Research – Idea

Diorama Idea #1 – Concept Art

My chosen specialism that I will be using to create my diorama is concept art which will require me to sketch all the assets of my diorama and use my existing skills in 2D art to make a presentable diorama that my targeted audience will take research in. 2D art is what I hold the most skill in and is an area I would like to continue to expand on which is why I have chosen to create my diorama within this specialism.

For my first diorama idea I have considered the setting of a camp in a desert which includes tumbleweeds and cacti both of which are iconic to the desert setting in the western universe, another feature will be a wagon left on site without a horse but can be seen to have a travel pack on the back end whilst the center of the camp will include a fire with wooden logs with a tent set up to the side of it. It will be created using colours that are realistic whilst giving off a grimy impression showing off the dark setting of my diorama, the art style will be realistic with no over the top visuals that would throw my audience off but instead will immerse and make them feel as if the location ever actually existed in the old west. The diorama will be set in daytime with the campfire looking as if it has recently been put out with faint smoke able to be seen rising from the burnt out logs surrounding the center of the fire whilst the sun will be present in the corner of the diorama casting light over the scene allowing the audience more illumination of the scene. For my detailed image that will be separate from my diorama I will produce a close up of the wagon with the inclusion of the travel pack sliding down the rear of it, I have chosen this asset as the wagon is the largest asset in my scene and I believe that my audience will benefit from seeing it further up close as it provides the camp site owner with a form of transportation whilst it also gives them the opportunity to see all of the wear and tear present upon the wagon.

This idea meets my audiences needs as it is targeted specifically towards their age range whilst it is also focused on telling the story about an environment rather than just dropping you in for a fast paced experience. The diorama will also include realistic assets and environmental features whilst keeping a dark overtone that lets the audience feel the violent and hard fought atmosphere within the product that I have created.

Diorama Idea #2 – Concept Art

Once again my specialism for this diorama will be concept art as I would like to experiment with using different techniques for this project and see how I can use the skills I already have acquired in this specialism.

For my second diorama idea I have thought of the creation of an old native american village which contains many assets that are iconic to the western genre the main feature being a tipi which acts as a tent for native american tribesmen, the scene will consist of 4 tipis arrayed in a disorganized circle that is centered around a log fire which unlike my first idea will be burning firewood with the smoke billowing into the air high above the tipis. The background will be flat ground in a plain with a body of water marking the beginning of a lake nearby the tipis. The colours that I will be using for this project will feature dark and medium lit tones that portray the setting of a native american village as a harsh and oppressed settlement which struggles with survival in the new world, all of the tipis will consist of a white and brown colour scheme due to this being the style of the majority of tipis from this time frame. For my background I’ll have it consist of brown grass with the shoreline consisting of yellow sand before reaching a murky green lake. This diorama will be set in the middle of the day so there will be no struggle with lighting or being able to see the detail within the scene. The diorama will be given a dark atmosphere as it is set during the time of western settlement of the Americas where native Americans were forced into reservations and so the landscape will appear more depressing and dreary to connote the feel of survival. For my detailed image I will produce a sketch showcasing a close up of the fire featured within the center of the village, this fire will be surrounded by a base of rocks with the firewood tilted upwards forming a miniature tipi that has the fire blazing throughout it.

This diorama meets my audiences interests as it presents a unique and harsh settlement constructed by people with a foreign culture which appeals to the younger age range due to their sense of curiosity as well as experience with games such as red dead redemption. The environment will feature realistic assets much like my previous idea which will gain the interest of my older audience due to their appreciation of immersive and dark atmospheres.

Final Idea 

For my final idea I have chosen to go through with what I have come up with for my second diorama idea that I have listed above, many of the features will remain the same with the tipis remaining the dominant asset of my scene, the colour scheme will still seek to portray a dark and dreary environment so that the atmosphere can connote the message that I want my diorama to speak. 

This diorama will meet the needs of my audience whilst remaining an interesting and captivating scene for anyone passing by it. In my proposal I will be included a more expanded list of the assets that I plan to include as well as any additional colours that may be added to my existing scheme. Overall this is an idea that I would like to pursue due to my own personal interest in the theme as well as viewing it as a unique opportunity to use my existing skills to create a piece of concept art set in an environment I have not yet portrayed.

Proposal

Name: Sacred Haven

Outline

For my diorama I have chosen to create the environment I have spoken about in my second idea. This art piece will be produced in concept art and will feature the great plains as its main environmental setting whilst the Native American camp site will be its main focus. The assets that this scene will feature include 4 tipis and a camp fire whilst a number of wood and stone worked tools will be littered around the scene which will serve to make the settlement seem livelier and defeat the atmosphere of abandonment. Within the background will be a lake that will not be completely included in the scene as you will see it partially stretch out before reaching the end whilst the landscape will feature flat terrain with a brown shade of grass that will be seen as if it is drifting in the wind with the blades being laid out in different directions. A feature that I may also implement into my scene is a Native American totem pole as these are creative and imaginative structures that may make my diorama stand out more towards my audience.

