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Discover how professional artists create
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Learn from
Robh Ruppel
Marek Okon

18
Stephan Martiniere
GAME Daryl Mandryk
Luke Mancini
ART Maciej Kuciara
WORKSHOPS
Easy to follow step-by-step tutorials in See Patryk
Jung Park

Olejnicz ak s
Painter, Photoshop and SketchUp Mass Effect 3
art inside!

create amazing
digital art
Concept art skills from the makers of Uncharted 3,
Batman: Arkham City, Guild Wars 2 and more!
Concept sketch for Alessandro
Taini s Enslaved character
design: see page 34
 Video games take years to make,
with hundreds of people having
an input into how the final game
looks and plays. But often just a
handful of creative artists can
determine the style of a game.
Concept artists will work on the
visual foundations of a video
game, designing characters,
vehicles and worlds, and setting the rules by which everything will
work. Its a vital and skillful role.
To gain a greater insight into how concept artists work, and how
you can create your own art for video games to a professional
standard, weve teamed up with some of the industrys best artists,
who between them have worked on Uncharted 3, Star Wars: The Old
Republic, Rage, Fallout: New Vegas, and many more best-selling titles.
In our Character Art chapter, starting on page 32, Naughty Dogs
Maciej Kuciara shows how to design a heroine with multiple genre
references. On page 50, Rocksteadys Kan Muftic reveals how he
redesigned DCs anti-heroine Harley Quinn for Batman: Arkham
City. In our Creature Design section, Blizzards Luke Mancini
demonstrates how to paint the Zerg from StarCraft 2 (page 60), plus
chapters on environment painting and vehicle design, including a
workshop from the amazing Feng Zhu (page 22), will prove
indispensable. Everything culminates in our live project from the
artists at Leading Light studio, who demonstrate how all these skills
inform a games pitch and product design.
If you enjoy this special issue of ImagineFX, why not try the others
in this new series? See page 115 to find out more!

From the makers of

Claire Howlett, Editor
[email protected]
Were the only magazine
dedicated to fantasy and sci-fi
art. Our aim is to help artists to
improve both their traditional
and digital art skills.
Visit www.imaginefx.com
tofind out more!
 Subscribe to ImagineFX today and save
moneyoff every issue! See page 49

The finest artists in the world offer you the best guidance,
share their techniques and offer inspiration in our video 38
game art workshops.

Workshops
Practical advice from professional
artists in 18 step-by-step guides
16 Vehicle design
Explore ways to make video game vehicles
18 Sci-fi vehicles for
video games
22 Create your art
in parallel
28 Add colour to a
space battle
32 Character art
Breathe life into your game characters 44
34 D esign your own 50
game hero
38 Develop poster
art for Crysis 2
44 Design a space
opera princess
50 Recast a classic
comic character
54 Unify a range of
fantasy genres
58 Creature concepts
Create monsters that will surprise and shock
60 P aint an epic
alien battle
64 Paint dynamic
concept art

70 Environment painting
Create working environments for video games
72 M ake a setting feel
believable
76 Establish the scene
of a game
60
82 Introduce unique
visuals
84 Visualise a game
world
88 Production design
Design every element of a video game pitch
90 Lead character
94 The environment
98 The enemy
102 Story developer

4 Presents Game Art

 Game Art

6 Art spectacular!
Art from the pros behind
Guild Wars 2, Syndicate,
Mass Effect 3 and more.

76
106 Artist Q&A
64 Real-world portrait issues solved
Remko Troost
Ubisoft artist Remko shares his advice
on creating mood paintings and where
to start when thumbnailing vehicles.
Philip Straub
Discover some new tips on creating
spacecraft for video games with this
17-year veteran of the industry.
Jonathan Standing
Learn to design modular characters and
add decals to space armour designs
with experienced concept artist Jon.
90 Gary Tonge
Having worked for Sega, Capcom,
84 Eidos and more, who better to reveal
what exactly a concept artist does?
Daryl Mandryk
Improve the speed and impact of your
painting workflow with EAs leading
concept artist.
Daniel Dociu
Learn the value of setting achievable
goals for your concept art with the
Guild Wars 2 art director.
Aly Fell
Master the rules of better character
design, and discover why all concept
art neednt be digital.
Andy Park
Let the God of War 2 concept artist
98 show you how to overcome your fear of
painting in colour.

Includes
Free resources four hours
of video!
Sketches and videos to help you learn
Video workshops Resource files
Watch our contributors in action and Use our artists layered hi-res PSD
pick-up some vital tips, with video files for inspiration.
workshops from leading concept
artists including Maciej Kuciara, Custom brushes
Luke Mancini, Kevin Chen and Recreate workshop techniques using
many others. the artists own custom brushes.

See page 114, or visit http://ifxm.ag/game06art

Presents Game Art 5

 Gallery

Gallery
Get inspired by the creativity of
the professional artists behind
some of the biggest video games

Kekai
Kotaki

H
awaii-born Kekai has add that hard edge to my work to
been working in video make things cooler, full of motion
games for 10 years with and emotion.
ArenaNet. He started as a texture The game takes place 250 years
artist and, eight years after after the first Guild Wars, so there
landing his first job, is now was plenty of scope to develop the
concept art lead on Guild Wars 2. look of the world, but freedom
Kekais impressionistic art style brings new trials. The challenge
is instantly recognisable, and he was operating with this freedom
has been given a lot of freedom on and getting that high level of work
Guild Wars 2 to create a world that done without falling on our
we thought was cool. He says the faces, says Kekai.
team didnt set out to change how Kekais art demonstrates theres
fantasy art is perceived: We were room for new ideas on the biggest
trying to find new ways to express stage if youre prepared to meet
the core ideas that make up the the challenge.
fantasy genre. Ive always tried to www.kekaiart.com

Restrictions on art have been

loosened quite a bit, enabling
us to explore and get some epic
moments into the game
Wise words
I think of it as designing
monsters that fight heroes and
heroes that fight monsters;
everyone needs to be the hero
in the game. More important,
everyone needs to feel like
theyre the hero in the game.

6 Presents Game Art

Kekai Kotaki

Presents Game Art 7

 Gallery

Sean A
Murray

A
principle concept artist producing detailed pencil sketches
at Todd McFarlanes Big that are then scanned into
Huge Games/38 Studios, Photoshop, such as his depiction
Sean A Murray has had the of the Adessa Tower from
enviable job of designing a new
fantasy world for the video game
Reckoning, which was a more
functional piece of concept art,
It was not a typical setting for a
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
Our goal has been to present a
Sean says, showing how to
combine various modular pieces
fantasy universe. We wanted to
mysterious world teeming with into a unique Gnome tower. infuse a bit of Old West into it
magic and mysticism, as opposed The early painting of Bolgan
to a world of pure reality, he says. Forest, however, is one that Sean
His work on these pages looks to when summing up his
demonstrates a colourful, original work on Reckoning. This is one
world that blends classic fantasy of the very first images I did for
with a bit of the old west, as seen the game, says Sean. I think it
in the concept for the games really set the stage for what we
Detyre Mining location. wanted to go for visually in terms Wise words
The most successful concept artists
With a background in of colour palette and creature
are those that put an emphasis on
illustration Sean combines design philosophy. communication and storytelling
traditional and digital techniques, sketchsam.blogspot.com before picture making.

8 Presents Game Art

Sean A Murray / Alessandro Taini

Alessandro
Taini

H

aving worked for UK
developer Ninja Theory for
eight years, Alessandro
Taini is now visual art director for
the BAFTA Award-winning studio.
Alexs concept art has a unique
painterly feel. His female characters,
particularly Trip from 2010s
Enslaved: Journey to the West, are
beautiful but capable heroines.
Like his other heroine, Nariko,
from Heavenly Sword, Trip is a
flame-haired female lead character
imbued with beauty and brains.
When Ninja Theory was chosen to
reboot the Capcom series Devil May
Cry, Alessandro began creating
mood paintings for the studios
concepts for the popular Japanese
video game series.
Tapping into his Italian heritage,
Alessandro created a stunning
Renaissance-inspired depiction of
the games hero at play: With this
image I wanted to illustrate the
personality of Dante, comments
Alessandro, a young rebel without
a care in the world.
www.talexiart.com

This image
illustrates one
of the characters
of Enslaved to
explain her
background
outside of the
games context

Presents Game Art 9

 Gallery

Bradley
Wright

A
s part of the concept art team
at Starbreeze, working on
the remake of the video
game Syndicate was a thrilling
challenge. This game, and the genre
it sits in, is a dream for any concept
artist to work on, says Bradley.
Bradleys approach to the project
was to go back to the 1993 version
of Syndicate and start pulling out
key elements, visual markers, and
legacy elements vital design
features and principles that we
could stick to throughout the
production time.
For a game set in a sci-fi noir
future filled with flying cars and
gleaming towers, surprisingly
Bradley says he enjoys designing the
nuts and bolts of the games world.
The challenge of making a chair
fresh and interesting is something I
strive for, says Bradley. It takes time
to get something as simple as a chair
from concept to model to in-game,
so you want it to look good.
These elements of a games world
seep into the subconscious and
begin to form a larger, coherent
picture that allows the team to tell a
story. Starbreeze has always had a
strong history of developing story-
driven games with characters and
atmosphere that have depth and
layers to them, says Bradley.
The concept art and equally the
game design feed into this
philosophy. We seek to push and
explore these depths with innovative
ideas and artwork.
bradleywright.wordpress.com

Wise words
It is important to understand
how 3D is produced. This aids me
in creating more detailed, faster
concepts and lets me integrate
more with other disciplines, such
as modellers and level designers.

10 Presents Game Art

 Bradley Wright

The freedom to stand up and say

this does or doesnt work is great for
a team environment

Presents Game Art 11

 Gallery

Joe
Madureira

J
oe Mad entered the comic book
industry at the age of 16 when
he joined Marvel. After 15 years
on Marvel titles including Uncanny
X-Men, as well as launching his own
series Battle Chasers, Joe called it a
day and delved into video games.
After a stint at NCSoft, he left to
form Vigil Games and designed his Death is more aggressive
own colourful world for the
Darksiders series of games. The and intimidating than War,
sequel, Darksiders 2, features the
new iconic anti-hero Death.
and has zero respect
Although Joe has taken on the
role of director for Darksiders 2, he
for the laws that
has still found time to create the govern Heaven
central character. We knew that we
wanted Death to be a lot more and Hell
nimble than War. He moves faster
and fights more acrobatically, says
Joe. Therefore, his weapons had to
be smaller and lighter, and he had to
wear much less armour. All of these
things start to paint a picture. With
all that in mind, I try to think of the
attitude that I want the character
to convey.
The Joe Mad-style part western
comic, part manga feeds into video
game design perfectly. Although Joe
works with a team of artists to
convey his ideas into the game
world, this comic book legends
stamp is clearly delivered.
So what would his 16-year-old self
make of this new game? This is
exactly the kind of game I would
dream of playing, never mind
working on, says Joe.
vigilgames.com

Wise words
Theres always room to get
better, and there are always
people doing things better
than you. Never stop learning,
I guess, thats the biggest
lesson Ive learned.

12 Presents Game Art

 Joe Madureira / Kan Muftic

Kan
Muftic

R
ecreating an iconic The museum in Arkham City
character and its world is one such design that Kan is
is one of the biggest rightly proud of. I pushed that
challenges facing a video game idea from the very beginning of

I basically just start drawing concept artist. Working on the

award-winning Batman: Arkham
the project, he says.
But this wasnt simply an
with all of that stuff popping City meant redefining the look of
one of the worlds most popular
exercise in aesthetic design.
Gameplay is king, remarks Kan,
around in my head, and hopefully comic characters. referring to the need to ensure

something cool comes out that Artist Kan Muftic picks the
games environments as an area
that his designs for the game met
with the direction the games
people are excited by the concept art team focused on
to give their game a new look.
scriptwriters and game designers
were going in. I spend a lot of
Each area of Arkham City had to time talking, consulting and
feel unique while fitting into a suggesting things to the team. Its
Wise words
Its important to consider the
consistent world, which involved
everything from Gothic and
not all about the drawing.
The end result was one of the
character in-game instead of thinking Victorian architecture to glass and best games of its generation, a
about the pretty drawings. Its useful to iron Art Nouveau dcor, creating visual spectacle that is as fun to
know what the character is doing in the
game while Im drawing, because itll layers of styles that highlighted play as it is good to look at.
help me give him personality. the citys evolution. kanmuftic.blogspot.com

Presents Game Art 13

 Gallery

Patryk
Olejniczak

A
s the new concept artist in
BioWares marketing
department, Patryk
Olejniczak has the enviable job of
bringing Mass Effect 3s cast of
characters to life. Patryk focuses on
pose, expression and background
detail to tell a characters story.
During the whole process I try not
to forget about the importance of a
proper eye-catching character pose
and expression, which encourage a
viewer to study the story of the
painting, says our cover artist.
I often start with loose, basic
brush lines for the characters. I like
to play around with random photos
and textures until I am satisfied, he
says, explaining how he uses in-
game screenshots to reference the
realistic lighting and colour tones.
I put a great effort into trying to
present them as detailed as possible,
but somewhere along the line I took
the liberty of applying some of my
own tweaks, Patryk reveals,
explaining why Zaeeds gauntlet is
a different shape from that of the
games character.
Patryk uses different blending
modes and the Dodge tool to create
his realistic, brooding character
portraits. Detailed research helps too,
especially when rendering Mordins
armour: It needed proper research
of shiny materials and careful
application of them, says Patryk.
Challenging as it was, it made me
more confident in the style, which is
always rife with realism.
garrettartlair.blogspot.com

Each character brought

Wise words me the same amount of
Try not to forget about the
importance of a proper eye-
excitement for a variety of
catching character pose
and expression, which thoughts and reasons
encourage a viewer to study
the story of the painting.

14 Presents Game Art

Patryk Olejniczak

Presents Game Art 15

Vehicle
design
Create exciting vehicles
for video games

16 Presents Game Art

 Feng Zhu
One of the worlds
leading concept artists,
Feng Zhu has worked
for the major developers
and publishers in the
video games industry,
including Sony, Ubisoft,
NCSoft, Epic Games and
EA studios.
Learn to draw inspiration from
painting two images at once.
Turn to page 22

Workshops
How to paint vehicles for games
18 Sci-fi vehicles for video
games with Kemp Remillard
Design vehicles from sketch to final
render in Photoshop and SketchUp.
22 Create your art in parallel
with Feng Zhu
The legendary film and game artist
works on multiple images at once.
28 Add colour to a space
battle with Ryan Dening
Use layers to create a spaceship scene
from Star Wars: The Old Republic.
How to create
tanks and planes
for games 18

Ive often found that

problems in one image can
lead to solutions in another
Feng Zhu, page 22

Presents Game Art 17

 Vehicle design

sci-fi vehicles
for video games
Massive Blacks Kemp Remillard explains how to take a
concept from sketchpad to video game
esigning vehicles for video games can ensure that the concept fits the needs of the game philosophy, I feel that the more real I can make

D seem like a daunting task. Depending

on the project, the concept artist can
encounter design challenges that range
engine, story and aesthetic. While there are many
methods and approaches that concept artists use,
designing vehicles can be fun and rewarding with a
something fictional, the better the concept and
final illustration will be.
For the two vehicles in this project, I will play the
from we dont know what we want show us little research, planning and creativity. roles of art director and concept artist by creating a
something cool to we have about 20 Science fiction vehicles can take on many forms, brief describing the criteria for the concept to meet,
requirements that need to be in the concept and depending on the project. For this tutorial, I will then designing the vehicle around that criteria.
make it look cool. Here, Ill go over some of the focus on that special brand of sci-fi that I love the Along the way, Ill show how to go through an
decisions and methods I use when designing sci-fi most: the near future. Im fascinated by military iterative process using both Photoshop and
vehicles for video games. and space technology, current events, history and SketchUp to design functional science fiction
The whole process is an odd mixture of research, sociopolitical interactions as a whole. vehicles of the near future that can be incorporated
planning, experimentation, layout and illustration These interests are elements that I try to infuse into a sci-fi video games production pipeline
all while working closely with your client to into my creative concepts daily. As a general with ease. Hope you enjoy it!

Kemp
Remillard
Country: US

Kemp is a
concept artist
with Massive
Black in San
Francisco.
Kemp has designed
vehicles and created
concepts for high-
profile clients including
THQ, Hasbro, Sega,
Nintendo and NCsoft.
Brief and background
www.kempart.com 1 The first order of business when concepting vehicles for games is to review the d
Copy Merge
get your client brief and understand the background of the world that the vehicle will exist in.
The goal here is to create fictional military vehicles that might exist in the next 20 years
+Paste
ift+C,
resources
See page 114 now!
or so. With that inmind, I begin by doing research on possible future military projects.
Cmd/Ctrl+Sh
then Cmd/Ct
rl+V
layers
In addition, I read up on stealth technology in aircraft, and what design concepts go Copies all the
e,
that are visibl
into actual armoured land vehicles. This research and information will be vital to the then pastes.
outcome of the final design.

18 Presents Game Art

 Sci-fi vehicles

Thumbnail sketching
3 Now I am ready to begin sketching
out simple thumbnails of my vehicles on
Set up Save paper or in Photoshop. Depending on
Selection
When doing vehicle the client and brief, this first round can
illustrations, set up Save be loose and fast or a little more refined. I
Selection regions in prefer to work in a plan view at this stage
Photoshop for both the
interior of the vehicle
to get a quick silhouette, but a three-
and the exterior. That quarter view can also be useful for
way, you will keep your showing up more information. Usually,
edges consistent and
have a way to make
once an option is selected I then move
Reference
2 Gathering good reference is vital to
F-22 and F-35 were referenced, possibly
belonging to the same family of aircraft
quick masks for painting
broadly in both areas.
on to a block-in model in SketchUp, but
more revisions may be necessary later on.
a good design. One great site with lots of from a single manufacturer. For my
images from around the globe is www. project, I decide to be a nerd and name
militaryphotos.net. If you want to my planes the MV-35 and the MV-36,
understand vehicles, take some time to M for multi-mission and V for its VTOL
look at them and study their features and capabilities. One overarching
subtleties. Then try to understand as best consideration when designing stealth
you can what the functions of the various aircraft is to make sure that none of the
parts are. Shown here are the rough angles in the design are perpendicular to
sketches for a proposed VTOL (vertical the radars angle of incidence in other
take off and landing) transport jet with words, everything has to be swooshed
stealth capabilities. Real-life jets like the back or diamond-shaped to reflect the
radar. The tank is more loosely based
on modern units like the Leopard 2 and
Challenger 2.

Refinement
4 Revisions are a fact of life when
working on video games; often a whole
team of people have input on what a
particular asset will look like. My initial
directions for the VTOL jet proved a bit
impractical in its look and construction.
So after a little more study, its back to the
drawing board where I arrive at a much
more practical design. Still, I am unable
to choose between the two directions, so
I take the decision as art director to finish
them both, just so I can get an
impression of what each of them could
potentially be like when finished.

Presents Game Art 19

 Vehicle design

Assign
shortcut keys
Shift+Alt+Cm
d/Ctrl+K
Use this shor
tcuts manage
to assign Func r
tion keys
to replace br
ushes.

Block the models in SketchUp

5 I find the use of 3D indispensable in creating a product that the client can
understand clearly. SketchUp is a great, accessible piece of software that can be used for
creating simple or detailed models of your vehicles. Once you become acquainted with
the program and start modelling with it, you can assemble a library of components to
add quick detail and interest. Just make sure you change the component shapes so that
you deliver something unique.

Photographing the model

6 Another great by-product of designing in 3D is the ability to move around
the model and find the best angle to present your concept from. If time is on my
side, I like to make multiple screenshots for collection and review. Finding the
best shot can make all the difference in the world.

Design for aesthetics

8 The bottom line when doing any
asset for video games is that it has to
look cool (some might say badass, but
that description cant always describe
everything!). Either way, it has to look
sexy, and thats especially true with
vehicles. Although I pay close attention
3D geometry to construction and engineering, I am
for orthos always trying to push the design into a
With vehicle and tech
designs, it is incredibly sleek and interesting shape. Distinctive
helpful to have 3D lines and interesting angles are the order
Design for function geometry available to
7 The goal with these concepts is to
panels are placed over the VTOL lift fan
openings near the cockpit. These doors
set up your orthos. The
more detailed the
of the day when working as an
entertainment artist.
incorporate real-world characteristics into will open during take-off and landing, geometry, the less time Making the asset work and look great
you have to spend, since
a fictional design. For the MV-35 and then close to preserve the aircrafts is what its all about, because if your
each detail is repeated in
MV-36, considerations include available aerodynamic shape during flight, like each view. If you dont design is lacking in either department it
cargo space and the placement of forward landing gear. A side effect of the lift-fan have a particular detail in wont make it into the game. Ultimately
engines for the VTOL capability. The new door arrangement is the appearance of the model, it will need to games, and everything in them, are there
be added in Photoshop.
F-35 has a special nozzle on its engine horns near the head of the craft. It never Bolts and fasteners can to entertain people. Taking the time to
exhaust that points down during take-off hurts to give your design some subtle be added in Photoshop formulate opinions on what looks cool
and landing, so I incorporate that into the anthropomorphic qualities to add and Shift-dragged to and what doesnt is as much a part of the
copy through the design.
MV-35s design. Also, cupboard door-like some personality. job as the process itself.

20 Presents Game Art

 Sci-fi vehicles

Orthogonal views
9 This is the stage where the final
assets are prepared for delivery to the 3D
artists as a plan or blueprint. Each studios
requirements for the ortho are a little
different, but overall, more is better. The
more information you can convey with
Setting up the
your plan view, the better understanding
your client will have about what you 11 final Illustration
intend your vehicle to look like. Orthos Once the whole concept is approved, I like
can sometimes be overlooked as an to prepare an illustration that shows how
afterthought to the concept process; I the vehicle might look in its environment.
prefer to see it as the step where the final This is as much for me to sell the concept
blueprints are drawn up before assembly. as it is for the game technicians to get a
feel for how it could be finished in the
game. I want a battleworn background for
the tank, so I use a few custom brushes to
paint in the smoke pillars and obscure the
horizon line. Then I use a royalty-free
image to block in the ground plane.
Photo textures are a great way to add
realism to your image. Once the
background is in place, I adjust all of the
values in both the background and the
tank. All the elements need to have their
value ranges harmonised to suggest that
they exist in the same space that means
making sure the image is not too dark in
the shadow area and not too blown out
where its illuminated.
The best part for me is painting in the

10 Surfacing and detailing

For the MV-35 and MV-36 planes, each panel needs to be
dirt and battle damage with custom
brushes. Once I have the dirt in place and
designed at an angle to properly deflect radar. After studying the the values lined up, I usually clean up the
reference, I notice that one of the coolest characteristics about stealth edges with normal layers and full-opacity
jets is the very subtle but complex segmentation of the panels. The paint. Look for accents and rim lights to
divisions I add might not hold up to an engineers eye, but theyre close accentuate when cleaning up. At the end,
enough to the real thing to make it look authentic. The panelling, decal graphics and lights can be applied.
graphics and paint scheme for the MV-35 and MV-36 are added in If somethings not working, experiment
Photoshop over a SketchUp render when the ortho is assembled. until it does.

