Design Land: Video Game Art Style – Extra Credits
After crossing through the Concept Cliffs of Design Land, James Portnow writes in to tell us what he’s learned about crafting the concept art for a video game in the Art Arroyo and how you can avoid the many perils and pitfalls that happen along the way to creating your very own game!
— More from Design Land —
1. High Concept:
2. Art Style:
3. Design Docs:
4. Meaning Into Math: Coming Soon!
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♪ Intro Music: “Penguin Cap” by CarboHydroM –
♪ Outro Music: “A Mystic Lineage” by Esteban Bellucci & Toni Leys
#ExtraCredits #Gaming #GameDesign
I wish I knew my art style in terms other than "the way I draw things". But hey, that's good enough for my team so far, which is just me.
the cold decadence of WHAT NOW
As a solo dev who is still just starting out, this is super helpful. I'm ok at basic stuff art wise, but it's not my strong suit, so I've been worrying about how I'm going to manage to make something that looks good (though at the moment, the challenge is still just making something at all!) I love the suggestion to look outside of just games for style inspiration – I had been thinking about what game I'd like to look like, but this has helped me realise that was the wrong question anyway, and has given me some ideas on where else to look. Thanks!
Honestly, I never really liked the art style of drawing people with legs but without arms. It looks so illogical. 😳
I would rather the characters have all four limbs or no limbs. What's up with the disproportionate hands to feet ratio too? 🤔
I'm so happy to hear from James again~!!!
The requesting art back part is genius. Gotta jot that down.
Exactly the video i need rn, thanks guys!
Is that a motherf-
I'm making a cute little platformer about redemption losely basid on dontats divine comedy. Paris lost and English folk lore sprickeld in
So how dose this arstel pitch sound
Hieronymus Bosch by way of Filsher
Thank you! There's a lot of seemingly obvious advice that's still very easy to overlook when actually doing a project
I never knew I wanted Matthew drawn like Jotaro, and now I want more xD
Ce lá n'est pas un hecc sneque.
Thanks for sharing ^^
Dammit, I'm an idiot. I thought this video would be about Fallout 2.
it's like just in time for my work progress, though I would say I'm kinda struggle at this point for quite a while. I'm even considering just make them, so that I could see how I wanted instead of trying to research more and more. Something like experimenting with artstyle, rather than just research from others. Please do more game design videos, it's something that the community desperately need because it's still considered new compared to other medias.
The raw number of references in the first 16 seconds got me to stop and comment. .. oh, and another youtuber I watch just finished making a DOOM mod that makes the game into jumping flash.
You have no idea how long to wait to have an answer to the question i’ve been asking for soooooo long 🥲🥲🥲😊😊
Thanks for the video 🙂
Yay! A EC about game design. What are we down to? 1 every 3 months now?
This came just in time, since I'm working on an art style POC! Great game design advice!
Ah…. its nice to hear from James again.
This is good advice,I'll say make sure the art use isn't fan art unless you got premisson.
I just went through thousands of images organizing references and then making placeholder art for my game. Went with lots of different styles and we will see what sticks as we further develop and test. What resonates with players and what artists share our vision is really going to shape the style to come.
My games art style… Is bad… I suck at art.
are you telling me we could have had Matt in smash
borderlands, iirc, was supposed to be with more realistic graphics before they switched to cellshading and i remain thankfull for that decision
Since I don't see anyone else taking a try at this, each reference at 4:37: (From top left to right)
Homer & Gumball, Ren & Stimpy, A Pokémon Trainer/Professor? & Sprigatito, Bob's Burgers' Bob & Doraemon, Jotaro & Catbug?, Goku & Garfield, Calvin & Hobbs??? (I have seen that bear, but can't seem to find or remember exactly where it's from…), Finn & Jake.
We have lost the jojo…
THIS MUST BE THE WORK OF AN ENEMY STA
Yi remaster when.
Thank you for the video.
> Don't be like Cuphead. It will be ripoff. Cuphead looked another way: Cartoons.
Well. Cuphead is good example of ripoff of cartoons!
Me in programming: ha breaks !? Never heard of them ….
Please no more BUGS !!
I'm not a game designer (unless you count being a Game Master which I guess does count to a small degree) but I am very interested in writing, art, and by extension making a comic series someday so this advise even though tailored to game devs was still very insightful so thank you.
I’m Mexican and I’m confused, when you said “arroyo” at the beginning of the video, how is that different from a “stream”? Because that’s how I would translate “arroyo”
Hello I have a request
do you think you could do a video on what happened to the french fleet in world War 2? I haven't seen any books or good videos on the subject.
Why did you throw away smash 🤣
I've been an amateur artist since a child. I did some theater light, sound, and set design as well. Pretty much everything I did was, "here's a thing, make it happen."
I've always loved doing many different things and trying something new.
So my personal style has evolved from semi realistic landscape, to pixel backgrounds, to realistic textures and object to concepts. Right now I'm working on Coloring and trying to redesign pictures on the web into 1950s children's book illustrations. I tried to delve into photorealism and humanoid art (from anime to 3d renders), but neither my canvases (paper or software) and I could handle that.
I think, in both groups and individuals, it's important to constantly push your boundaries and see what small tweaks you can make to your already existing material. If you're in a rutt, learn and study something new. You'll get an epiphany and grow.
This is also the same thought and process I do in my day to day and work life as well.
Must be strange, when your team were making Minecraft, the second was working Assasin's Screed and the third Peppa Pig.😂💸
4:37 a plethora of new profile pics for him XD
Not per se a bad thing but it's interesting to note that quite a lot of games have an art style that's derivative of an already famous style from another medium. I Hope that one day there will be a game with a style so unique that it will inspire other mediums, and not through the quirks of its tech, i.e., pixel art or retro 3D.
5:10 Did ya'll just diss Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go??
block the vid on Austria right now
Cruelty squad
This is obvious but please make sure that the art style match the narrative
Something that occurred to me whilst watching this was the recent release Cult of the Lamb, and how its art style really struck me.
The characters are generally 2-D, and appear to be on a stage, evidenced by the solid background sets and stars/moons hanging from the sky on ropes. Plus the large head big eye always smiling style of the character design that gives it a whimsical feel to the entire thing.
That is, until you get to the sacrificing, cannibalism, and dark eldritch Lovecraftian-style horror of the entire thing – and the dissonance between the two makes it feel a lot darker than a more conventionally art style would allow it.
"look outside the realm of games for inspersion"
My first thought: No Game no Life's Eyes and Studio Trigger's everything
yup that helps alot with pixel art…
0:12 they got invited to smash bros 🤣
Like the ink brush and ink tank😊
4:02 TF2 ÀAAAÆAŪ
1:38 okay, first pitfall avoided. betting it's the second third that go me.