In part
2 of this article which will come out about two weeks from now,
we’ll come back to these drawings and I’ll explain some
things about each of them individually. But first, let me break
down concept art into a series of categories so you can understand
how it is applied in the design of a game.
Concept
art is used...
1.
To help create the mood, feel, and style that the game will have.
It is
important for the game to have a sense of its own unique style
-- or at least a style that is appropriate for the game. By having
an artist come up with a series of images at the early stages
of the game-making process, it can be a good framework for the
game designer(s) to conceive how the game with be presented to
the player. This type of concept art can be, and usually is, a
cast of characters, objects (such as weapons or items to be collected
by the main character or characters), and scenes (such as landscapes
or architecture).
2.
To capture a sequence of events that will or might occur at some
point in the game.
Putting
this more simply; a storyboard. Many games these days have full
motion video or a complex plot that requires drawn out storyboards
for the game designer(s) to visualize certain sequences as a whole.
Storyboards generally are fairly quickly drawn or sketched out
by an artist simply due to the volume of artwork that is needed
in a short period of time to keep the design process moving smoothly.
3.
For other artists on the team to follow a consistent style throughout
the game design process.
You can’t
very well have a team of artists guessing how everything is suppose
to look in the game. With a key visual or set of visuals for the
other artists to work from can help give the game a sense of flow.
Consistency of style is definitely key.
4.
For the 3-D artists to have a visual representation to work from.
This is
basically an extenuation of point number 3 from above. Many 3-D
Artists and Level Designers are not always skilled 2-D artists
themselves, but rather skilled at the craft they do; which is
create objects or characters in 3-D space. This is why a good
drawing may be necessary for them to base their 3-D models off
of. This type of conceptual art can also be used to toss around
ideas to other members. For instance, once I was working on a
dungeon texture set and wanted some inspiration to help me think
of what kinds of things I might want to put in it. So, I went
to the concept artist and had him draw out a sample dungeon. From
there, I was able to base my textures off the kick-ass sample
he drew, and make myself a cool texture set.
Those
four points pretty much sum up what concept art is and how it
is used in the game design process. In part 2 of this article
I’ll get more into the creation aspect and explain some good
drawing pointers to follow.
In the
meantime, keep drawing and also send in your questions to me so
I can start building out the Question and Answer section of Painting
On Polygons.
See you
in a couple of weeks!
-
Rick "Flatness" Grossenbacher works on Gameboy Color
games for Vicarious Visions.
