品的目标），并添加一个我最喜欢的锐度滤镜（通常在30-50％的油漆疑点）。 我再次垂直和水平地反映工作，如果一切顺利，我签署并考虑我的工作！