Photoshop
Custom Brush: Chislrok
BRUSH TIP SHAPE
Diameter: 20px
Roundness: 100 per cent
Spacing: 25 per cent
Dual Brush
Mode: Overlay
Brush: Textured Rocks
Diameter: 17px
Spacing: 25 per cent
Scatter: 0 per cent
Count: 1
Other Dynamics
Opacity Jitter: Pen Pressure
Flow Jitter: Off

I like this brush for adding rough and dirty

texture to the panels of the tank. Its shape
is that of a long rectangle, making it good
for texturing surfaces that recede in space.

Presents Game Art 21

 Vehicle design

create your
art in parallel
Putting together concept pitches can throw up many problems along the
way. Star Wars: Episode III artist Feng Zhu shows how working on
multiple images at once can uncover a variety of solutions

22 Presents Game Art

Create your art in parallel

wo is better than one thats

T the theme of my workshop.

Whenever Im doing client
work, live demos for teaching Feng Zhu
purposes or personal sketches and Country: US

paintings, I always focus on producing a Feng has

series of images rather than just one. In worked with
addition, I usually work on all the images George Lucas,
Michael Bay,
simultaneously. For this workshop, Ill Luc Besson,
produce two production paintings at the Steven Spielberg and
same time. Ive found that this approach James Cameron. He
now runs his own
has several key advantages.
successful studio, Feng
First, by working on several images at Zhu Design Inc.
once, it keeps my brain and eyes www.fengzhudesign.com
refreshed. Whenever I get bored with
looking at one image, Ill switch over to get your
another. This method will keep the
workflow interesting, no matter how long
resources
See page 114 now!
the project lasts.

Presents Game Art 23

 Vehicle design
Second, by going back and forth possible in the shortest amount of time. time on unnecessary details when there
between images, I can spot mistakes a lot Therefore by starting on several images are a set of images to finish.
more easily. This has the same effect of all at once, I can roughly average the total Sixth, working on multiple images also
walking away from your work for an completion time. has an evolutionary effect. For example,
hour: each time I switch images, Im Fourth, by producing multiple images I might sketch out an interesting shape or
essentially looking at it with fresh eyes. youre essentially creating a series. In a find a cool way to render metal. I can then
Third, I can achieve a lot more in a designers portfolio, those drawings or immediately adopt that technique or
short amount of time. Working on a paintings that fit into a themed project design on another image.
single image until its finished can be look a lot more impressive. This shows Finally, its just fun. I feel more
dangerous in my line of work, because your ability to adopt a design language accomplished when I can finish several
theres no really accurate way to measure and solve potential design issues. images all at once which builds
your total production schedule. Clients Fifth, forcing myself to multitask confidence. It keeps the fun factor high
rarely ask for just one image they images enables me to stay loose. I cant and reduces the chance for boredom.
always want to see as many ideas as afford to become too focused or waste Okay, now on to the actual workshop!

Sketching the scene

1 I start 90 per cent of my paintings
contrast with each other. Therefore, the
first image takes place in a nightclub or
daylight. Finally, one of my vehicles is a
civilian transport while the other is
with a rough sketch. I find it hard to be bar setting where alien celebrities are military in nature. These contrasting
Set up a creative on the fly, especially if the arriving. The second image (see the points are all related to the key points
save system project has design restrictions. In this boxout below) is a battlefield scenario. that Ive mentioned previously. These
I always save multiple
versions of my case, Im designing two vehicles and The first vehicle faces right while sketches dont have to be super tight, but
Photoshop files as I scenes that fit into a universe that Ive remaining stationery, while the second they do need to communicate the design
work. I start with the previously developed (an intelligent bug one faces left and is in motion. One scene package as well as establish the shot with
letter a. For example:
fzd_imaginefx_
planet). I also want these two scenes to is set at night, while the other is in proper camera and perspective.
demo_01a.PSD, 01b.PSD,
01c.PSD and so on. I use
this naming convention
for two reasons. One, it
gives you an easy way to
view your progress; and
two, I get to have
multiple back-ups just in
case one of the files
becomes corrupt.

paint a Daytime 1 Create the sketches

desert Battle
Running alongside Fengs futuristic nightclub scene is his
The initial sketches dont need to be tight, but must convey the mood
and direction of the artwork. This second of the two images is the opposite of
my main one, so where the first image is set at night and illuminated by all
daytime image of the bug battle. The primary differences
between the two are the lighting considerations manner of artificial light sources, this one will be pictured during the day and
so Ill need to take natural light sources into consideration. Furthermore,
while the first image features a static subject, I want the craft in this image to
be moving. In this manner I can feed off one image to inspire the other.

24 Presents Game Art

 Create your art in parallel

Blocking out values in Defining the Finding some form

2 the scene 3 light sources 4 Now that the primary values are
At this point in the process Im just Now I start to separate out both local and locked I can start on the first pass,
blocking in the local values and colours, global values according to the light tackling form details. The goal here is to
trying to capture the overall palette, source(s). Without good values these define all the major shapes. At this stage,
lighting and mood. The line drawing is paintings wont read well, so its pointless the line drawing layer has also been
separated out onto its own layer. The to start painting details until this stage is removed and Im down to just one layer.
resolution at this stage is 5,000x2,128 completed. For the nightclub scene there
pixels which is the ratio for widescreen are several primary light sources: the club
films. There are just two layers active. One window, floor, background city lights,
is the line drawing and the other, the headlights and cabin interior lights.
background layer, is where Im putting all I want this scene to feel busy, so multiple
my colours. light sources are a plus.

Tips for
Wacom users
I dont use Wacoms
sensitivity for Opacity, I
Mirror image
control it manually with
the 1 to 9 keys. You can 5 Once all the major forms are
turn off Opacity by
pressing F5>Other
defined, I can spend the next few hours
Dynamics>Opacity refining the look. On this first image my
Jitter and setting it to nightclub scene Ive mirrored the
Off. To set up random
composition. This is another way to keep
brush patterns great
for creating textures things fresh and help spot perspective and
turn on Angle Jitter: composition mistakes. I often dont
click F5>Shape
decide on the image orientation until Im
Dynamics>Angle Jitter.
nearing the end of the painting.

Colour process Defining light sources Defining the form

2 At this stage the sketches are finished and I 3 Unlike my nightclub scene, which features 4 Ive now reduced my layers to just one. By
feel that Ive got a sense of the composition, which numerous light sources, I want this battle painting removing the original sketch layer Im able to give
is a fast-moving battle scene. Now I can start to have just one primary light source. I decide that my full attention to defining the form of my
working on the tone of the piece. I separate the line this will be the sun coming in from the right. military vehicles. My goal here is to finalise the
art out onto its own layer and then create a Color However, the desert ground will act as a very good major shapes that will form the bulk of the craft. I
layer to work from. As before, I only use two layers bounce board, bathing the bottom part of the ships refer back to my night scene to see what design
for this image. in warm light. choices I made for the civilian vehicle.

Presents Game Art 25

 Vehicle design
Combine laye
rs
Increase the
6
Cmd+Alt+Sh
ift+E (Mac)
document resolution Ctrl+Alt+Shift
Keep the numb
+E (PC)
er of layers
Its time for the finer details. To reduce down by copy
ing the
eyestrain and pixellated brushes, Ive contents of all
layers
doubled the resolution to 10,000x4,256 into a new on
e.
pixels. This document size can cause
slower PCs to come to a halt, so to counter
this Im working on a PC with an Intel
Core i7-960 processor and 12GB of RAM.
Theres no image or brush delay on this
system; I simply cant stand lag or stutters,
and Im sure Im not alone!

Work on both images

7 The next two hours are spent adding details to both images.
Final thoughts
I tend to work for about 20 minutes on one and then switch over. In
total, I spend about five hours painting both scenes. The second the 8 Well, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this workshop and getting a glimpse into
battle image is a lot easier to paint simply because of the reduced how I work. Creating multiple images like this can be tricky but also has its benefits:
primary light source. I have some trouble staging the nightclub scene Ive often found that problems in one image can lead to solutions in another. Please
because of the multiple primary lights, which can flatten the forms, so visit my design studio website for additional images. We also offer lots of free video
it takes up roughly three of the five hours to complete. tutorials on YouTube (youtube.com/FZDSCHOOL). Have fun!

Beginning the Add fine details Dusty dilemma

5 refining process 6 After increasing the resolution of the image 7 The next two hours are spent on detailing
I begin loosely adding refining elements to the to 10,000x4256 pixels, I can begin adding the both paintings. The nightclub scene causes few
background and to certain areas of the primary finer details to the scene that will bring it to life. problems but, because I dont work with layers,
craft. My somewhat cautious approach enables me These include giving more definition to the adding the dust-trail onto the second image was
to see how the scene will take shape. Im careful combat ship in the background, reflections seen tricky. I knew that if I messed up the dust would
not to spend too much time focused on one area on the hull of the craft and improving the look of be hard to remove, so I built up the dust layer
the trick is to see the big picture develop. the large rock structures in the distance. slowly with Brush Opacity at only 10 per cent.

26 Presents Game Art

 The number one
destination for digital art
news, views and how-tos.
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All images 2011 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company or Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved Vehicle design

Ryan Dening add colour to

a space battle
Country: Canada

Ryan studied
illustration at
Sheridan
College. His
first job out of
school was working on Ryan Dening conceptualises and paints a space conflict,
while making the most of Photoshops layering ability
Legoland Germany for
themed-attraction
design firm Forrec in
Toronto, Canada. Hes
currently a senior
concept artist on Star
pace in the Star Wars films We explored a lot of ideas and the work on the final image maintaining

S
Wars: The Old Republic.
www.deningart.com is typically black with stars. one Im focusing on here is set in a gas most of my layers for flexibility.
The are no nebulae but there cloud thats being vented from a dying Ill also take elements from other art
get your are battles in the upper star. Ships are laying mines in the cloud pieces that we produced for the game.

resources
See page 114 now!
atmosphere, in asteroid fields and in orbit
around large planets. For Star Wars: The
and your mission is to clear the area and
take out the enemy vessels.
This can be useful when time is tight,
but getting it to feel integrated can be a
Old Republic we wanted to push further, Ill be relying heavily on Photoshops challenge. Ill finish by using Adjustment
so the players visual experience varied strength in layering. Ill start with quick layers to vignette the image and produce
significantly between space missions. thumbnail sketches, and from there Ill the levels I want.

28 Presents Game Art

 Colour a space battle

Sun surface
2 I start with a star field, into which
Im going to place the sun as an anchor.
For the surface I start by creating a Layer
different file, roughly the size I want the selections
To make selections
sun to be, with equal height and width based on the contents of
(square). On my second monitor Ive a layer from the palette,
collected some imagery of Earths sun for hold Ctrl and click the
thumbnail. To modify
reference. I begin by laying down colour, selections hold Shift+Ctrl
using textured brushes, over the whole to add, Ctrl+Alt to
image area to approximate what Im subtract and Shift+Ctrl+
Alt to intersect. If youre
seeing. When Im happy with the surface,
working within an
I open Filter>Distort>Spherize and crank existing layers pixels,
it all the way up to 100 per cent. This gives making a selection and
doing this will change
the texture the impression that its
opacity and give you
wrapped around a sphere. I turn on crunchy edges, so lock
Rulers and drag some guides off the top the layers transparent
Exploring ideas pixels with the square
1 I usually begin with thumbnails to get the creative juices flowing. Even if I have
and bottom to find the centre of the
image (I have Snap To Guides turned on
grid button near the top
of the Layers palette. To
a clear picture in my head, exploring it further often brings out better ideas. Here Im so I can do this easily). I use the Elliptical do this in layers, make
trying out a few different settings and compositions. I like to keep these sketches small, Marquee tool and drag from the centre a new layer above then
right-click and select
quick and simple to keep me from overthinking them. Sometimes if Im having trouble while holding down Alt+Shift. I cut and Create Clipping Mask.
getting ideas to flow, Ill swap out the media and use paper or sticky notes. paste this over the star field.

Presents Game Art 29

 Vehicle design
Brush size
[ and ]
(PC & Mac)
re bracket
Use the squa
se and
keys to increa
h size as
decrease brus
you paint.

Painting the clouds

5 I use a rough texture brush to enhance the feeling of depth in the midground
with clouds. I scale down the brush as I get closer to the sun. I duplicate this layer and
put a copy behind the sun. To help give the sense of a vast space, I squish and stretch the
copy. Because the angle changes due to the compression I rotate the cloud plane to
Layer effects
3 To achieve a glow outside and
match the foreground. I duplicate and scale these a couple more times. I lock all of the
cloud layers and paint in the colours with a Soft Airbrush. I use the Smudge tool to
inside the sun I use layer effects. In the soften the texture and imply movement. The clouds in front of the sun still look a little
bottom of the Layers palette I select Outer flat what they need are shadows, so I duplicate the cloud layer, select its contents,
Glow from the Effects drop-down. This contract the selection by a couple of pixels, invert it and hit Delete. I lock and paint this
brings up a dialog box that enables me top layer with a dark colour, move and squish it a little until it looks right.
to set the size, strength and colour. I Photoshop
duplicate the sun layer a few times so I custom brushes:
rock
can control the glow colour better, using
a larger, warmer red for the bottom layer
and a smaller yellow glow on the top
layer, giving me a rich colour gradient. This brush has a lot of
I apply an inner glow to the top layer, randomisation settings,
with the blend mode set to Linear Dodge, which enable me to
quickly lay down the
to add heat bleeding inwards. asteroid ring. The
roundness setting is like
using multiple brushes.

custom brushes:
dry paint

I used this rough paint

Sun rays
brush to add hard
highlights on the clouds
6 While painting in the clouds, I found that the sun looked too much like our
for definition. It looks a healthy sun to be venting all this gas. I merged my group of sun layers with effects and
bit like a Dry brush, so Im
able to produce a lot of
used Hue/Saturation to shift the colour towards red. I also scale it up a little to sit better
implied detail quickly. in the composition. For the rays, I lay in some rough lines and use the Filter>Liquify
tool to distort and move them around. This quickly gives the lines a fluid feel. I set the
custom brushes:
Asteroid belt
4 Im using a rock brush Ive made to
rake layer blending mode to Linear Dodge and duplicate/transform it a few times to fill the
sun out. At this point the overall image is looking really orange/red, so I duplicate one
paint the asteroid ring. The brush can give of the layers and hue it blue to get the heat colours you might see in a welding torch. I
me different-looking shapes with only a add a blue burst that I made by putting some coloured dots in a separate file, and use
few strokes. These settings include Scale, If you dont have one Filter>Blur>Radial Blur set to Zoom and cranked up.
like this already, try it.
Roundness, Scattering and Foreground/
The bristles follow the
Foreground
Background Jitter. After laying in the base
ring, I lock the layer using Lock
direction of your strokes.
I used it in the sun
7 To give the feel that youre flying
texture, and sparingly in
Transparent Pixels, and paint over the in the clouds I paint some colour in the
the thumbnails.
small rocks on the far side of the sun rough shapes using a Chalk brush,
using a soft brush so they appear lit. custom brushes: making sure theyre backlit like the
square chalk
Because the pixels are locked, I dont asteroids. I use the Smudge tool to distort
worry about losing the silhouette and it the edges, then duplicate and transform
doesnt change the transparency of the this layer around the image until it feels
edges. With a Textured Round brush I I use the Chalk brush a like the viewer is in the middle of them.
lot in Painter, to sketch
rough in highlights on the foreground I select the layer contents of the asteroids
in volumes and lay in
rocks to make them feel backlit. The colour. This brush is an and erase some of the clouds so the rocks
changing scale from back to front, mixed emulation of that for sit among them. I also add some
Photoshop. It follows the
with the implied lighting, gives the sense highlights and shadows to the asteroids
direction of your stroke.
that the rocks are orbiting the sun. to imply that theyre pitted with craters.

30 Presents Game Art

 Colour a space battle
Adding a vignette
11 To further focus the viewer, Im
going to brighten the centre of the image
and darken the edges. I click and hold the
Adjustment Layer icon and select Levels.
I bring the light values in from the right
side. I want to vignette the image so I
select the Level layers mask and fill it
with black. I pick the Gradient tool, set it
to Radial and select the second preset.
Copy merge This uses your foreground colour and
(Mac)
Shift+Ctrl+C fades it off to 0 per cent opacity. I pick
(PC)
Shift+Cmd+C
tion from white and drag the gradient out from the
Copy a selec
without centre of the sun to the far left of the
multiple layers
d/merge
having to fin image, and repeat this until I get the
y.
them manuall
brightness I want. The sun has some
blown-out spots so I paint those back in
the mask with black and a soft brush. I
create a new Normal layer and use the
Gradient tool again this time with
Linear selected and drag a little black in
from the edges to enhance the effect.

Ship sketch
8 I start with a really loose sketch of the ship to get the rough
design. I then add perspective lines and block in major zones to harden
out the shape. Some linework is added to frame the design. Next,
I paint in the main highlights and shadows to give the design some
form. For the details I use a Screen layer and airbrush in a brighter
metal, erasing out some of the panels to add some surface variation.
I increase the contrast if needed to make the image more dynamic.

12 Sharpening
Photoshop tends to make

10 Laser time
I choose blue lasers for the main
paintings soft, even when using a hard
brush. To sharpen the image I Select All
ship, to draw the eye in, and add an (Ctrl+A), select Copy Merged
explosion for good measure. It needs a (Ctrl+Shift+C) and Paste. This creates a
bright edge on everything where the new layer with all the layers flattened
sunlight would fall. I create a new layer together. I select Filter>Other>High Pass
and paint in highlights a huge step that and set it to around 1.2 (if the image is
can dramatically increase the quality of low res, try selecting a lower number).
the image. I create Linear and Color This creates an odd-looking grey layer, but
Dodge layers to brighten areas and add if I change the blending mode to Overlay,
Merging in outside art
9 To save some time Im going to use
glow haze. For shadows coming from the
mines, I create a Multiply layer and
the grey disappears and everything crisps
up. I adjust the opacity of the layer to
some of the games concepts for mines use the Polygonal Lasso tool to draw finetune the effect. If its not sharp
and ships. This doesnt always work, but selections from the centre of the sun enough I might delete the layer and try
Managing
since were in space, I can get away with a layers out past the edges of the mines. again with a higher setting, such as 1.8.
lot of potential perspective issues. But you Here are a couple of tips

13 Curves
can see they dont sit well: they look flat for working with layers.
Hit V to get the Move
and the lighting doesnt match the tool. In the Options bar I want to brighten the image
environment. To blend these in I create select Layer and then overall because I noticed on my co-
an Overlay layer directly above, and lock uncheck Auto-Select. workers monitor that it looked too dark.
With the Move tool
it to the pixels of the concept layer. (To do selected, hold Ctrl and
A powerful way to lighten or darken your
this I right-click the layer name and select click the image: the top image without destroying your lights and
Create Clipping Mask.) I paint in shadows layer in that location will darks is to use the Curves tool. Create a
be selected. (Check your
using a mid-dark grey-purple and use a palette to make sure it is
Curves Adjustment layer and grab the
light, warm colour for highlights. I create the one you want.) Also, middle of the line bisecting the Curves
two clipping mask layers on top: one group layers into key graph. Pull the point up a little and you
components to keep
Normal to lighten the values and a Color should see the mid-range starts to become
them organised. Select
Dodge layer to pop the surfaces hit by the layers you want, then brighter. Once again, I mask out some of
the sun. I select the source layer again hit Ctrl+G. If Im working the areas around the sun since they are
fast, naming the groups
and erase some of it out to imply that too bright. And thats the image done
is usually enough.
theyre sitting in the clouds. hope you like it.

Presents Game Art 31

Character art
Paint unique and
compelling heroes
and heroines

Ill create a character

that unites contrasting
worlds into one consistent
and appealing painting
Maciej Kuciara, page 54

32 Presents Game Art

Maciej Kuciara
Polish-born Maciej has
been working in video
games since 2004, and
worked on Crysis and
Crysis 2 for Crytek. He
now works for Naughty
Dog on the studios next
major project, The Last
of Us.
Design an iconic character with
multiple reference points.
Turn to page 54

Workshops
Learn to design game characters
34 Design your own game
hero with Alessandro Taini
Use colour and composition to
create a heroic character.
38 Develop poster art for
Crysis 2 with Marek Okon
Use 3D and 2D to create a high-
quality game promo image.
44 Design a space opera
princess with Kevin Chen
Add story elements and a bold
design to your characters.
50 Recast a classic comic
character with Kan Muftic
Rocksteadys artist shows how he
recreated Harley Quinn.
54 Unify a range of fantasy
genres with Maciej Kuciara
Mix genre styles in one image for
original results.

Design a bold
heroine 44

Presents Game Art 33

 Character art

Design your
own game hero
Alessandro Taini defines character with a heroic pose and reveals his
approach for painting the leading man in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
t the earliest stages of Enslaved: needs to say so much about the games

Alessandro
A Odyssey to the West, it was
decided that we would base
the game on a 400-year-old
character in this case, Monkeys
strength and attitude.
In this workshop, Ill show you how
Taini Chinese novel, Journey to the West. My Ive taken a character concept through to
Country: England task as visual art director was to present to final colour illustration, keeping it full of
Italian-born
the team how our game hero would look, personality and strong expression. Ill
Alessandro which ultimately determined many of his focus mainly on my stylistic approach but
started his art traits. Even at the very start, a piece of art will also give you technical tips.
career in Milan
as a creative
designer and
visualiser. Since then hes
been a graphic designer
and book illustrator, and
is now visual art director
at Ninja Theory, working
on the games Heavenly
Sword and Enslaved:
Odyssey to the West.
www.talexiart.com

get your
resources
See page 114 now!

