Beginning Illustration and Storyboarding for Games (Premier Press Game Development)

297 Pages·2004·31.54 MB·English

by  Les Pardew

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Beginning Illustration
and Storyboarding
for Games
Les Pardew
© 2005 by Thomson Course Technology PTR. All rights reserved. No SVP, Thomson Course
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To all the art teachers and mentors I have had over the years, I dedicate this book.
I have learned from many, some of whom don’t even know that they were
my instructors. Those who have spent time working with me to develop
my artistic talents are and always will be great in my eyes.
I also dedicate this book to all the young artists who will make a difference
in the time to come. May you always have faith in your work and love for art.
I pray God’s blessing on each of you.
Acknowledgments

T
his book has been an effort of much work, and I thank all those who have helped.
Especially, I thank my wife, Kim, for her unfailing faith in her artist husband, and
my children, for the time that they let me have to write. I thank my parents, who
have always believed in me. I also thank my editor, who has had to put up with an artist’s
writing ability.
I also thank the many artists and friends who have contributed to the book. I appreciate
the contributions in artwork, encouragement, and knowledge.
vi
About the Author

I
n 1987, Les Pardew started his career by creating the animation for Magic Johnson
Fast Break Basketball on the Commodore 64. He soon found that he loved working on
games and has been in the industry ever since. His work encompasses more than 100
video game titles, including some major titles such as Super Star Wars, NCAA Basketball,
Starcraft: Brood War, James Bond 007, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and CyberTiger. He
currently serves as President of Alpine Studios, which he founded with Ross Wolfl ey in the
fall of 2000. Alpine Studios is a game development company focusing on family-friendly
games. Alpine Studios’ products include Kublox, Combat Medic, Motocross Mania 2, and
Ford Truck Mania. Les is also the author of Game Art for Teens.
vii
Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv
Chapter 1 Basic Game Design Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Art Used in Game Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Game Layout Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Storyboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Level Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Environment Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Character Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Model Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Graphical User Interface Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Other Concept Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Chapter 2 Creating Game Layout Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Designing the Style of the Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Building the Game Layout Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
viii Building the Second Page of the Game Layout Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Contents ix
Other Types of Level Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Charting Complex Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Chapter 3 The Thumbnail Sketch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
The Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The Pencil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Drawing Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Pencil Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Creating the Thumbnail Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Character Thumbnails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Design Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Chapter 4 The Storyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Creating Games Takes Time and Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Games Can Be Diffi cult to Explain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Storyboarding Helps with Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Storyboarding Aids in Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
What Are Storyboards Used for in Games? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Cinematic Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Non-Player Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59