Chapter 3: Photographic Studies & Note Diagrams

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Photographic Studies & Note Diagrams for Fieldwork — A Guide for Environment Concept Artists (Concepting + Production)

Fieldwork turns the world into your reference library—measured, annotated, and ready to ship. For environment concept artists, photographic studies and note diagrams convert real places into design rules you can reuse. On the concepting side, they spark invention grounded in truth. On the production side, they de‑risk decisions by providing scale, material targets, and build logic. This guide explains how to plan, shoot, annotate, organize, and deploy fieldwork so your images become a living spec rather than a random album.

1) What Fieldwork Delivers (and Why It Matters)

Fieldwork gives you: (1) structure logic (how things are built), (2) material behavior (albedo, roughness, wear), (3) environmental forces (wind, water, salt, dust), (4) scale cues (openings, fasteners, tool marks), and (5) lighting states (time‑of‑day, weather). These elements translate into kits, callouts, palette rules, and lighting plans—the artifacts that keep a team aligned.

2) Planning: Define a Brief Before You Leave

Write a one‑page field brief: goal (e.g., “maritime stone + salt corrosion”), must‑have subjects (breakwaters, mooring hardware, painted steel), times of day (dawn for glancing light, midday for albedo), and specific diagrams you aim to capture (joint details, drainage paths). Add a shot list grouped by function: structure, materials, signage/graphics, utilities, biome, wayfinding. Note required scale references (folding ruler, color chart, coin, shoe for footprints). The more specific the brief, the more actionable the results.

3) Gear: Practical, Not Precious

  • Camera/Phone with RAW capability.
  • Short zoom (24–70mm equiv.) for context and details; wide (~20–24mm) for interiors; macro if fasteners/textures matter.
  • Polarizer to control reflections on water/paint; neutral density for long exposures if needed.
  • Color target (mini gray card / color checker) for calibration.
  • Measuring tools (folding rule/tape, laser measurer if permitted).
  • Notebook (weatherproof) + fine marker; or note app with voice memos.
  • Permissions where necessary; respect signage and private property.

4) Ethics, Safety, and Courtesy

Obey local laws, respect sensitive sites and cultural practices, and avoid photographing people’s faces or private spaces without consent. Do not trespass or compromise safety (unstable structures, tides, traffic). Credit sources if you reference museum or archive materials; follow venue policies.

5) Shot Architecture: Coverage You Can Build From

Structure each location into five passes:

  1. Context (establishing views): street/shore/wider landscape; lens ≈ 28–35mm for honest geometry.
  2. Systems (how it works): drainage, load paths, ventilation, utilities, circulation. Shoot routes with arrows in notes.
  3. Joints (how parts meet): corners, eaves, foundations, lintels, fasteners; orthogonal and angled views.
  4. Materials (truth surfaces): flat, evenly lit samples for albedo/roughness cues; include gray card; avoid harsh specular.
  5. Wear & Story (time): scuffs, rust blooms, water lines, soot deposits, ivy attach points, salt creep; capture directionality. At each step, place a scale cue (ruler, shoe, glove, coin) when possible, or note known dimensions.

6) Notes that Turn Photos into Design Rules

Write on the spot or immediately after. Use diagram overlays (on paper or tablet) rather than text walls:

  • Arrows: wind, water runoff, foot traffic.
  • Hatch: materials and layers (stucco over brick over rubble infill).
  • Symbols: drainage (▼), vents (▢), anchors (●), maintenance access (⧈).
  • Dimensions: door width/height, step rise/run, beam spacing.
  • Wear logic: “salt spray, windward; flaking paint at edges; drip line at 0.6–0.8 m.”
  • Palette/roughness: “plaster 0.65–0.75 roughness feel; chalked paint (albedo ↑) on south face.” Convert scribbles into clean overlays later and file them next to the photos.

7) Diagram Types You’ll Use Repeatedly

  • Axon cutaways to reveal circulation and service spaces.
  • Sections to show grade, drainage paths, and thickness of layers.
  • Exploded joints to document how roofs, stairs, and frames assemble.
  • Signage/wayfinding maps: placement height, cadence, icon families.
  • Material wear maps: edge polish, hand oils, rust/downstream stains, biological growth zones.
  • Lighting keys: sun paths, skylight domes, emissive mounting heights, color temperatures inferred.

8) Capturing Lighting & ToD Evidence

Return at two contrasting times (e.g., dawn + noon or noon + night). Frame the same view; note shadow length, key/fill ratio, and any local sources. Photograph reflectance pairs (white paint vs. dark stone) to calibrate exposure. At night, shoot lamp spectra (warm/neutral/cool) and cadence (spacing). Note glare risks on glossy surfaces and propose readability fixes (matte bands) in your diagrams.