Adding definition
2 Now its time to take your initial
sketch and add more definition. Its useful
to keep in mind the purpose of your
character. With Monkey, I know hell be
fighting huge enemy mechs and climbing
a lot, so I exaggerate his silhouette,
making his back and arm muscles
prominent. I also give him extraordinarily
photoshop large hands. With my characters, I like to
Monkey Brush take human aspects and really push
them, but not to the extent that they
Initial sketch
1 The first stage is to create a pencil sketch of the character and try to convey their
become cartoon-like. Take one of my
other characters, Nariko, who features in
This tool gives a thick,
paintbrushed effect. Ive attitude and personality. In this case, my inspiration is Monkey from the novel, so I Heavenly Sword. Shes realistic looking
used it in the Enslaved know I have to be consistent with the story and yet give the character a unique feel. I but her eyes are larger than a real persons,
workshop to build up the find that a pencil gives you the freedom to follow your instincts through your hands. and that helps to give her a really strong
characters skintone.
However, I do sometimes sketch straight into Photoshop. facial expression.

34 Presents Game Art

 Character art

Laye r tricks
V (PC)
t+C, Ctrl+
Ctrl+Shif m d+ V (Mac)
ift+C, C
Cmd+Sh ur layers but
yo
To flatten lect the
them, se
not lose en press
d th
target an bo.
y co m
this ke

Adding a base colour

3 I add a brown Color Burn layer to push through the pencil texture and give
background colour to the image. This provides the image with a rough, chalk-like
texture. Brown is a great skin tone to give a character because you can add lighter hues
to really bring them to life. Once the Color Burn layer is in place, I take the white layer
(layer 1 in this image) to bring the silhouette to the forefront. Halos of light
In Photoshop, a dramatic
lens flare effect can be
created using the Lens
Flare filter instead of the
Paint one I mention here.

Muscle details
5 I want to make the muscles
anatomically correct, so I refer to
photographs of bodybuilders to ensure
that they look realistic. As long as the
lines themselves are correct, you can
exaggerate the muscles while keeping
a level of realism.

Background considerations
6 At this point, I want to separate the character from the
background and create specific ornaments or designs that will crop up
again and again in Enslaved. I name these art techeau: they combine
the curves of Art Nouveau and the composition of electronic circuit
boards. Some of the games villains, or mechs, have these designs on
their backs, and they feature in the game menus. The same symbol
style is also used for Monkeys tattoo-like battle scar. For this image, I
want to use the ornament as a background, giving a small taste of the
game to supplement the characters frame.

Adding detail
4 I then apply lighter tones to give more depth to the skin. I work with one of my
own soft brushes, which produces a paintbrush-like texture and look, and use light
shades on the face and body to bring the skin to life. The eyes are the most important
features for showing attitude and engaging the viewer; even at the sketch stage, they can
be powerful devices in terms of conveying character. In your image, find out what your
focus point is and spend time detailing it and getting it right. In my work the eyes are
the first port of call, followed by the face and then the muscles. With a realistic skintone
in place, I notice that the proportion of Monkeys head to his body is wrong, so in the
final piece the head has been made larger.

36 Presents Game Art

 Creating a character

Tattoos
7 Using the same art techeau style, I
add tattoo-like scars. First, I create a black
tattoo on a white background and place it
on the body where I want it in this case,
on one shoulder and the back. Then I
change the layer mode to Soft Light. This
gives the perception that the design is
integrated with the body. After this, I add
some light to the edges of the design to
create the perception of depth these
tattoos are intended to look like deep
scars, branded with hot metal.

Speedy
switches
Ctrl+T (PC), Cm
d+T (Mac
Use this co
Blend the subject
11
mbinatio )
then right n and
-click to To merge the character with the
up the Tr bring
ansform
menu qu
ation background, I like to finish the piece with
ickly.
The mask
8 I want to retain consistency with the novel and decide to take inspiration from
a Blend brush and add an oil paint effect.
This can be done in Photoshop using the
the original Monkey mask. For this, I use a Chalk brush to give a body paint effect. Its Smudge tool. I also like to import the
both minimal and tribalesque. Its also clearly visible but doesnt intrude on the all- image in Painter and add the details
important expression on Monkeys face and in his eyes. If Id painted a full mask, it myself using the Water Rake.
would have looked too tribal and obscured his face. This is a human being but Ive
given him features consistent with the books simian-like character.

Hair detail
9 I dont need to paint photorealistic
hair for this image. The most important
thing is to keep the powerful silhouette
with aggressive spikes if the mane were
lifelike, this aspect would be lost. I use a
thick brush to make a jagged silhouette
and leave realistic texture by the scalp. It
makes the hair and head seem like one,
resulting in a strong outline.
Choose a
Lighting focal point
10 In the same way that many photographers do, I like to use one main light from Select a key area for
your work and spend
12 Apply a final texture
Giving the image a uniform
one side (Caravaggio style) and a softer, coloured one on the other to bring my time getting it just right. textured effect suggests that it has been
It should be where
characters to life in three dimensions. This is a technique often seen in comic books. I painted on paper or a canvas. There are a
youre conveying your
have a simple but effective way of using layers to add lighting to highlight a subject, in message and character, couple of textures I like to use, which I
this case the Monkey character. Firstly, I add a new black layer to the image, then select supplemented by have as separate layers that can be placed
Color Dodge from the Layer menu. Then I select the correct lighting colour; here, Ive secondary focal points. over the whole picture. One gives a dirty,
If your background or
used natural colour light around the rim of the character from the left and a red glow to characters legs arent gritty, rusty look, and is better for the
the back. When you select Color Dodge, the black layer becomes transparent and you a focal point, then you background than the character. I use
can paint your light effect over the top. Linear Dodge can be selected instead of Color dont need to go into a another texture over the whole image,
lot of detail with them.
Dodge to create a softer light. which gives the image a painted feel.

Presents Game Art 37

 Character art

Develop poster
art for Crysis 2
Promo images must be of the highest quality and remain consistent with
an established brand. Marek Okons Crysis 2 art scores on both counts
reating a promotional image Consistency is also important at the elements that had to appear were: the

Marek Okon
C for a popular game series is a
prestigious job even for the
most seasoned of artists. Its
technical level: you need to integrate any
production assets with your painted
elements so that they work together well.
nanosuit; the lead character of the Crysis
franchise; New York in the background;
and a hole in the road thats dripping alien
Country: Poland a demanding task that requires you to The first thing I do, even before biological matter. I suggest that we add a
work with various media to ensure that painting the initial sketch, is to consult fire in the background and flying debris to
Marek is a
freelance the subject receives the best possible with my art producer Magnus Larbrant, turn a static scene into something more
illustrator and treatment. Its also a high-profile who will lead me through the image dynamic and eye catching. We talk about
concept artist commission: the image will receive a lot production process and make sure my whether there should be any alien
whos been in
the industry for over five of exposure and be discussed by gamers art is consistent with the game. It usually creatures in the picture, but in the end
years. Hes most famous interested in that particular franchise. starts with him giving me some ideas of agree that it would be too much to
for his work for Games Its crucial that any promotional image what hed like to see in the image, and squeeze in; the composition might
Workshop, LucasArts
and Crytek.
must match whatevers already been then its up to me to modify and piece become too cluttered. With the idea for
www.okonart.com established in the game universe. them together. In this case the key the image in place, I start to paint

get your
resources
See page 114 now!
1 Sketching the idea
The first sketch is usually very rough. It should only tell the art director, in the
simplest of terms, whats in the picture. So I dont worry about anatomical errors, lack of
details and stuff like that. Theres a good chance that Ill have to overhaul the sketch or
even draw a few different versions of it. Combining the cityscape and broken asphalt
isnt easy because I have to show elements that are low on the ground while looking up
at them. After a short brainstorm with Magnus we decide to use a low-angle camera
shot, looking up from one of the cracks in the ground. This gives us a nice view of the
buildings rooftops while conveniently placed asphalt pieces frame the shot.

Review the two

2 rendered elements
With the sketch in place its time to check
the production assets: Cryteks rendering
of the cityscape and the nanosuit. These
could be painted of course, but using 3D
guarantees a high level of accuracy and
consistency with in-game material. Its up
to me to alter and combine them in the
best way possible. You might think that
having high-res renders at my disposal
makes this an easy task, but its not
theyre very clean and lack atmospheric
effects. I need to make them look more
painterly and natural by adding missing
elements, correcting shadows and
adjusting light levels.

38 Presents Game Art

 Character art

Painting the
3 background
I start with the background because I like
to have a strong supporting structure in Photoshop
place before working on the main subject, custom brush:
which in this image is the nanosuit. I Chalk2
paint with a broad textured brush that
has jagged and irregular edges to cover
This is an excellent
the buildings with clouds of dust. multipurpose brush
Another textured brush results in hard- that I use to produce
edged debris flying all over the place. dust clouds and patches
of dirt.
Both brushes were created by Mathias
Verhasselt and you can download them custom brush: TM@_
Round_Brush_Hard_
(along with other great brushes) from TextureLevel3
this conceptart.org page: bit.ly/91ir9m.
I use the Smudge tool on some of the
clouds and debris to imply that a gusty I use this brush to render
wind is whipping things up. flying debris. Different
texture scale and soft
edges produce really
interesting effects. Both
of these brushes can be
downloaded from
bit.ly/91ir9m.

Improving the suit

5 Now I start working on the
nanosuit. Although there are plenty of
details, the suit looks too smooth and the
lighting is dull. I start by adding a direct
light source from the upper-left corner. I
duplicate the suit layer, play around with
Curves until the image is brighter, and
then I set it to Overlay mode to pump
up the colours and contrast. Then I add a
mask to this layer and erase any areas
that dont receive any light. I repeat this
procedure, this time adjusting the Curves
to produce a darker nanosuit and use a
mask to erase all lit areas. Now I have
lighter values to indicate where the sun
Saving time
4 I use some stock
hits directly and darker values for the
shadow area. I return to the masks on the
photography to add a Remove a lighter and darker layers and create more
r
car and a fire. Again, selected laye c) defined edges of light and shadow by
ck sp ac e (PC & Ma
these elements could be Ba e finetuning parts of them. I repeat this
quickly delet
Press this to
painted but using stock the layer that
you stage twice, for the ambient blueish light
.
images saves time have selected from the sky and the local orange light
which is important in source coming from the fire. On top of
production work and that I make a few minor adjustments and
maintains a high level of detail thats some local colour corrections.
consistent with the renders. I paint black
Keeping the
smoke pouring out of the fire with the
same brush I used for the dust clouds, 6 suits details
only with a smaller diameter. Remember You may wonder why I dont just paint
that smoke and any particle-based lighter values over the original Nanosuit
objects are volumetric, so theyll react to layer using a Clipping Mask and different
light and shadows like any other solid blending modes. That would work, but in
objects thats why the smoke is the process I would destroy some finer
illuminated at its base by the fire. Finally, details of the original render. After
I perform some contrast and colour combining the nanosuit with the
adjustments to make the background background, the effect is quite pleasing
look cooler. This will create a nice depth because of the matching lighting and
effect later on. colour scheme on both elements.

40 Presents Game Art

 Crysis 2 poster art

Grounding the image

7 The texture of asphalt is very fine and distinctive. Because I need to match the
detail level of the renders, the best way to reproduce it is to either use stock photos or a
properly textured brush. I start by painting simple solid blocks, with basic lighting, that
represent the layout of the cracked asphalt. Next I overlay real textures on proper
surfaces. Note that the edge of the asphalt has a slightly different structure to its smooth
surface. If the crack goes deep enough and in this case, it does I have to remember to
paint the different layers that are used in road production, such as gravel and the ground
itself. When the texturing is finished, I create a new layer above it and correct the lighting
on any objects that stand out. I also repaint some asphalt elements so all the textures are
consistent both with each other, and with areas of the image that are already painted.

Implying depth
9 of field
For the upper part of the asphalt crack I
Make use use the same procedure as before, but
of masks then I notice that planes of different
Remember that depth have started to blend in together.
adjustment layers have
So I reach for a photographic depth of
masks, enabling you to
localise changes to your field effect that basically blurs everything
adjustments. By shifting in front and behind the focus area. This
hues or values and
effect is great for creating a false sense of
masking the effect, you
can easily separate depth in the image, but it must be used
different planes from wisely or it can look gimmicky.
each other. Grouping I separate the foreground into four
those adjustment layers
in folders will give you different layers, depending on their
greater control over their distance from the camera. The uppermost
transparency and asphalt and biomass with all the strings
blending modes.
hanging from above are on the first layer,
because theyre closest to the camera. The
Tackling alien matter
8 Searching for proper values for the Crysis biomass, I place
middle asphalt blocks are on the second
layer, the absolute bottom parts are on
photos of jellyfish on top of an image of sliced meat and play around the third and the higher bottom parts are
with the opacity and blending modes. I start to paint, attempting to on the fourth layer. I apply the Lens Blur
depict differing biomass structures and density in a number of places filter to all of them, with the strongest
by adding subsurface scattering effects and variations in surface gloss. values on the first layer and weakest
This randomness enhances the organic feel of the substance and makes values on the last. If you want to avoid
the viewer feel that it is made from different materials, which are part transparency issues, make sure the areas
of a greater and as yet unseen whole. I also add moist, sticky strips around the layers edges are overlapping
of goo and string everything together, essentially giving the biomass slightly. Because the background is much
a more alien look. I emphasise its organic origins by using different further away from the focus point than
blending modes for yellow/pink hues of colour. Overlay, Soft and the asphalt crack, a single blur depth
Hard Light modes can produce convincing light scattering effects in should be enough. Our depth of field
semi-transparent materials. effect is ready.

Presents Game Art 41

 Character art

12 Adding moving
particles
I need to add some foreground particle
effects. Those include light debris thats
flying all over the place, and small stones
and dirt falling down into the asphalt
crack. Because most of these particles are
going to be out of focus Im using the
same brush I used for background dust,
only with larger texture sampling. Then I
use the basic Smudge tool to add a subtle
motion effect to the debris. It doesnt have
to be too precise just enough to fool the
viewers eye.

13 Carrying out final

adjustments
I make some minor tweaks to the colour
balance. I warm the nanosuit and the
foregrounds colour tone slightly so that
they immediately pop out from the cooler
background, and make a few minor paint

10 Distressing the suit

Because the nanosuit is combat
adjustments. And thats it the image is
done. Over to the marketing team!
g
armour, it should look worn dirty, Start clippin
C) (P
scratched and dented. First I paint a Ctrl+Alt+G
(Mac)
Cmd+Alt+G
dirt layer, using a Clipping Mask over ch es or releases
This at ta
the base suit layer. For the dirt texture I as a clipp ing mask
a layer
lay er thats
use two brushes: one broad with to th e
below it.
smoother edges and one thats slightly
rougher, which produces a subtle noise-
like pattern. You can use any blending
mode for the dirt layer, but I prefer to keep
it on Normal with reduced opacity. I
sample the colour of dirt from all over the
canvas. The next worn layer is dents and
cuts, and just like before I create a Clipping
Mask over the base suit layer. The best way
to create believable dents is to sample light
and dark values in one area and paint
them next to each other while referring to
the light source. I often use dents as a way
to differentiate areas of a uniform surface,
Aim for a such as the strips of nanomaterial on the
unified look shoulders. The final layer is made up of
Consistency in your
images details is key. So hard scratches. Once again I create a
if youre using either Clipping Mask and then paint scratches
stock photography or a
with the Hard Round brush. Most of the
texture that has too
much detail, dont abrasions are on a materials hard edges so
hesitate to reduce this I ensure these are the most visible. I also
using Median or Blur
add a mask to my hard scratches layer and
filters. Applying too
much detail in areas apply a grainy texture for extra realism.
that arent your focal Finally, I add few blinks of light on the
points will do more harm main reflective surfaces, and make some
than good to your image.
minor lighting and colour balance tweaks.

Checking the
11 colour balance
I match the colour balance of the image
with the reference colour palette used in
Crysis 2, using a combination of Colour
Balance and Hue/Saturation adjustment
layers, with masks separating different
planes of the image. I want to achieve a
gloomy, yellowish-bluish cast over the
image that will emphasise the terrible
atmosphere of a city invaded by aliens.

42 Presents Game Art

 Take your digital art
skills to the next level
Latest issue out now!
Available in Print and digital
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 Character art

Design a space
opera princess
A bold personality and readable silhouette help to make a character
memorable. Kevin Chen walks you through the design process

good character design creates theyre storytelling archetypes as well as rendering isnt as important because its

Kevin Chen
A an iconic image that helps to
establish a projects identity,
its storytelling and the clarity
being great interactive avatars that enable
the player to immerse themselves in and
interact with the game world.
the final game model that counts. As
character designers, were the least
expensive way to explore many ideas
Country: US needed for a smooth production. In this Illustrating a character for CG early on and to establish interesting
A freelance tutorial, Ill share some of the design tips production is also slightly different to designs that will help inspire the team
concept artist and working processes Ive learned while creating a print illustration. Our goal is tobe excited about the new project.
and founder designing characters for video games. tocommunicate the design clearly to the My demo for this workshop illustrates
and director
of Concept
Designing for games is different to modeller in terms of form and texture as how Id take a rough design idea from line
Design Academy, Kevins designing for film or animation. The quickly as possible. We often use many to colour finish for early pre-production
recent projects include characters have to play a double role photos to speed up the process, and the pitches. Lets get started!
character and costume
designs for Bulletstorm.
http://ifxm.ag/k-chen
Do some research
get your 1 Before starting the drawing, I like

resources
See page 114 now!
to spend some time thinking about and
researching different ways I can approach
the character. Other than knowing that
shes a princess for a sci-fi project, Im
asking myself questions such as: Who is
she? Where does she come from? What
job does she do? Why is she in the story?
When does the tale take place? Asking
myself these questions helps me get to
know the character better so that I can
come up with some interesting answers
todesign around.

Pose the character

2 I pose a generic mannequin thats
both accurate in its proportions and has
the right gesture to help convey her
personality and attitude. In this case,
Iwant the princess to be proud, so I give
her an arching spine and shoulders to
push her chest out and show her
confidence. When posing a game
character, its a good idea to keep the
limbs away from the body so that theres
aclear view of the design. Classic
threequarter front and back views of
acharacter are ideal for this purpose
because they enable the modeller to see
the most information.

44 Presents Game Art

 Character art

Define the face and body Flesh out the design

3 Personality is paramount when creating a character design: it 5 At this point, I find that the mechanical left arm needs to be clarified, so Im
motivates everything and is what will leave a lasting impression on the sketching some ideas on the right to help resolve the design. The overall costume is
viewer. I want to define my character with a distinctive personality, looking a bit busy, so Im doing a small thumbnail sketch on the left to help me see the
facial structure and body build. Im focusing on making the face big picture more clearly. (Im also thinking about how her blade can break into a whip.)
interesting just through the larger skull structure. I want to give her I usually take at least three design options to this level for the art director to pick from
aEuropean, aristocratic face along with a fencers body type. before I move on to the colour phase with the chosen design.

Think in 3D.
Design in all views

m
Free Transfor
Ctrl+T (PC)
)
Cmd+T (Mac
e top of the
Right-click th
d Warp
selection to ad Mask the character
and stretch an image
over a surface
.
6 To help shorten the clean-up time,
I paint a selection mask so I can separate
the character from the background easily.
I like doing this phase because it helps
me see how well the silhouette of the
character is working without the internal
details. You can do this same process with
the Lasso tool, but I prefer using the brush
because it gives me more control.

Amplify the
animation
Often in a platform
game, youll see a
characters full body as Soft Light
it moves quickly around
the screen. To help the
or Overlay
animation read better,
a common trick is to
have the important
animation areas
amplified in shape, value
or silhouette. This way, it
will echo the animation
Compose the costume Ambient lights
read whenever the
character moves, so the
4 When designing the costume, its important to think of both front and back 7 Using the mask as a selection, I
viewer can track the views especially for a third-person platform title or first-person shooter, where the start to add a gradation to the background
movement easily. A
character is seen from the back for 80 per cent of the game. For clear composition, vary from dark to light. To help the character
good example of this is
Shinobis scarf in the the costume into small, medium and large shapes. This will create a nice stage for the pop, I use a reverse gradation on her. To
eponymous series, which areas of detail to become the focus. The face, hands and upper back of a major game keep the drawing showing through the
enables the player to
character are important areas for player identity, animation and user interface design gradation, I apply the layers with either
follow his whereabouts.
reasons, so you need to take this into account. Soft Light or Overlay.

46 Presents Game Art

 Design a space opera princess
Render the
11 major forms
To help me save time on rendering,
Impainting a cylinder and ball to
superimpose on top of the major body
forms using Soft Light or Overlay. You
cansee them to the left and right of the
character in this image. Using this
technique, I can very quickly establish
thebig masses with light and shadow.
Plan costume in 3 values
Insituations where I need to paint more
quickly and when time is of the essence,
Ill use photographs at this stage of the
process. The photographs provide me
Design the local
8 value pattern
with many subtle details and colour
variations that are time-consuming to
Before I add any fancy lighting, I want to replicate by hand-painting.
paint the character as if shes in ambient
light. This helps to guarantee that shell
look good in both shadow and a well-lit
scene. When designing the local values,
Iuse three values in small, medium and Curves for skin tone
large proportions for clear staging.

Colour
palette

Test the colours

9 I try to use colour palettes that will
evoke an emotion. Im using the royal flag
colours as a base for the design to reflect
her personality and heritage. Its crucial to
organise or desaturate your colour base to
a warm or cool tone so you can stage up
an accent colour. As a general rule, keep
colours simple if you have a sculptural
form and complex if your forms are flat.
Curves
Ctrl+M (PC)
Cmd+M (Mac
)
Quickly vary
saturations
and add neut
ral grey and
saturated sh
adows to
a flesh tone.
Flesh is transparent

10 Begin to create
the flesh tone
I start to rough out the flesh tone to help
me key the rest of the colour saturations
around it. Skin is an interesting material
because its a neutral warm grey sheet that
will take on any colour you shine on it.
Itsalso a transparent material the light 12 Establish the materials
To start the material rendering, I like to first establish the softest and hardest materials. In this case, its
can pass through the fleshy areas, giving the skin and the metallic armour. For skin, I use the Curve tool to help control the saturation of the shadows
it a rich red tone in the shadows. The key and introduce the subtle grey into the skin tone. For the metallic parts I use the Lasso tool to give a clean edge,
to painting a good skin tone is to use the and the Colour Dodge layer to give a nice saturation while I paint the reflective lights on the metallic surface.
red tones only in the fleshy areas.

