Starting with a client's creative brief, Ash will demonstrate his design habits from square one. We will practice pulling ideas from the mind and implementing them into artwork. Ash will document the journey from a small thumbnail sketch all the way to a complex final piece.
Homework
Assignment
1. Based on the creative brief, create 3 - 5 thumbnail sketches
Perfect content focusing on concept and core intent of a project. Loved the first lesson on referencing and mind mapping. Been stuck lately with a clutter of thoughts. Looking forward to more great lessons in the coming weeks!
Hey Ash, this was an awesome first lesson. Mind-mapping is my new favorite thing – I go on brain tangents all the time, and having a way to get myself back to the tree after venturing out onto a distant branch is SUPER helpful!
I went a little reference-crazy, but I'll get better at narrowing things down to the essentials once I've become a bit more familiar with the process.
Doing the thumbnails was definitely the most challenging part for me. I've been trying for a long time to get better at illustration and composition, so I've worked through a few concept art and character design videos but I'm still not at the level I'm striving for – idea to paper in one shot. It's time to put in some pencil mileage.
Good to see you here on the community chat. So glad you enjoy Mind-mapping. Its a great way to see your thoughts visualized which really helps for mental clarity and focus.
Glad you went crazy looking for reference. Excited to see what you managed to gather!
Its good to know your strengths and even more your weaknesses. I will make sure I know where you are with this stuff and try to push you along to get you the results that will help you in the future. Cheers!
Could you elaborate on wildcard thing, how far we can deviate from subject ?
Is it needed to design UI for Hex too or just Hex itself ? Does UI also have to be spherical in form, or just be UI of some kind ?
oh man! thanks for the course! i love how its not about trendy tricks and making it look great in the first video... hearing your thinking process behind the images you create is invaluable. I always thought UI is just playing around until the gut says "its cool" .
Really inspiring stuff Ash! Your work gives me an amazingly high bar to strive for everyday. I'm pushing myself to the limit everyday so I can reach my dream of working in your industry. Wish me luck! Can't wait to see your methods of translating the foundation into the final product!
Great start Ash and love the intro into the “less sexier” parts of your process. :)
Q: If new words/descriptions for the brief come to my mind while looking for refs, is it worthwhile to reiterate and add to the mindmap, or just go ahead looking for refs that fall under the new words/descriptions?
Loving the early focus on idea creation and originality rather than pure technique, it's unfortunately something that's missing from a lot of art education!
Awesome first lesson, its super helpful to pull the scope all the way back to the concept stage as I feel too many courses start with execution. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you so much Mike. I was a bit hesitant to start with such a micro level but this is how I work and I wanted to be as open and transparent as possible in hopes of helping you all :) Thank you for the reassurance.
I am lucky to have such an amazing group of curious, hard working individuals like yourself along for the journey. Excited to see the greatness that you create!
So great to see similar techniques used to take notes and research references to help inspire the creative mind. I forget sometimes that "thumbnails", is part of the process, so it's great to be part of this "learndsquared" journey. To be learn or to discover new ways to get ideas out.
Hi!maybe someone can help me out with this doubt i have...im basically not sure if the thumbs are only for/or to givean idea of howthe hex wouldactually function, or if they are thumbnails of it in an environment ? i mean, cinematic thumbnails like it was a product/commercial shot?or in an environment?my head goes all over the place , with these doubts and one thing that led me to take this course is exactly to streamline and not lose time with stuff that is not relevant or wont be used.
Hey guys! Great job helping one another. It makes me smile to see you all working together and deciphering things and finding your own solutions and answers together. That says a lot about how far you will go and your abilities to learn and grow as a team.
To answer from my intention of the Thumbnails is, they are designed to get your mind in a space of working fast and freely. You can do 100 thumbnails in an hour but you can only do one final image in 1-.5 of a day. What I am trying to do is get you to work abstractly and let your hand and eye connect with your imagination and allow your ideas and concepts to flow. So my advice would be to focus on just getting your ideas out. Good or bad. Let them flow and take them with you as you go. Think about compositions and also keep the keywords of the brief in your mind as you move forward. This should help you achieve what I am after with you and your growth for this course.
Came here to re-iterate what Claudio stated! The brief calls for the UI that the cast will interact with, not the prop design. This futuristic UI is one with the environment the prop is installed in, so if it helps, imagine a dark, empty basketball court, where the UI we're designing is the only light source. That said, adding in things that people have a frame of reference for (scroll bars, rulers, etc.), can help viewers automatically come to their own conclusions as to how they might interact with the UI. That sort of grounding in real world experience is really important so that the actors can connect to it and interact appropriately during principal photography. Hope that helps!
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Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Thank you so much! Welcome along for the ride!!!
Mathan Raj 6 years ago
Perfect content focusing on concept and core intent of a project. Loved the first lesson on referencing and mind mapping. Been stuck lately with a clutter of thoughts. Looking forward to more great lessons in the coming weeks!
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Aweesome Mathan. So happy you are enjoying the lesson!!! Welcome to the journey :)
SKYE X 6 years ago
Hey Ash, this was an awesome first lesson. Mind-mapping is my new favorite thing – I go on brain tangents all the time, and having a way to get myself back to the tree after venturing out onto a distant branch is SUPER helpful!
