You’ve already defined your style, saved your references, got down to business, freaked out, and got to the point where you feel satisfied with what you have for the game. You are ready to pass on to the team, in an organized and meaningful way, all the visual language that is in your mind. The question is: what is the best way to do this?!
We have to keep in mind that art direction is keeping a unified vision that puts all artists in the same production direction. It involves not only the visual design and sets, but also the comprehensive narrative of how a game is presented in a given context. A memorable game depends on unified visual logic.
And one of the best ways to unify is through an Art Bible.
What are they and why are Art Bibles important?
Art Bibles are written with the intention of being the main guides and rules for the creation and visual development of the game. They help team members understand the visual direction they are creating and maintain consistency throughout the project. In addition, they help new members to pick up work faster and other sectors, such as marketing and communication, to be guided to produce content.
I will use material made by Kshiraj Telang, shared during a talk at the NASSCOM Game Developers Conference in 2013, as a basis to show how we can approach the development of an Art Bible:
Telang raises some questions to guide the creation of the Art Bible:
- What does a new team member need to know to contribute to the project?
- What is the document’s audience?
- If someone were to sponsor or invest in the project, what would they need to know about artistic direction?
- How will I get artists to visualize the visual intent?
Anatomy of an Art Bible
- Art Style
- Character Art
- Level of Detail (LOD)
- Camera
- Color Palette
- Atmosphere/Environment
- Texture and Surface
- User Interface
- Technical Guidelines
- References
Read all our Art Direction Posts
Art Style
The art style mentions the premises and parameters of your style. In this chapter, you should go into detail about:
- The scale of your scenarios
- The proportions of architectures
- Character proportions
- Technologies in use
- Construction methods
- Types of materials in use
- Climate
- Chronology
- Inhabitants of these scenarios
Using descriptions, images, and examples, this chapter will have to describe broader details of the relationships between project entities, as well as the general context and processes of how they are created.
Character Art
We need to define some characteristics for the character designs:
- Expressions
- Poses
- Height comparison
- Color palette
- Clothes/Fabrics
- Style and construction
Level of Details
The LOD chapter should show where and how to apply or delete details of an artwork item. For games especially, adjusting props and scenarios to use fewer resources is a common practice to improve performance. The ideal combination is highly detailed objects as the player approaches it, but less detailed as the player moves away. We then have to describe what should and should not be detailed, and at what level.
- Detail differences in narrative, gameplay and UI
- How to achieve greater/minor details
- What and what not to detail
- Architecture Details
- Character Details
Camera
The camera is the player’s view of the world. It affects how elements will appear on the screen, so their compositions must be done in a way that amplify the design intent.
- Camera effects
- Story/Narrative Sequences
- Field of View (FOV)
- Gameplay angle and character composition
Colour Palette
The color palette is the foundation of your artistic style. Emotion and intention are communicated through them, and defining them is of utmost importance.
- Color samples
- Hues and Saturations
- Palettes for different environments
Atmosphere/Environment
The atmosphere and ambience complement their character and art styles, as well as promote their emotional and artistic intent. In your environments, you will define:
- Scale
- Scheme
- Opening
- Climate conditions
User Interface
The UI is the main method of user interaction with your game world. Your menus should provide simple ways for users to navigate between game-specific settings and options. You should clearly break down all icon decisions and layout logic to suggest how your design is consistent with the artistic direction and user experience. When planning and creating your user interface, you must define:
- Animations
- Menu items and HUD
- Interface Design Technique
- User experience
Technical Guidelines
Secondary to art itself, imposing a specific process for implementing art items is very important. Especially when hiring new recruits, clearly defining the process of creating and implementing artwork will ensure that the final product is consistent and predictable in its naming conventions and file types. Your process should detail:
- Exporter
- Naming Conventions
- Resource Collection and Structuring
- Limitations
- Tools to use
Limiting the size and detail of art assets prevents instances where the sizes are incorrect and don’t look “right” in conjunction with a scene.
References/mood boards
References and Mood Boards are the foundation of your artistic style. You should fill them with examples and influences from your styles and creations, and communicate the mood and nature of the project. You can include:
- Illustrations
- Photographs
- Comics
- Videos/Movies
- Others games
Something else?
As with all living documents, it’s best to be as efficient as possible when communicating your ideas. Telang adds:
- Don’t use large blocks of text
- Combine images to communicate ideas if there are no examples
- Use a format that the entire team is comfortable with
- Version your pages
- Use subtitles
- Create your content