Presents Game Art 47

 Character art

Design for
gameplay
In game production, the
gameplay experience is
Flesh
the core that all designs
need to follow. When
creating enemies, its
important to give them
a clear shape hierarchy
Gun Metal
so you understand Color Dodge to
create rim light
whos the boss and who
are the grunts. You need Latex
to design with a clear
sense of direction, so the
players know which is
the danger side and
where to find the blind
spot. When designing
main characters, the
back and weapon are Copper or Gold
important because they
often serve as a display
Cloth
for player health and
weapon quantity.

13 Three layers, three materials

Once the extremes are established, I focus on the different materials in between. 15 Adding drama
To give the character a dramatic
For a believable costume design, there are always at least three layers of clothing and feel and make her pop out from the
three types of material present. When I have a hard time indicating a material, I often background, I apply a kicker light behind
paint it separately as a ball to figure out its colours and reflective quality. Once I solve her to give a nice rim light and show off
the rendering problem, I can then colour pick and apply it to my character. her silhouette. To paint the rim light, I use
the Paint Bucket tool to create a black

14 Colour gradations
To help unify the colours further and give a better sense of lighting, I often apply
layer and assign it a Color Dodge layer
property. When I paint a warm white on
another gradation layer over the character and background. In this case, I introduce a top of that Color Dodge layer, it gives
warm to cool gradation to mimic the natural fall-off that occurs in a lighting situation. anice glow effect that mimics the
For lighting up a subtle gradation, Soft Light is my favourite tool to use because it has saturation that happens when strong
avery gentle effect on the colour and value. lighthits an object.

Soft Light

photoshop
custom brush:
Ellipse brush

16 Final adjustments
After a few more tweaks, the design
The Ellipse Brush, set to is ready. Often it takes several revisions to
a spacing of 1,000 per
get a main character approved for 3D
cent, is a simple but
useful tool. I use it often modelling. Once approved, it is standard
to help me clean up to create a material call-out sheet for the
ellipses and cylinders
modeller to reference and a turnaround
onmechanical objects.
drawing to finish the design package.

48 Presents Game Art

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Presents Game Art 49

 Character art

R
ecast a classic
c
omic character
How do you paint a compassionate portrait of DCs villainous Harley
Quinn? Rocksteady concept artist Kan Muftic shows how its done

he world of DCs heroes and and the worlds finest comic book artists

T villains is incredibly rich,

offering a fantastic variety
of interesting characters for
and illustrators have all contributed to
their evolution.
In this workshop, Ill paint a portrait Kan Muftic
any artist. Having the privilege to work of Harley Quinn. Shes famous for her Country: England

on such exciting characters on a daily extreme mannerisms and affection for Kan is a
basis would turn me into a 10-year-old the Joker. What I aim to do is contrast this concept artist
boy every time I sat down at my desk image and present her more personal side. and illustrator
with extensive
at Rocksteady Studios. I pick a moment when shes on her own, experience
Working on countless concepts for lost in her thoughts. The events of in the video game,
Batman: Arkham City has taught me one Arkham City are dramatic and the love film, advertising and
music industries.
thing, though: you cant just go in and of her life, the Joker, is terribly ill. Shes
www.bit.ly/kanm
mess around with these characters. Some changing her outfit and gearing up for her
of them have been around for 70 years upcoming mission.
get your
resources
See page 114 now!

Painter
Standard brushes:
Oil Pastel
Sketching out
2 The first sketch has the strongest
impact, so I crop the image and double
the size (Canvas>Resize>Width 200
Percent) while making sure the Constrain
Following design and
Composition
File Size box is checked. Next I start
This brush was used for 3 adding elements
1 If you want to tell a story with your
picking colours and laying them straight
down on the first and only layer of my
99 per cent of this piece.
I block in some basic design elements
Blender Bristle
image, you have to spend time exploring painting. Its a bit unconventional but of the costume, adding smudged mascara
the composition. In Painter, I take the I have a good reason for doing this: it to her face, which gives a subtle hint to
idea of Harley changing outfits and start keeps me focused, while improving my the games backstory. I also roughly add
roughly sketching some ideas. I dont skills for painting edges and exploring some other elements to the sketch. These
want to make a pretty drawing here (I colours. Ive found that when working will be detailed later I only wish to
never go into any detail at this stage). I with many layers its easy to drift away in position them at this point. I think its
sketch several versions to explore different an endless set of options, and of trial and Another favourite important to avoid fleshing things out
ideas, angles and poses. At this stage, once error. Working with a single layer forces of mine, this creamy too early, because at this stage it should
brush makes digital
Ive created a few sketches, I line them you to carefully think through and still be about exploration and playing
strokes look traditional.
up and submit them for approval. commit to chosen colours and structures. with the paint.

50 Presents Game Art

Recast a classic c omic character

GAMES
ARTIST
Discover mor
e of
work on Rocks Kan Muftics
te
Batman: Arkhaady Studios
m City on
page 13 and
be inspired
by great conc
ept art

Presents Game Art 51

 Character art
Iterative save
Ctrl+Alt+S (PC
)
Cmd+Option+
S (Mac)
A great, simple
way to
save sequen
tially
numbered ve
rsions
of an image.

Fleshing out
6 I feel like Im on the right track
at this point, so I decide to enlarge the
image. The reason for this is that I still
Cropping and blocking in
4 I decided that the image has too much space opposite Harley
want to work in swooshy strokes even in
the detailed areas, and not fall into the
so I crop it. Remember, composition is king in visual storytelling. My habit of scribbling minor details of the
Oil Pastels brushes are working a treat and Im getting some wonderful picture. I start fleshing things out and add
edges, even at this rough stage. When using these brushes I make long, Harleys purple boots that she used to
broad strokes across the canvas. Its a very therapeutic process. wear in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Purple
gives a nice touch to the overall palette.
Moving things around
5 Putting it all together
I realise I have to make some changes to the image. I find that
once you start putting down colours its hard to go back and work on 7 From here on I work on the
Facial expression
your composition again, so its probably best to go back now and get
things right. Using the Lasso tool, I select the left part of the image and
smaller elements of the figure and the
environment. I try not to zoom in 8 I add a cheeky little smile on her
move it away. I then block in Harleys missing shape, which reveals because I dont want to lose the overview face; she looked too angry and slightly out
more of her costume. of the image. I have enough colours on of character before. Again, thinking of the
the canvas, so I can pick them instead overall story of the image always helps
of mixing them from scratch. Still, every you come up with interesting details. Im
stroke is bold and confident. Its crucial to still relaxed and my arm moves loosely
place your strokes into each other instead across my tablet, even when Im creating
of scratching them in or carefully placing intricate details such as the characters
them next to each other. face. Strangely, I produce better strokes
when I just let go.

Edge economy
9 This fancy term edge economy
refers to the relationship between the soft
and sharp edges in a painting. Using Pen
Pressure, I create sharp edges and, as I
slowly lift my pen up, the edges become
soft. Here you can see an example of edge
economy in Harleys hair.

Adding
personality
Painting superheroes is
really good fun, but its
a good idea to make
them as human as
possible. That way, you
give them personality
and the viewer can
identify with them that
much more.

52 Presents Game Art

 Recast a classic c omic character

Seek feedback
If youre getting paid to
draw, that means youre
not drawing for yourself
but for your client. Send
back a lot of progress
shots and request
extensive feedback.
That way, you can make
sure everyone is happy
and you wont need to
change much of your
piece as you go along.

15 Highlights
Clever positioning of highlights and their edges can make or
break an image. Thats why its important to know what materials you
apply the highlight to. In this case, I have a leather corset and that
means that I cant just add some random specular reflections the
surface has a texture that absorbs parts of light and doesnt reflect it in

10 Stockings
These stockings were an iconic part of Harleys outfit in the first game, Batman:
the same way as metal, for example. So my highlights are slightly
smudged and muted, which gives the impression of leather.
Arkham Asylum. As I start blocking them in, I realise that Ive never painted stockings
before. Its a delicate material with a flexible shape, so its not easy to get right. I try
searching for some references online, but find surprisingly few pictures of loose-
hanging stockings. It becomes rather draining browsing through loads of irrelevant and
obscene images to get to the right one! I dont have time to get some real-life reference
so I just try to use common sense and make it up.

The boot
11 I put some details into Harleys
boot design while trying not to destroy it
because I like how the edges look so far.
The material is smooth and shiny, so I use
some nice specular reflections to make it
pop. I try to ensure the boot looks and
feels different from the cloth next to it.

Boost up the contrast 16 The armpit saga

12 I quickly switch to Photoshop
Until now its been easy to get her posture, the facial expression
and the colours right, but Ive been delaying working on this area
and add an Adjustment Layer (Layer> and now its time to solve the difficult armpit/shoulder area. I know Ill
New Adjustment Layer). I push the struggle because Im not exactly sure what the arm looks like behind
contrast up by moving the outer sliders to the obstacle. This is one of those moments where I regret not doing
both ends of the black waves that more figure drawing from life. I push paint around, trying to find
represent tonal information. This could something thatll look right. If you get stuck, do some proper research,
also be done in Painter, using the Equalise shoot some reference photos or ask someone to pose for you. It sounds
function, but I find Photoshop more like a lot of work, but it will take more time to struggle with the
accessible for this stage. mistakes you make if you dont.

13 More details
I change Harleys smile to look 17 The face
After having spent too much time
a bit more natural and add some details painting the armpit, I move on to her face.
such as black nails that help flesh out This is the most interesting part for me:
her character a bit more. I find faces to be challenging but
rewarding if you get them right. Even

14 Corset
Having enriched my image with
though I zoom in, the strokes are still
placed on top of each other loosely. Her
contrast, I switch back to Painter and pick face needs more form but I have to keep
some creamy Blender Bristle brushes from her looking young and pretty. A delicate
the Artists Oils menu. Theyre great for touch is the key here. Sculpting the paint
rendering leathery surfaces and skin, gently gives me the result Im looking for.
so I zoom in a bit and start working on
the structure of Harleys corset. This is one
of the most difficult and time-consuming 18 Outside intervention
Just as Im finishing, my art director asks me to crop the image
parts of the process, and it shows just how Customise ke so that Harley Quinns costume more accurately represents the one she
Edit menu>P ys
important it is to do a lot of drawing of references> wears in Batman: Arkham City. Im happy to do this if it means the
Customize Ke
all kinds of things from life. Painter menu
ys (PC) image is more up to date, and Im sure Harley wouldnt mind
>Preference
>Customize s
Keys (Mac)
Assign your to
ols to
specific keys
. Presents Game Art 53
 Character art

Unify a range of
fantasy genres
Maciej Kuciara shows how to design an iconic heroine, encompassing
several different elements and unifying the concept with colour
or this workshop Ill be guiding and appealing image. Ill take a look hot, badass blonde pilot wielding a

Maciej Kuciara
F you through a few simple
steps on how to create
an interesting and unique
at a couple of different aspects, such as
presentation and brainstorming ideas
into concept sketches. Finally, Ill take
submachine gun, with a katana sword
strapped to her back, riding a tamed
dragon and destroying anything that
Country: Poland character design one thats not tied my preferred sketch through to a stands in her way.
down to any specific genre. Ill try finished image. But there are still issues to overcome.
Maciej is an
art director to break down the boundaries by The subject for this workshop is Ill show you how a strong control of
and concept dropping interesting elements into the a heroine a mistress of all the genres. colour can unify the disparate genre
artist whos
mix and creating a character that unites I have a strong idea in mind of who ideas into one image. Are you strapped
spent six
years working in the contrasting worlds into one consistent she is and how shell look. Shes a in? Hold on tight!
video game and
entertainment design
industries, specialising
Brainstorm
in creating concept art
and matte paintings
1 some ideas
for Crytek and First you need to consider how youre
Naughty Dog.
www.maciejkuciara.com
going to present your character before
you start thinking about specifics
get your such as value, colour and detail.

resources
See page 114 now!
Depending on your chosen subject,
the character design can be shown
either as a standard portrait shot, or
as an action/cinematic shot that puts
our hero/heroine in a specific
situation. Each option has its own
strengths and weaknesses.

Choose the right

2 idea for the subject
Photoshop
Taking a brief moment to sketch
custom brushes:
Hard Soft Edged
a few dirty strokes on paper, or in
Photoshop, will help you to make
your decision. For this workshop
This simple brush I worked up three different sketches
works like a charm for two were passive and active
sketching purposes.
Its opposing sharp and
cinematic shots, and one was
soft edges also help a simple portrait sketch. I tried
to enhance surface to think about different subjects that
specular highlights.
go together well: fantasy, sci-fi, post-
Chalky Textured apocalyptic fallout, vintage and the
modern world.
I found that my third portrait
This simple Chalky brush
is ideal for bringing an
sketch held my attention the most.
oil paint texture into the It gave me the opportunity to show
artwork. It blends nicely interesting costume details, revealing
with paint thats already
part of the heroines environment
on the canvas, so I use it
for blocking out colours. and introducing some welcome
storytelling elements.

54 Presents Game Art

 Character art
References
3 Before I get my hands dirty and Sky
start digging more into my sketch, I co lour
always try to spend some time
researching the subject. I find it helpful
to have a decent collection of photos and
photo-textures on hand when painting.
Because I like my art to have a realistic
look, Im always studying photography
and nature to try to understand the way
light and colour work.
li ght
Work on values
Sun
4 Once Im happy with the story
my sketch is telling, I start to work up
some detail. This helps convince me that
the idea Im planning to work on for the
next couple of hours is heading in the
right direction. I continue building up
values, creating mood and a lighting
scheme that will strengthen the ideas. Bouncing light
I try to put enough detail in black and
white to know where Ill use my colours.
Using a few custom brushes to build up
interesting shapes and patterns helps me
include the key ideas that will evolve in
the colouring and detailing processes.

Time for some colour Custom brushes Pay attention to

5 When Im happy with the values 6 Once the major colour strokes are 7 light sources
and detail in the sketch, I start colouring in place, I continue to add colour on top As I build in the colour, I pay special
the image. For my pilot heroine character of the sketch with my custom brushes. Spot mistakes attention to what my light sources are and
I try to create a lighting scheme that puts I use these brushes to slowly build and Bind the Flip Canvas how the light will play on the character.
option to easily
the viewer in mind of a World War One integrate the colours into the lighting accessible keys. Seeing
In this case Im using strong, sharp and
aerial battle. I add a dramatic sunset that scheme I have in mind. At the same time your canvas in the warm sunlight, combined with a soft,
lights my character with sharp rim I start to fill the mirrored view will reveal cold sky colour, to create ambient light.
composition, value and
highlights. Blue ambient light beaming artwork with detail balance mistakes.
I continue on this path for a while, trying
through the clouds gives the scene a range detail that will to unify the amount of work Ive put into
of contrasting dominant colours: blue/ enhance the the image so that the various elements all
teal and yellow/orange. main character. hold nicely together.

Enhance a
custom brus
h
F5 (PC & Mac)
Edit your custo
m brushs
texture. Selec
t texture
layer, then Ed
it>
Define Patte
rn.

56 Presents Game Art

 Unify fantasy genres

Add details
8 When Im satisfied with the 10 Touch ups
I adjust the colour through Color 11 Final touches
After Im happy with overall colour
amount of detail in the colour values Balance, Levels, Hue/Saturation, Selective grading results, I add a few more touch-
and shapes, I begin to add details into Edit your Colors and Vibrance until I reach ups in areas that could use more detail.
the focal areas. I always like to keep sharp colours something close to what I had in my I also try to fix some of the dirty brush
You can easily tweak
edges and clearly defined textures in or push specific colours mind. I dont limit adjustment layers to strokes I applied in the early sketch stages.
areas that are central to the image. In my that youre not happy general settings instead I play with Finally, I try to make sure that even the
sketch, the focus lies on the character, with by creating a Hue/ Photoshops advanced options, such as dark areas of the image hold some
Saturation adjustment
while the dragons skin and the sky are layer, and choosing the
controlling levels per channel (blue, red, definition. I sample colour from the
kept loose. With this technique, even with colours you want to work green) or hues per colour (green, yellow, darkest values of the image and use a
the intense lighting of the background, with from the drop-down red and so on). I spend time making sure custom Noise layer, which I paint on
menu within the settings.
I can keep the viewer focused on whats You can also tweak the
I end up with colours Im happy with. with my custom brushes.
important in the picture: the character. hard and soft range
for the colour on
which your changes
9 Colour correction will operate.
The image finally has enough
detail to consider it close to being
finished. At this point I usually take a few
steps back and try to gain a fresh
perspective, to see if the result is satisfying
or if it still needs more love. I decide that
Im not yet happy with the colours they
dont fully embrace the idea in my head.
In this situation, I usually try to see if
theres any way to enhance the values and
contrast using the Channels.

Presents Game Art 57

Creature
concepts
Paint expressive
monsters for games

58 Presents Game Art

 Daryl Mandryk
These creations often Having worked in the
entertainment industries
help to inspire the team, since 1999, Daryl has put

or to generate discussion his name to many

projects, including Turok,
within it SSX and TRON. In his
workshop, he reveals
Daryl Mandryk, page 64 some of his secrets to
creating dynamic
creature art. Put your creature in a scene
to inspire the art team.
Turn to page 64

Workshops
How to paint amazing creature art
60 Paint an epic alien battle
with Luke Mancini
Compose a vivid showdown scene
between two alien combatants.
64 Paint dynamic concept
art with Daryl Mandryk
Create an action scene to showcase
your creature design.

See how the Z erg

are painted 60

Presents Game Art 59

 Creature concepts

60 Presents Game Art

 Paint an alien battle

Luke Mancini
Country: US

Luke is an
Australian
concept artist
who moved

Discover how to get close to the action as Luke Mancini across the
world to sunny California

creates a vivid clash between two powerful combatants

to work at Blizzard
Entertainment on the
video game StarCraft 2.
http://ifxm.ag/luke-m
n the real-time strategy game Ive decided to show a single moment in warriors collide, and emphasise the
get your
I StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty,
the player has an isometric
birds-eye view. This works
the midst of a battle. The image is of an
encounter between a Protoss Archon
amassively powerful warrior and the
contrast between the feral, organic power
of the Zerg beast and the pure, focused
energy of the Archon. While battles in
resources
See page 114 now!
wonderfully for masterminding your most terrifying ground unit in the Zerg StarCraft 2 regularly involve hundreds of
opponents defeat, but it can leave swarm, the Ultralisk. units, Ill focus solely on this duel, relying
something to be desired from a more My aim is to capture the unrestrained on close cropping to suggest that theres
dramatic artistic perspective. To this end, energy in the seconds just before the two agreater conflict surrounding them.

Presents Game Art 61

 History Eraser
Holding Alt/Option while
using the Eraser tool
enables you to erase on
your current layer to an
earlier version of your
image you can set the
destination in the History
Tighten the
palette to any point in
your process to clean up 4 underpainting
new work easily. You can
also set your Undo levels
Next, I delete the pale layer and start
quite high and set your refining the colours underneath in a new
History Options to Normal layer to match the decisions Ive
Automatically Create
made with my linework. I start thinking
New Snapshot When
Saving to make full use about the lighting here, although Im not
of this tool. doing anything too dramatic in that
regard in this image. I want a general sun
Rough it in
1I start with a quick rough sketch to get the composition sorted out, and after
light over most of it, with the energetic
blue glow from the Archon supplying a
doodling a bit I settle on a shot that gives the two characters a roughly even presence in dramatic second light source.
the image, while still emphasising their dramatic difference in scale. I keep my strokes
Begin to paint
broad and loose at this stage to try to capture the energy that Ill aim to maintain all the
way to the final composition. 5 Now I begin the stage that takes up most of the work in an
image such as this rendering it! I start painting over the top of the
tighter lines, trying not to go too high with highlights. Im focusing
on getting the forms reading right at this stage. Its better to get this all
worked out first and then add your brighter specularity andlighting
later, to make sure it stays consistent.

Lay colour in early

2 I already have a fairly strong idea of where I want to go in terms of colour, but
I need to lay it in as early as I can to see if its going to work. I darken the sketch layer so
it receives colour better, and then block in my first pass on a Linear Light layer. The
blending mode I use here varies from piece to piece, but will always be an Overlay type
because this enables you to push lights and darks with the colours youre using.

Start working in
3 some of the details
Once the basic colour stage is complete,
Igo back in to add some more details
overthe top. Since the rough sketch that
Idrew of the Archon and Ultralisk in the
Continue to flesh
first step is so basic, some more decisions
about the design and composition need 6 out the details
to be taken before I can make a start on I normally try to avoid painting in effects
the painting proper. I add a white layer so early in an image, but considering that
ataround 80 per cent opacity, just to be the Archon is a being of pure energy,
ableto see where Im drawing, and then some of that needs to be taken into
Ibegin to flesh out the characters details account at this stage. To that end, I
in linework. At this early stage in the compromise between rendering some of
painting, Im still not going too far with his armour as if lit by the general scene
the detail Im focusing on the main light, and having the rest illuminated by
points of interest and leaving it looser his own glow and silhouetted by the
towards the extremities. bright cloud of energy.

62
 Copy merge
d
Shift+Ctrl+C
(PC)
Shift+Cmd+C
(Mac)
Separate, tra
nsform
and adjust are
as of a
layered imag
e without
flattening it.

10 Details and light

Now its time to go back and finish
off the rendering on the Ultralisk and pull
the piece together. On a new Normal
layer I add specular highlights and finish
details such as his eyes, teeth and some
Work out the background
7 Before I start on the effects stage I want to get the image feeling more whole, so
extra spikes. I also add some secondary
blue lighting from the Archons energy,
Imove on to the background in order to pull it together. With a smeary opaque brush which helps to pop his face and upper
and judicious use of the Smudge tool to keep a sense of movement, I roughly paint in shell out from the background.
the swirling energy around the Archon and the hooked claws of the Ultralisk, which
Final effects
form something of a frame for the centre of the piece.
Photoshop
11 Using two new Effects layers with
the same Linear Dodge layer properties as
custom brushes:
Smear earlier, I add the rest of the energy effects:
the Archons bolt of psionic lightning,
thetransparent tendrils extending from
I use this to paint clouds, his armour, and a second pass of blue
glows and effects. This
lighting across the Ultralisk. Again, its
soft, oily brush gives
a subtly painterly feel important here to use dark colours in this
thats a great choice for layer so that these effects dont wash out.
creating backgrounds
and blending.

