Working for Bristol-based VFX studio Lux Aeterna, concept artist and illustrator Tom Morton created the concept art for history documentary Ancient Powers. Collaborating closely with Composting Director Steve Burrell, Tom worked on the 300 shots that the studio delivered. Over five months he created a wide variety of concepts for each of the ancient powers, including everything from Roman baths to the distinctive onscreen icons used to denote each of the bygone civilizations.
Concept art is the first step in the VFX pipeline, and often one of the most crucial. Not only does it help to get everyone on board with the same vision from the start, but it also gives VFX artists a solid foundation to build on, saving significant time further down the line. On this project, Tom’s concept art helped the team deal with the sheer volume of shots needed, within the given budget and time frame. In this tutorial, Tom talks through the various steps involved in creating concept art for Ancient Powers.
