Creating Early Concepts
- Mikey Owen
- Oct 25, 2022
- 9 min read
I was in an unfortunate position this year as I came to create concepts, as my drawing tablet had recently packed in and I was lacking the facilities to upload hand drawn images. Though, I do intend to return to concepts at a later date to expand upon this section once I've acquired a new tablet.
However I had also taken an interest in AI generated art over the summer, impressed by it's ability to create stunning imagery from a basic user generated prompt. I therefore turned to a Discord bot called Midjourney (more information can be found here), which was being using by my classmates in our course server, in the hopes it could help me establish some concepts to build on.
Thankfully, the results it provided were so far beyond my expectations! Whilst I still believe there can be no true replacement for a human artist, the images created by this AI have helped me establish a colour-pallet for my world that I doubt I would have explored had I not gone down this road.
In this post, I'd like to examine the images created and discuss them in depth. I'll analyse what I like about them, what I don't, and ultimately how they will influence the aesthetic of my final animation.
The Docks
The initial plan for my animation is to have the opening take place in the docks of Melcombe, as the sailor infected with the great mortality returns home unaware of the sickness he carries.
Midjourney created some wonderful imagery for this harbour, and I've broken down each one below:
I absolutely adore this image, the denseness of the fog in the distance, the sparkle of the rain on the muddy ground. This is one of the concepts that truly cemented the idea in my head of having a very dark and eerie colour scheme. Having such a depressing aesthetic will truly heighten the dark and foreboding impact of the story I want to tell.
As you can tell from the prompt in the caption, I was looking for a different time of day and weather here to the previous image. Unfortunately this has resulted in a concept which I doubt I will take much inspiration from. While I do like the angle of the shot as it would serve well to establish the scene, the actual layout of the environment and design of the ships and buildings is quite far removed from how I picture the harbour in my head.
This imagine perfectly encapsulates the aesthetic I want for the opening harbour environment as It looks bleak, run down, busy etc. I will absolutely be using this as a reference for the creation of the harbour, though the only criticism I'd have is that the town around it looks far too built up to be a 1300s medieval setting. I think once I've scaled back the amount of buildings, and combined it with the grim look of the 1st image, it will be spot on!
The Village
The other environment for my animation will of course be the poor district/village of Melcombe where the sailor resides. This is the area where the majority of the project will take place so it's imperative I get the look and feel of this hamlet right.
Midjourney once again produced some great imagery for this environment which I've included and discussed below:
I love the pallet of this image again, as this is exactly the kind of drab, dreary and run down look I want for this poor part of town. The design of the main house in particular is spot on, though my only issue would be the background as there's a bit too much going on. Additionally, the paved roads would also not be present in this time period, though I do love the idea of incorporating rainfall heavily into my animation. Whether that be simply at the docks, the village, or both that's to be decided later.
This image is wonderful as a background concept. Dorset is known for it's hilly landscape, so I'd really like to encapsulate this into the surrounding terrain! The village itself again has the issue of looking too built up and modern for the time period it's set in, but I do love the aesthetic of this image. Once again I feel that setting a lot of my animation at night will really enhance the bleakness of the narrative.
For this image I decided to reward the prompt slightly from village to hamlet in the hopes that this would reduce the number of buildings. I also wanted the inclusion of a market place, as I have a clear vision of our hero character walking through this bustling medieval square as the peasants go about their business. Despite what I said in my previous analysis, I also like the time of day setting here. Even though this image is set in broad daylight, there's still a distinctly grimy look to the world. It's really imperative that I capture this tonal mood in my final designs.
Interior Spaces
Even though I now had plenty of material to work with for the environments, there was one pivotal scene I envision that I still needed concept work for.
I intend to have a shot of the sailor lying in bed, coughing and struggling to breathe as the plague consumes them. For this, it's crucial that I have some strong concepts for the inside of a medieval peasant's home.
I therefore obtained a few more images from Midjourney to cover this space:
Unfortunately I feel this image demonstrates the issues with using a more specific prompt for AI generated imagery. As you can see from the image caption, I wanted a peasant to actually be in bed and showing symptoms of the black death. Unfortunately what I've ended up with is a cloaked figure sat next to the bed with no symptoms to be seen. That being said, I do feel the environment itself has covered exactly what I was looking for! The room looks filthy, simplistic, and distinctly medieval! I will absolutely be using this shot as inspiration when it comes to crafting the interior of the peasant's home.
The most obvious issue with this image is that there is far, far too many items present for this to be the inside of a medieval peasants home. Furniture and items aside though, the general look of this room is perfect. It's damp, dirty, dusty and rundown, which is exactly what I want for this environment! Perhaps even having the room (minus the furniture) as the opposite side of the house from the bedroom in the previous image will give me exactly what I'm looking for.
