Beginning Illustration And Storyboarding For Games

by Pardew, Les

• ISBN13: 9781592004959
• ISBN10: 1592004954
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-08
• Publisher: Cengage Learning PTR

Summary

You are about to embark on a journey that will travel into the heart and foundation of game creation - concept art. Creating concept art for games is unlike working with any other type of art. In a game, you are creating a self-contained world in which characters can interact with each other to carry out actions. As a concept artist, you supply the vision for the game and give direction to the development team. "Beginning Illustration and Storyboarding for Games" takes a basic look at the steps involved in creating game concept art. You will not need any game art development experience to begin your journey. Follow along as you work your way through several step-by-step examples that are designed to help you understand how game concept art is created. Get ready to set your vision into motion!

Author Biography

In 1987, Les Pardew started his career by creating the animation for Magic Johnson Fast Break Basketball on the Commodore 64

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xv
Basic Game Design Art	p. 1
Art Used in Game Designs	p. 1
Game Layout Charts	p. 2
Storyboards	p. 3
Level Layouts	p. 6
Environment Illustrations	p. 7
Character Designs	p. 8
Model Sheets	p. 10
Graphical User Interface Design	p. 11
Other Concept Art	p. 12
Summary	p. 13
Questions	p. 13
Answers	p. 14
Discussion Questions	p. 15
Exercises	p. 15
Creating Game Layout Charts	p. 17
Designing the Style of the Chart	p. 17
Building the Game Layout Chart	p. 19
Building the Second Page of the Game Layout Chart	p. 26
Other Types of Level Designs	p. 31
Charting Complex Games	p. 35
Summary	p. 36
Questions	p. 37
Answers	p. 37
Discussion Questions	p. 38
Exercises	p. 38
The Thumbnail Sketch	p. 39
Drawing	p. 39
The Paper	p. 40
The Pencil	p. 41
Drawing Technique	p. 42
Pencil Strokes	p. 44
Creating the Thumbnail Sketch	p. 46
Character Thumbnails	p. 48
Design Tool	p. 50
Summary	p. 51
Questions	p. 52
Answers	p. 52
Discussion Questions	p. 53
Exercises	p. 53
The Storyboard	p. 55
Creating Games Takes Time and Money	p. 55
Games Can Be Difficult to Explain	p. 56
Storyboarding Helps with Communication	p. 56
Storyboarding Aids in Problem Solving	p. 57
What Are Storyboards Used for in Games?	p. 57
Cinematic Sequences	p. 57
Animation	p. 58
Complexity	p. 58
Non-Player Actions	p. 59
Are Storyboards Important?	p. 59
Learning about Storyboards	p. 59
Camera Direction	p. 61
Written Directions	p. 65
Special-Use Panels	p. 65
Showing Action	p. 67
Summary	p. 68
Questions	p. 69
Answers	p. 69
Discussion Questions	p. 70
Exercises	p. 70
Drawing Storyboards	p. 71
Basic Drawing Skills	p. 71
Perspective	p. 72
Composition	p. 78
Balance	p. 78
Focal Points	p. 81
Pathways	p. 84
Shading	p. 84
Creating the Storyboard	p. 87
Summary	p. 92
Questions	p. 93
Answers	p. 94
Discussion Questions	p. 94
Exercises	p. 94
Level Layouts	p. 95
What Are Level Layouts?	p. 95
How Level Layouts Are Used in Game Creation	p. 96
Creating Level Designs	p. 96
Determining Asset Count	p. 98
Defining the Story	p. 99
Placing Characters and Objects	p. 99
Placing Events	p. 99
Defining Paths	p. 99
Information in Level Layouts	p. 100
Creating a Level Layout	p. 101
Summary	p. 108
Questions	p. 108
Answers	p. 109
Discussion Questions	p. 109
Exercises	p. 110
Illustrating Environments	p. 111
What Is an Environment Illustration?	p. 111
Uses and Purposes of Environment Illustrations	p. 111
Inspiration	p. 112
Direction	p. 112
Creating an Environment Sketch	p. 113
Using Color	p. 118
How Light Affects Colors	p. 118
Using the Color Wheel	p. 120
Creating an Environment Illustration	p. 123
Summary	p. 129
Questions	p. 130
Answers	p. 130
Discussion Questions	p. 131
Exercises	p. 131
Quick Character Sketches	p. 133
Game Characters	p. 133
Types of Game Characters	p. 134
Player Characters	p. 134
Non-Player Characters	p. 135
Enemies	p. 135
Getting Ideas for Characters	p. 136
Drawing Characters	p. 137
Why Quick Sketches?	p. 137
Drawing the Head	p. 138
Drawing the Full Figure	p. 140
Character Exaggeration	p. 144
Non-Human Characters	p. 146
Summary	p. 149
Questions	p. 149
Answers	p. 150
Discussion Questions	p. 150
Exercises	p. 151
Creating Character Illustrations	p. 153
Character Illustrations	p. 153
How Are Character Illustrations Used?	p. 154
What Makes a Good Character Illustration?	p. 155
Simple Character Illustrations	p. 155
Detailed Character Illustrations	p. 162
Summary	p. 168
Questions	p. 169
Answers	p. 169
Discussion Questions	p. 170
Exercises	p. 170
Creating Character Model Sheets	p. 171
What Are Model Sheets?	p. 171
How Are Model Sheets Used?	p. 173
Creating Base Model Sheets	p. 175
The Male Character	p. 176
The Female Character	p. 178
Creating the Template	p. 180
Making Character Model Sheets	p. 181
Color in Model Sheets	p. 184
Summary	p. 185
Questions	p. 186
Answers	p. 186
Discussion Questions	p. 187
Exercises	p. 187
Designing Graphical User Interfaces	p. 189
What Are Graphical User Interfaces?	p. 189
Information Screens	p. 189
Menus	p. 194
Onscreen Displays	p. 197
Creating Game Navigation Design	p. 200
Creating Onscreen Elements	p. 204
Summary	p. 209
Questions	p. 209
Answers	p. 210
Discussion Questions	p. 210
Exercises	p. 210
The Design Document	p. 211
Understanding Design Documents	p. 211
The Design Document as a Repository	p. 212
The Design Document as a Roadmap	p. 212
The Design Document as a Promotion Tool	p. 213
Developing Themes	p. 213
Designing Covers	p. 215
Designing Title Pages	p. 217
Working with Fonts	p. 219
Readability	p. 219
Style	p. 220
Page Layout	p. 222
Layout Styles	p. 222
Formal	p. 223
Diagonal	p. 224
Staggered	p. 225
Flush	p. 226
Two-Column Flush	p. 227
Two-Column Random	p. 228
Other Styles	p. 229
Special Page-Layout Considerations	p. 229
Summary	p. 229
Questions	p. 229
Answers	p. 230
Discussion Questions	p. 231
Exercises	p. 231
Concept Art in 3D	p. 233
Building a Game Board	p. 233
Texturing the Game Board	p. 239
Adding the Game Pieces	p. 250
Rendering the Game Board	p. 254
Index	p. 267
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