Square

The angle jitter on this

brush can give more life
and texture to your
painting than a regular
round brush. I use this
brush for the majority of
the painting in this piece.
Get energised
8 Once the Archons armour and basic cloudy glow are all painted in, I can start
working on the psionic energy that surrounds him. I use a new layer set to Linear Dodge,
with a dark blue Outer Glow also set to Linear Dodge, to start painting in the energy
lines on his armour. Depending on the colour underneath it, a Linear Dodge layer can
be very harsh, so I stick to dark blues at this stage to stop it blowing out to white.

Pushing the
9 Archons energy
When Ive got the surrounding glow
painted just how I want it, I start to work
on the energy that forms the Archon. This
creature embodies the pinnacle of the
Protosss psionic technology, so the
energy is a key feature. Using the same
layer, I paint in his hands and the power
arcing off and between his armour
plating. At this stage, I also use the 12 Tweak, texture and sharpen
As a finishing touch, I add a low opacity Overlay concrete
Gradient tool set to dark blue at a very texture over the image to provide some grain, and use a Levels
lowopacity to push the saturation Adjustment layer. I mask off both of these to be stronger over the
aroundthe character. This helps to Ultralisk, where the contrast needs to be pushed further. The last step
emphasise the brightness of the Archons isto flatten the image and apply a light Unsharp Mask filter, which
glowing energy, so he seems to really pop tightens the edges and some small details. This can be important if you
out of the page. have usedsofter brushes in the painting process.

63
 Creature concepts

Daryl Mandryk paint dynamic

concept art
Country: Canada

Daryl has
worked in the
entertainment
industry for
over 11 years,
first as a 3D modeller
and texture artist, then
as a concept artist. His
clients include EA. Daryl Mandryk shows you how to get imaginations fired up
as you take a game scene idea from sketch to completion
www.mandrykart.com

get your
resources
See page 114 now!

64 Presents Game Art

 Paint dynamic concept art

orking in the games industry In this workshop Ill develop a quick to help give your image a photographic

W developing concept art, part

of my job is to visualise
moments in a game. These
doodle from scratch then develop it into
a finished product ready for presentation
toa client. Ill take you through the steps
feel and find out why more detail isnt
always better.
You dont need to be an expert in
creations often help to inspire the team, I use to flesh out an idea and, as I go, Ill Photoshop to follow this workshop in
or generate discussion about the project. share my thought processes regarding fact, many of the concepts explored here
Sometimes these ideas will be provided idea development, composition and will transfer over to any program you
by others, and sometimes youll be asked colour. Youll also see how Icreate the happen to work in. So open up your
to come up with things on your own. lighting for my scene, learn a simple way favourite software and lets begin

Presents Game Art 65

 Creature concepts

Maintain
momentum
Paint as much as you can
in one sitting. If you
constantly start and stop
a painting, itll take you
a long time to finish it
and youll end up losing
creative momentum.
Take the time to really
get absorbed by the
Make a quick start The finished sketch Try to work the
painting process. This
approach will also teach
1 with abstract forms 3 Im happy with the composition 5 whole painting
you to work more quickly For this image, I imagine a moment in and dont have to make any drastic I tend to zoom out and work on the image
and efficiently.
myhead. When I dont have a specific changes, so I continue to flush out the as a whole, picking out areas that need
idea or brief that Im working towards, sketch and quickly paint in a face for the attention and tightening them up a little
Ilike tostart very loosely, almost painting monster. This might change later on, but before bouncing around somewhere else.
in an abstract manner. I try to get because its a focal point of the image its This keeps me from getting too obsessed
something on the canvas quickly, just important to get something in there with a certain area and lets me see the big
using a few different texture brushes, quickly to set the mood. Im keeping the picture. I add another character, who is
exploring and trying to see something image greyscale for now taking colour being smashed by the giant fist. I really
emerge from the fog. When I think I find out of the process early on can simplify want tosell the impact and capture the
something in the shapes, I know I'm things and help you concentrate on just action. Imake a mental note to add more
ready to move on to the next stage. If building a good composition. dust and debris at a later stage.
nothing appears then I'll just keep
exploring in this way until something
does. Its okay to take your time here;
eventually an idea will spark but
sometimes it just takes a while.

Composition and
2 idea development
I start to see an image in my head of what
this could be, so now I choose a standard Colour is added through a
chalky brush and start refining a few
areas. I picture an angry monster laying
combination of many layers
waste to an unfortunate adventuring
photoshop party. This could be a boss encounter that
First colour washes Use dramatic lighting
custom brush:
Dust brush
the party isa bit too low level to take on.
This early on, the details arent important 4 Digital tools make adding colour 6 I try to keep my lighting dramatic
Im just trying to make sure the big easy. Here, I use a combination of several and interesting. This usually means strong
shapes and composition feel correct, and Colour and Overlay layers to quickly add lights that are at a pleasing angle to the
This is a versatile brush offer a sense ofmovement and action. life to the painting and establish a basic subjects, and cast good shadows. Idont
that can be used for
There will be plenty of time to detail and palette. It isnt exactly what I want but its feel its necessary to light the entire scene
many different effects.
For this image, I used render later on, but for now I just keep a good base to work from. Colour can be instead, Ill have certain areas fadeout
it to create the dust things sketchy and messy. Im most very tricky and I find it evolves as the into darkness or fog. I try to use lighting
clouds,as well as some
interested in creating a strong base to painting progresses I treat it the same as a tool to guide the viewers eye and
atmospheric effects.
work from. way as any other part of the painting. highlight the focal points of the image.
Also, lighting is the best tool you have to
describe form, so if something is feeling a
bit flat, cast some light on it to help it pop
off the page.

Primary directional light

Thinking about overall composition here Secondary point light

66 Presents Game Art

 Paint dynamic concept art
Inverse
selection
Ctrl+Shift+I (PC
)
Cmd+Shift+I
(Mac)
Paint within an
d around
aselection qu
ickly.

10 Spell special effects

I mock up some special effects for
the heros magic blast. I draw a pattern
in 2D and use the Free Transform tool
(Ctrl+T) to position it where I need to.
Check the composition
7 I quickly flip the image (Image>Edit>Flip Horizontal) to see if it worksin
I mess around with some layer effects and
overlay layers to give it a magical glow.
reverse. If the composition is strong, it should work just as well when mirrored or upside
Add debris
down. Iusually flip the canvas a number of times as I work, to give myself a fresh
perspective on things and check for errors. I tend to wait until the very end of a painting 11 I try to imagine the forces of cause and effect in the image.
to make a final decision on whether to keep it as is, or mirror it. There are really no rules Iwant the viewer to feel the force of the impact, so I paint in some
here andI just pick what seems the most natural to me. blocky shapes and then add Motion Blur (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur)
to give the impression theyre being sprayed upwards. Little touches
such as this can really help to give your images a photographic feel.

Push the light Add atmosphere

8 I make a new Curves Adjustment 9 I want to create a bit of distance
layer and brighten everything up a bit. and scale, so I pick a big, blobby airbrush
Then I fill the box beside the layer (the and start lightly painting in some foggy
Layer Mask) with black to hide the layers atmosphere here and there. I do this on
contents. With a Soft Airbrush selected, I anew layer so I can easily dial it back if
can go back in and start to paint white in Ioverdo it. This also functions as a form
the mask channel to reveal the brightened
layer. This is a good technique to brighten
of contrast control adding a layer of fog
brings the values of the paint below it 12 Perspective puddles
I use the Lasso tool to make some
certain areas of your painting in a non- closer together, reducing contrast and quick selections to paint within. These
destructive fashion. Its more of an image- pushing it backwards in space. Using this Actions are will be puddles of water on the ground.
editing technique than a painterly technique, I can pick out parts of the your friend They serve a dual purpose: they help to
Use custom actions to
approach, but I believe in using whatever image that I want to jump forward, such automate time-intensive
give the ground more interest, and
tool gets the result you want. Try it out. as the monsters knee. tasks. For example, if you smaller puddles in the background work
have a set of brushes you to push the space back, and help to sell
like to use for specific
tasks, make an action
the illusion of a 3D space.
that loads them with one
keystroke. Another good
example is making an
action to flip the canvas
horizontally, which I do
all the time. The seconds
you save add up when
you find yourself doing
the same thing a
thousand times.

Presents Game Art 67

 Creature concepts
h
Scroll throug
layers
Mac)
Alt+[,] (PC &
yer tab on my
I keep my La
nitor, so
secondary mo
select
Ican quickly
.
various layers

13 Use photographs
Here and there I like to composite 16 Dont overdo it
While detailing an image I constantly remind myself not to overdo it. This figure
parts of photographs into the image. is in motion and, although hes close to the camera, how much detail would your eye
These are either pictures Ive taken myself really pick up? If I were to go crazy and detail out every last bit of armour, the result
or photos Ive found online. Theyre a would be stiff and unappealing. Sometimes you just need to get across the impression
quick way to add detail in certain areas of something and the viewers mind will do the rest.
that would otherwise take too long to
paint, and in production these little
timesaving tricks are very important.

14 Put in dust and light

I add some more dust, filling the bottom left of the image,
andstart to play with the strong light coming from the side. I use an
Overlay layer to show some of the light-bleeding effect. I try to imagine
the light travelling through all the dust and debris thats being kicked
up, and the way it would scatter in the scene. Its a tricky balance the
light should be diffuse enough to suggest atmosphere, but bright
enough to suggest daylight.

17 The home stretch

One way I know my painting is 18 Fresh perspective
A day later, I make some final
nearly done is that the law of diminishing adjustments to the focal points of the
returns starts to kick in. Brushstrokes are image the monsters face and the elf
having less and less impact, so eventually wizard. I dont necessarily add more
it just feels like Im overworking things if detail; instead, I want to concentrate on
Icontinue. Now is a good time to put the making sure their designs read well and
painting aside for a day or two, and look are strong contrasts to one another.
at it later on with fresh eyes. Ill usually WhenIm satisfied with these last
see something I want to change. changes, Icall the painting done.

15 Refine the image

I start to feel like everything is in
place and working well together. Now
much of the painting process turns to
refining and improving my ideas. I start
to add some details to the elfs armour
and begin to think about how to refine
the design. Its time to tackle the
microissues in the painting but Im
constantly zooming out and checking to
make sure everything still holds together.

68 Presents Game Art

 essential art
resources
Videos, images, brushes
and more are available
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editions!

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Environment
painting
Master the rules of
composition for
better art

Knowing the landscape of

the real world helps to create
better environment art
Jung Park, page 76

70 Presents Game Art

Jung Park
The awarding-winning
concept artist, who has
worked on God of War
III, Starhawk and Guild
Wars 2, shows how to
create a unique video
game environment to
establish a scene for
gameplay designers.
Create an exciting, believable
video game environment.
Turn to page 76

Workshops
How to paint original game worlds
72 Make a setting feel
believable with Robh Ruppel
How to guide a player in your world
with Uncharted 3s leading artist.
76 Establish the scene of a
game with Jung Park
The God of War III artist shows you
how to paint an emotive, real scene.
82 Introduce unique visuals
with Stephan Martiniere
Add story elements to your
environment painting.
84 Visualise a game world
with Joe Sanabria
See how one of the key locations
from Fallout: New Vegas was made.

Learn to create
playable game
worlds 84

Presents Game Art 71

 Environment painting

Turn a street into a compelling game

location by following the expert advice
of Robh Ruppel, as he shows how
to generate rich, detailed scenery

Robh Ruppel
Country: US

Robh designs ts a common misconception work out the details. In this section, ofwhat we do involves making these
for films,
video games,
theme parks
and print
I that concept work is all about
blue-sky problem solving
meaning that anything goes.
which is based on Yemen, the player races
across the bridge but shouldnt be able to
leap down. The designer added long bars
lookalive, purposeful and believable.
In this tutorial, Ill show you how to
setthe scene for a video game. I start by
campaigns. His clients This couldnt be further from reality, as anindicator that gameplay needed to creating a rough layout, then lay in some
include Naughty Dog.
because most design work has some kind be blocked here, but none of the details textures and add background detail,
www.robhruppel.com
of restriction involved. were worked out thats our job as artists. before refining the image with lights and

get your Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception is Thedesigners finetune the playing set dressing. Along the way, youll also

resources
See page 114 now!
arealistic game, in that most of the
locations are based on real places. These
experience and we figure out how to
make it look intriguing. This simple
seehow I give life to a scene through the
extra little details, making the location
are heavily researched before we begin to model is called a blockmesh, and a lot look more vibrant and inhabited.

72 Presents Game Art

 Make a setting feel believable

Rough draft Lay in textures

1 Before I start the painting, the first 2 I start laying in textures but they
step towards creating my scene is to make need modifying: details have to be added,
avery quick colour rough. This sets in my taken out and repainted. Working flat
More texturing
mind the mood, colour, time of day and
tonality required for the final image, and
helps to speed up that part, and then
theyre tipped in using a range of 3 Here you can see my first pass on the texture on the underside of
means I dont spend hours floundering transform tools mostly Free Transform, the buildings on the left; I also add more to the right side of the image.
and searching for the right look. Now that Perspective and Warp. No photo texture Theres no easy way to do this other than painstakingly adding and
I have the rough in place, everything I do isever spot on, and once theyre tipped in adjusting until you achieve the look youre after. Have patience,
after this has a clear goal. the depth will need to be readjusted. though, because your hard work will pay off eventually.

Presents Game Art 73

 Environment painting

Add the fence

4 This is my solution for the wrought
iron fence: its ornate but pointy to
Let there be light
discourage the player from scaling it.
Istart with a flat design that, once the 7 Now I can turn on the sets of
section is set, I duplicate and add to until hanging lights that I added in the
Ihave a full-length structure. Then I use previous step. A radial gradient set to
Free Transform to fit the perspective of Color Dodge gives them a nice glow and
Flatten the image
the scene. You can also see the beginning
of the stairs on the right. The tonality is
adds to the atmosphere of the scene. Light
travels so, once theyre lit, I need to add 9 I add more details on the stairs,
critical: if they feel real in this version, the effect on the pavement below. This is and at this point the file is over 1GB in
the details will just enhance them later. done on an airbrushed layer set to Screen. size. Ifeel good about my progress so
Iflatten and rename it, then continue to
Work with The occlusion pass Create the car
your grids
Always check your
5 Next I work on some more details, 8 I want an older European model
add more levels. One disadvantage to
painting everything flat is that when you
perspective against the adding pipes, beams and supports to the ofcar, so I use Googles library and make tip it in perspective, the depth is thrown
grids you make. Solidity
and believability come
buildings. Most of these are stroked paths a simple render inside SketchUp for off. I go back in and add thickness to the
from consistency and to which I add a little light and shadow. perspective. All the reflections and details cobblestones and pavement trim: these
thats based on the forms Then its time for an occlusion pass. will be painted in later. Adding the stairs extra steps sell the reality of the image.
working with your
Occlusion is the subtle darkening that needs precision and care, so drawing and
established vanishing
points. Remember that
this affects everything
happens when surfaces meet and the
lightrays bounce less and less between
perspective are the next things I need to
concentrate on. I work out all the stairs 10 Set dressing
So far its just a lot of flat planes
from the thickness of
them. I do some simple airbrushing on thicknesses in perspective by using paths and textures it needs life! My typical
awall to its texture.
aseparate layer, set to Multiply. to accurately lay them out. procedure is to work in flat shapes first,
and then add modelling,
texture and so on. I block
in bins, boxes and other
elements you might find
in a real location.

More details
11 Keeping the solidity of the simple
geometric shapes in mind, I add lighting
and detail to the objects on the pavement.
This is all very loosely
done and indicative, but
the illusion makes it seem
like theres more going
onthan there really is.
e
Distort mod
C)
Ctrl+T, Ctrl (P Hanging lights
Cmd+T, Cmd
(Mac)
Transform
6 Once thats done I can begin
Bring up the
, then hold adding the hanging lights, which will
tool, transform
d to flip
down Ctrl/Cm bestrung in a few rows between the
de.
to Distort mo
buildings on the left and right of the
image. Ill be using lots of them, so this is
not the time to make things complicated
for myself: the wire is a stroked path and
Ikeep things simple by making one bulb
and duplicating it. I take some time
placing them correctly in the scene. Im
still thinking about other aspects of the
composition as a whole at this stage, and
Iadd the shadow in the foreground
wherethe car will go later on.

74 Presents Game Art

 Make a setting feel believable

14 Add lighting effects

Here are the streetlights blended 17 Hand painting
Its time to add the group of people standing in the street and
into the scene with some lighting effects the effect of the lights on the ground. Lots of hand painting marries
and subtle modelling added. I take the characters into the scene. Its worth remembering that no reference
particular care to get the perspective right, is ever perfect a good artist sweats these details.

12 Wear and tear and to consider the viewers eye as I do so.

I continue to add set dressing,
which helps to make the environment
I use a little Transform Warp to get the
ellipse of the lamp to seem as though its 18 Give it character
Next, I add another character in
look inhabited and therefore more above our eye level. the foreground. I keep all the people
realistic. You can see bits of paper and looking into the picture theyre there for
other rubbish on the pavement, and I
alsowork on some subtle wear and tear 15 Work on the car
Its time to make that car sit in
scale and ambience, and this stops the
viewer focusing on their personalities.
on the road. This is all hand painted. the scene. First, I add the reflections Thisis primarily an environment study.
having drawn a lot of cars at art college, Also, theres a subtle three-point

13 The streetlights
Now I add the streetlights, using
this is pretty easy to fake. I also darken
it down the sides and add the reflection
perspective going on here that I have to
conform to. The broad strokes sell it and
the same workflow as before. I design the of the light sources. Then I make a the details support it. You need both!
light flat, work out the basic colour value subtle perspective shift based on my
and then tip it in perspective and add grids to finally tweak the object into the
modelling, lighting and so on. Theres perspective of the scene.
more set dressing too some electrical
conduits along the shops on the left. I use
the same procedure here as for the pipes. 16 Distant detailing
I correct the perspective on the red
awning and begin to add distant details
such as adverts, posters, trucks, cars and
pedestrians, all of which flesh out the
scene. None of these can be faked or done
haphazardly because that will blow the
illusion. This is where a lot of artists dont
follow through and the work ends up
looking illconceived or unfinished. I add
far away lights, making sure they recede
inthe distance and maintain the same
height asthe foreground ones.

Find a layer 19 The final image

When Ive made the finishing
V, Ctrl-click (P
C) touches to the environment and the
V, Cmd-click
(Mac)
In Move mode
(V), foreground character, my image is
Ctrl/Cmd-cli
something to
ck on complete. Heres the final piece with all
instantly
find its layer. my grids turned on, so you can see
howthey relate to the composition.
Solidity and believability are grounded
inconsistency, so makesure your
perspective is correct.

Presents Game Art 75

 Environment painting

Establish the
scene of a game
Jung Parks expert advice will ensure your concept
art really sells the setting of your proposed game
art of my day job at Sony you produce different kinds of concept

Jung Park
P involves coming up with
environment art for video
games. Presenting my ideas
art. Thinking too much about your image
can slow your progress, and makes the
painting look stiff and boring. I guess its
Country: US
to either external clients or Sonys art the same for character art, in which youre
South Korean- directors isnt always easy, but coming up using silhouettes to come up with
born Jung has with cool design and fresh, unique interesting shapes. Simply pushing and
spent the past
eight years
images in the first place is easily the most pulling your values enables you to create
working as a challenging part of the whole process. the illusion of depth.
senior concept artist Nothing is more daunting than starting My inspiration comes from looking at
on a range of titles,
with a blank canvas. photographs and watching movies, and
including Guild Wars and
God of War III. I believe that any successful concept studying organic matter. Knowing the
www.jpconceptart.com starts with visualising an abstract shape. landscape of the real world helps to create
I usually start by throwing down large better environment art, and in this
get your brush strokes here and there to create workshop the process will be aided by the
resources
See page 114 now!
volumes and shape the environment,
without straying too far from the clients
use of different Photoshop brushes and
lighting to define the space and mood of
brief. Painting abstract shapes can help the composition.

76 Presents Game Art

Establish a games scene

Presents Game Art 77

 Environment painting

Paint abstract shapes Introduce colours

1 I explore the canvas by painting abstract shapes with big texture 3 I start adding some colours to my black and white sketches. I decide that a colour
brushes while keeping to my basic idea for the image. Texture brushes palette that implies metal and a rusted bronze material is suitable for my steampunk
help to break up the large, flat areas on a blank canvas, and I use factory environment. I also introduce a human figure just to show the scale of the
between five and six different brushes to add visual noise. This step building. As you can see, I have layered images of background, mid- and foreground
helps me to get a feel for the painting. Its important to keep the elements; I keep these aspects separate when painting because its easier to see the
thumbnail size small at this stage: I rarely zoom into the image, images depth of field.
instead preferring to see the overall shape and concentrate on creating
a decent amount of contrast.

Photoshop Draw a rough sketch

Custom brushes: 2 After playing around with the
Sketching brush
abstract shapes, I start to roughly develop
my scene. My favourite fantasy setting is
Great for a painterly feel.
steampunk, and Im keen to paint
Note: the default Round something from the genre so I decide to
Brush looks too digital! depict the exterior of a lava processing Color Balanc
Ctrl+B (PC) Cm e
factory. Im pretty satisfied with my Use this to ac
d+B (Mac)
Texture Brush cess the Color
sketches that I have because I already have Balance menu
, which will
large, medium, and small shapes. You help you to ch
ange
colours on yo
will probably want to have these different ur
I use this brush at the image quickly.
sizes of shapes when you start painting
start of a painting to
create textures and images, to make your environment more
Adding to the mood
introduce levels of noise. interesting. Im pleased at how the shapes
are laid out. Sometimes these shapes also 4 The colour thats present is essentially monochrome, so I want to introduce
Smoke brush
define the scale of the look, but at this some warm colours originating from underneath the factory. Its an industrial building
stage Im not locked into this design. that handles red-hot materials so I primarily use yellows, oranges and metallic shades.
This brush enables me to Instead of getting stuck with what I have This injects mood into the piece and gives it a dramatic voice. Here, Ive overlaid a grid
paint softer edges or right now, I keep on exploring the onto my image to ensure the perspective is correct. A lack of realism can seriously
smoothen areas that painting until I get a result that I want to undermine your artwork. If I didnt check the perspective now, Id only waste time
look too hard.
develop further. trying to correct it later.

