Research for Artist
I decided that I wanted to research the history of art and concept art. I wanted to find the earliest form of art and concept art as I want to talk about how art has developed over the years. I also want to look at the different styles of art so that I can decide what I would want to use for my games and for the history of concept art I want to discuss
For the history of art, I want to find the earliest pieces of art and I will focus researching on Prehistoric, Ancient, European, Islamic, Asian, and Western artwork.
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When I research my concept art I will mainly focus on researching the history, materials, themes, styles, and the specialisation of concept art.
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I believe that by researching all of these different aspects of art, it will benefit me for any artwork I work on in the future. I decided to start my research by looking online to see if I could find anything that would help me with research for my job role. I decided to research the history of art first and then concept art afterwards.
The history of art mainly focuses on objects created by humans in a visual form for aesthetic purposes. Over the years, art has been focused on human creativity which would focus on architecture, sculptures, paintings, films, and photography. In more recent years, art has taken a form through technology and now involves graphic art, animation, television, and video games.
Prehistoric
I decided to research the Prehistoric times and the earliest I could find was the 'Stone Age' which was a broad period which stone was used to make implements with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The first creative works were made of shells, stone, and paint. Cave painting were developed during this time and a painting of an Aurochs (extinct species of large cattle) which was found in a place called Lascaux in France.
The history of art mainly focuses on objects created by humans in a visual form for aesthetic purposes. Over the years, art has been focused on human creativity which would focus on architecture, sculptures, paintings, films, and photography. In more recent years, art has taken a form through technology and now involves graphic art, animation, television, and video games.
Ancient Art
In the first period of recorded history, art coincided with writing. It was developed from the tradition of communications using pictures. In Egypt, hieroglyphic writing was developed and appeared on art such as the Narmer Palette. The Narmer Palette is an archelogical find dating from the 31st century BC and it shows King Namar and the classic conventions of Ancient Egyptian art.
Egyptian art was very religious and symbolic. Many of the art that was created honoured the pharohs. and a lot of the art that was created emphasesed immortality and the culture always showed the power of Egypt to be based on structure and heirarchy.
European
Renaissance art was during the period of European history in which paintings, sculptures, and other decorative art. It was also during the development of philosophy, literature, music, and science. The art was presented as the noblest of ancient traditions. Italian art was very popular during this century and masterpieces such as the 'Mona Lisa' which an artist named Leonardo da Vinci created.
All of the art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during this time helped increased awareness of nature, improvement of classical learning, and it gave people more of an individual view on other people.
Islamic
Islamic art focuses more of visual art. It is difficult to define as it covers many lands and it doesn't specific on religion, a particular time or place, and many parts of Islam forbid depictions of people or other important beings as they didn't want them to be misused as idols. Islamic art isn't all restricted when it comes to religious art, but it does include all of the rich and varied cultures of the Islamic society as well.
Although they didn't specify on a particular religion, there are many paintings in which themes and scenes of stories were common through the faiths of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
Asain
Asain art is very known for its complex tradition of making art. Art was split into three different types: Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art. This was because of the size of the continent. I decided to research on Japanese art to see what I could find. It covers a wide range of art styles and media such as ancient pottery, sculpture, ink paintings, and calligraphy on silk and paper.
I also found out that ukiyo-e paintings, woodblock prints, ceramics, and origami are also other types of styles that were part of Japanese art. Manga is a more recent style of art that has been developed in Japan and that is created through cartoon comics and now it is also animated.
Western
Western art is represented to be a continuous tradition from antiquity to present day. From the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance many painters worked for the church and wealthy aristocrats. An artist called Johannes Vermeer created the painting called the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. It's an oil painting which is now displayed at the High Museum in Atlanta, US. It is a very well known western painting.
Western paintings became very successful in Europe which caused drawings to be improved for using different perspectives for architecture, tapestry, stained glass, sculptures, and printing press.
Concept Art
After researching the history of art, I decided to start researching concept art and the different topics I said I would research earlier which are history, materials, themes, styles, and the specialisation of concept art. I decided to look up the definition of concept art before further researching the topic. I found that there was a website which explained the difference between illustration and concept art so I used this as research as I thought it would be good information to know.
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Definition: illustration to show ideas to use in films, video games, animation, comic books, and other media before the idea becomes a final product.
History
The earliest I could find for concept art was from Disney in the 1930's when Walk Disney was working on 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. The concept art focused on all of the characters that were later developed and added into the 1937 film. You can see where they tried out different body proportions, facial expressions, and styles for characters appearances.
I found a website which explains that the concept art which you are about to see are from two books which were both released in 2012. 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film ' and 'The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. Both books were released in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the release of the film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'.
It has more than 250 pages of artwork and over 200 pieces of art. It features original sketches and background paintings that are shown through concepts and step-by-step process shots. Some of the concept art was also part of deleted scenes of the film itself.
I found a few pieces of concept art which are based on the character 'Snow White' which you can see above. A few of her designs reminded me of a popular cartoon character during that time called 'Betty Boop' due to the physical appearance of the character.
