For practically forever, human F and somehow not. Just over five hundred years ago, Leonardo da Vinci was revelling in this kind of imaginative creativity, observing nature and, for a period of time in the earlier part of his career, converting that work into any number of visual-effects stage designs and productions.
It seems fair to say that he'd be totally at home with the work of today's illusion makers at Framestore in their work on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets imagination has run wild with the idea of creatures that are both of this world of Dumbledore and the ways in which the very real informs and inspires the very fantastical. Framestore's Dan Baker (Art Department concept artist) and Christian Manz (VFX supervisor) discuss the collaboration and dynamic between art department and visual effects for the film.
"We started the concept stuff really early on, which is always fantastic for an art department to get any extra time," explains Dan Baker. "We were right in there with the initial briefs, months and months before production started." Beyond the movies, Dan cites a particularly enduring reference point books and influence on his design work, explaining: "Moebius was a massive influence, and European comic like Massimiliano Frezzato's who did the Keepers of the Maser series: a beautiful, hand-painted work. I'm all about the European stuff."
THE POTTER-VERSE
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Jan Wessbecher
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Kyounghwan Kim
The Korean character concept artist speaks to Dominic Carter about staying open to ideas and the value of drawing regularly
Slawek Fedorczuk
Dominic Carter talks to the concept artist about what keeps him motivated and the advantages of using physical sketchbooks.
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow
First Impressions
The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world
