Week 12 - Game Concept Art 1 Course moves online due to Corona Virus Pandemic.
The balance of classes for the Spring Semester will be held online using the collaboration & messaging program, Slack. Please check your email for an invitation to Slack. Download the program to your computer AND to your smart phone. You will be uploading your design assignments to Slack and receiving notes there.
Slack HQ
Please email me directly with any questions.
Prof. Frederick Gardner
Week 11 - Spring Break/Corona Virus Extended - No Class at Richland Location.
(March 23 - 27)
Home Study will be the format through the month of April. You will get your assignments on this blog and email me your designs for notes. I will post step by step tutorials for character and prop designs. New design theory will be displayed 2-3 times per week and art check-ins will be weekly on Tuesdays.
Please email me with any questions.
This will be the class structure for the next month or two. If you do not have access to a computer, please do your designs on paper and send me a scanned image.
Current assignments:
- Detail the faces of your main characters in your size comp.
- Design the one of the monster bosses and add it to your size comp.
- Design one of the Main Villains for your game level. Choose from the following list of Non Playable characters:
- Aleister Crowley (High Priest/Occultist/Author) 20% insect
- Ipsissimus "Beyond the Gods" - the head of Aleister Crowley (severed head/part insect)
- Magister Templi (High Priest) of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
- Evan Morgan (2nd Viscount Tredegar/The Black Monk/Poet) friend of A. Crowley 50% insect
- Great Old One (from Cthulhu mythos) "insectlike"
- Eliphas Levi (French Occultist/Author/Magician) claims to be reincarnation of Aleister Crowley 70% insect
- Baphomet (Goat of Mendes) insect interpretation
- Insect Hoardling (The Ripper)
- Insect Philosopher
- Morlocks (Ape-like Troglodytes who live in darkness underground from the year 802,701 AD) 50% insect
- the Chronic Argonaut (H.G. Wells as a highly evolved "Time Lord" from 802,701 AD)
- Add your Main Villain design to your character size comp.
- Finish the design for your Main Character's weapon and add it to your prop composition. Recompose the prop layout so the weapon fits appropriately.
- Finish the costume details for all of your characters in the size comp, that includes the Monster Boss and Main Villain.
Present your finished work or work in progress by 6pm Tuesday, March 31st.
Stay healthy.
Spring Break/Corona Virus - No Classes
(March 16 - 20, 2020)
Week 9 - Home Study
Continue to develop your character faces, finish the Hero character then move on and finish the face designs for the other 4-5 characters in your line up. Use the same planar technique from your hero character's face.
When you have completed these designs, email them to me so you get credit for completing them. You must finish these designs before next week, which is Spring Break. Keep your designs rough but clear and do NOT use color.
You can start developing the human monsters in this game after you finish. I will post a list of character for you to chose from in the next day or so. You will turn in the Human Monster designs when you return to class on Mar 24.
Enjoy your Spring Break, but don't forget, there is an assignment for week 9, March 10th.
Character Design Head Planes Example -
Buffalo Bill
Here is an example that Xander sent me. Please read the notes ans I am sure they will apply to you as well...
Week 8 - Character Facial Planes & Caricature
Lecture Notes:
A few of you have asked why I haven't posted the notes earlier in the week, the reason is, these are not notes. You should be taking notes during class. The assignment is given in class. If I gave you a summary after the lecture, you wouldn't have to take notes and you would forget the lecture. I post the lecture summary a day before or the day of the lecture so you can confirm if you did the assignment correctly. Week 1, I asked all students to bring a notebook or use NOTES on the Mac and take notes. I expect you to maintain notes throughout the semester.
This should serve as a reminder for those of you not taking notes, I will not post the lecture summary the day before the lecture. You will get my summary the day of the lecture to avoid any further confusion.
Prop Composition Notes:
All of the submitted designs have notes that need to be addressed. Ensure these are resolved by the day of the Final or they will not be eligible for credit.
Every designs needs a title describing what the composition is, label names for each design and the artist name & date.
Character Facial Planes -
Reference for constructing the facial planes on your character designs:
Week 7 - Designing Props - Mar 3, 2020
Mid Term Size Comps -
Designing Props -
Your assignment from last week was to design 5 props for your "hero character" and compose them in a layout of 11" x 17" or 8.5" x 11", vertical or horizontal.
Use at least one of each of the basic shapes of design: circle, square and triangle to create props that reflect the backstory or personality of your character.
Do not design a weapon, that is a separate assignment.
This composition is of everyday, personal items your character would carry daily or use frequently from this time period (1890). A good example would be a pipe, pocket watch, flask, walking stick, umbrella, ink pen, wallet, embroidered handkerchief, spectacles, magnifying glass, note book, morphene bottle and syringe, doctor's tool kit, delivery bag, etc.
Your layout should be a representation of your main character's personality and exhibit a bit of his/her personal history or vices. Use the positive shapes and negative spaces to design an appealing layout incorporating the Rule of Thirds or Triangle format.
The final image should be black & while. You are free to add one accent color, but not more than one additional color.
Ideas move fast in this industry.. here is a perfect example:
Tesla Force on STEAM -
STEAM - Tesla Force
Tesla vs Lovecraft on STEAM -
STEAM - Tesla vs Lovecraft
TESLA Side Scroller -
Super Science Friends (by Konami) -
Super Science Friends game
Tesla Saves the World -
Next weeks assignment:
Design your Main Character's portrait using the proportion and clone stamp techniques from the Caricature exercise. The portrait should be large and include details in the face like nostrils, eye bags, lips, eyebrows, wrinkles, etc. Make the head shape planar and develop flat surfaces on the structure to take light and shadow.
See the example for reference:
Simplify the treatment of the hair beards and mustaches. Do not draw individual stands of hair, rather imply by drawing stands in the half light and shadow of the form.
Push the significant characteristics of the face to develop a caricature. Don't push all of the features, just pick one or two and make them large or small on the face, See the examples of noses and beards below for the level of stylization:
Week 6 - Mid Term Size Comp Review
Game Concept Art - 25 FEB 2020
Size Comp Review -
For the Mid Term, Design (5) Characters, one hero and 4 supporting characters, for the game level you are developing for Watchmen 1890. Add a creature or villain to the line up to demonstrate contrast in scale, shape and proportion. Use the line tool in Photoshop to create a box around the Hero character and show his comparative size to the others in the cast. This is a rough design with no color. Characters' costumes should be shown in their entirety and basic features of the face should be present. Ensure your size comp is composed for landscape and the resolution is 300 dpi and is at least 11' x 17" in size. All files submitted should be jpeg.
The name of the project (Watchmen 1890) should be on the image with the name of the characters in the line up and your name and date in the lower corner.
Costumes - Clothes Make the Character
Reference photos - Clothing 1890
Silhouette - Making Character with Shape
Caricature - Pushing the Pronounced
Use one of the following period portraits and identify the facial feature that stands out the most. Isolate that feature and emphasize it's size, shape or proportion to develop a caricature of the model.
Personality of the Gun
