FICTIONART 2024

In conjunction with other design and digital art biennials, The Concept Art and Illustration Biennial FICTIONART is an international event held by the Faculty of Arts and Design in Timișoara. It is possible to consider fiction as a deep-seated component of art. Concept art and other visual resources for sci-fi virtual environments for entertainment open up new horizons due to the modern paradigm. We often see interest in these genuine processes regarding the definition of alternative worlds with specific characters, environments, and objects, but subject to different precepts of utility and aesthetics. We are witnessing some sort of an alternative universe that combines the fictional with the concrete, and the imaginary with the real. The requirements and the solutions are causally related but with some fundamental differences. From the first creative forms of a certain written concept to the actual transposition of some more or less renowned publications, the processes of visual transposition are similar to those of design, to some extent. It encompasses stages of creative ideas in various visual types, from digital primary illustrations to complex forms of concept art. The proposed solutions are often freed from functional constraints and other considerations of effectiveness. It now embraces originality and expressive freedom, as well as stylistic transgressions, revealing the inherent aesthetic changes. In the same manner as FICTIONART’s first edition, this year’s event will feature Concept Art projects by local and foreign participants, students, university professors, and professionals. The present album will reveal the participating artists’ interests and the proposition to go through projects aimed at the fictional dimension of characters, objects and fantastic environments. They are transposed in techniques that have a wide stylistic range, from traditional media to digital painting and 3D modeling. The Concept Art and Illustration Biennial FICTIONART is also defined in a transdisciplinary context, connecting the Faculty of Arts and Design with the creative industries. In this sense, we recognize that AMC Studio Bucharest played a significant role in this event, but also as a partner in updating the academic curriculum for our faculty. As such, the Master’s program in Game Art at the Faculty of Arts and Design in Timișoara proves to be a natural reaction to how this niche of creative industries is now taking shape. The existing partnership meant placing the academic field in a real context, connected to current needs and trends, which made it possible to adapt the current requirements with our educational offer. FICTIONART is also a platform for the selected participants following the art challenge held by AMC Studio in September 2024, which was an event on a national scale. FICTIONART is a digital art event for the creative industries associated with video games and related media which highlights the new directions in which illustrators and creators of digital art for games and virtual media define themselves in a special professional niche. 5