9) Material Studies for PBR Targets

For each major surface, capture:

  • Flat‑lit albedo (cloudy day or shade) with a color chart.
  • Gloss cue (angled light to see spec highlight size).
  • Microdetail (macro of grain/aggregate/brush strokes).
  • Wear gradient (new vs. old adjacent). Add estimated roughness tiers and metalness intent in notes. On production handoff, translate into material matrix rows with target ranges and examples.

10) Scale & Proportion Extraction

Measure a module (e.g., brick height), then extrapolate: “arch span ≈ 10 bricks = 700–760 mm.” Use perspective grids to estimate heights from photos if measuring is impossible. Build a proportion sheet: door : bay : façade, column diameter : spacing, stair rise : run. These become the backbone of kits and callouts.

11) Biome & Weather Forensics

Record wind direction, salt presence, humidity, pollen, drift patterns, snow lines. Photograph the leeward vs. windward faces. Note vegetation companions (lichen types, vine attach logic) and soil/rock typology (sedimentary layering, granite blocks). These cues inform air recipes and wear logic in concepts and production.

12) Organizing & Tagging

Ingest files with a strict naming and tag system: YYYYMMDD_LOCATION_SUBJECT_SEQ.ext plus tags like structure, joint, material, wear, drainage, signage, ToD_dawn, season_winter, gameplay_cover_1m, trim_friendly, hero_unique. Keep overlays (SVG/PSD) side‑by‑side. Maintain a glossary so tags mean the same thing project‑wide.

13) Turning Fieldwork into Deliverables

Concepting side: Build motif boards, value thumbnails, and palette tests from your studies. Use extracted rules to push stylization while staying believable. Add an anti‑cliché strip (what you will not use) to keep originality high.

Production side: Convert studies into kit callouts, material matrices, wayfinding packs, and lighting plans. Add before/after paintovers showing fixes based on field rules (e.g., moving a drain to match gravity; reducing glossy clutter behind interactables).

14) Readability & Accessibility from Real‑World Evidence

Fieldwork reveals where humans naturally leave readable cues: polished thresholds, hand‑height grime, scuffed stair noses. Use these as diegetic guides. Document contrast minima that remain legible in low light and shape redundancies (icon + color + position) in signage; bring them into your wayfinding systems.

15) Collaboration: Making Fieldwork Usable by the Team

Publish a concise Field Pack per location: 10–20 curated images, 3–5 rule overlays, 1–2 diagram pages, a short material/lighting note, and a kit implication blurb. Keep the master dump separate. Present the pack in reviews alongside concept thumbnails or paintovers to build trust and accelerate decisions.

16) Common Pitfalls (and Fixes)

  • Vibe photos with no measurements. Fix: Always capture at least one dimension or standard object for scale.
  • Specular‑blown materials. Fix: Use a polarizer, shoot in shade/overcast for albedo captures, and take a second shot for gloss cues.
  • Random albums. Fix: Tag on ingest; cull aggressively; curate a Field Pack.
  • Copying instead of extracting. Fix: Create overlays that turn photos into rules; redesign forms in your project’s shape grammar.
  • Legal/ethical issues. Fix: Respect signage, credit sources, and avoid photographing people without consent.

17) Exercises (Concepting + Production)

  1. Drain & Stain Study: Shoot five examples of water management; diagram paths; design a drainage rule for your kit.
  2. Joint Exploded View: Photograph a stair; draw an exploded joint showing treads, risers, stringers, fasteners; extract proportions.
  3. Material Matrix Mini: Capture three surfaces (stone/metal/painted wood) with albedo + gloss + wear; produce PBR target rows.
  4. ToD Pair: Same corner at dawn and night; annotate key/fill, emissive cadence; paint a readability‑honest keyframe for each.
  5. Field Pack Build: Assemble a 12‑image pack + overlays + one diagram page for a single location; present with a paintover change list.

18) Hand‑Off Checklist (Concepting + Production)

  • Field brief and shot list completed
  • Context, systems, joints, materials, wear captured with scale cues
  • ToD pair(s) recorded; lighting temperatures/cadence noted
  • Overlays produced: structure, drainage, joints, wear, palette/roughness
  • Proportion sheet and initial kit implications
  • Material matrix rows (albedo/roughness) with reference images
  • Tagged, named assets; curated Field Pack assembled
  • Accessibility notes (contrast, shape redundancy) included

Conclusion

Photographic studies and note diagrams are not just “more reference”—they are design instruments. On the concepting side, they anchor stylization in physical truth and generate motifs, palettes, and value structures that feel inevitable. On the production side, they become specs—kits, materials, lighting plans, and wayfinding—so teams can build fast and consistently. Treat fieldwork as part of your pipeline, and your environments will read clearly, feel authentic, and ship with fewer surprises.