Inspiration

Two artists that have heavily influenced my FMP idea so far are Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell. Incredible skill and subject matter aside - what I take away most from their work is the depth it has.

I'll start with Hopper - his most well know painting, 'Nighthawks' relates rather readily to my idea and in my mind is a good benchmark of the atmosphere I would like my FMP to create. I am however, more interested in Hopper in general and the totality of his work.













'Nighthawks 1942'

He consistently focused on the observation of people in their surroundings which is fascinating. I find it a refreshing departure from traditional portrature wherby the subject is generally looking directly at the camera in an artificial setting.















'Morning Sun 1952'

I have long thought that people should be understood in relation to their surroundings and it is this context which makes them truly interesting. I think this is why I want to attempt a FMP consisiting of a small environment and a few characters. I am well aware of the enormity of the task and perhaps my being ill equipped to achieve it but i've never gotten anywhere without ambition and i'm not about to slow down now.

Next I present a link detailing the working process of Norman Rockwell -

http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2009/12/2778

To some degree it explains why his work is so damn good. He understood that the imagination can only get you so far and that first class reference and research is second to none in creating amazing work. The figures in his work seem real because they were extrapolated from reality.





















'Saying Grace 1951'

In terms of my own work I think I shall heed this method and base any characters off of real tangible people I know. I am unsure yet of how this will carry over to 3D but I am sure that if I pay attention to the conceptual part of this process and have everything nailed down in advance of modelling and texturing then the problem will resolve itself. Perhaps I should find some examples of 3D characters that I feel have real 'character' to them.

As an artist I honestly feel like simply making an environment/character in 3D is only half the struggle. The real meat of the problem is in setting it apart from everything else.

I shall see where my research takes me over the next few days as I begin to prepare my idea for the conceptual phase.

In the meantime enjoy a few parodies of 'Nighthawks.'
















One from the simpsons and my personal favorite made out of lego!