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I found a video on YouTube in which shows what the book looks like as well as more information about the book and the development for the concept art within the book. In the video it even mentions how the designs were created by the same Artist who created 'Betty Boop' and his name was Grim Natwick. I decided to see how accurate this information was and when I searched for 'Grim Natwick' I found more information about him as an artist.
I decided to see how accurate this information was and when I searched for 'Grim Natrick' I found more information about him as an artist. He was the creator of the animated character 'Betty Boop' and he worked on 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' as the lead animator of the character.
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I decided to check out the concept art for the seven dwarfs and I found images that show the development from the first ideas to the final concepts that were developed into the film. When the concept for the dwarfs started you can see that they experimented with different appearances and names to give each character an individual and unique appearance.
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Although some of the names changed, the artists clearly kept the idea of making each character different to each other. The final concept is more neat and there are clear labels to remind the animators how the character's should all look while being developed during production. I really liked how they experimented with different styles and ideas because it gave the artists a more clear idea of how they wanted the final results to look. You can see the results for yourself below.
Concept art has continued to be like this for many years. Artists who create concept art focus on visual designs for items, characters, and locations which don't exist yet and it takes a lot of commitment, vision, and clear understanding of this job role.
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In more recent years, concept art has not only been created through drawings on paper, but can now be created through digital art. I found the step-by-step of this process and you can see it from below.
Material
Concept art has embraced using digital technology as digital painting is very easy to access and hardware such as graphic tablets have helped become this process much more effective. Styles such as oil, acrylic, marker, and pencil styles which can be used. Popular programs for concept art such as Photoshop and ProCreate are very popular to use for artists and many concept artists have switched to digital media as it is easier to edit and saves time. Although many people prefer to use technology to develop concept art, there are still many artists who prefer to draw work with pencil, pen, and paper.
Graphic tablets are so useful to artists as they are lightweight and easily portable which means that artists can create their concept art anywhere. This is very useful as concept art has a tight deadline and so artists need the work they create to be quickly created and perfected in a short amount of time. The image to the right shows a tablet that can be used for concept art.
Themes
Concept art has always covered many subjects, but the most popular themes people like to work on are sci-fi (science fiction) and fantasy. Concept art has always been a primary medium in film poster designs in the early days of Hollywood.
Styles
Concept art styles are varied, but artists while working on a project will use forms of sketches, speed paints, and 3D overpaints. To create a more realistic look, some artists create matte paintings. Concept artists will often adapt to the style of the studio they are hired for as the company may have a particular style that must be used. People highly prefer to hire concept artists who how the ability to produce multiple styles when creating concept art.
Specialization
Concept artists have various specializations which include drafting of characters, creatures, environments, and industry-related designs. This tends to be better for freelancers than concept artists as freelancers have more time to focus on their work without the rush of a deadline. It is highly important for concept artists to know the foundations of art, such as anatomy, perspective, colour theory, design, and lighting as all of these different things can effect the quality of your work.
Influential Practitioners & Products
I will take influence in the art that I have researched as well as the concept art, but I wanted to find concept art which I knew would help influence me for when I add my own concept art to any games I make in the future. I want to create concept art that shows all of the different ideas that I have during the process of creating characters, items, and locations.
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I decided to research more into the "Assassin's Creed" franchise to see if I could find any concept art to take inspiration from. I wanted to see the concept art as I wanted to use it as inspiration for my own concept art and to help as influence for my story idea as my story is in the 1500's. I found out that "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood" was the closest to the timeline that I was looking for as I found a website that explains in detail the timeline for all of the games in the franchise.
Now I knew what game fitted with the timeline I was focused on and so I decided to find concept art from that game. I found a few websites which had concept art from "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood" and I really liked these designs as I think they are very different to what I have seen before. I decided to look at concept art for characters first.
With both of these different characters you can see how concept artists experimented with different angles when creating the final product. I like how they have done this because it helps to see the different angles on how the character's appearance will look. Not only that, but you can see the items the characters for each concept would use for the game.
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I decided that I wanted to look at the concept art for the locations that are in the game and luckily I was able to find images which have different locations to compare from. I liked how all of the different locations had different colour schemes to them and how the lighting for all of these locations have been added to highlight certain parts of a place. For example, on the first image it is set in a dark room with a big map in the center of the room. There is a light just above it which brightens that part of the room to emphasise that this room is for planning battles.
Now that I had found the concept art, I wanted to find out who the artists were that created these pieces. I went onto IMDb and searched the game to find the people who worked in the 'Art Department' while this game was being made. The artists I found were 'Gilles Beloeil' (concept artist), 'Nicolas Collings' (senior character modeler), and 'Oliver Martin' (concept artist ubisoft).
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I decided to find an interview for 'Gilles Beloeil' (concept artist) as I wanted to learn more about him. I found a website in which he is interviewed about the game.
Harvard Referencing
'The Lost Art of Patience Image'
Holyoake, A. (2019). The Lost Art of Patience. [image] Available at: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-lost-art-of-patience-dea306d0e34 [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].