78 Presents Game Art

 Establish a games scene

Vary your
shapes
Its crucial to include
large, medium, small
and more detailed
shapes in any painting
of an environment. Every
design that you see in
the real world be it a
computer, phone, printer
or even a house has
those shapes in the
design. If you start
introducing too many
similar sizes of shapes
into your image, itll end
up looking boring and
even cartoony.

Painting pipe details

5 Many modern industrial buildings feature pipes and ducts, so I start to add some
pipes to the factory exterior to make the painting more realistic. Previously, I noticed
that the building was mostly made up of large shapes there arent enough smaller
elements, and the introduction of the pipes is the solution. I flip the image frequently to
check for mistakes and to ensure that it is well balanced.
Stepping into the focal point
7 I realise that theres no focal point to the image. The focal point
is an area that needs to contain more contrast and is the point that I
want the viewer to see first. It needs to be eye-catching and interesting.
So I add a bright light to the lava thats dripping down from the dome-
shaped machine. In this way I can tell a story: this is the area where the
lava is processed. Getting a feel of when to use different brushes is
always important, so you can get the most out of them. Here, I use the
Soft Cloud Brush to create smoke from the lava.

Masking the shape The Warp tool

6 Masking the shapes while you paint is important, because itll save you time and 8 Having my perspective grid turned on helps me to find mistakes,
help to create both clean and soft edges. Its also a good habit to get into. You might if any. The ellipse on the harvest machine seems a little off I want to
think that this step takes too long and is rather boring, but in fact it will save you time give it more contrast. So I use the Warp tool to correct this (Edit>
in the later stages of the painting. Transform>Warp). This is one of Photoshops most useful tools.

Presents Game Art 79

 Environment painting

Check your
values
Create a New
Adjustment layer of Hue/
Saturation and place it
on the layer to check
your values regularly
values are the key to
creating believable
environments. As long as
your values work in your
image, youll produce
Check the Navigator palette
9 Once Im satisfied with the progress Im making, I start zooming in to add details
awesome visuals no
matter how badly you
colour them! I always
Lighten layers
to different areas that I want to work on. At this stage its important to have your
Navigator palette open. Otherwise you can end up overworking certain parts and
remind my students to
check their values.
11 I want to have a little bit more lava
upsetting the balance of the painting. Always keep the big picture in mind, even when dripping down in the background, so I
youre working on the smaller elements. I also try to follow the values of the area where duplicate the image and transform it into
Im painting, otherwise itll mess up the entire value structure. a smaller version. Then I choose the
Lighten layer mode to create noise in the
background. This will save me a lot of
time rather than recreating each lava flow.
This technique comes in useful when you
want to pop out some light areas.

12 More dynamism
When I started painting this image it was a two-point

10 Add real-world details

I realise that the image has too many hard-edged shapes, so I add some
perspective view. I now realise that its not dynamic enough, so I
transform the whole image into three-point perspective view
decorations such as wires, screw bolts and fences to the surfaces. These decorations will using the Distort tool (Edit>Transform>Distort). This introduces
give life to my painting. As I work, Im still trying to maintain my focal point while a more active camera view the viewer is now in the scene,
letting other areas fade away throughout the environment. looking up at the factory.

80 Presents Game Art

 Establish a games scene

Curves dialog
Ctrl+M (PC)
Cmd+M (Mac
)
Quickly acce
ss the Curves
screen when
altering your
images brigh
tness
and contrast.

13 Painting light rays

I still feel that the environment is too dark, so I decide to introduce a secondary
light source. I create five soft brush dots, then transform them and make them look like
vertical light beams. It enables me to paint light coming down from the sky. Again, I set
the layer mode to Lighten and erase out the part where the light doesnt hit. It gives the
Almost there...
painting a more natural feel. In this way, I can have nice highlights on top of the
harvesting machine, which redefines the space and shape. 15 To make the building look more imposing and reduce the sense
of emptiness, I add bridges high up above the factory floor. Even
though Ive added them at this late stage I still try to make them look
very subtle by using values that are appropriate for the area, so they
dont change the whole composition of the painting. Right before I
finish the painting, I notice that my image seems a little sharp and has
too much noise. So I apply filters and use Smart Blur tools to soften
some of the edges; I also erase some areas that need a more clean and
sharpened edge.

Use the Marquee tool 16 Finished!

14 Ive already mentioned the importance of having hard and soft edges in painting.
After eight hours work Im quite happy with how the image has
turned out. Once I tackle one side of the factory I can develop more
Because the harvesting machine is one of my main focal points, I want it to have more designs of the industrial space through the use of different viewpoints.
crisp and sharp edges on top of the dome area. So I select the Elliptical Marquee tool For instance, painting the scene from the top of the factory would take
and place it exactly on the area I want to change. Then I can paint it cleanly and in the surrounding land, resulting in a totally different painting yet one
introduce some highlights. that stays true to the original concept of a lava processing plant.

Presents Game Art 81

 Environment painting

Composition considerations
This is my first step towards establishing the composition

contrast,
of a ship graveyard. I often think of an environment as a
two-dimensional abstract painting: this helps tackle

l li gh t esta blish es
mass, colour and balance of shapes rather than details.
Natura to plac e sh a d ows in
e
Negative spaces are as vital as positive spaces. Im careful
to overlap shapes without cluttering the scene.
m
enabling s and draw the viewers
certain areahere it s needed.
attention w

Introduce
unique visuals
get your
resources
See page 114 now!

Stephan Martiniere hints at events to come with

this exclusive look at his concept art for RAGE
n the second half of our game landscape and introduce new This particular painting was the first

Stephan
I RAGE I wanted to introduce
something visually different.
As the tension in the story
architectural elements not seen in the
other part of the world, as well as
reinforce the games post-apocalyptic feel.
one to introduce and explore the visual
language such as mood, light, texture and
detail that would define the second part
Martiniere
Country: US builds up I was keen for the environment I started from the idea of dried-up of the game. This image was also a
to reflect that tension and give the player seabeds and imagined devastated narrative exploration; I tend to consider
Stephan is art a sense of danger. The clear blue sky from coastlines and ruined shipyards. A the visuals and the gameplay intricately
director on id
Softwares earlier in the game gradually changes and graveyard of boats seemed like a great connected. As such, the visual vocabulary
latest game, is overshadowed by ominous dark clouds, idea: carcasses of cargo ships buried in the is used for aesthetic purposes, but is also
RAGE. while the sand colour shifts from beige to sand would replace canyon walls and give used to instil a broader and more
www.martiniere.com
red. I also wanted to open up the the player a new visual experience. immersive feeling.

82 Presents Game Art

 Unique visuals

Natural light

Natural light How I create

a metal
canyon

1 Warning signs
Graffiti and tags are a big part of
the RAGE landscape: they are the
territorial markings of the many bandit
clans infesting the land. From a
gameplay standpoint they can give the
player some clues and warnings, but
they also serve to bring colour accents
to the monochromatic palette.

Visual flow
In RAGE you walk, run, fight and shoot, but
you also drive, and so its important to
establish a composition that enables the
player to quickly understand and navigate
their surroundings. I also choose to use a
variety of boat pieces to create visual
diversity in scales and shapes. This helps
Vehicular activity
make the area more natural and interesting.
2 Other details such as tyre marks
are a good visual clue to tell the player
where to go, as well as introducing
human presence. Detail such as oil stains
or rubbish give the scene scale and also
add realism and narrative.
Research and
references
The first step is to undertake some research.
I spend several days looking for references
of ships and deserts, and anything that
relates to the ideas I have in mind for the
scene. I never take
anything for granted.
There are some
incredible references
on the web or in
books and Im
Down to size
always looking
for something that
3 I always include a character or a
recognisable element to set the scale.
will surprise and
Sometimes several elements might be
inspire me as well
necessary when the scene is complex.
as the player!

Presents Game Art 83

 Environment painting

visualise a
game world
Speedpaints are vital for giving direction to the team
thats working on a game, as Joe Sanabria explains
orking on a real-life video right message, and a speed concept

W game like Fallout: New Vegas

can throw up odd demands.
My role as art director is to
usually does wonders for getting a team
heading in the right direction.
In this workshop Ill detail the steps I Joe Sanabria
offer direction to the team and define the used to create this concept of the main Country: US

final look for everyone to work towards. entrance of The Strip in Fallout: New Joe Sanabria
During production of a game its not Vegas. Ill also demonstrate how its is a 15-year
unusual to rely on visual reference from important to create the scene a player will veteran of
the games
various sources, such as Flickr, books and see as they play the game. This is useful
industry. He
DVDs, to communicate an idea. for the whole team to see, and to get a feel dropped out of college
However, there are times when a more for what the final in-game experience as a physics major and
moved to southern
direct image is required to deliver the should feel like.
California to focus on a
career in art. Currently
Joe is an art director at
Through the Composing the scene Obsidian Entertainment,
1 players eyes 2 I use the traditional rule of thirds
busy working on Fallout:
New Vegas.
My first step is to work on a rough sketch. and place the focal point in the upper http://ifxm.ag/j-sanabria
To approximate an in-game view I create a right quadrant. At this early stage I think
new image at one-quarter-size of 1080 of ways to frame the sign in an interesting get your
pixels. My goal is to visualise the gate from
the players perspective and, in the time
and appealing way. Working quickly and
loosely to flesh out the idea, I try to avoid
resources
See page 114 now!
allocated to me, I need to focus on the sweating the little details otherwise they
critical parts rather than trivial details. will eat into my work time.

Working on
3 perspective
Once Im happy with the initial layout
and components of the sketch, I create a
new layer. Then I select the Gradient tool
and draw a gradient using one of the
default presets to define the horizon. I
also put down a wash of colour to start
establishing a palette that will suit the
scene in the game. At this point I lay in a
perspective grid on a separate layer, and
set it to Multiply Blend mode with a low
opacity setting. Now the real fun begins
as I build up the painting, using the grid
as a guide to keep things structural and
grounded in space.

84 Presents Game Art

 Visualise a game world

Adding textures
4 Over the years Ive found that tool
presets come in handy for adding texture
and details to my concept art, as a
realistic alternative to introducing
photographs overlaid in layers. There
are plenty of Tool Presets that
come with demos or they
can be found online, but
Quick
its just as easy to create Transform
them yourself with just a Ctrl+T (PC) Cm
d+T (Mac)
little work. For this Hold Ctrl/Cm
d after the
transformati
example I start with a on dialog
appears and
pull on
digital photo source, in the corners.
this case some paint drips
on an area of concrete.

Presents Game Art 85

 Environment painting

Defining a source image

5 I invert the image and then, in the Channels palette, select the
channel with the highest contrast. I then Select All, create a new layer,
paste in the channel selection, set the Blend mode to Overlay on the
new layer and then merge the two layers. Now I remove the colour and
convert it to greyscale: go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation
(Ctrl+U) and reduce the saturation all the way down. To give it some
pop I sharpen the details using an Unsharp Mask file with the
following settings: Amount 127, Radius 1.0, Threshold 2.

Use presets
Tool presets are one of
Photoshops many hidden
gems. By using presets,
the Brush tool is capable
of doing more complex
operations: scaling, dual
brush, scattering and so
on. Like faux-finish
brushes theyre great for Hide Selectio
creating texture or Ctrl+H (PC) Cm n
details, and when used d+H (Mac)
This enables
you to remov
correctly enable you to the marchin e
g ants that
quickly paint the details, your selectio
rather then scrubbing in a n creates,
while still holdi
bunch of brush strokes. ng on
to your selec
tion.

Creating a brush Adjust the settings

7 I invert the selection and fill it with 8 I now create a new document at
white, and then clean up any stray pixels 1920x1080 pixels to test the brush and
with a plain brush. I adjust the contrast by play with various settings until Im
Tidying the texture
6 To remove the rest of the noise in the background I create a
going to Image>Adjustments>Levels and
tweak it until there are some rich blacks
satisfied with the effect. What Im looking
for is area settings that create interesting
quick selection with Select>Color Range, then select the Eyedropper present. This image is quite large, so Ill patterns and textures, and let me work
tool and click the paint drips. I set the Fuzziness to a level that gives me change the canvas to 1000x1000 pixels quickly and loosely. I finally arrive at the
enough of the details without the unwanted concrete texture. and then Select All>Edit>Define Brush results shown here. In addition, in the
Preset and name the brush. The new Scattering menu Scatter is 30 per cent with
brush should now appear in the Brushes a Count of two, and Other Dynamics has
palette, ready for use. Opacity and Flow set to Pen Pressure.

Practise brush management

9 I save the brush as a Tool Preset, then in the palette menu select New Tool Preset
and name it. As you create other tool presets or acquire them its a good idea to organise
them and remove any obsolete tools periodically. This keeps your workspace clean,
enabling you to focus on the creative process.

86 Presents Game Art

 Visualise a game world

12 Setting the lighting

As Im building up the detail in the
image, I usually find it helpful to establish
a lighting direction at this point and start
working in with values, to begin creating
depth in the scene and help separate
elements spatially.

13 Managing layers
After a few sips of coffee and some
time, the layers start to build up.
Although keeping everything on a
separate layer offers me a great deal of
flexibility, it can become difficult to
manage. So I use a little-known
Photoshop shortcut: press V to switch to
the Move tool and then Crtl+click on an
area you want to edit Photoshop will
autoswitch to the layer that pixel is on.
This saves me the hassle of naming layers
and organising them into group layers,
which lets me stay in the zone and keep
things flowing.

14 Flip the canvas

As I work on fleshing out the
details I periodically flip the canvas
vertically and horizontally to help spot
Focal points any problems or errors, so that I can
Whenever possible, try
to use other elements in address them sooner rather than later.
the scene to draw the Flipping the image is also a good way to
viewer into the painting look at your work: it gives you a fresh
and help create a strong
overall composition. perspective and forces you to view it in a
different way to your initial sketch.

10 Painting large shapes

Using a few various brush tool presets, I create a new layer and start to build up
the paint while at the same time changing the brush size using the square brackets [
and ] to vary the texture. I then select the entire layer, pick the Transform tool (Ctrl+T)
and then right-click in the Transform bounding box. I select Distort from the drop-
down menu, use the grid to get the right perspective, and then try different blend
modes and opacity settings until I find something Im happy with. This process is
repeated over and over until all the large shapes are blocked in.

15 The final stretch

As I work my way down to the smallest elements, I regularly
zoom in and out and then decide to call it a day when I reach the point
of diminishing returns. Now Im ready to add some of the finishing
touches. I sharpen the layers and soften others in the background and
Tackling the details
11 Now that all the major shapes are correct value, edge, colour and so forth I
foreground to create depth and a focus and, after some overall contrast
and colour adjustments, the image is finished. At this point I feel the
start to break down the large shapes into smaller ones, starting with the largest details concept communicates what were expecting the game asset to look
and working my way down to smaller ones. I adjust the opacity of the perspective grid like and how itll relate to its surrounding in the game. I can now walk
to make it more pronounced now that the contrast is building up, just so I can see it away from the concept satisfied that it has achieved its main goal. Its
more easily. Im also continuously zooming in and out, making sure that the major now ready for an environment artist to take it from 2D to 3D and
elements are not lost in the noise and that the image still reads easily. eventually into the game.

Presents Game Art 87

Production
design
Learn how concept
components work to
create a unified project

88 Presents Game Art

 Matt Allsopp
Freelance concept artist
Matt has worked on
Fable 3 and Killzone 2,
among other titles. Here
he adds his ideas to the
pot to show how to
create a pitch document
All hell has broken loose, for a new video game.

and its time for the villagers Add all your designs together to
showcase your video game.
sole hope, Nate McCready, to Turn to page 102

step in and save the day

Matt Allsopp, page 102
Workshops
Put together a video game project
90 Lead character design
with Christian Bravery
Use photo reference to create a
hero pose and character design.
94 Environment design
with Pete Amachree
Create an exotic island setting for
the games action scenes.
98 Create the enemy
with Matt Allsopp
How to design a creature to fit
an existing game world.
102 Develop the story
with Matt Allsopp
Create a key frame illustration to
set the video games mood.

Design a unique
environment 94

Presents Game Art 89

 Production design

Part one of four

lead character
Christian Bravery takes you through his thought process and concept
designs for a prospective video game, starting with the hero
heres so much talk and

Christian
T hyperbole about the term
concept art that the phrase
has almost become
Bravery meaningless. In this four-part special Ill
Country: England try to unravel the mysteries of concept art
Christian runs for budding artists.
Leading Light, Actually, make that four and a bit parts.
an art and Back in ImagineFX issue 40 I designed a
design agency
that provides
futuristic vehicle called the wasp-copter
character and (its in my workshop folder on the disc).
environment concepts In this instalment Ill be designing the
for the video game and
entertainment industries.
wasp-copter pilot, whos also the hero
http://ifxm.ag/ll-design character in our production as such, hes
an important one to get right.
get your Ill be following a fictitious brief that use when approaching a character design.
resources
See page 114 now!
suits the purpose of this workshop series,
which also mirrors the kind of
So, lets get started!

commercial brief that the Leading Light Bring on the brief

team regularly works to. This means that the enemy weird, giant insects that This production design brief was created
I can give you an insight into the various attack the village. The final task is to for a near-future sci-fi action adventure
stages of production design for video create a key moment production video game. Part of the story takes the
games, rather than simply churn out a illustration that draws all these elements player to a sleepy, backwater island
piece of nice-looking art that lacks context together, depicting the battle between our archipelago in the tropics. The scene starts
the big picture, if you like. hero and the invaders. in a small fishing village where our hero is
Once the team gets the brief, the first There are many great workshops enjoying a relaxing break. Suddenly the
task is to design and visualise all the key published each month in ImagineFX, and village is beset by strange happenings that
story elements. Ill be expanding on these most of them cover the specifics of culminate in an invasion of weird giant
over the four instalments of this tutorial, painting and finishing techniques. Rather insects that are hell-bent on devouring
and so you can look forward to seeing the than go over old ground, I want to offer the villagers. Our hero is pressed into
main pilot character; a village and its an insight into my thought processes and service to save the day. Pictured opposite
tropical island archipelago location; and some of the preparatory techniques that I is the initial brief from the client

90 Presents Game Art

 Lead character

is it enough?
If were going to capture the essence of
the hero, were going to need more details

This is a typical character brief, but where possible

I ask the client to tell me more about the character,
their background and personality, their motivation and
their role in the story. Sometimes this information
comes easily, but occasionally my requests make the
clients realise that these are questions they also need
to find the answers to.
Theres a huge difference between a character
design and a costume design. For example, everyone
knows that Conan wears a loincloth and carries a
sword, but if you put that outfit on Woody Allen, hes
not going to convince you hes an invincible barbarian.
So, character design is about describing the person,
their demeanour, lifestyle and the role they play in the
game, book or film; its not just about what theyre
wearing. So after the client has expanded on its initial
brief, we can add the following information:

Nate is a military pilot who has come to the

archipelago on R&R.
Hes seen and done a lot in combat that hed
like to forget and hes here to do just that.
The last thing he wants is more action and
excitement, but as events unfold he realises
that its up to him to save the day.
Nates persona sits on the cusp between
youthful cockiness and the dawning cynicism
of early middle age. Hes the reluctant hero,
perhaps even an anti-hero.
Its important for the character design to
exemplify not only his costume design and
general look, but also his inner character.

Presents Game Art 91

 Production design

Creating the character

1 I set about collecting images of existing flying
wrong. Once I have my references, I create a set of
colour thumbnails with the aim of finalising the
suits, from World War One examples through to space costume design and colour scheme as early as possible.
suits. Always avoid referencing existing entertainment Here Ive taken inspiration from various eras and used
industry designs or imagery, otherwise youll quickly my reference materials as well as my imagination to
end up with a copy of a copy of a copy, which is plain help me come up with a good selection of options.

The benefits of real-world poses

2 After selecting a shortlist, I enlist my right-hand man
Matt Allsopp for modelling duties. For tasks that require realistic
proportions I use photos to capture character poses. This isnt
always applicable, but in this instance I find that photographing
someone captures the subtleties of character. The danger of
drawing from memory results in the repetition of preferred
poses and a less realistic, more stylised finished piece.

Finalise in pencil
Capture some action photos 4 detail references for the flight suit. I do

3 I use a Canon 50D and shoot in sport mode. I like to keep

I import the best photos into
Photoshop. Sometimes I work directly
three drawings, taking different
elements from the references, mixing
the model moving, directing him as we work while keeping the onto these, but in this case I want to them with my ideas but staying
camera rolling. The shots I get have the movement and life that do a further stage of drawing before I focused on invoking the demeanour
most posed shots lack its really useful for capturing action commit to a pose and costume design. of the character and incorporating
shots if the model can move freely. I can achieve the kind of So I start drawing in pencil, using my them into each design. I select one
shots that are impossible for a model to hold for a picture, such studio photos as reference for the design and scan it in. This is the one
as jumping through the air, running and so on. poses and my research images as that Ill work up as a final image.

92 Presents Game Art

 Lead character

Commit to a
5 colour scheme
a second layer, set it to Colour
Burn and quickly add some
I now have all the elements colour. At this point I just cant
together I need to finish the resist putting down some
painting. Next comes the alternative colour schemes
underpainting. This is based before committing to one.
on my earlier colour With this method of working,
thumbnails and provides the the shaded greyscale layer
groundwork and colour plan works hand in hand with the
for the detailed painting to Colour Burn layer and offers a
come. For this stage I open the speedy way to lay in what
drawing in Photoshop, add a amounts to my underpainting
new clean layer, and lay in for the piece, but its also
some quick greyscale shading another great way of quickly
as a Multiply layer. Then I add trying out colour options.

Make your character memorable

6 A great art director once said to me that a good character
design is one that an eight-year-old can draw after seeing it only
once. Its not always applicable, but its a great adage to bear in
mind. Itll help you differentiate your designs from the plethora
of others out there. Here I wanted to use the archetypal white
scarf worn by World War One pilots as a motif for two reasons.
Render the finish Snapshot of a
First it harks back to those bygone days of early flight, which
evokes feelings of heroic bravery. Second, by simply changing the 7 With the detailed design 8 hero character
signature colour of the scarf from the typical white to red marks and the colour plan in place its a Id like to wrap up this instalment
him out as a unique character but hes still clearly a pilot. question of working into each by commenting on the pose and
element to render the type of attitude of Nate McCready, the
required finish. When painting games hero. Ive tried hard to
each material that makes up the evoke the persona of a troubled
character, I spend time thinking spirit. Hopefully any observer can
about the texture, environment quickly tell that hes a brave man
and local colour, as well as the with a dark past. Here Ive pictured
lighting and shaded areas. him gazing off into the near
distance hes clearly thoughtful
and somewhat melancholy, but his
stance is strong: hes a man for the
moment, someone to rise to a
challenge. Hes more than simply
a costume design, hes a fully
formed character!

