In the case of games, the game's designer will have already thought of the chracters they want to inhabit their game, or the location that the game will be set within, and so the designer can describe their ideas to the artist, who can then translate these images into a visual representation. This process may seem to be a hinderance of the quality of the final ideas, but it is a great advantage to allow other members of a creative team to incorporate their influence into the game. For example; they could infuse their own signature style into the initial ideas, and then their own creativity is reflected in the game.
The artwork is built up, starting from simple pencil sketches with little detail and become more and more detailed and stylised. Some artists prefer to paint their artwork traditionaly with water colours and some artists prefer to keep their concepts in pencil, but refining them with, sometimes, extreme detail. There also stylised types of artwork. A good example of this is the manga style used by many Japanese artists, which are similar to characatures only more cartoon style. Some graphixc artists are specialised in that they use bold colours to create characters and images and characters that are more appealling to a younger audiences, such as Nintendo characters Mario, Donkey Kong and Kirby.
It is important for images to portray a certain feel or mood, or create an atmosphere (for example- dark, light, creepy, happy or moody).
Another example of a media that is evolving in the artistic side of games are graphics tablets. More and more artists are choosing to use a graphics tablet, which allows the artist to draw directly onto a pad which can use pressure sensitivity to draw images directly onto a computer. These images can then be edited effectively using a programme like Adobe Photoshop. Some very effective and high detailled pictures can be created simply with computer software. There are also some graphic artists who combine traditional methods with modern techniques- such as the artist Dan Seagrave, who is talented at painting but also edits his finished pieces using computer software.
Another example of a media that is evolving in the artistic side of games are graphics tablets. More and more artists are choosing to use a graphics tablet, which allows the artist to draw directly onto a pad which can use pressure sensitivity to draw images directly onto a computer. These images can then be edited effectively using a programme like Adobe Photoshop. Some very effective and high detailled pictures can be created simply with computer software. There are also some graphic artists who combine traditional methods with modern techniques- such as the artist Dan Seagrave, who is talented at painting but also edits his finished pieces using computer software.
An artist who inspires me is Yoji Shinkawa, made famous for his artwork in games such as the Metal Gear Solid series and the Zone of the Enders games. What strikes me with his work is the variety of material he uses- whether it be paint, pencil sketches or digital images, Shinkawa shows his talent through variety of methods. His style is also quite unique, with the use of certain colours and backgrounds, create a mood and feel that is unique to Metal Gear Solid. The images bellow are good example of Shinkawa's style of artwork, with high detailed, stylised people. The use of colour is also effective. The green image with the faces in the background is from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a game set in the jungle and forest and the art reflects this, with it's green spidery paintwork. The other image is the cover from the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty game. This painting resembles the game in that the location of the game (An oil-rig called 'The Big Shell') is an orange building, and the game is a balance of dark and light- all of these aspects are displayed through the front cover, with the main character displayed in black and white with an orange background.
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