Many questions can be raised about this picture, as well as
different messages. This creature is menacing, with the pointe fangs and metal
exoskeleton. Though, on its body are many scrapes, and bad wounds. This could
be and aftermath of a fight, after chasing prey but getting hurt in the
process. This makes me think, who is it hunting? Where have they gone?
Alternatively, I thought, what if this creature is prey? A mix of fear and
aggression can be gained from its stance. The forest surrounding the creature
also gives a dark and dangerous atmosphere to this picture. The artist has a
rustic, jagged style to his art. The jagged edges and contrasting colours make
this image more intimidating to perceive.
This
picture shows, what appears to be an ant, operating a wooden machine gun. The
machine gun has similarities to that off an old fashioned field gun or a modern
‘mini’ gun, but as it is wooden it is hard to tell. The ant looks aggressive,
with red eyes and spiky limbs. Its intimidating posture gives it an ‘evil’
(rather than ‘good’) image. This image implies it could be a soldier, which is
backed up by the weapon it is wielding. Moreover, the dark colours of this
creature back up the evil image that it has.
Concept art in the industry
Concept artwork also has its place, even
after being used for the design of a game. Avid fans of games franchises such
as Halo and Mario have the option to buy concept art posters, booklets and
models, of which can sold with the game in a special edition or online. People
tend to buy the art out of appreciation, as it gives a personal level of insight
of how the game had been created. From concept art you can appreciate the
thought process the artist had used in creating the art, with the comparison to
the end product – the actual game. This picture to the left shows a page from
the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword concept booklet. It shows Different facial
expressions, poses and costumes the artist perceived Link could have used, all
of which the designers and animators have utilised in the game.
Artwork has its uses within the games it has been designed
for originally as well. This can be seen in games such as Halo, where concept
art can be unlocked as an achievement through the game. These achievements are
great incentives for players to keep playing games, as it can put the user in
the addictive “just one more kill” frame of mind. Moreover, these pieces of art
can be showed off to friends, and used as trophies for their achievements and
skill.
This art also plays an important role for franchises and
sequels. One major aspect is if a company gets bought out by another, for
example, with Dice and EA (or that of all EA’s teams). As EA has taken over
Dice, many of Dice’s members (including concept artists) may have been laid off
in the takeover. As the concept artists would have an intimate knowledge of how
the company works, DICE and EA would have a great benefit in keeping the
concept art pieces to give to their new artists. This means that sequels such
as Battlefield 3 remain similar to the previous versions.
So, in the universe of the games industry, concept art is a
fundamental foundation, which determines how game will be produced. The ideas
that can be communicated through a piece of art are monumental in comparison to
a written piece of text – as I previously mentioned, a picture can tell a story
a thousand words cannot. Each artist’s style contributes massively to how the
image is drawn, and therefore in the chain of game design, how the final
product will turn out. But it’s uses also carry on throughout the development
of the game, with its uses spreading into the gaming world and onto other
projects. It is my opinion that the development of games would hinder without
the skill and perception of the great artists there are today.
Bibliography
Concept art has many uses within
the games industry. As a person who would like to get into illustration, I
believe strongly that art work is one of the driving influences behind how the
game’s image will be published, as well as how all the aspects of the game will
turn out. There is the old saying – a picture can tell a story a thousand words
cannot.
The strongest focus of a piece of
art work is to display and idea. This applies more directly towards the gaming
industry, as a whole sense of atmosphere can be gained from a single picture
alone. The concept artists would develop ideas for weapons, scenery, MPC’s, and
even basic items around the room which all would fit into the level. By drawing
up these ideas and showing them to 3D designer, the designer can also benefit
from the atmosphere and ideas drawn from the picture. This would then pass down
the line towards the level designer and even the programmer, to help tailor the
game to the way the artists envisioned.
Of course, the artist would not
develop the ideas on their own. A whole team of designers would help direct
which way the game wants to go, but the foundation artwork will always be
referenced as an example of how they want the game to eventually end up. Artwork
which has not been used can also be saved, and recycled in later projects.
The artist would be briefed (most
likely), along with all the other members on the design team about how the
project leader wants the game to work. The artist would then develop many
concept drawings, on paper as well as software’s such as Photoshop. Of course,
using Photoshop has the advancements over paper drawings, such as being more
mobile, transferable to other software such as Maya, and the ability to (with
greater ease) to create photorealistic and interesting pieces of artwork. This
art would then be sent to a 3D modeller, whom using the artwork, design models,
characters and scenery suitable for the game. These then will get sculpted,
textured and entered into a levelling software such as UDK, ready for testing
to become a game. All of these steps stemmed from a few slides and pieces of
artwork.
Concept Art Analysis
This
piece of art shows a recent battle, with the successor preparing to acquire a glowing
artefact on the stand. The battle behind is bloody and gruesome, yet no others
wear the same colours or look the same as the male at the front. This suggests
that he may have worked alone in defeating these people. As they were all
armed, it also suggests that they may have been guarding this artefact. The
amount of death could symbolise the importance of this artefact, and could
imply that it belongs to him. The style of art has slight photo-realism, but
the mystical atmosphere to this piece can override that. If this image was used
to help design the game, it is clear what sort of atmosphere the artist is
trying to achieve. This ‘feel’ of the image is then transferred down the line
and eventually put into the game.
This picture shows a little girl, being tempted by some
beings. These beings could be daemons, spirits or even a figment of the girls’
imagination. Their heads are split at the back, and a brain like essence seems
to be leaking and rising upwards, also adding to the suspicion that they are
not part of this world. The main being in the middle is holding a fishing line,
with a smelly sock on the end of the hook. They are trying to tempt the girl to
take it. This could imply that by taking it, she will be trapped and will
possible turn into a being like them. This could communicate the temptation for
children to do bad actions, and the struggle some may face trying to be ‘good’.
These elements are all vital in the image, as without them the game will not be
similar to how the image is trying to perceive them. The artist has a clear style, with the dark
shadows and ‘egg’ shaped heads, making the picture unique in comparison to the
others I have discussed.
This
picture two fairy like females chasing an evil monkey like demon or person in a
forest. The evil person is clutching some form of fruit, of which is glowing
brightly. All around the forest on the trees are other fruits, barely glowing
or are a lot duller than the one the person is clutching. They all have bite
marks in, suggesting that their ‘purity’ may have been lost by being
eaten. The person has a dark haze around
it, and with the painted face also suggests it being evil. This is opposed to
the two females, who are glowing and look graceful in their attempts to stop
this person. This could communicate the idea of thief’s in the world, and the
struggling attempt of good people trying to stop it. The style of the artists
is clear, as everything in the picture seems to flow gracefully. This sets the image apart as the art style is
unique to this picture.
This artwork shows a man clutching a side of his face,
whilst a miniature version of himself clambers on his head, apparently
listening by pressing his ear onto the head. From the hand prints and pain on
the larger persons head, it suggests the smaller person (or in my opinion,
conscience of the bigger person), has crawled out of the eye of the bigger
person. This could be seen as the persons mind or conscience escaping, and
listening from the outside. The hand and footprints of the smaller person are
mud like and dark, instead of blood which I was expecting. This suggests that
the persons mind is dark and dirty, full of secrets of which the conscience is
trying to escape. The style of the artist is very unique. This can be seen with
the level of detail of muscles and body mass on the hands and face. This
attention to detail with shading makes the mage very twisted and
photorealistic, making it interesting to behold
