Pre-Production and Matte Painting (specification)

Outline Description: To research the workflow in both concept art and matte painting. I will be producing a project bible for a film that I plan to start production on in the summer this will include a series of matte paintings, which will be used as a pre-production tool, giving the audience an example of what the film will look like. The Matte painting shots will be based on the story boarding. The film will have a mixture of live action and CGI. 

Project Motivation: I plan to use this project as a way to enhance my portfolio in hope to get a foot in the door in the visual effects industry as a matte painter/concept artist. Research will be done into what visual effects companies are looking for in terms of Matte painting/concept art portfolios and I will also be researching how the two skills are closely linked together. 

Technical Description: Concept research will be developed from different artists such as Feng Zhu, Noah Bradley and David Revoy etc etc who all have different approaches to their concept art. I will be taking aspects from each of their workflow and pipeline and implementing them into my own work. The fundamental technicalities of painting will be focused on first then I may explore different software’s and mediums like coral painter and Gouache.

Matte painting research will be separated into two sections, painting and projection. The painting section will follow the same guideline as concept art however the painting will be engineered in such a way accommodate for camera projection and will include a lot of mixed media for example photographs and 3d modeling.
The projection aspect will look into filming shots to support digital matte painting, creating a pre-vis, creating the actual painting around the pre-vis and projecting the painting onto proxy models along with any post production compositing at the end.

Describe your product: A full project bible which would theoretically by ready to hand in to a production team. This includes character and environmental concept art along with 2-4 Matte paintings. 

Outline Project Plan: 

Film Idea, Premise, treatment and Concept Art research started by the 1st of January (includes painting studies)

Concept research done, starting concept art itself and researching matte painting started by 1st February

Matte painting research complete, Filming, pre-vis, concept art complete, matte painting itself started by 1st march

matte paintings complete, camera projection started by 1st April.

Camera projections complete, polishing of project bible started by 1st May

Full Projected Matte paintings and full bible put together for 14th of May