Ken Sugimori is the Art Director and Character Designer for the Pokemon franchise. He is also responsible for designs of the first 151 Pokemon for 'Pokemon Red' and 'Pokemon Blue', the first Pokemon games which made their debut on the Nintendo Gameboy back in 1996. Alongside this he created many pieces of concept art depicting what the player character would be able to see and experience through the Kanto region.
Concept art 1
Environment
The above image is an example of how Sugimori tried very hard to make player experiences feel as atmospheric as possible from very early on. Within the picture can be seen a few miscellaneous stores of sort and children by the fountain with their Rhydon, all surrounding the main focus which is the player cycling through the town on their bike. I feel this is really well done because after having played the games they've definitely retained a similar environment to what is shown here. Within this artwork I'd hear things such as the rushing of the water in the fountain and the general chatter of the townsfolk alongside the noises the Pokemon would make.
Tone/Feeling
The overall tone/feeling that the art conveys is quaint and peaceful, the children are left alone to do their thing so they must be secure and protected, the town must be a safe place to be and that inference helps to identify how being within this imagined world feels.
Concept art 2
Environment
The above image is a concept piece for the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town, a Tower which serves the purpose of being a resting place for Pokemon that have passed away (think a graveyard, but for Pokemon). Given that this is the purpose of the Tower you can imagine that the area is rather quiet in order to show respect. Inferences with context aside the actual Tower shown is large and almost looming over the player. The noises I'd hear would probably include the blowing of the wind and not much else given that it would be quiet.
Tone/Feeling
The tone of an area like this would defiantly be quite eerie but it can really also be perceived as a calm and quaint area depending on how you choose to analyse a form of burial ground. You can defiantly understand that this area is a staple of the game's series when you look at how such a small amount of detail can speak a lot for what it's trying to present to you. This kind of ideal is definitely a route I could decide to take when it comes to the Imagined Sounds/Worlds project.
Concept art 3
Environment
This image shows the player exploring a cave with their partner. Although the cave isn't specified in any way I can safely assume it's Mt Moon. The cave seems pretty closed in with a lot of stalactites and stalagmites poking up through the ceiling and floor. The Rhydon seems to be watching around cautiously, a good thing because it links nicely to the game in which Pokemon can jump out and attack at any given point when exploring areas like these.
Tone/Feeling
The tone the concept art gives of is the feeling of uncertainty and challenge because this piece must've been created to help perceive the sort of scenario within the game that you'd find yourself in when you're out exploring in the wild.
Overall Analysis/Summary
The general theme of all the work shown here is very fantasy oriented given it's a world consisting of a variety of creatures. Much like the concept of the games the art here is very simplified, this allows the viewer to make their interpretations of what may be going on whilst laying down a vague premise for their imagination to go off of, something that makes the concept art a lot more worth looking at rather then a set story.
What I've gathered from looking at these concept pieces is that you don't have to make your work overly complicated if simplicity is enough to help tell your story or present your theme to an audience. I've also learnt that in order to make presenting you ideas through artwork easier it's important that you're also not too vague, although not too detailed or crazy Ken Sugimori has provided a large enough amount for the development team to be able to make accurate interpretations off of, these being the first games this was incredibly important in setting a high standard for future entries in the series.
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