Craig Mullins and Fallout 3 concept art

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Brother None

This ghoul has seen it all
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To finally get the last bits of confusion about this cleared up, abbaon supplied us with a few quotes of Steve "MrSmileyFaceDude" Meister:<blockquote><MSFD> didn't take the Fallout fans long to find the source photo Craig Mullins used for that concept art
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<MSFD> yeah
<MSFD> they even identified which carrier it was
<MSFD> it's funny because people are extrapolating all sorts of stuff from that identification, as though it has anything to do with the actual game...
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<MSFD> nah, it was in Florida for a while but they sunk it in the Gulf to make an artificial reef
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<MSFD> anyway all we did was ask "Hey Craig Mullins, make a painting of a carrier that's run aground on a river bank in a ruined city" (or something to that effect)
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<MSFD> nah, he's freelance
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<MSFD> he's done stuff for a ton of games
<MSFD> incl. Halo
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<MSFD> he did some stuff for Star Trek for us, too
<MSFD> once the teaser countown is finished you will have seen the entirety of the work he did for Fallout
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<MSFD> anyway we have an in-house concept artist who's done hundreds & hundreds of drawings & sketches & such for all the Fallout stuff
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<MSFD> haven't shown any of that</blockquote>So Craig Mullins did only 5 pieces of art (assuming we only get one more piece of art), which were done before Oblivion with their in-house artist having done a lot more by now, and which can not simply be assumed directly related to the game (except that Matt noted Capitol Hill revealed something about the location).
 
It's quite possible that when the teaser is released, a whole album of Mullins work will be released with it (maybe a lot more than 5).
 
Possible, but doubtful. Sounds like he just did a few pieces of very early concept work. The fact that they are saying that they have an in house guy that's done "hundreds" and the tone of those comments suggests that Mullins didn't do all that much.
 
King of Creation said:
I'd really like to see the in-house stuff. Craig Mullins work just doesn't do it for me.
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He states that it may have no relation what so ever to the real game... why then release things not related to the game? I feel they would possibly have some remote level of detail or relation to the actual game.

A good theory on that is, perhaps, these are better than their in house stuff...
 
I would guess that their in house stuff isn't focused on large environments, like Mullins' is and, for whatever reason, that's what they wanted to show us.

Perhaps they though showing us concept art for creatures, characters and interiors would give too much away about the direction the game is going (for bad or good).

.
 
As I speculated, it would seem that this art is no more than a hype-builder with nothing to do with the game.
 
After realising that everything was copied from the Internets, this is kinda reliefing news...

PS. I'm not saying there's something wrong about using someone else's photos in one's art. I personally know a lot of professional (contemporary) artist who does it. But copying everything from one particular website... Jeesh.
 
it's funny because people are extrapolating all sorts of stuff from that identification, as though it has anything to do with the actual game...
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Because, you know, when seeing concept art for some game, the first thing you think is "Ah! That has nothing to do with the game! It's just random stuff! They could've just put a tubgirl there!"
 
They put that concept art on official website and they say that it has nothing to do with the actual game, how logical :roll: ...
 
Wow, I am amazed people are looking at these images so closely. At some point Bethesda may release better versions? These seem to be jpeg'd very heavily..

I would have to go back and look through what Bethesda sent me on this job, but as I remember most of the source materials on Stripmall were provided by Bethesda. I was not familiar with the Fallout universe and had trouble "getting it" at first. The capitol was painted on top of a 3-d block model.

This is commercial art, made to illustrate an idea. It is not fine art, nor is it an exposition on my abilities as delineator. Whether or not I could paint some of these objects from scratch is not relevant. What is relevant is it would take more time to do so, and that time could be spent toward the end goal of illustrating an idea or feeling.

The most difficult aspect of repainting from a different angle is the complexity of these objects and scenes. There is a LOT of stuff in there. Constructing them in perspective is very time consuming. The majority of these images are constructed, however.

I prefer not to use photos like this, but I solve the clients problem faster, easier, and cheaper this way. The current method of working in concept/digital mattes is 3-d/photo composites with varying amounts of paint. It has been trending this way for the past few years, and it is very obvious when this technique is used, for better or worse. There is no intent to deceive or misrepresent. If this lessens your respect for work done this way, I completely understand and partially agree. But if I don't use these powerful tools, I will be at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace. I do ask clients if they would allow a more "painted" look and the answer is almost always no. Maybe if I was a better painter the answer would be different.

Given the purpose of concept art there is little reason to reconstruct things that already exist, other than my (or a minority of others) preference, or an artistic machismo. This makes things more expensive for all involved. The time saved can be put into areas that do have to be constructed, which is the great majority most of the time.
 
Wow, I am amazed people are looking at these images so closely. At some point Bethesda may release better versions? These seem to be jpeg'd very heavily..
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Pete Hines (PR guy of Bethesda) said recently on the Bethesda forums that they will release high quality versions of the art pieces. I would guess that they will do it after the last piece of artwork is released (which will be on Tuesday I think), unless there is even more stuff coming after the teaser trailer.

Thanks for taking the time to explain your position Craig. Much appreciated!
 
Your work is awesome, Craig. No need to explain anything. I would love to get all of these concept paintings full sized and framed!
 
You have nothing to apologize for, craig. The artwork is great.

A lot of folks here just like to pick every little thing apart.

As a longtime Fallout fan, I understand how it came about, from a decade of dissapointment but, honestly, its a habit best broken soon because you can nitpick the enjoyment out of anything, whether its deserved or not.
 
craig_mullins said:
I would have to go back and look through what Bethesda sent me on this job, but as I remember most of the source materials on Stripmall were provided by Bethesda. I was not familiar with the Fallout universe and had trouble "getting it" at first. The capitol was painted on top of a 3-d block model.
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well... now... to a certain extent i think Stripmall and the Capitol also the carrier will most likely be ingame locations :)...

p.s. nice to see great concept artists like this take the time and initiative to talk and express themselves :!:
 
Sorrow said:
They put that concept art on official website and they say that it has nothing to do with the actual game, how logical :roll: ...
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While making assumptions on the gameplay from these artworks is indeed stupid, however, when those artworks show you some goddamn locations, or some fucking huge carrier, you could make assumptions those are from ingame. Why the fuck did they even ask the guy to draw that carrier if they weren't even gonna put in the game? What's this? Make something cool to get attention?

But it seems that Bethesda shows you dick, and actually you get pussy.
Which wouldn't be bad at all, but probably compared to what we'll get, these artworks are sweet pussy.
 
I just want to point out that 75% of the loading images in Fallout 2 had nothing to do with the game and only serve to give you a feel for the world you are about to enter. Case in point:

f2load.jpg
 
Only 25% of the loading screens that you posted have nothing to do with the game.
 
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