I went a little reference-crazy, but I'll get better at narrowing things down to the essentials once I've become a bit more familiar with the process.
Doing the thumbnails was definitely the most challenging part for me. I've been trying for a long time to get better at illustration and composition, so I've worked through a few concept art and character design videos but I'm still not at the level I'm striving for – idea to paper in one shot. It's time to put in some pencil mileage.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
HI Skye!
Good to see you here on the community chat. So glad you enjoy Mind-mapping. Its a great way to see your thoughts visualized which really helps for mental clarity and focus.
Glad you went crazy looking for reference. Excited to see what you managed to gather!
Its good to know your strengths and even more your weaknesses. I will make sure I know where you are with this stuff and try to push you along to get you the results that will help you in the future. Cheers!
Piotr Szymaniec 6 years ago
Could you elaborate on wildcard thing, how far we can deviate from subject ?
Is it needed to design UI for Hex too or just Hex itself ? Does UI also have to be spherical in form, or just be UI of some kind ?
Eddy Klaus 6 years ago
oh man! thanks for the course! i love how its not about trendy tricks and making it look great in the first video... hearing your thinking process behind the images you create is invaluable. I always thought UI is just playing around until the gut says "its cool" .
Bryant Nichols 6 years ago
Really inspiring stuff Ash! Your work gives me an amazingly high bar to strive for everyday. I'm pushing myself to the limit everyday so I can reach my dream of working in your industry. Wish me luck! Can't wait to see your methods of translating the foundation into the final product!
Philip K 6 years ago
Great start Ash and love the intro into the “less sexier” parts of your process. :)
Q: If new words/descriptions for the brief come to my mind while looking for refs, is it worthwhile to reiterate and add to the mindmap, or just go ahead looking for refs that fall under the new words/descriptions?
Alexis-Francois Morand 6 years ago
Loving the early focus on idea creation and originality rather than pure technique, it's unfortunately something that's missing from a lot of art education!
Han Han Xue 6 years ago
Ash Thorp you are my spirit animal.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
OH MAN! hehe... this is a new compliment that I have not heard before. Very kind of you :) Best of luck to you on your journey!
Christian Rose 6 years ago
Already digging this, man. So glad you guys are focusing on the unseen and equally (if not more) important parts of the creative process.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Thank you so much Christian!!! This might not be the image making parts but... its the foundation and thats SO VITAL! :)
Mike Gaynor 6 years ago
Awesome first lesson, its super helpful to pull the scope all the way back to the concept stage as I feel too many courses start with execution. Looking forward to the next one!
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Thank you so much Mike. I was a bit hesitant to start with such a micro level but this is how I work and I wanted to be as open and transparent as possible in hopes of helping you all :) Thank you for the reassurance.
Jim Phillips 6 years ago
Enjoyed the first lesson a great deal Ash. Thanks! Very happy that you've decided to take us along for the ride.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
I am lucky to have such an amazing group of curious, hard working individuals like yourself along for the journey. Excited to see the greatness that you create!
John Barros 6 years ago
So great to see similar techniques used to take notes and research references to help inspire the creative mind. I forget sometimes that "thumbnails", is part of the process, so it's great to be part of this "learndsquared" journey. To be learn or to discover new ways to get ideas out.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Totally! its all about how you take in information and how you convey it and communicate it back to who you are working with.
Aaron Reid 6 years ago
Yea! What a great start! Thanks for doing this.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
sure thing! :)
Diogo Esteves 6 years ago
Hi!maybe someone can help me out with this doubt i have...im basically not sure if the thumbs are only for/or to givean idea of howthe hex wouldactually function, or if they are thumbnails of it in an environment ? i mean, cinematic thumbnails like it was a product/commercial shot?or in an environment?my head goes all over the place , with these doubts and one thing that led me to take this course is exactly to streamline and not lose time with stuff that is not relevant or wont be used.
Ash Thorp 6 years ago instructor
Hey guys! Great job helping one another. It makes me smile to see you all working together and deciphering things and finding your own solutions and answers together. That says a lot about how far you will go and your abilities to learn and grow as a team.
To answer from my intention of the Thumbnails is, they are designed to get your mind in a space of working fast and freely. You can do 100 thumbnails in an hour but you can only do one final image in 1-.5 of a day. What I am trying to do is get you to work abstractly and let your hand and eye connect with your imagination and allow your ideas and concepts to flow. So my advice would be to focus on just getting your ideas out. Good or bad. Let them flow and take them with you as you go. Think about compositions and also keep the keywords of the brief in your mind as you move forward. This should help you achieve what I am after with you and your growth for this course.
I hope this helps :)
Dan Martin 6 years ago
Came here to re-iterate what Claudio stated! The brief calls for the UI that the cast will interact with, not the prop design. This futuristic UI is one with the environment the prop is installed in, so if it helps, imagine a dark, empty basketball court, where the UI we're designing is the only light source. That said, adding in things that people have a frame of reference for (scroll bars, rulers, etc.), can help viewers automatically come to their own conclusions as to how they might interact with the UI. That sort of grounding in real world experience is really important so that the actors can connect to it and interact appropriately during principal photography. Hope that helps!
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