Choosing a Theme for My Concepts

After looking through ArtStation at what other concept artists are doing in their prop designs, I wanted to try to settle on a theme for my own set of props. So I went on Pinterest to begin doing research and seeing where I ended up, below are some screenshots of things I saved along with my thought process and a link to the Pinterest board.


Starting off I just saved some general prop concepts to get a feel for how they are laid out on paper and how they are designed.

Next I started to try to look for a retro feel but set in space, I came across the term Retrofuturism which helped in my search.

I looked at products and advertisements from the 40's and 50's, a big focus in the late 40's going into the 50's was put into consumerism due to the second world war ending. So I saved a lot of products for the home that were around this time.

Fallout 4 has some really nice concept art which falls under this Retrofuturism category, so that was useful to save. Next I saved general views of kitchens, living rooms etc from the 50's.

I went onto an article to get a bit more insight into retrofuturism to understand more about it and if it is the best term to describe what I will be going for. The article can be found here: https://99designs.com/blog/design-history-movements/retrofuturism/

Within the article, writer James Smart explains:

"Officially, retrofuturism is “the use of a style or aesthetic considered futuristic in an earlier era.” That can mean people in the past looking forward, but it can also mean us going back, and imagining a mix of modern life with older features or ways of behaving."

He goes on to break down a few forms this theme can take; Atomic Age, Space Age, Steampunk and Cyberpunk.

In terms of games and media utilising these styles, Fallout uses the Atomic Age inspiration, looking at what an aftermath of nuclear war could look like. The most well known example of Space Age media is probably The Jetsons. Bioshock has quite a Steampunk feel to its art style and the Matrix series of films falls into the Cyberpunk category - as does the game Cyberpunk obviously.

I think the theme I would be aiming for in my designs would come under the Atomic Age, lots of optimistic bright colours with modernist and art deco inspiration. Smart explains some good inspiration for this theme can be found in; The Jetsons, Barbarella, Moonraker and Star Trek.

He goes on to give some useful bullet points that can help in starting off designs that are retrofuturistic, not all will fall into the Space Age feel, but these might be useful for me to come back to when designing:

- a focus on machines or technology
- classic or vintage design features
- a mix of historic and futuristic objects
- a postmodern fusion of styles from different eras
- smooth geometric shapes such as spheres and ovals
- sharp, clean polygons
- the vibrant colors, neon and shining chrome of new technology
- the grime, dust and dirt of old machinery

Now I have an idea of the theme I want to go for, I want to do some observational sketches of things I have found on Pinterest to get a feel for 50's furniture, what sort of shapes and colours I need to bring to my designs - as well as how to make them feel like they fit into the Space Age category.

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