Back to the Basics: The Importance of Foundation Studies
Foundation classes, am I right?
Like many art schools, SCAD requires its students, regardless of major, to participate in a foundation year of studying the principles of art through more traditional mediums. It is a common topic of discussion as it is something that all SCAD students experience, especially when it comes to certain majors. As a VFX major, the connection between traditional drawing and the art I’m studying is not as evident as it is for other majors. But even technical majors like VFX, ANIM, FILM, and more benefit from understanding the foundations of art. This article will go over a few of the most universal principles of art that apply to a variety of majors, and why it’s important to understand them to enhance the impact of your work—even if drawing or painting may not be your favorite activity in the world.
Composition
The impact that composition has on the overall visual appeal of a piece shocked me when I first learned about it years ago. Using principles like the rule of thirds, leading lines, the golden ratio, focal points, hierarchy, etc. Everything that is in your final image plays a part in how the reader takes it in, even if it’s just a simple background element. It all works together to frame and bring attention to a subject, and it can make your work seem that much more professional and effective.
Shape and Dimensions
In the case of VFX, a large part of what we do surrounds 3D objects, and 3D objects in a 2D space. Understanding depth and dimensions is one of the first hurdles to overcome when creating a 3D asset, so it’s important to train your mind to better visualize 3D objects. Being able to deconstruct and reconstruct things in your mind can make modeling processes much easier. It also helps to understand how objects interact with each other when incorporating them into 2D space, such as in compositing. If you do not have a good grasp of perspective and scale, matching a 3D asset to a video plate in a natural way might prove to be a challenge.
Lighting
Lighting, a personal favorite of mine, can make or break how well an audience reads your piece. Similar to composition, proper contrast can draw attention to certain areas of a piece. Things like the relationship between depth and certain values, and cinematography basics like 3-point lighting, can make your subject(s) stand out greatly.
Drawing studies of simple objects can even help a lot in analyzing how light reflects off of certain materials, and how it travels in different spaces and situations. I always enjoy checking how a piece looks in grayscale as I light and color grade, to make sure there is enough variety in values, and that I’m arranging them in ways that bring attention to my focal point and make sense in reality. Lighting is a fine balance to find. Underworking lighting may look bland or uninteresting, but overworking it may be uncanny and unrealistic. This is why understanding its basics can help any filmmaker or animator in making appealing shots.
Color
Color ties heavily into the concept of lighting, but adds its own complexities with the vast amounts of combinations and associations each color has. It can work very similarly to black and white, using contrast to draw attention to a point. Except, instead of just grayscale you have the 3 primary colors, their 3 complementaries, and then the infinity of every single color in the gradients between those. So… lots of fun options!
It is also strongly related to lighting, as color is, well, light. This is a huge factor in VFX when attempting to mimic reality. It’s something that is hard to point out when a composition looks unrealistic, but very easy to feel that it’s off. It took me a while to realize the importance of a shadow color.
Lastly, color is also good to understand for mood, tone, and emotion. We all know blue = sad and red = angry, but in things like film or animation, it can get a lot more complicated. If a sad scene is taking place in a hot desert, tinting everything blue might not work that well depending on the style- it’ll look cold and uncanny for the environment. Understanding how to make the most out of colors in realistic ways is a feat that’s nearly impossible to master, but important to continue learning and improving.
Communication
Last but certainly not least, are the soft skills that you develop in your foundation classes. These classes are the first that new artists here at SCAD take, and they offer the chance to practice skills that many students didn’t have before coming here: presenting work, communicating, and collaborating in artistic fields. Even if it isn’t the type of art you will be working on in the future, the skills are the same. Being able to explain your reasoning for a piece, and accept criticism in open minded ways, is essential. These classes are a perfect time to practice this.
Overall, foundations of art can help in almost any medium or style. But in the case of animation, VFX, and film, where a majority of the projects tend to be grounded in or mimicking reality, foundations are a great way to better understand how to depict the world around us. No matter how well you know advanced programs or techniques, if you ignore the basics, something may still look off.
Not everyone is drawn to traditional mediums like drawing or painting, and that’s perfectly okay. But understanding how learning about foundations can help your work in other mediums can make a difference. Art is interconnected in ways that may not be immediately apparent, but these connections are crucial as you advance in your studies. Keeping an open mind throughout foundation classes can not only help you get through the year, but also help your art in the long run.