The start of research

So I realised that I haven't uploaded any of my research yet. The next few posts will contain various things such as looking at existing:

* Character selection screens
* Concept artists
* Concept art
* Character portraits
* Games
* Sci-fi themed stuff

The main aim for doing this is to show where some of my inspiration comes from, what I have learnt, and to evaluate existing work in order to better understand the process of designing a game.

NOTE: Any images in this specific post are NOT my own, I do not in anyway claim that they are, and they are copyright to their rightful owners.

So I'm going to start off with some research into Concept artists. As this is the area that I want to go into myself, I feel that it's really important that I keep update with what is going on in the game art world.

My favourite concept artist currently is Romanian born Daniel Dociu.

I find it rather odd that I am so drawn to his work, as his work is just so raw and harsh, which oddly enough is the complete opposite to what I personally create. My own work is always very refined and tidy, and it must be the appeal of being able to draw so freely that draws me to his art.
He mainly does environmental art, but there is some character concept in there too.

Have a look at these pieces, which are some of my favourites, and include both his environment and character designs.

Armor Girl
Delta Temple
Puppet
Goth
Mine

Dociu’s work is very recognisable and unique, and that’s largely down to the fact that his work is always very raw and passionate, which conveys a lot of emotion, especially tension and atmosphere.
His environmental designs create this not only when viewing them on paper, but also when encountering them in the game itself. In game his landscapes cause the viewer to behold them in wonder, and can even cause fear and apprehension.

Dociu has fairly quickly become a successful concept artist, and has worked for several companies, including smaller businesses. His more notable placements include Art Director for big gaming companies such as Squaresoft, Electronic Arts and Zipper Interactive. He has also done free lance work for companies such as Digital Anvil and Wizards of the Coast.
Since 2003 to the present day Dociu has worked specifically with AreaNet on their immensely successful game Guild Wars as an Art Director and lead concept artist. This has led him to also work since 2007 as the Chief Art Director for the company NCsoft, the parent company to AreaNet. His role involves the overseeing of the visual development of all of NCsofts’s major North American projects, focusing especially on AreaNet’s newest game, Guild Wars 2, a game which I am looking forward to imensly, as it looks like it is going to be one of the most beauitful games around.

Check out this teaser trailer that introduces the playable races in Guild Wars 2.

I could carry on writing about Dociu's work, but I don't really want to turn this into an essay (...yes, I have writen an essay on Dociu in the past :P), so on to the next artist.