La Rosa y La Princesa (The Rose and The Princess) - Art Direction & Matte Paintings by Jorge L. Fernández [area75] - Short Film by Juan Pablo Rainieri

Since it was born, "The Rose and The Princess" was a shortfilm strongly supported in art, as much as it production as an it direction. The possibility of generate a new fantasy world, fully digital, gives way to a research and making off practically unlimited.
The decision to use-matte painting techniques for the stages and the objects favors the fantasy and pictorial aesthetics planned initially as concept, besides it allowed flexibility and adjusting to times of little scale project as this..

Concept and evolution

The initial concept of the art was planned in the mixed techniques for the stages and objects, although orientated to cutouts techniques that, using closed takes and focalized Lightning, generate a set design and almost theatrical environment.

As long as the art concept were developed , together decisions of direction and art lead to the elimination of a serie of element to generate a more open and desolated environment.

Concepto inicial		Evolución del planteo estético

References and research

The initial sources were different but all of them lead to one target: To make a fantasy environment with a touch of unreality.
We looked at the scenery and lighting of silents film, the Technicolor's plain color, the baroque and melancholy atmosphere of some French films like The Triplets of Belleville or Amelie.
Paradoxically the first references were not from the “Little Prince”.

The Princess's house , even though is a trunk, is clearly inspired in the home of Manuel García Ferre's character "Hijitus", specially in everything regarding the disproportion between dimensions and exterior forms of the house and its overcharged interior and definitely wider.
Objects presents a rustic appearance, link en antique house, almost country at some elements (such as the cistern, the doors and windows, the table), trying to reach the feeling of somewhere that was inhabited for a long time and then deserted.
There's an anachronistic object accumulation, common among old people.
The Princess is a little bit strange to her environment, she takes place there but she didn't created it, she's only a passenger.

Techniques and Production

Once defined the art concept, we proceed to work on each shot, using drawings and concept-arts to develope the matte paintings, and using as reference footage picture, lighting shots and cameras.

For the matte production, we mix digital painting with collage techniques, cutout, real elements reusing, and texture overlays, effects and filters, to make creased and rustic termination.