Let’s talk about how we create art for our games! How do you get started on your art assets and where do you draw your references from?
Sometimes I will start with line art and use that as the placeholder art for prototyping. It then goes through some phases before turning into something that goes into the final game.
I like pretty things, so I start with some references such as these:
Do you have different approaches depending on project and size?
Do you typically work with other artists or art directors? If so, how are your processes for collaborating?
What are some best practices you want to share with others? Looking forward to hear (and hopefully see!) how your art is created
Conceive it. Try to map it out in my head, and if appropriate, prototype with placeholders
(if appropriate) sketch it out on paper. See if I need to go back to the drawing board or if it needs tweaking
(if appropriate) re-sketch it digitally with my graphics tablet, only doing loose line work
model it (even if 2d) in Blender, possible using digital sketches as orthographic blueprints depending on the model. Render it out with basic materials and test it in game
get fancy with the shaders and post processing, iteratively test then render final thing
Is it the best way to do it? Doubt it. Works for me though
Draw Another Rough Silhouettes with a Better Shape and Proportion Design Ideas
Draw a Final Right Proportion and Perspective
Draw a Final Outline Sketch
Scan Paper Drawing
Trace Outline in PhotoShop
Fill Background Colour with a Colour Theme
Fill Foreground Colour
Fill Shading and Lighting Colour
Fill Textures and Colour
Tips: 7 Principle of Visual Arts, 7 Elements of Art, Anatomy, Perspective, Colour Theory, Line Gesture, Style, Weight and Gravity
3D
Create & Edit Object Model
Un UV Mapping Model
Rigging or Texturing
Maya Rigging
Add Joint
Add or Create Controller
Edit Hypergraph Hierarchy
Freeze Transformation
Adding Attribute In Channel Box
Expression Editor
Bind Smooth Skin
Paint Skin Weight
Modifying Attribute In Channel Box
Lock And Hide Rig
Create Layers Attribute
Create Character Set
There is no really such thing as a specific way to make a Texture colours and a Normal reflection, because it is always depending on a different texturing software that you use.
Oh wait, I by accidentally answered how do I make my game assets instead.
My process is similar to a design project. First, the team creates mood boards and shares, to agree on the overall look and feel of the game. Then a few pieces of test art or animation are made to confirm we like the look in action. At that point, we sort of jump back and forth between testing out code ideas, to make sure the behavior is matching our look.
We try not to make a game with blocks and cubes, as the art scale has an influence on what we perceive as speed in a game. Had a nasty surprise once when we did that and swapped out the cube for art, suddenly the controller felt ‘wrong’, but it was simply lack of reference to art in the scene.
I combine my personal experience in the real world to give a touch of originality with art that I admire, whether digital or in traditional media.
I have spent money buying licensed for games digital art and use free digital art too that has the flexibility to be altered by a not-so-skilled art hobbyist into a new look so I can reflect and combine my real world experience with pieces and styles from the art world.
I prefer to create a style guide (similar to a mood board) in addition to a repository of references. For animation specifically, the animation for me is the easy part, but locking into a specific art style, snappy movements or heavy weighted characters, with the style I’m looking to adhere to is important.
Always reset/zero the transforms before rigging.
Think about weight and weight distribution when drawing and animating.
Poses (silhouette) make and break a character. The lowest poly character can look very appealing with a dynamic pose that relays weight, attitude and proper articulation, while a highly detailed characters can look very ordinary and unremarkable without a solid dynamic pose.
For me the process depends on what I’m making, and at what granularity. For instance the process for an environment is different than the process for one tree. For a building, at any rate, I made a video a while ago that seems pertinent. Its probably more effective than trying to describe my process:
