Game Art Jobs From Game Design Chapter 8 - The Development Team By Bob Bates

Artwork Great artwork has become one of the benchmarks by which games are judged. It has been said that you can judge a book by its cover, yet millions of people do it every day. The same is true of games. Artists now affect every aspect of game design – from the user interface to the representation of the gameworld on the screen, to the special effects

The Art Lead As the art lead you are responsible for the “look” of the game. Frequently, you will be the production designer or concept artist, but if not, you’ll direct the people in those positions to create artwork that represents your vision. You live at the crossroads of design, programming and management. You need to analyze what the designer wants, work with the tech lead to establish the production path, and then determine the scope of the art tasks.

Artists If you are an artist, you must constantly keep up with your craft and be ready to adapt or die. You cannot afford to be a technophobe. Not only do you need high- end computers and sophisticated software to create your images, but you must also have an understanding of the limitations of your target hardware platform so that you can tailor your work to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

Concept Artist Concept Artists work with the designer to create the look of the game. You make multiple sketches of characters and settings, trying to bring the designer;s vision to life. You can also work with the designer to storyboard cutscenes so that when the actual production begins, everyone is on the same page, and no time is wasted creating unnecessary material.

Character Modeling Character artists design and create people creatures and objects using sophisticated 3D imaging packages such as 3D Studio Max and Maya. Working from the concept art, you make 3D wire mesh and then apply textures to that mesh.

Animation Animators give life to creatures by making them move. You receive a list of all the activities the creature will perform in the game, and you have to create a series of movements for each. Its especially difficult to design smooth transitions from one activity to another, although the high- end graphics packages now include “blending” animation features that make this task easier. A lot of character development can take place in animation. When a character walks from one side of a room to the other, does he swagger? Stagger? Strut? Dart? To a good animator movement reveals character.

Background Modeling Background modelers build the worlds that the player moves through. You usually start with basic geometric shapes (called primitives) and then combine and deform them to create the rooms and objects that make up the game’s environment. After the mesh is completed, you add flat shading, then textures, and finally lights so that the world comes to life.

Textures Texture artists create the “skins” that fit over the modeler’s wire meshes. For background textures, generally you work in 2D, painting surfaces that are then stretched over the geometry so that the wall looks like brick stone or metal. Sometimes you create these textures from scratch, building them up layer by layer.