Definition for interiors covers "inside of anything", and in this course the term will be used when talking about insides of houses and structures. As the previous chapters were focused on the landscapes, or "the bigger picture", this section is more up close to spaces that have been built and have a purpose.
If you are designing a world, be it a fantasy or a post-apocalyptic, interiors add plenty of details to a story you are telling viewers. For example, imagine a videogame with a post-apocalyptic theme and you enter a run-down house to find resources.
The first thing you see in the house is the front door lying on the floor, the furniture knocked over and things broken. The more you go explore, the more disarray things seem to be. This is how interior design tells us stories of the past and the present.
Having few environment art pieces in your art portfolio is a good addition if you have a passion for being a concept artist in the entertainment industry. They show the potential employers that you can handle the environment aspect and also have knowledge on how to make them cohesive.
When working as an environment artist, the first thing to learn that comes to mind certainly isn't interior design, right? Interior designers work with spaces that people live or spend time in, that's true. But as an artist who designs spaces for imaginary worlds and characters, they aim to create believable interiors that someone has actually lived in or worked at. Think of your own home: furniture has its specific place and walls have pictures of family and friends. Everything has a carefully thought purpose and immediately reminds us of home.
Drawing interiors can at first seem intimidating compared to landscapes, as now more focus must be used on the perspective. When the perspective is off, the image itself is also off, so learn and practice how to utilize perspective tools in your drawing software.
At the start, the workflow is pretty similar to landscapes. It all starts with the theme and the world-building, a general idea of where the interior design is located. If you have a character that needs a home, think about what sort of home they would have. Would they have some items that are important, how would they be stored?
A character's personality can be seen from their personal property. If your character is precise, the space is always clean and things are in order, or if they are more carefree, clothes might be lying on the floor and dishes left here and there.
All these sorts of things make the interiors more interesting and more personal. Study professional artists' portfolios and take note of how they have used lighting and perspective in their works. However, don't only stay on those as they only work on 2D, as interior design is about the space around whole the room.
The answer to the question is simply yes. Or at least the basics of interior design. This can be compared to character designers who also need to know anatomy and understand it, so interior design is kind of like the anatomy of the environment artists.
Working as an environment artist means that you need to know a lot of things. Not only the basics of art but also interior design's fundamentals, especially if you are working on interiors.
In the next lesson, you get to design concept art using things you just learned in this lesson.