Carman Chirstopher. Visual Design Concepts For Mobile Games

CRC Press, 2018. — 185 p. — ISBN13: 978-1-1388-0692-4.This book is geared towards both students as well as professionals who are looking to enter the mobile (tablet/smartphone) and PC (personal computer) industry as concept artists (for both 2D and 3D production pipelines) or 2D production artists (game-ready assets). This book is not specifically focused on game design or game development and is also not a 3D modeling or animation guide.However, certain aspects of game design, game development, and 3D modeling and animation will impact the visual development and art creation process. So, at points throughout we will explore topics such as game engine performance and game mechanics, though at a very high-level, bird's-eye, vantage point and only as they pertain to the visual development of the various assignments throughout this book.Through the completion of the exercises and assignments contained within Visual Development for Web & Mobile Games readers will be guided through the visual development process and execution of a variety of concepts and assets (final game art). This includes categories such as characters, props, and backgrounds, within an isometric design template. The categories themselves will relate more to their function within a very simple game design template than their completed visual representation (e.g., the "big build-able" category could be anything from a town square to a fire breathing dragon as long as it fits within the bare bones parameters of the asset types functionality). The concept, theme, and style of these assets, as well as the world they inhabit, will be completely up to the individual artist.Isometric Perspective
What Is (and Isn’t) This Book about?
What Exactly Is a “Social” Game?
The Evolution of Social Game Art
The Isometric Explosion
What’s This Isometric Perspective We Keep Hearing about?
Stacking
Vector Tools
Bitmaps
Vectors
Vector Tools
Shape Tools in Adobe Photoshop
Drawing Modes
Isometric Game Board Project Introduction
Introduction to the “Isometric Game Board”
ProjectVision Board
Initial Explorations
The Pitch
2D Game Asset Pipeline Overview
The Pitch
Know Your Audience
Know Your Product
Elevator Pitch
Initial Explorations: Thumbnails
Visual Hierarchy
Final Project Deliverables
Project Deliverables
Visual Hierarchy
Color Theory
Color Thumbnails
Character Design
Where to Begin
What Is Character Design?
Shape Design
Silhouette
Graphic versus Volumetric
Contrasting Characters
Using Color
Putting the Concepts Together
Line Quality
Stereotypes
Paper to Pixel to Bitmap
Character Model Sheets
Multistate Assets and Global Lighting
Multistate Assets
What Exactly Is a “Prop”?
Props: Harvestables/Destructibles
Consistency
Color Palette
Variety
Visual Cue
Global Light Source
The Big Buildable
Intensity
Light Quality
Hard Light
Soft Light
Combining Light Qualities
Progress Question
Dynamic Lighting
The Big Buildable
Gut Check
Prop Design (Continued)
Asset Cohesiveness
Basic Rendering
Polish/Refinement
Visual Hierarchy and Cast Shadows
Working with Graphics
Art Team Roles and Collaboration
Production Overview
Final 2D Game Assets
Cross-Pollination
Game Designer
Game Developer
Product Manager
Producer
Studio Environment
3D Production Pipeline and Marketing Art
3D Art Pipeline
3D for Visual Development
3D Software
Marketing Art
User Interface and User Experience
User Interface and User ExperienceGame Portfolio Additions: Side-Scroll Mini Game
Color Concepts
Proceed to the Refinement of Individual Assets
Portfolio Tips and Parting Words
State of the Industry
Portfolio Priorities
Page Layout
Portfolio Formats