Concept art vs In-game art

[Atreides]

I was wondering what roles the concept artists and the 3D modlers/texturers etc have in a company and how their work is spread out.

 

I really like the art of Justin Sweet and Vance Kovacs along with the guys that worked on Jefferson and IWD2 and was wondering how their workload is distributed in projects (initial heavy demand for concept to be taken over by in-game modlers?) and maybe ideas on how to incorporate more of their art into the final product.

 

Of course it takes the modlers to flesh out the game world and make their poligons count. Animating the models etc. How closely do you guys work with the concept artists?

 

Finally, are there devs that do both kinds of art?

[Nur Ab Sal]

K2 concept art is far more beatiful than in-game final art.

[vaxen83]

This picture was in the Xbox official guide as part of concept art. (Which was left out of the game in terms of being refined into a fight)

 

 

And the one with the Exile fighting Sith below.

 

 

The lightsabers are represented differently in them. You can see some of the differences between the two.

[alanschu]

K2 concept art is far more beatiful than in-game final art.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well there's a shock!

 

 

 

I would bet that many of the devs do both. It would certainly be more valuable to the company if you could do both.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Being an "artist" usually means that you do both art and game graphics.

 

 

 

concept art is far more beatiful than in-game final art.

 

That is why Project New Jersey will be a 2D game done completely in Corel Painter IX "

[Musopticon?]

:D

 

Heh, I'd play it.

[Tim Cox]

Yes, there was at least one concept artist who was also involved in the creation of in-game textures and models.

 

Generally speaking, while the concept artist is virtually unlimited in the visual qualities he or she can achieve in a static image, game asset creation is subject to limitations such as the game engine being used, a short development schedule, and in the case of a licensed property, strict aesthetic guidelines.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Yes, there was at least one concept artist who was also involved in the creation of in-game textures and models.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

But you dont have employees who do concept art exclusively, right? That seems like a very big expense.

 

 

Im studying Gamedesign with a specialisation in graphics at University and we're doing the basic course in concept art right now. But we're primarily 3D artists/modelers/animators

[Judge Hades]

You know, a game that has the visual style of concept art for the entire game would be pretty cool.

[Weiser_Cain]

Yes, there was at least one concept artist who was also involved in the creation of in-game textures and models.

 

Generally speaking, while the concept artist is virtually unlimited in the visual qualities he or she can achieve in a static image, game asset creation is subject to limitations such as the game engine being used, a short development schedule, and in the case of a licensed property, strict aesthetic guidelines.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah I can see a lot of what you said in the final product and while I understand, it's still a shame.

[Atreides]

There could be a concept art gallery as an extra feature in the final product.

[Weiser_Cain]

Don't see how that'd improve the game...

[Kaftan Barlast]

On the idea of making the game look more like concept art or art in general(rather than plygons and textures) I had the idea to make a different kind of render that would make 2D images instead of the usual 3D and using filters(or whatever youd want to call them) make it look like a pencil drawing or similar.

 

Kind of like putting every single frame through a photoshop filter in realtime.

 

I dont think this is a new idea but fun to try and go in the opposite direction of 'realistic' graphics. Id love to play a game that looked like an old silent film or an expressionist painting :D

 

 

..Im of course, completely ignoring the amount of computer power it would take to accomplish this

[Musopticon?]

^There's this one japanese game coming out which uses a pencil-like effect on graphics. I can't remember the name, only that the game was mainly about Amaterasu(jap. heaven queen etc.) in a wolf-form.

[Kaftan Barlast]

It would be great if you could get us some screenshots so we can see.

[Musopticon?]

In a moment...

 

So, the game's name is Okami. For PS 2, sadly. Here's a few trailers:

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=867

 

And here's a gallery(best I could come up with):

 

http://ps2.gamezone.com/gamesell/screens/s26878_0.htm

 

 

Might someone teach me how to attach images to posts?

Edited October 9, 2005 by Musopticon?

[Nartwak]

Use this BBCode:

[IMG=Url of Image..]

OR

Use the file attachment tool located on the 'Add Reply' page.

 

Click choose, find the image on your harddrive, click Add this Attachment. Once the file is attached to your post clicking the box 'Add into Post' adds the attachment id BBCode to the post itself, so you can choose where to display the attachment link. Otherwise I believe it is simply tacked to the end of your post.

Edited October 9, 2005 by Nartwak

[Musopticon?]

Ok, thanks Nart.

[Nartwak]

You're welcome.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Some of it looks very nice while other things look potentially headache-inducing. But its nice to see a different approach to computer graphics

[Musopticon?]

It sure is. Especially after the wankfest that's going on after Unreal 3 engine and whatnot in the biz.

[Weiser_Cain]

It seems to just be cell shading(Which can be done in UT2K4). Depending on the game it'd be nice, I can see it working well in certain fantasy games but I'd preffer a slightly more realistic approach to KOTOR.

[jaguars4ever]

Speaking of cell shading, I wouldn't mind seeing more of a pseudo-cartoony style ala X-Men Legends.

[Kor Qel Droma]

Doesn't the new Ultimate Spider-Man game have that cel animation look?

[Weiser_Cain]

Changing my position, I'd actually prefer richer textures than gimic shaders. If the could make a game that looked like a between a plymptoon and saga frontier I'd buy that.