Game/Concept Art Example of Ideas

In this post, I will discuss my ideas for my Game/Concept Art Project. I have been thinking about the concept of transformation and I have been looking at artists and designers' work that will help me explore this concept.

I have been looking at Yoshitaka Amono and his work.  I am particularly interested in examining this as Amano; 'is a Japanese artist, character designer, illustrator and a theater and film scenic designer and costume designer.' (Amano, 2024).  The image below is a take on David' Bowie's Thin White Duke, Bowie here has been transformed into an anime character. This was based on a story by Neil Gaiman set in futuristic New York.   

The Return of the Thin White Duke : Women (Limited Edition) (2004) By Yoshitaka Amano

David Bowie (20024) By Yoshitaka Amano

The first image here reminds me somewhat of Klimt and his 'Three Ages of Woman' (1905).  Not so much in style but in terms of framing.  The soft colour palette and the framing of the hero within the women and then the landscape almost wrapping around the characters make this a compelling image. Yoshitaka combines; 'elements of art nouveau and traditional Japanese woodblock prints.' (Zoryasch, 2016) Here, I enjoy the combination of techniques, the traditional and the contemporary in dialectial opposition within the picture. 

'Three Ages of Woman' (1905) by Gustav Klimt

The image here also reminded me somewhat of Edvard Munch's Madonna, the swirling universe and the figures of woman.  Going back to my original thoughts that I would like to explore some kind of transformation I like these different versions of the same image and I am interested how things are changed or interpreted over time. Maybe the character creation here is one character but different versions of themselves just like the Thin White Duke was just one of David Bowie's many characters. 

Edvard Munch (1892-1895) Versions of Madonna

Through this process, I may create one character who has many identities and then these characters could inhibit a story or a game.  I will be thinking about this further and creating some test characters to see if this idea will work. 

References

Amano, Y. (2024). YOSHITAKA AMANO. [online] YOSHITAKA AMANO. Available at: https://www.yoshitakaamano.com/ [Accessed 22 Oct. 2024].

Barder, O. (2016). That Time When Yoshitaka Amano Painted David Bowie. Forbes. [online] 12 Jan. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2016/01/12/that-time-when-yoshitaka-amano-painted-david-bowie/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2024].

Zoryasch, F. (2016). ‘The Return of the Thin White Duke’ - Amano’s tribute to David Bowie. [online] Eyesonff.com. Available at: http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/165501-The-Return-of-the-Thin-White-Duke-Amano-s-tribute-to-David-Bowie [Accessed 23 Oct. 2024].