The Peasants
Now we move onto the characters that will populating the world. As I stated in a previous post, the clothing will be the one thing that really roots them as medieval peasants from the 1300s, but since that post, the story I want to tell has evolved slightly. I'll explain this in more detail below.
For the peasants; I used a variety of prompts to try and achieve the results I wanted. The images I've ended up with are quite possibly the most influential ones Midjourney has produced so far, and I look forward to one day coming back to these to compare them to the aesthetic of the final animation. I've included them all down below:
A nice simple prompt for the AI led to a wonderful image for the look of my characters. Unfortunately the limitations of the algorithm prevents it from making faces really, but like I said at the start of this section it's really the clothing I'm interested in. The cloaks and robes look fantastic, though I plan to use them sparingly. Dressing everyone this way would prevent characters from standing out from one another. Oddly, this image actually served as much more of an inspiration for the environment than for the characters! I love the imagery of the grassy fields and forest beyond here, as I could use this before the onset of the plague as a perfect juxtaposition to the dark and muddy look of the village following the outbreak!
Oddly, the lack of faces available from this AI generator has made this image far more sinister than I predicted. Really it's here where I made the decision to shift my narrative! I love the spectral look of the village, where the prompt of giving them plague symptoms has basically created peasants who already look dead. Like zombies... I also once again love the aesthetic of the surrounding environment, as it's really a huge shift in contrast from the previous image. The vibrant greens are replaced with muted, misty shades of grey, while still maintaining enough colour for everything to stand out!
As you can see from the prompt, the previous image really did have a huge impact on where I decided to take further concepts, and if this image is anything to go by I do not regret it in the slightest. I absolutely love the look of these villagers acting as a bloodied horde, marching out from the mist towards our hero character. They're graphic without showing too much gore, and oddly I feel like the inclusion of zombies would add a more light-hearted tone (as videogames #1 canon fodder) to a narrative which maybe hits a little too close to home given the last few years.
I decided to try variations of the same prompt to see what else the AI could produce, and simply 'wow' was my response. This image right here is the one that I truly feel nails down the look I want for my project. The juxtaposition of a bright, vibrant day to this; a muted, sinister horde marching towards the camera. This will absolutely be a shot which I want to translate into the final animation. It encapsulates hopelessness, that the people and the place where they live, is lost to this plague.
The Plague Doctor
Now we move onto the final and most important character of the animation. The nameless plague doctor who will travel to Melcombe to comfort those who have contracted the disease and face the horde that now threatens the existence of all who live in the county of Dorset.
It's imperative that this character stand out from the general peasantry of the village, both by their most distinctive feature (the bird-like mask) and their clothing. They will need to fit into both 'moods' of the environment, the vibrant greens of the 'before-outbreak' setting and the dark tones that it will become.
I've fed 4 prompts through the AI generator for this character, and while I feel they give me some great inspiration, none have ready checked the boxes for the doctor's final design. I've included the images below:
Once again I've fallen victim here by being too specific with my prompts. The general silhouette of the doctor is perfect, being depicted here almost like death himself, clothed completely in black, with the distinctive mask giving them an intimidating presence. However, the prompt of having him battle the hordes with a weapon idea I had has unfortunately not worked, and the street itself hardly looks medieval. Aside from the intimidating silhouette, there's not much I can use here.
I thought I'd attempt to mix up the prompts here by adding the term 'gothic' to the mix. I was hoping this would emulate the look of old black and white horror movies, and it has certainly achieved that effect! This was simply just an experiment however as I don't feel there's much else I could use this concept for in terms of influencing the final designs. I do like the look of the cloak, torn and ragged, as if it's come from poverty or seen many battles! But this does once again display the limitations of the AI program, as the mask for the doctor seems to have distorted completely into a reflective sphere.
This concept has worked wonderfully for the key area of the doctor; the mask. I love that it's ended up resembling the skull of a bird! This is absolutely a design concept that I intend to explore further at a later date. Additionally, the subtle uses of colour in the belt and gloves of the doctor are a great way of having him look distinctly 'above' the surrounding peasantry. Lastly, I've somehow ended with the best concept for the village for a prompt that wasn't really reliant on it! I love how filthy and rundown the background looks! with these almost mud like roofs, almost like everything's on fire.
I decided to take a risk here by once again going with a much more specific prompt, but surprisingly, this one really paid off! I absolutely love this image, and the decision to have the plague doctor close to the camera has meant the AI could really add some detail to his clothing. I actually really like the crimson colour scheme for his cloak, and in particular the alchemy bottle with what looks like a skull on the front! The dagger, the medical accessories around his neck, the skull like single eye of the mask, it's all wonderful! I will absolutely be using parts of this concept to mould into the final design later!
With that, my initial concept stage is complete! All that remains now is writing up a basic script for the narrative and adapting it into an initial storyboard. These are two things I intend to cover in the next post to have my pitch ready in time for my first presentation of the year (more on that in a future post)!
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