Turn over for the next instalment

The project focuses on the games environment: an
exotic island archipelago.

Presents Game Art 93

 Production design

Part two of four

The Environment
After establishing the games lead character, Christian Bravery passes the
art baton over to Pete Amachree, who tackles the exotic island setting
reviously Christian Bravery My first thought was for the islands found rich pickings in the design ethos of

Pete
P established the character
design for Nate McCready,
the games hero, who gets
themselves. Although sci-fi gives us
licence to depart from the real world, I
thought Id rein this in and base them on
a shanty town or favela, like those found
in Brazil. These ramshackle places grow
without the guidance of a town planner.
Amachree caught up in an alien attack while rock formations that were used to seeing. With quality building materials at a
Country: England recuperating from his latest military I think fantasy works best when one foot premium, ingenuity must take their place.
Petes an exploits. All this happens on a tropical is firmly planted in the familiar, while the Furthermore, from an elevated point of
industry island on a distant planet, and this is other rests on something unexpected. view theres also a strong horizontal bias
veteran whos where I come in. My brief is to create the So, where do the inhabitants of this in many of the source images of shanty
worked for
Electronic
rag-tag fishing village thats set on this fishing community live? Their traditional, towns that I collected for this project:
Arts, Lionhead Studios lush, off-world archipelago, which is basic lifestyle rules out anything grand or flat, corrugated iron roofs that stretch off
and Blade Interactive. where Nate first runs into the hostile or even firmly established. Indeed, their into the distance. This should work well
Hes been a concept artist
for the past five years.
aliens. On the opposite page is the client environment must reflect their own with the compositional arrangement that
http://ifxm.ag/pete-a brief for the games setting. precarious existence. Aesthetically, I Im developing.

get your
resources
See page 114 now!

94 Presents Game Art

 The environment

source
material
Pete has this vital piece of
Here Im very crudely
advice when generating establishing the point of
concept art for a client view of the scene
In this tutorial I try to show the value of
research and looking for inspiration in
unexpected places. If time permits,
give your client as much source
material as possible. Loose sketches
will show the direction that you mean
to take the project, while mood boards
of inspirational images from the
internet or your own photo collection
will add clarity to the story you wish to
tell. This groundwork is always time
well spent, and will help the project
develop smoothly.

Project:
Leviathan
Brief
The action takes place in and
around a village situated on a
tropical island archipelago. The
setting is far in Earths
future, or perhaps on an alien
planet, so you can go pretty This is evidence of the villagers
wild. Try to come up with
something new a fresh take on scavenger nature, where items
the typical tropical paradise
image, but with recognisable
recovered from the sea are
roots in that archetype. Just used to help construct
remember that this is a real
physical and natural place, and their homes
above all else it needs to feel
viable and believable.

Ive tried to suggest ways in which the villagers adapt their homes to their
surroundings in this case, these natural rock formations

Presents Game Art 95

 Production design

Get the basics

1 right
At this stage Im not committing
myself to any detail. Im simply
blocking out the composition of
the larger elements and establishing
the light source. A thumbnail like
this will usually be enough to set
the scene, and give the client a
chance to project their own ideas
onto the canvas. Compositionally,
the edge of the foreground island
and its shadow provide a pleasing
frame for its neighbour, which will
be the main focus of the painting.
Theres a horizontal bias developing
here: the painting will be divided
into distinct horizontal bands of
tone, to improve the flow and
break up the broad expanses of
water and sky.

Add colour
2 A college tutor once told
seemingly narrow guidelines.
See Caspar David Friedrichs
me that theres nothing more The Sea of Ice for a great
daunting than a blank canvas; example of this. For now, the
it was possibly the best piece of ochre of the rock formations
advice Ive ever been given. So, contrasts well enough with the
with that in mind, Ive slammed deep blues, but at some point I
down some really basic colour. will need to introduce much
But even with strengthening the more variety. However, most of
tonal arrangement a bit more the middle of the island will be
and loosely blocking in some of covered with manmade
the manmade structures, the structures, so time spent
palette is still far too limited. painting subtle, nuanced
The setting is tropical, with rock texture would be time
azure skies and turquoise seas, wasted. Now is not the time
but theres still considerable for fancy brushes or layer
chromatic scope within these blending modes.

Channel tab. Because this is a greyscale

image I can drag-select the red, green or
blue channel down to the Create New
Channel button at the bottom of the
Channel tab. I name this new channel
Midground Struts Mask and, with it
selected, go to Image>Adjustments>
Invert. Now I hide the Midground Struts
Mask layer group and create a new layer
called Midground Struts. Next I load
the Midground Struts Mask channel
and click the Add Layer Mask button.
Before I start painting, I make sure I have
the layer and not its corresponding
Build some scaffolding
3 I block in some more broad structural elements and
with 100 per cent opacity white and hide
it. I also drag this group to the top of the
mask selected.
With my layer mask in place Im free
composite a water image from CGTextures.com. This is a quick way stack. Now using the Line tool I alter the to have as much or as little colour and
to get some realistic texture into the water. The art director likes the width, change the colour to black and tonal variation along the length of a
idea of the settlement being supported by rickety scaffolding. How begin dragging out lines where I want scaffolding pole as I wish. Some parts
can I create an intricate network of spars and poles quickly with them with one eye on perspective and may be in bright light, with others in deep
naturalistic lighting, and integrate it convincingly with the rest of another on creating a ramshackle pattern. shadow. To avoid any unwanted overlap,
the structure? The answer lies in Photoshops channels feature. After Im done drawing I reveal the white I create a separate Foreground Struts Mask
On the Layer Options tab I click New Group and name it background layer (this must be at the layer group and go through the same
Midground Struts. Within this group I create a new layer, fill it bottom of the group) and click the procedure again.

96 Presents Game Art

 The environment

Add points of interest

7 At long last, the clouds get some much-needed attention,
and Im tightening up other areas that have been neglected: the
Vary the colours
4 The limited palette is starting to jar. So I introduce some more subtle variations,
foreground landing platform and a perky little island-hopping
copter perched on one of the landing platforms of the main island.
conscious of not letting any one colour dominate the mood and of my wish to keep the Were almost there.
loose horizontal banding of colours a chromatic theme of the painting. Occasional
Finishing touches
flashes of vibrant colour on the tarpaulins and rooftops of the buildings also add to the
palette. The introduction of the boardwalk at the bottom of the image also helps to 8 The copter needs a bit more sparkle, so I add some highlights
break up that expanse of water, and guides the eye into the central focus of the painting. to the tailfin and engine housing. I also increase the brightness of
the areas in direct sunlight by going to Select>Color Range and
clicking Highlights. This creates a selection marquee around the
Break up the
5 foreground
areas of the image that Photoshop deems are highlights. With the
selection still active, I go to the Create new fill or adjustment layer
Im not yet convinced with the direction button and select Levels. This increases or reduces the luminosity of
the buildings are going in, so while Im the selected part of the image. Id like to restrict the boosted light
mulling that over, I concentrate on the levels to the island, boardwalk and jetty, so with the Brush tool I
foreground sea element. Its not bad, but I paint out the areas of the Adjustment layers mask that I wish to
think it would benefit from being broken remain unchanged. I also add another quarter or so to the right of
up some more. I introduce some giant the image. It opens the image out more, and provides a greater idea
water lilies that break up the expanse of of scale and distance. And thats me done.
blue, introduce some new colour and also
strengthen the sense of depth. The
speedboat moored at the jetty also helps
give a sense of scale.

Introduce a sense of character

6 Ive hinted in my initial sketches that much of the building materials were
salvaged from derelict vehicles, advertising hoardings, cargo containers and whatever
else was available. This gives me a chance to tip my hat to some of my heroes, the titans turn over for the
of sci-fi and fantasy art from my childhood namely Ralph McQuarrie, Chris Foss,
next workshop
Our artist tackles the
Ron Cobb and Angus McKay. Their weird and wonderful environment and ship designs projects creature design
often have strange logos present, heightening their sense of otherworldliness.

Presents Game Art 97

 Production design

Part three of four

The enemy
Its Leading Lights Matt Allsopps turn to work on the game, as he fills
the alien archipelago from part two with a hostile insect creature design
o now we have designs for the hatched, just like frog spawn, the long, spindly legs. Peter Amachree has

S games hero, Nate McCready,

and his vehicle, along with
the island environment in
creatures will begin their lives as tiny
tadpoles before developing legs and
leaving the water to wreak havoc on the
already laid down the aesthetics of its
environment, and I can quickly see how
this long-legged creature idea will fit in.
Matt Allsopp
Country: England which the game takes place. My task is to surrounding populated islands. I will still explore the idea of a smaller
explore and develop designs for the Looking at Christian Braverys concept and more compact bug thats reminiscent
Starting off at
Alpha Star
enemy creatures that Nate and the for the copter design, I can see that it of the copter vehicle, but the stick insect
Films, villagers face. At the beginning of the resembles the anatomy of a wasp or a approach definitely appeals at the
Lionhead project it was decided that these creatures dragonfly. Its small and compact with moment. Essentially its going to be a
Studios and
would spawn from giant eggs that have short legs, so my instinct is to design an mechanical fly versus a naturalistic and
now at Leading Light
Design as a concept appeared overnight in the ocean. Once enemy that is bigger, elongated and has beastly fly, which should be fun.
artist, Matts ambition is
to work in the movie
industry with his favourite
directors, including
James Cameron and
Christopher Nolan.
http://ifxm.ag/m-allsopp

get your
resources
See page 114 now!

Matt says, The design should

lend itself to being more like a
stick insect or maybe a
praying mantis, both of which
are really cool looking!

98 Presents Game Art

 The enemy

Project:
Leviathan
Brief The enemy
One morning the villagers awake
to discover that the sea is
covered with what looks like
giant frog spawn. Soon the eggs
hatch to reveal huge, hideous
and aggressive insectoid
creatures. The task is to
concept and refine these
creatures. A blend of sea
crustacean with insect would
be a good launch point. Key
defining words are insect,
crustacean, ugly, horrific,
alien, winged and multi-
legged/multi-eyed.

Visualising ideas
1 Here are my very rough initial bug
sketches. These are just two-minute
doodles on paper that I make after first
reading the brief. Im not too worried
about the quality of the illustration; its
more about just getting the ideas down.
This part is really fun and enables me to
freely experiment with various concepts,
shapes and techniques.

Cross-bred species A chunkier bug

3 This is more of a classic fly 4 Another spider-based approach,
approach, but with a twist. Hes more like this time with an unusual head design.
an arachnid fly, with loads of small, This sketch enables me to see what a
pincer legs at the front. He can swoop shorter, stockier-looking bug can offer.
down, pick up prey and inject them with I want it to contrast with the insect
poison, or maybe implant them with a copter, and so I prefer my visualisation
flesh-dissolving virus. of more delicate and lengthened
Readable silhouettes
2 I move over to a digital canvas and
design features.

start throwing down some values. Im

trying to find some nice shapes and
readable bug silhouettes. This sketch
sticks as closely as possible to my initial
idea, and takes references from the stick
insect and praying mantis.

Plotting its evolution

5 I like my first sketch, so Im going to make a quick evolution board to try
to get my head around the creatures growth process from sea to land. Watching
real-life documentaries on the transformation of insects is fascinating, if a
little grotesque. This provides great inspiration for
the progression of something vulnerable into
a more mature and deadly beast.

Presents Game Art 99

 Production design

Iron out the

6 design kinks
So lets take my first sketch: I think I
pretty much hit the nail on the head
Get flipping
Flip your canvas
with this design. There are a few things horizontally to check
that I dont like about it, but I can iron your perspective and
composition. Itll quickly
them out along the way. For starters it
show whether your
needs to look a little less like an Alien perspective is leaning to
Queen from the films. I really like the one side. Its also good
to flip your painting to
look of the arachnid fly its fresh
make things a little less
looking and pretty gross. But I think awkward for the wrist.
the longed-legged stick insect will fit
the environment a lot better, and so I
decide to develop this creature further.

Injection of colour
8 Adding the colour to a greyscale
piece is when your concept can really start
coming into its own. Even just by adding
a quick colour pass, you can start to build
a narrative and focused intention for your
creature. For example, I originally
Make the concept
envisioned the creature to be relatively
dark in tone, fierce and shadow-like. 9 readable
However, to build a narrative suggestion Now that Ive got a clearer image in my
I started to consider the insect among its mind about the creature, its time to draw
Form and function
7 I feel that the body proportions and anatomy of the creature
intended island location. It seemed far
more feasible that the creature was
a concise and readable concept. First I
create a nice linework over the top of what
are dynamic and engaging. The large muscular strength of the camouflaged and deadly here I start to the rough sketch. To do this I fade out the
forearms have a kind of gorilla-like aesthetic about them, while make colour changes that suggest its well rough and on a separate layer generate
adding a rather unpredictable array of legs provides an interesting equipped to remain visually undetectable. clean, confident and definite line
contrast. Converting the initial sketch to greyscale helps define the Adding earth tones and colour choices markings. Then I use my reference
design intentions and strengthen the silhouette, dimensions and that are similar to its habitation helped material of insects to define its skeletal
features already present. I make the hind legs taller and exaggerate define the colour key for my next process. and muscular structure. I want to make
them to imbrue the creature with power and aggression. These legs If youre unsure of finding correct tones, the creature look threatening, so by
are important for making the subject appear more agile and speedy. you can reference from a photograph and introducing certain features Im able to
To generate a convincing beast, its vital to understand the use the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop to capture the creatures character a little
functionality and purpose of each part. extract the exact colours you need. more. Things like the strange and delicate
pincer-like feet that project from those
massive untouchable forearms, and spikes
and spear-like points that emerge from
otherwise vulnerable points around the
body all these are great snippets of
design ideas that lend themselves
perfectly to the games storyline.

Light and shade

10 I make the background dark to
offset the bug and make it stand out. Then
I duplicate the layer and use a Glow brush
to define light sources. On this light layer
I use an eraser to reveal darker tones and
create a shadow effect where necessary.
These highlights and shadows ensure that
the creature looks three-dimensional,
rather than remaining a flat design.

100 Presents Game Art

 The enemy

Textures
in Painter
A great way to add
texture without
overlaying a photo is to
use one of Painters
preset textures, but I
often find it best to make
my own. To do this, load
in a photo and mask out
the section you want to
act as the texture. Then
select Capture Paper in
the drop-down menu on
the Paper tab. This will
Real-world textures
11 Here Ive painted in some skin
add your new texture to
your Paper library. Now
using a brush that
textures with a Chalk brush after looking interacts with the Paper,
at natural skin patterns and insect you can add some
markings. You could go a step further and suggested detail and
subtle texture.
create a distressed and organic-looking
finish by setting up your own custom
texture in Photoshop. I usually scan my
own handmade textures it can be fun
having an element thats physically in
your hands one minute, and then being
worked on digitally the next. When 13 Adding wings
Wings suggest a huge advantage for 14 Apply some
finishing touches
combined with my painted skin markings the bug over mankind. It also brings up Finally its time to introduce some
the effect is pretty successful, and prevents the possibility of a swarm of the things, details. I put in darker skin markings,
the bug from looking too flat. or an aerial battle. I referenced some and on an Overlay layer paint in some
insect wing shapes and found plenty of very subtle blue and darker tones on the
variations that suited the design. Once head to draw attention to the focus
Im happy with my chosen painted shape, point. Ive also put in some nice touches
I lower the transparency to make it look of hair that can be created using a fine
slightly translucent. Then I add some Hair brush. These final touches give life
highlights to the wings, noting the light to the creature and make it look tangible
direction and light source for the piece. and convincing.

12 Refine the design

Using the Chalk brush again, I layer in some highlights and
darker shadows between the shell-like tail articulation joints. If youre
struggling for where exactly these should be, try looking at a similar
creature that possesses these aesthetic traits, such as an armadillo,
which has a comparable configurative function within its natural turn over for the next stage
In the final instalment of this workshop series,
design. Ive also used dramatic highlights and shadow to further the artist of Leading Light Designs works on the
ground the main element, and to project a feeling of weight. money shot: the production illustration.

Presents Game Art 101

 Production design

Part four of four

Story developer
Matt Allsopp highlights the importance of cinematography as he creates
a key frame illustration for the game using the existing designs
ts time to take all the concepts First I draw some thumbnails. Ive got

Matt Allsopp
I for this project and merge
them into one epic key frame
illustration. Christian Bravery
all the previous design references up on
screen, so I just need to composite all the
elements together in these thumbnails.
Project:
Leviathan
Country: England
has established the design of both our I dont want to cram too much visual
BRIEF 4 - The Battle
This production illustration will
Starting off at hero and his vehicle, Pete Amachree has information into this single shot, so Im bring the design elements together
Alpha Star
created the tropical environment and Ive going to concentrate on the hero and the and show our hero in his copter,
Films, engaged in a battle with the
Lionhead realised the aesthetic of the enemy creature; the interaction between them is creatures. The aim is to punch up
Studios and creatures. So for this piece Ill be thinking the main focus of the piece. Im going to the flavour and impact of your
now Leading Light
about atmosphere and mood. Its hint at the islands in the background to concept. A set of good quality
Design as a concept production images will tell the
important to show off as much of these avoid confusing the readability of the
artist, Matts ambition is projects story, attract investors,
to work in the movie designs as possible while creating a image. So, now that Ive got an image in inspire the imagination of your
industry with his favourite cinematic shot, but I dont want to overdo mind, lets crack on with some sketches. team and tantalise your public.
directors, including
James Cameron and it the client can always refer back to the
Christopher Nolan. original design sheets for more details.
http://ifxm.ag/m-allsopp As far as the story is concerned, the
creatures have hatched and are causing
get your havoc on the surrounding islands. All
resources
See page 114 now!
hell has broken loose, and its time for
the villagers sole hope, Nate McCready,
to step in and save the day. With the
narrative in mind we need to create a
battle scene between man and insect.
The temptation to adhere to bright,
tropical environment colours diminishes
as I see the piece as dramatic and
powerfully dark. I decide to go for
a strong enemy creature silhouette by
creating the shot at dusk. I want to make
the bug look invincible and deathly
aerial battle scenario. The
My first mock-up goes with the obvious, but very cool,
frightening, overshadowing and
overpowering our hero. I should be able
y clear indication of things
to use the bugs arachnid legs and sharp sketch only takes five minutes and gives me a prett
Ive got something else in
pincers to help do this. to come if I were to proceed. I think its working, but
mind before I make a decision
102 Presents Game Art
 Story developer

Down to earth
1 I draw some more quick
thumbnails that picture Nate crash-
landing his craft. Giving the creature a
more domineering pose expresses a
strong narrative. Im going with the top-
left thumbnail, but will alter the camera
position to put the viewer at the heart of
the action. Thumbnails are invaluable;
they enable you to experiment with
various concepts and techniques freely.

An aggressive stance
2 I scan in my chosen sketch to
develop it further. Ill have to reposition
the legs of the bug to allow for a more
aggressive stance while keeping it realistic.
The legs mustnt affect the silhouette of
the copter either, as conflicting shapes
could be a problem. Finally, adding some
wings fills the space, giving the creature a
much bigger and more powerful presence.

Picking the time of day Clean up the sketch,

3 Im not sure what time of day to set 4 ready for painting
me a chance to iron out those sloppy
marks that I made during the creation
the scene: midday or dusk? Taking a saved I keep my chosen greyscale sketch and process. I drop a white tracing layer onto
Tie things up
template of the scene, I quickly paint colour palette open as I prepare to start the original greyscale sketch and redraw Adding a photo filter at
some colour tests. The bottom-left image my final version of the painting. Theyll the bug. Keeping my creature concepts to the end of the process
is certainly the strongest: it allows the provide essential guidance and ensure hand, I can get the shapes of the huge can often help tie all your
colours together. If you
foreground to be silhouetted nicely, but that I dont stray from my intended vision forelegs correct, as well as those long want something to look
will also shows up some of the details on for the piece. The bug is looking powerful extruding pincers and the rest! Ive also a little more realistic, you
the bug and hero. The misty atmosphere and dynamic, even though the got the reference material for the hero and could add a cool blue
filter. Make sure youre
will also help to create a frightening arrangement of legs differs slightly from his copter. Finally I tilt the horizon and not too heavy with this
presence. I might lose some island the original design. It now towers over add some skid marks from the crashed though, or else itll look
background detail, but I think I can live Nate, putting our hero in a vulnerable vehicle to bring energy and momentum a little contrived.
with that this shot is more about situation. Now, before I start the painting to the piece, as well as providing the basis
cinematography than design. I first need a linework drawing. This gives of the narrative.

Presents Game Art 103

 Production design

Creature feature
Establishing the narrative 7
5 Adding value and tone alongside colour starts to bring the
The creature is the most prominent
character, so Ill tackle him first. I paint in
shot together. Nate is the first element to be read, which is great for the details and lighting with the Chalk
the illustrations narrative because hes now the primary focus of brush. I wasnt completely happy with its
the piece, the viewer can participate in the story. He has crash- skin detailing in the original concept, so
landed underneath this giant bug hes fighting, which for all we Im going to improve the finish and
know was the cause of his downfall. Well probably need to put texturing. I also add a beach in the
some sort of aerial battle in the background to help strengthen this foreground to help define the crash site.
storyline. I mask off the image into three layers: the creature, the
Identifying a problem
foreground ship and the background. Using the chosen colour
palette I start to paint in the backdrop, using an Airbrush for the 8 Referring back to my original
graduation and the Glow tool for the sun. Im keeping it a little configuration of values, I can see that
more muted compared with the colour test for now. something is affecting the composition;
its not hard to see where the problem lies,
though. The ground is lit intensely and
the colour saturation is far too high. A
quick Multiply layer using the blue/grey
sky tone should do the trick.