'Prehistory'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#Prehistory [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].
'Stone Age'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Stone Age. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].19].
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'Aurochs on a cave painting in Lascaux (France)'
Aurochs on a cave painting in Lascaux (France). (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#/media/File:Lascaux_04.jpg [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019].
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'Ancient art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art [Accessed 25 Jan. 2019].
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'Narmer Palette'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Narmer Palette. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmer_Palette [Accessed 25 Jan. 2019].
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'Narmer Palette Image'
Narmer Palette. (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmer_Palette#/media/File:Narmer_Palette.jpg [Accessed 25 Jan. 2019].
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'Renaissance'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#European [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Renaissance Art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Renaissance art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_art [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Mona Lisa Image'
Mona Lisa; by Leonardo da Vinci; c. 1503–1506, perhaps continuing until c. 1517; oil on poplar panel; Louvre (Paris). (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#/media/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Islamic'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#Middle_Eastern [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Islamic Art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Islamic art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_art [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Detail of arabesque decoration at the Alhambra in Spain'
Detail of arabesque decoration at the Alhambra in Spain. (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_art#/media/File:Atauriques.jpg [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Asain Art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#Asian_art [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Japanese art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). History of art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art#Asian_art [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai Image'
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai. (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art#/media/File:Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa2.jpg [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Western painting'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Western painting. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_painting#Pre-history [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
'Girl with a Pearl Earring'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Girl with a Pearl Earring. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665–67), known as the Mona Lisa of the North Image'
Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665–67), known as the Mona Lisa of the North. (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_painting#/media/File:Meisje_met_de_parel.jpg [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Concept art'
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Concept art. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_art#cite_note-1 [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'Disney’s Art Style Through the Decades'
Hill, C. (2019). Disney's Art Style Through the Decades - Threadless Blog. [online] Threadless Blog. Available at: https://blog.threadless.com/disneys-art-style-through-the-decades/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019].
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'The Art of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (information and images)'
Concept Art World. (2019). The Art of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Concept Art World. [online] Available at: http://conceptartworld.com/news/the-art-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/ [Accessed 27 Jan. 2019].
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'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film (The Disney Wiki)'
Disney Wiki. (2019). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film. [online] Available at: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs:_The_Art_and_Creation_of_Walt_Disney%27s_Classic_Animated_Film [Accessed 27 Jan. 2019].
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'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film (book)'
Stayf Draws (2019). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film. [video] Available at: https://youtu.be/AooA9GK_YKc [Accessed 27 Jan. 2019].
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'Grim Natwick'
IMDb. (2019). Grim Natwick. [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0622451/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2019].
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'Graphics tablet'
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'Wacom Bamboo Capture tablet and pen-like stylus'
Wacom Bamboo Capture tablet and pen-like stylus. (2019). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_tablet#/media/File:Wacom_Bamboo_Capture_tablet_and_pen.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Timeline (scroll down to 1500)'
Assassin's Creed Wiki. (2019). Timeline. [online] Available at: https://assassinscreed.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art'
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'Image 1'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26070 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Image 2'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26071 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Image 3'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26072 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Image 4'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26087 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Image 5'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26088 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Image 6'
Gefloung (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Concept Art. [image] Available at: https://img.neoseeker.com/v_concept_art.php?caid=26089 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts'
Donglu-littlefish.blogspot.com. (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [online] Available at: http://donglu-littlefish.blogspot.com/2010/11/assassins-creed-brotherhood-concepts.html [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Location 1'
Anonymous (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [image] Available at: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SXGrRpTmwrY/T-MsDPMpEEI/AAAAAAAAACM/Sjz_j9fgP8g/s1600/ACB_Ezio_Hideout.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Location 2'
Anonymous (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [image] Available at: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gzQyUIw6xf4/T-MsF4z2FXI/AAAAAAAAACU/kb0DmRFZJB0/s1600/ACB_Guard_Camp.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Location 3'
Anonymous (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [image] Available at: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UpGNogJQm9g/T-MsHo67GTI/AAAAAAAAACc/2x1Y7meeGAs/s1600/ACB_HQ_Mercenaries_fight_scene.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan.
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'Location 4'
Anonymous (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [image] Available at: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RgAnynPOd6w/T-MsJdX_2kI/AAAAAAAAACk/f8KVIu55VCI/s1600/ACB_Reward-Room.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Location 5'
Anonymous (2019). Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Concepts. [image] Available at: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FpSeDGlu2Aw/T-MsO8BOhgI/AAAAAAAAAC0/ZpJ50VA_i5s/s1600/ACB_Vatican-Corridor.jpg [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Video Game 2010)'
IMDb. (2019). Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Video Game 2010). [online] Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699759/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ql_1 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].
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'Gilles Beloeil on digital art and the new Renaissance'
3pp.website. (2019). Gilles Beloeil on digital art and the new Renaissance. [online] Available at: http://www.3pp.website/2010/08/digital-palette-interview-with-gilles.html [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].