Shadows and Gesture

As I watched my children playing outside in today's nice, springtime weather, I noticed my shadow laid out on the ground  in front of me. My mind wandering as it does, I began studying the contours of this naturally occurring silhouette and something about it struck me as interesting.

When drawing, artists resort to making an average of features in order to make simple, clear statements on their percieved rythm in forms. This is what we call gesture (which I hypothesize is ultimately the whole of drawing, that is, progressively smaller applications of gesture.) Surprisingly, I observed typical gestures of form in my shadow that I normally observe in drawings. Something about the slightly diffuse penumbra, the blurring of subtle disruptions in the contour of my shape had recreated the same types of lines I've witnessed in many man made artworks.

It occurred to me that this could be a great way to study rythm in form. In a sense it should be no surprise, as artists have long done something similar in drawing silhouettes to test the effectiveness of their drawn shapes. But to my knowledge, I don't know of anyone who has studied cast shadows of subjects in order to produce reference for averaged rythms of form.

By adjusting the size and sharpness of the cast shadow, it may be possible to obtain naturally produced averages in shape in order to better inform your drawings.

Defeating the Canvas

I've discovered a Japanese tv show called Urasawa Naoki no Manben in which the titular and excellent mangaka visits his comic making colleagues to discuss previously filmed footage of said colleagues doing their daily work. It's fascinating for anyone who is at all interested in art and comics. Among the many interesting things discussed by the stars of this show, one recurring concept is something I've also heard from many artists I've talked with over the years. That would be fear of the blank canvas.

When an artist stares into the blank stage upon which his work will later be revealed,  he can be struck with intimidation. The paper is meaningless, but has infinite potential for meaning. The variables that must be considered in filling that stage can be cosmicly astounding. It is Musashi's void, an emptiness where from answers may be drawn if only you resolutely dare to enter and begin searching. There is an unknown and possibly uncountable number of questions within yet to be answered. Not the least of which is this:

"Can I do this?"

Even these mangaka, some of which are possibly among the most prolific drawers to ever live, must still confront this question every time they sit down to do what they have done for years. I too, know this battle well.

I will offer you this advice in confronting the void in the canvas. First, obtain some direction in your mind, as clear as can be without wasting time. You merely need a direction to guide you and you can always decide to travel elsewhere once you are on the road.

After this, you should dive in.

Dive in boldly. Thrust about in the void, searching for answers. Embrace the emptiness and revel in the potential. If you are drawing, just start making marks. If you are writing, just start saying something. Even if you are utterly lost, just launch your attack. The only other options are to flee or delay the confrontation, the former being the better of alternatives. But, the most excellent way is to boldly cross the threshold and let yourself plummet freely into the abyss.

Vilppuian Symmetry

Having recently encountered On The Practice and Science of Drawing  (now one of my absolute favorite books,) I've been inspired to revisit other resources in light of what I've just read. In this pursuit I found myself observing the work of Glenn Vilpuu as he expounded on those ovoid and spherical forms so characteristic of his drawings.

As is so often the case when revisiting topics you supposedly already know well, I was suddenly struck with realization of why he favored these shapes. The sphere could not lend itself more perfectly to a sense of symmetry, while simultaneously being perfectly simple to sketch.

This impressed upon me to do some sketching with particular mind to the symmetry of primary shapes I use in my drawings, rather than leaving symmetry as something to be later considered in a refining stage. It is an excellent way to focus on the voluminous nature of your drawing. By constructing shapes with particular regard to parallel surfaces (given that all simple forms must have these) before perpendicular ones, you will find yourself more thoughtful of volume thoughout your drawing process.

A Model For Design

I am always looking for models or systems to help me find success.
Here is a model for design in general that I've found helpful.

1) PRE-PRODUCTION.
Obtain Goal
Analyze and Research
Identify and Resolve Problems

2) PRODUCTION.
Develop
Test

3) POST-PRODUCTION.
Implement
Evaluate

This system is applicable to just about any design related issue.

Because I find systems that comport with natural human tendencies more effective, I also considered what seems to be the "natural" human epistemology when putting this together. Note that the third feature of each section implies a return to an earlier part in the process, reconsidering what you've done so far. This means that it is in fact "looping" or reiterative rather than strictly linear. Furthermore, the final feature implies that there is no necessary ending.

I keep this small list around in many places and put it up nearby when I begin aomething new. Maybe it can help you, too.

Tunnel Vision in Game Art

We (that is, artists in general) typically come into games with a soloist mind set. This is cultivated from our time as amatuers, where most of us seem to have been producing art by our lonesome, where we have immediate control and visibility over all elements of our work at once.

This entirely reasonable trend among amatuers a might change as game development is increasingly more accessible, thanks to readily available software like construct, unity, and unreal. Only time will tell.

But, once we enter into game development we typically join a team of artists, wherein we specialize in producing art for a specific family of assets; characters, environments, etc. At this point we tend to fight the same old battles we've always fought at this point, throwing our entire bag of tricks at any particular task set in front of us. When an entire team does this without considering their art's place among everyone else's assets, the final look of the game comes together looking like a mess. It is akin to every musician in an orchestra trying to play the entire score.

Of course, this can happen even if it's the project of a single artist, since you will be working on a variety of disparate assets which will only later be seen together. However, the team based nature of most game development only further lends itself to this problem of tunnel vision.

Its crucial to remember that each asset must work in concert with all the others, just as certain hues and values are regulated to certain areas of a single illustration to produce harmony.

For art leadership, it is especially important to be aware of this type of tunnel vision both in your own work and in the work of your teammates. Although it is valuable for everyone on the team to recognize this concept, it is ultimately the leadership's responsibility to coordinate everything.

The principle can be sumed up thusly:

The entire screen of a video game is the illustration, not any particular asset.

Starbreak at PAX East 2016

Some of our promo art and a pre-show photo of our environment artist L0cke and monster artist Kohyunu  giving our set up a quick test.

Promo images created with the assistance of L0cke who provided a beautiful starry sky to work off of.

Starbreak is available on Steam for free.

Proto-Wildfire

A very early concept of a character which would eventually become the Wildfire.

At this point in development, any character type could use any weapon. However, I still wanted to design characters for promotional purposes and this was going to be the character representing what we were then calling the soldier class (Think Phantasy Star Online.) A sword seemed the most appropriate weapon for him at the time. Currently, there isn't a sword in Starbreak at all!

Spriter and Character Art for Starbreak

At the Starbreak developer blog, we've made a post addressing character art. It is a brief overview of how we use Spriter.

Although this was written primarily by myself, I notice that some edits and additional sentences were added which I was unaware of.

There will be additional posts relative to Starbreak's art made in the coming weeks. I may post additional things here, too.

Starbreak is in open beta right now and you can play in your browser, no strings attached.

Duskwing with Tea

Duskwing With Tea

The Duskwing. I am still undecided about certain subtleties in her design.

Duskwing Portrait

Duskwing Portrait

A portrait of the Duskwing from Starbreak.