Adding the
6 background
Im already starting to stray from the
Strong colour test. Ive made the image a little
outlines
Its always a good idea to warmer by extending the glow of the sun.
have strong silhouettes I like it for now, so Ill see how it goes. I
in your concept or
also add some distant islands; keeping
design. A concept for a
film or game will only be these subtle with just a two-tone value
seen for a second or two, will allow them to sit nicely in the
so its important that the
background and not interfere with the
image reads well first
time. The key is to nail foreground battle. To add to the mood
this during the sketch and make the sky look a little less
stage and try not to stray airbrushed, I add some smoke and haze:
too much from it during
Painting the insects wings
the colour phase. this is also a great way of knocking back
detail when two objects are conflicting in 9 Until now the wings have been lighter in value to their backdrop, but I think
the same space. I find that Painters Chalk theyll read more coherently if I make them darker. I lower the transparency to make
brush is usually best for this job. Im them look translucent and add some texture. I also crop an insect wing from a photo
happy with the simplicity of the different and lay it over each wing. I set the layers attribute to Difference to kill the white of the
elements so far, but Ill have to start photo. Once Im happy, I reduce the opacity to make this texture subtle, then set about
adding detail soon. painting my own highlights, details and textures using the Chalk brush.

104 Presents Game Art

 Story developer

10 Adding detail to the

downed copter 11 Finishing touches
Its almost there, but detailing and
The one area that still needs addressing is colour tweaking can make all the
the crashed copter. I want to maintain its difference. Again with the Chalk brush,
form as a silhouette at first read, but Im Im putting in some sand marks, shine
going to have to add some detail to sell it and dinks on the craft, and extra
on closer inspection. Using the Chalk markings and highlight details on the
brush I mark in some lighter grey tones bugs legs and face. You dont have to
where the light would be catching the spend long doing these extra touches, but
surfaces. The rear lights could also do they really give the piece life and make it
with a little extra glow to help pick out look more convincing. Finally, I make a
the vehicle. Its nice to have a little colour tweak. I much prefer the bluer,
artificial light, rather than all natural, but morning feeling that was present in the
its best not to overdo it. Finally, Ive been original colour test sheet; Ive changed my
a little cheeky and changed Nates scarf mind about the red. So using Photoshops
and coat trim to blue. It should be red, but photo filter and colour adjustments tools,
it was starting to clash! I pull it back to my original direction.

Presents Game Art 105

 Artist Q&A

Got a question for our experts? let us

ease your art-ACHE at [email protected]

Remko Troost
Born in Amsterdam, Remko is
a senior concept artist and
illustrator with several years
experience, he currently works
for Ubisoft.
www.remkotroost.com

Philip Straub
Philip is a highly experienced
art director with more than 17
years in the industry. He
currently works for Warner
Brothers game division.
www.philipstraub.com

Jonathan Standing
Jonathan is an English artist
and illustrator. Hes currently
based near Toronto, Canada
and works for a developer in
the video games industry.
www.jonathanstanding.com

Gary Tonge
Gary is concept art director
who has worked for everyone
from Ocean to Capcom. He is
the author of Bold Visions: A
The industrial design the crafts
Digital Painting Bible.
function must work with the images
www.visionafar.com overall mood, and the two can be
worked on hand in hand.
Daryl Mandryk
Daryl is an experienced
concept artist in both video
games and film and has Question
worked for EA, Lucasfilm and
Propganda Games. Whats the typical process when designing
www.mandrykart.com
a vehicle for a sci-fi game?
Daniel Dociu
Transylvanian-born Daniel is a
video game art director and

Answer
concept artist. He lives in the
US, and is currently working on
Guild Wars 2.
www.arena.net
Phil replies
Id say there probably isnt a typical experience on the job, Ill be applying my speed
Aly Fell approach for designing a vehicle for a painting technique. The goal will be to create a
Aly Fell is a UK-based concept
artist for Eurocom Software.
science fiction game, since Ive seen it consistent design that melds with the environment as
He has created some stunning tackled in a number of different ways. quickly as possible.
pin-up images, including a
cover for ImagineFX.
Usually I like to handle this type of assignment with a I also start to think about the design by thinking of
www.darkrising.co.uk two-pronged attack, focusing on both the overall mood the ship in the round, as the saying goes. This is
and attitude of the vehicle along with the industrial industrial design terminology for thinking about the
Andy Park design, form and function. In many cases creating the object in three-dimensional terms but its still valid in
Andy is a concept artist who
works for Sony. He has worked isometrics (typically the front, side and back views) can fantasy artwork. I like to try to imagine walking around
on games including Dungeons be handled simultaneously with the mood piece. the object Im going to depict, as if Im physically there,
& Dragons: Dragonshard, and
God of War 2 for PlayStation 2. To keep things simple for this question, Ill focus on surveying the overall design from all angles. The more
www.andyparkart.com the mood piece. Since I want to generate the concept you practise this technique, the more depth your
quickly to recreate the workflow most concept artists paintings will have.

106 Presents Game Art

 Core skills advice
Step-by-step: From Question
simple shapes to fully Do you have any tips on creating mood
furnished spaceship paintings?

1
I usually start with very simple shapes,
trying to find the overall look and
design of the vehicle without going into Keeping your canvas at a low resolution helps
you to avoid losing time on details, leaving you
any amount of detail. Using large brushes to concentrate on the mood. Here, Ive used a
custom cubic brush with Texture and Pen
and keeping the image at thumbnail size, Pressure on.
I rough in the basic image background and
colour palette.

2
As I begin to finesse the overall shape,
I decide to go with an organic design
that has a silhouette resembling a bird or
other winged creature. With the overall
design working pretty well, its time to
begin detailing the ship further.

Answer
Remko replies
Mood paintings are fun to create and or a mood-board focused on the atmosphere
are an excellent way to generate ideas Im searching for. Then, often while listening to
about atmosphere. They can also be some epic movie music and squinting my eyes,
a very useful way of finding colour I start observing these pictures while keeping
schemes that could contribute to giving a place a them quite small. This helps me to feel what
recognisable identity. I actually see.
With mood paintings, you can create emotions Thats exactly the way I work on mood
within a scene too. You might, for example, be paintings too with music on, a low-resolution
working with dark, desaturated colours and very canvas and some reference beside me. I try not to
little light, perhaps on a forbidding canyon scene. worry about forms or details. I paint what I feel as
Or you might be working the other way around quickly as I can, and not what I see.

3
Lets create some additional visual
interest. I do so in this image by
introducing some abstracted pieces of
with bright, joyful colours and in full summer
light, for instance.
I try to stay away from the Colour Picker as
well. This helps me to choose the colours on my
I start by gathering as much documentation own and thus better understand them. I generate
machinery, air vents, and designs on the and reference as I can, either by getting out with several moods (spending around 10-45 minutes
ship body. To enhance motion and scale, I my camera or by surfing the internet for inspiring on each) to see if the atmosphere Im searching for
also refine the exhaust. photos. With these images, I then create a library works or not, and then proceed from there.

Presents Game Art 107

 Artist Q&A
Question Question
How do I design quick decals How do I create modular characters
to add to military armour? that share assets but look different?

Answer
Jonathan replies
The most important element to parameters the games engine has for
consider here is a characters supporting modular characters. Its also
silhouette; its what the players helpful to have some idea of how the
eye will read first. There are characters will be put together.
many examples of games that have tried Assuming that the game engine is quite
too hard to rely on other visual elements, basic, I divide up my character into parts
such as texture and colour, and have ended that can be joined together. To make the
up with repetitive characters as a result. task easier Itry to address the characters
After making your initial thumbnails, its extremities rather than his torso, which
generally a good idea to find out what affects his silhouette less.

Using gradients on the flat colours of the decal

gives it some volume. Without this, it would
look flat and fake.

Answer
Jonathan replies
First, put together some reference materials to fuel
your ideas. What kind of military unit are you
portraying? Is it one with a rich history of pageantry,
or one thats primitive or tribal in nature? There are
millions of images in books and on the internet that are good
examples to inspire you.
For my design, I begin by making vector design elements in
I use a drawing of two different bodies as the base
Illustrator. The wings, bulldog, handprint, banner and skull for these game character thumbnails. This way their
are among many separate graphic elements that I create. Then, proportions are identical, which means that they
can share the same rig and animation sets.
referencing what Ive seen in a book, I combine the different
pieces to make the Flying Bulldogs insignia. I import the vector
art into Photoshop and then skew and warp it to conform
roughly to the curvature of the armour plate. To make it look Question
less clean, I place an Overlay texture of lumpy, stippled paint I can never seem to get my ideas right on
over the design and then begin to try to mirror the distress on
the armour on the design as well. Successfully integrating a
paper. Where should I start with concept
vector graphic into a painted image can be tricky and its often design?
best to run a filter on it or dirty it up a bit.
Finally, I add a highlight thats cast over the metal and the
paint, which helps to blend the images together.
Answer
Remko replies
A concept often begins long Here, Ive started a concept for a futuristic
before you put pencil to paper. two-seater jet fighter. To achieve the
Its important to have a story technologically advanced-looking shapes,
behind it, so brainstorm and try I use the straight line Lasso tool to create
to find out about the role it will play. Whats several small black silhouettes. Once Ive
it for? Where will it be used? Understanding found acceptable forms, I like to focus on
your subject will help you when drawing one or two. I redo a select few thumbnails
your first lines. and add some detail to them.
I usually make a few rough sketches Sometimes, I play around with my
before I start looking for reference, to avoid thumbnails by flipping them, mirroring
being influenced. If I need real-world them and placing them on top of each
Its important to make the insignia appropriate to your examples to make my design more other with different layer modes. Doing
fiction. This design started out in the same way as the believable, I can search for documentation this can help you generate even more ideas
other one, but ended up completely different.
to fit with my direction. and possibilities.

108 Presents Game Art

 Core skills advice
Question
I hear the term concept artist all the time,
but what exactly does a concept artist do?

Answer Artists secret

Gary replies Get emotional
A concept artist comes up evoke the sort
When creating concept art, try to lates the
with ideas and solutions to ge tha t enc apsu
of emotion in the ima
a design brief or problem. ative imagery
intended gaming experience. Evoc an area is
There are several different alik e. If
inspires developers and players that. Distil
roles within a concept art team, and and dan k, show
hot and arid, or cold d distinct
concept artists come from various e worl
the essence of what makes a gam r, light,
backgrounds. In my job as a concept art er use of colou
director, I work with the concept team
and individual with clev t com position.
texture and, mos t imp orta ntly , grea
Gary Tonge, concept art director
as a whole, helping them to generate a
variety of imagery and ideas that can be
anything from illustrations that show
how areas fit together, to colour keys
and much faster pencil sketches that are
invaluable to the modelling teams for
creating cohesive shapes and details in
game worlds. When creating art myself,
I tend to focus on either colour keys or
principal images.
These images are imperative to game
art production, as they are intended to
draw together the basic ideas and shapes
for an area into a cohesive illustration suggestion of how lighting, shadow work Concept art shows the
production artists
that encapsulates the essence of how that and special effects (such as subsurface which direction to take.
part of the game world will look. scattering or volumetric effects, for
Because they are so important, these example) should be balanced.
images can take a lot longer to produce A couple of my principal images,
than regular concept images in fact, I combined with a cluster of other
find that anywhere from 10 to 20 hours illustrations and sketches, can be put
of painting time can be spent on creating together into a solid pack of art info that
these pieces. can then be taken into production, to
I try to encompass the textural feel show the teams the way forward in the
within these images, along with a strong next stages of game development.

Step-by-step: How to make concepts easier to design

1
I use the Lasso tool to create my
forms quickly. Its also a handy way to
create masks inside your forms to pull out
2 Dont forget to identify your
thumbnails with a letter or number.
Its easy to get carried away and forget
3
Now I play around with my shapes to
increase the chance of finding new
ideas. Here I duplicate my layer, double the
some perspective, if needed. This is an that a client or art director may need to background, rotate it 180 degrees and put
easy way to create simple shapes that can pick some of these out. Ive also used it in Multiply mode. Chasing happy
be built up into interesting forms. figures to show the scale. accidents is all part of the fun.

Presents Game Art 109

 Artist Q&A
Question
Ive heard that production artists need to be very fast how can I improve
my painting speed?

Answer
Daryl replies
Its true that artists in a
production environment have
to pump out high-quality
artwork within very tight
schedules something a lot of new artists
have trouble adapting to. While I dont
advise anyone to rush their artwork, there
are certain things that you can do to make
your life easier and increase your speed in
the process.
Before you even boot up your software,
make sure you have a clear understanding
of what you want to accomplish. Draw
some quick thumbnails on scrap paper,
write out a few rough ideas, give yourself a
bit of a roadmap to follow. Unless you have
weeks on end to iterate on an image, having
at least some sort of plan is vital to the
whole process.
The next practice I would recommend basically any of the functions that I know important to nail your composition and Dont get bogged down
by small details when
would be to configure your workspace to Ill be using frequently. This all sounds overall values initially. painting. Focusing on
meet your personal needs. Spend some pretty obvious but it can save you huge Finally, practice! The more familiar you the big shapes and
overall design will
time setting up hotkeys and actions for all amounts of time. become with your tools, the faster you will enable you to work
your frequently used operations. I have When painting, try to concentrate on the be able to work with them. Try to arrange a much faster.

hotkeys and actions set up for creating big shapes and the design as a whole; dont schedule for yourself that includes a little
layers, flipping the canvas, running filters worry about the details yet. Its more art workout every day.

Step-by-step: Four simple ways to become a faster painter

1
Set up your workspace.
Alt/Option+Shift+Ctrl/
Cmd+K in Photoshop brings up
2
Alt/Option+F9 brings up
your Actions window.
Actions can be used to simplify
your keyboard customisation repetitive tasks, and are great
options. Memorise the really for anything that has multiple
important ones, and try steps involved. They work by
customising them in ways that recording the steps, and then
make sense to your workflow. playing them back with one
The less time you need to keystroke. You can even save
spend hunting through menus, out your actions and import
the more time you will have to them to another computer, in
concentrate on the act of the same way you would with
painting itself. custom brushes.

3
Try to think about your
painting in broad terms:
sometimes it helps to zoom out
4
Improving your knowledge
of your tools will definitely
help you paint faster, but not
and look at your painting as a necessarily better. Do studies
simple thumbnail image. Train from life, anatomy books,
yourself not to get caught up movies basically anything to
in unnecessary detailing that help you build up the visual
doesnt add anything to the library in your head. Here is a
overall picture its a waste of fast sketch I did of an action
time. If you zoom closer into shot from the Russell Crowe
one of my images, you can see movie Gladiator. Speed
that most of my detail is sketching like this teaches you
sketchy and suggested. to keep things loose and fluid.

110 Presents Game Art

 Core skills advice
Question Question
What are the expectations from the When creating environmental
production team with regards to the space concepts, how
translation of your concept designs important are technical
into 3D game art? specifications?

Answer Lighting plays a significant

role in the look of a game.
Daniel replies The atmosphere of many titles
depends on the successful
More often than not, my coding of a lighting model.
concept work leaves a lot of
scope for the 3D artists to
contribute. I encourage them to
interpret the theme Ive established, to add
layers of depth that I hadnt envisioned.
Of course their contribution needs to be
based on a thorough understanding of the
functional and stylistic requirements of the
design. Its a risky path to take as you can
get very different results from different
modellers. This is where an experienced
This concept piece was the basis for an in-game
artist with good knowledge of the game design, although the details were loosely adapted.
and sharp intuition can take a half-baked
design to the next level, while someone Its this ability to analyse, understand
lacking those skills cant see its potential and build upon an idea that separates the
and may totally ruin it. true 3D artists from mere modellers.

Question
Because video games are a digital medium,
is it necessary that concept art for them
should also be digital?

Answer
Answer Gary replies
Aly replies My experience with video games has taught me
Although video games are many things, the earliest of which was to
digital, concept art is just what it understand technology, at least on a technical
says it is, concept art and, as a artistic level. Some of the most important factors
drawing, it doesnt exist in the when working on conceptual illustrations for game
game. As a result, concept art can generally environments are understanding the target platform (console/
be produced in any medium the artist PC), the likely interaction the player will have in the game
prefers, although the client or team may world, gameplay real estate (area sizes) and how the code is to
have specific preferences, so being able to be written (or, in many cases, is already written) to visually
work to requirements is essential. represent the game world.
These days, however, its better if the This final part can include a plethora of rules that control the
artwork can initially be presented digitally, options you have for environmental representation. Lighting
so the designs can be easily swapped systems are a big factor in this a great many games have their
between the different departments. A hard look dictated by how well coded the lighting model is.
copy can always be printed out later if When painting conceptual images early in a pre-production
needed. A lot of artists start their image cycle, its important to work with tech to develop the code so
traditionally, sketching in pencil, and then that certain looks can be achieved. A few years back the options
scan the image into the computer and work for distinctive game worlds were restricted greatly by platform-
it up digitally. specific deficiencies, but the recent jump in specifications for
In the end what the digital medium has next-generation consoles greatly increases the scope for
created is greater flexibility in the options interesting ways to use shapes, materials and lighting.
for artists. Personally I vary my work In many cases, its important to be able to supply these
process, sometimes sketching on a lightbox artistic ideas and requirements early on to the code
and scanning the image, but often I create department. In turn they can write systems to accommodate
a quick sketch that can be easily emailed the new visual skews. Communication is all-important when
once completed. I work with Photoshop it comes to working up new ideas, so that code and art fully
and a graphics tablet, or with SketchBook, understand each other in order to develop great ideas into
Petra Hepburn, produced in Photoshop for a
which has a Send Mail option built in. Concept Art challenge, has a traditional look. working game worlds.

Presents Game Art 111

 Artist Q&A
Question
What are the goals you set when starting
on a new piece of concept art?

Bonedog is intended
as a production-
ready creature
design. Depending
on the skill level of
the modeller,
orthographic views
may not always be
necessary.
The idea is to first concentrate just on issues such as design, form, silhouette
and values. After those problems have been solved, you can focus on
introducing colour.

Question
Are there any methods to help
me reduce my fear of colour
when approaching a concept
or painting?

Answer
Answer Daniel replies
Andy replies The criteria that determine the standpoint of how this particular moment
Well, I believe I can offer you one approach that can help. approach are multiple, but Ill is integrated within the larger experience.
My first recommendation is that you sketch out the just touch on a few aspects Production designs are intended to be
design in black and white initially, especially when doing here. It is unlikely to satisfy handed out to 3D modellers to be
concept artwork. all design requirements as well as self- materialised into game-ready assets. The
Its a very good idea to approach a design in this manner because imposed standards equally well, therefore delicate balance here is to provide an
its unrealistic to try to solve all those challenging issues of designing it is important to prioritise them. amount of information that is sufficient
all at the same time. Breaking things down into steps will only make The concept pieces I generate usually yet not redundant.
the process more manageable. fall into one of three categories, with Depending on the category, I try to
Of course, there may be times when it makes sense to incorporate rather arbitrary and fuzzy boundaries. identify the elements of visual expression
colour into the initial design phase, but I find that most of the time High-level concepts involve addressing that best serve the purpose of the piece,
black and white sketches or paintings work really well. product positioning, style and the nature and make early decisions accordingly.
It also tends to be good for the production process. The art director of the world that the game takes place in. I choose the perspective: anywhere from
or whoever is going to approve the designs can then concentrate These are intended as dialogue starters the forced, three-vanishing-points type
on the design itself, which makes their job much easier. So its and inspirational pieces for both game (for the sake of drama) to a mundane
helpful for everyone. design and the art team. three-quarters view (for good form
After you have painted up the design, create a new layer above the Look-and-feel concepts focus on description); the composition: from
black and white painting in Photoshop. Set the blending mode of location-specific environments. They dynamic, tense and conflict-suggestive
that layer to Colour. Now you can paint in that layer with whatever touch on the general overall movement to static, serene and objective; texture:
colour you want and it will colourise your black and white painting of the terrain within the scene, the level realism versus illusion, generic textures
without covering up any of the detail youve created up to that point. of technology and the complexity of versus material-defining ones and accents
And because of that, you can experiment with your colour options to architectural structures, colour palettes versus supporting surfaces; and lighting:
find the right choices, and thus lose the fear. and lighting. The focus at this level of from moody, dramatic and capricious, to
The Colour Mode layer is just the foundation for the colouring zoom is to assess the piece from the even, impartial and descriptive.
process. Its there to give you a solid base to work with and, now that
you have that base, you can continue painting and refining.

Play around with layer blending modes. When properly used they will
make your paintings shine. Clockwork is an example of a high-level concept used as a visual aid in pitching an idea for a game.

112 Presents Game Art

Question
When designing game characters, are there
any specific rules to follow?

Answer
Aly replies
Initially, you should be given a 2. Keep the lighting simple and revealing.
brief by the client that will The priority of any character concept work
outline the basic features of the is to present the maximum amount of
character and its role, the time information to the next stage of the process.
period, the personality and the degree of 3. Research details. Dont just think you
freedom you have in designing the know what something looks like when a
characters outfit and accessories. quick internet search will confirm accuracy.
If you are simply producing a one-off 4. Expression. Get an idea from the client
character piece, which usually has a what the dominating traits are and try to
straight-on view, five main points to keep represent that in the artwork.
in mind are: 5. Posing. You could draw an action
1. Ensure the whole character is in view. pose, but initially the best bet would be
If the understanding is to be able to see the something more relaxed that enables
character from behind, then a second maximum information to be presented.
drawing showing the rear view would be
necessary. Ultimately, a three view Make sure your character is
presented in full view; dont be
turnaround or orthographic would be tempted to draw only from the
required to see the character from all sides. waist up. Details count.

Step-by-step: Create a detailed game character from scratch

1
This design is based on a specific
brief. The female character that Ive
been asked to create is a desert-dwelling,
2
After a couple of changes to the first
sketch, the idea was approved by the
client and I started blocking in some basic
3
This is the final design with a texture
overlay added, which tightens up the
image, making it easier on the eye against
savage sort of character in a future colour. At this point, I looked for some the original white background. Further
setting. She was intended to have a reference materials for the clothing and development may be required from this
firearm, and specific items of futuristic thought about whether any background point specific details of some of the
apparel. This was the initial sketch. would be needed. accessories or expression information.

Presents Game Art 113

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114 Presents Game Art

If you want to tell a story,
you have to spend time
exploring the composition
Kan Muftic, page 50
 how to draw and paint

The complete guide for artists on how to design, create and paint characters,
creatures, vehicles and environments for video games

Develop your digital art skills and learn to create

stunning concept art for video games. In this workshop
collection the professional artists behind some of biggest
video games, including God of War 3, Fallout: New
Vegas, and Rage, share their techniques for creating
stunning and original art.
9000