Game Art Design – Critical Studies

Art Direction 1

Principles of Character Design

GAME 1002 Week 2 Art Direction 1 Emma Ash, Michael Powell August 2014 1
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Principles of Character Design

what makes a character
visually interesting

what is their story

how do we convey this

visually

where do we begin

Roller Bunny by Gregory Callahans

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What is good character design?

is it believable

silhouette

readability

fit for purpose

‘Journey’ by Thegamecompany

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Believable

‘Ideal Proportions’ from Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth, Andrew Loomis

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Believable - exaggeration
A B C D

‘2D Tutorial ‘How to’ Exaggerating Body Proportions by Mike Crilley

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Believable - exaggeration
A B C D

‘2D Tutorial ‘How to’ Exaggerating Body Proportions by Mike Crilley

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Comparison – Jack and Robin

‘2D Tutorial ‘How to’ Exaggerating Body Proportions by Mike Crilley

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What is good character design?

is it believable

silhouette

readability

fit for purpose

‘DC Comics Batman by Neal Adams

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Who am I?

‘by Andy Fairhurst

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Silhouette
silhouette must be clearly readable

designed with a signature pose

pose should reinforce character traits

weapons should complement character

‘Wolverine’ by Andy Fairhurst

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What is good character design?

is it believable

silhouette

readability

fit for purpose

‘Tangled’ by Disney

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Readability – the value gradient

value – the range of light and dark
regardless of colour and saturation

value gradient – value should shift from

darker at feet to lighter at head

creates focal points – draw the player’s

eye to important areas

creates illusion of depth, enhances 3D

‘Dota2 Character Art Guide’ by Valve

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Readability – value patterning

human eye looks for patterns

create contrasting blocks of value to

highlight forms

increase contrast between objects

separate unique pieces into value

test value patterns in-game, before adding

colour

characters most important features

draw the eye ‘Dota2 Character Art Guide’ by Valve

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Readability – colour and saturation

primary + secondary and tertiary,
complement or contrast

avoid colours dominant in the world

saturation/colour intensity draw the eye

higher saturation to reinforce interest

ALWAYS recheck values in greyscale

‘Dota2 Character Art Guide’ by Valve

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Readability – colour for mood and story

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What is good character design?

is it believable

silhouette

readability

fit for purpose

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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Is it fit for purpose?

check character in context

test shapes

test colours, values

and scale

ensure it does not

distract

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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What is good character design - checklist

is it believable – based on reality

silhouette – is clear, recognisable, unique and unmistakeable

readability – value gradient, value pattern, colour and

saturation, colour for mood and story

fit for purpose – does it fit into the environment, your world

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Who am I? Superhero recognition time…

‘Hello Kitty super hero designs by Joseph Senior

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The many faces of Batman

a strong design will become iconic

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How do we create a character?

rules and story
gathering reference – visual research
refining reference using mood boards – visual research
thumbnail sketches – generating and testing ideas
refined sketches
exploring palette
final concepts

ready for production!

‘Tangled’ by Disney

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The game world helps define the rules

Positive
Hand-made
Chunky
Organic
Rural
Low-tech
Medieval

‘Tangled’ by Disney

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The game world helps define the rules

‘Village’ by Mitch Small, Craig Mooney, Game Art Team

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Rules
characters are real world proportions
silhouette must be bold and interesting with chunky shapes,
not fiddly small details
hands and feet may be slightly exaggerated
all colours from a warm, natural palette

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Story
characters have a story to locate them in the game world
male
farmer
late 30s
overweight
rustic
jolly
likes a drink, and it shows

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Gathering references
a collection of visual
ideas and stimulus

at this stage keep an

open mind

reject nothing

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Refining references – mood boards

start to focus your idea

prioritise what’s really

interesting

impose order and

deduce visual must haves

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Sketching – generating and testing ideas

work fast

work rough

don’t be precious

more done now

will save time later

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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Refined sketching

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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Exploring palette
warm and natural

no artificial colours

use saturated colour

sparingly

colours sit in harmony

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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Final concept
right proportions

right colours

right shape/silhouette

tells story visually

’Farmer’ by Jolyon Webb, Game Art Team

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How do we create a character - checklist

rules and story
gathering reference – visual research
refining reference using mood boards – visual research
thumbnail sketches – generating and testing ideas
refined sketches
exploring palette
final concepts

now you’ve got a basic understanding of guiding principles of

good character design, it’s your turn!

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Where 2D and 3D collide

Game Production:
introducing you to 3DS Max
learning modelling basics

Visual Studies:
fundamentals of drawing
visual communication
visual review, tools
and techniques

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Character design – Cubee Man

we’ll provide you with

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Cubee Man – a blank canvas

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Cubee Man – colouring in

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Your Cubee character

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Your Cubee character and beyond!

small changes make BIG differences

add hair and props

add more geometry
add more complexity to
the base

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Paper Art

Paper characters by Alexei Lyapunov and Lena Ehrlich from ‘People Too’

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Takeaways:
believable
silhouette
readable
fit for purpose
ICONIC

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 Game Art Design – Visual Studies

Takeaways:
believable beast the research
silhouette work hard and fast
readable don’t concept too soon
fit for purpose AVOID EMOTIONAL
ICONIC ATTACHMENT

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 Game Art Design – Visual Studies

Further reading
For essential reference, you should get the Andrew Loomis books – there
is no better introduction to the technical skill of observational drawing,
and this skill will help you develop believable characters

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