Audience Appeal and Art Style

For my diorama I have chosen to use the art style called naturalism which is used to create realistic drawings that stand out with an immersive atmosphere that the audience can feel emitting from the scene. This art style will meet the needs of my audience as with a realistic and eye catching diorama it will make them feel as if they are experiencing the open freedom and environment through the creation of realistic assets produced through the use of this art style. The design of this diorama will be dark and dreary which will appeal towards my audience as the ages of 15-20 are most commonly searching for a mature experience that presents a realistic setting whilst maintaining the reality of it being within a made up universe. For this design I will be using a primitive asset style as the inhabitants of my settlement are Native Americans who at the time of the old west made no steps towards industrialization. The audience I have targeted will enjoy this style especially the older range as they are open to experience unique life styles within a game whilst they also experiment with more mature realistic titles that are set in a dark and harsh environment.

Colour Scheme

Since I have decided that my diorama will present a dark and dreary environment symbolizing the survival of a tribe my colour scheme will need to connote this setting and so the scheme that I have chosen to use will include shades of grey, brown, and green along with some grayish white and orange that will be included on the tipis. Alongside this existing colour scheme I have also decided to include a murky green as I will be including a lake in my scene that does not feature any clean water.

What I Plan to Include

One of the main features of my diorama is going to be a series of tipis as since my scene is centered upon a Native American camp site it will need to feature a type of shelter that they were known to construct and is one that I believe holds an iconic status within this genre. Another asset that I will be creating for my scene is a camp fire which will be designed in a more unique style than others as since this is a Native American setting I can experiment with using this foreign culture to effect and so this camp fire will have a base made up of rocks whilst the logs in the center will be leaning against each other whilst standing up almost as if it is a bomb fire, within the center of these logs there will be a fire raging and smoke billowing out of the center into the air above. One asset that I will be including in my scene is a totem pole which fill feature multiple faces of animals that have been carved into its wood, this asset is one that I see as important to include due to their association with Native American tribes whilst I also see this asset as one that would be fun to create and could make my scene stand out more due to the level of creativity that these structures present.

Some more of my assets will include stone and wood worked tools such as hatchets and clubs that are usually seen in western depictions being utilised by Native Americans that will be littered around the camp site with a large number of them being left outside the front of the tipis or around the camp fire. To add to my list of assets I will be including a lake which will consist of a murky green surface presenting a dirty and undrinkable surface which is because I will be linking this lake with the already existing dreary atmosphere that I want to portray within my diorama. Within my scene I will also include a darkened sky whilst also keeping the time set during the day which will include grey and blackened clouds that will take up the sky box that will serve to reinforce the harsh and rugged environment that this village has been built in.

Final Idea Research

In this moodboard I have gathered a series of images presenting different types of totem poles. Totem Poles are iconic to Native American tribesmen as in most western productions these are usually scene in their settlements and are mostly associated with this demographic of individuals. The reason why I have chosen to conduct this research is so I can see how many variations of art styles there are for this type of construct as I plan to include one within my own art piece and so these images present to me just how creative and complex they can become. The assistance I will gain from this moodboard is service of reference as these images can be used by myself for inspiration as to how I can make my own totem pole such as what animals I can include, how tall it will be as well as what type of colour it will have and how complex it is going to look.

For this moodboard I have made the focus center around tipis which I have chosen to gather images due to the various cosmetic and structural designs that can be used for them as well as their presence as one of the largest assets in my diorama and so these images give me a visual reference as to how what the suitable height, width and length of a tipi is as I am aiming towards creating a realistic scene in my diorama and so I would like to get correct proportions and scale on any asset that I include. These images also show me how a tipi looks in the environment that I have chosen and so those specific images will be suitable references for me as I will be designing a tipi in my diorama and so it would greatly help me to see existing tipis so that I can design the most realistic and creative one possible.

In this moodboard I have collected a series of images that feature tools created by Native Americans, these tools appear primitive despite their effectiveness and they help make the Natives stand out as an independent culture with a unique art and life style with many tools bearing cosmetic features such as feathers. I will be using these images to help me in the creation of my diorama as one of the features I wish to include is a number of tools scattered around the site and so possessing this moodboard made up of these images serves me well as it has given me a wide range of references for when it comes to eventually designing my tools.

For this moodboard I have gathered images that present pieces of concept art produced using the naturalism art style, this art style is when you produce an art piece using realistic textures and colours making the piece seem like an actual environment despite the way it has been produced. The reason why I have gathered images from this particular art style is due to my decision to produce my diorama using it as I would like to produce a realistic image that presents a true to life diorama featuring a realistic environment for my target audience to immerse themselves in. What I can do with these images for assistance is to study them closely and note how the artist has created each asset present in my seen so that I can borrow their techniques and use them to make my own concept art look as realistic as possible.
In my final moodboard I have collected various images presenting camp fires and bon fires both of which are heavily portrayed in the western universe due to the presence of camp sites and Native American villages, these fires are meant to provide a source of light and warmth allowing the creators to cook over the them as well as stay warm during cold nights. Another one of the main features within my diorama is going to be a bonfire and so these images that I have collected show me how it can be portrayed in a variety of environments as well as how it can be designed, with this research done I can now create a bonfire within my scene that has appropriate height, width and length as well as a sufficient amount of fire and smoke billowing throughout the wooden logs. These images also serve as suitable reference as I can see how they have the fire spreading and how much of it is obscured by the wooden logs showing me how I can best create a fire effect within the fire wood.