How Do You Utilize the Principles of Art in a Game

Great looking models, textures, and ambiences and lighting are very important to making our games look as good every bit they can.  Yet without a solid limerick to build upon, the visual structure of our environments will be never as compelling or bonny as they tin can exist.

The Challenge: Creating compositions in a real time game environs is different from static images such equally a photograph or painting in the sense that the camera or the role player's frame of reference is ever moving. The thespian moves through a 3 dimensional space, which finer creates a brand new composition with every frame.

This is similar to moving picture, merely tin can differ if there is a 'free camera', where the actor has concrete control over what the camera is looking at.  If this is the case there are no guarantees that the player will be looking where yous want them to, when yous want them to. With a gratuitous photographic camera the creative person needs to persuade the player's heart (and camera) to the places they want them to await, or get.

Due to the complications created by an ever-irresolute frame of reference and an unpredictable camera, level limerick should exist looked at as the sum of many smaller compositions instead of i large one. All possible viewing angles and player/camera positions should exist considered and and then the appropriate compositions built from these starting points.

Creating compositions: elements and principles:

The "elements of design" and the "principles of pattern" accept been called the linguistic communication of art, or the building blocks used to create art. For the environs artist, they are the modular pieces, tile sets, prop objects, and lights we have to build our levels.

1. The Elements of Design:

The elements of blueprint provide a tool ready to the artist similar to visual Lego pieces with which images tin can be constructed. There are 7 types of elements...

Line

shape

size

space

color

texture

value

Line: Line is annihilation that is used to ascertain a shape, contour or outline.  Information technology communicates length and management, and can take an emotional touch on on the viewer depending on its angle. The 4 different types of lines are horizontal, vertical, oblique, and curved.

Hither are some examples…

Horizontal lines: These imply calm and residual.

vertical lines: communicate power and forcefulness.

Oblique lines: suggest motility, action, or change

Curved lines (S lines): portray tranquillity and calm

Lines are a very useful for leading the heart of the thespian to a desired location, or in the management you want them to travel.

Shape: shapes are created through combinations of lines, but tin can likewise be made by a alter in colour or tone. The following are the different categories of shapes...

Geometric – architectural shapes, manufactured or 'inorganic'

Organic – natural shapes, or those created by curved irregular lines

Positive/Negative – the shapes created past the physical objects that occupy space, or lack thereof.

static – stable and immobile shapes

dynamic – shapes that imply movement or activity

Size (scale): Size is the relationship between the proportions of shapes, since you don't know how large anything is until it's placed in reference of something else. Differences in size will place a visual emphasis or lack of accent on a shape

Space: This is the negative space (or negative shape) created through the organization of negative shapes.

Colour: The subject of colour would be a whole separate paper, or book even, and so I'll ascertain it very briefly. Simply put, every colour is the issue of mixing a Hue, a Value, and an Intensity. Colours can be warm or cool. A wide range of contrasts tin can be created using color. For a more thorough explanation, refer to Johannes Itten'due south "Art of Color"

Texture: Surroundings artists are well acquainted with textures. As an chemical element of design,' texture' refers to the way a surface looks.  Matte, shiny, bumpy, etc. are all textures.

Value: The concluding chemical element is value. This is besides sometimes chosen 'Form'. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of an object, a shadow, or a colour. Value can exist increased or decreased by adding white or black, or increasing/decreasing the intensity of its lighting.  The location of light sources and their intensity has a huge influence on a appearance of the scene and on the emotional response of the player.

2. The Principles of Pattern:

The "Principles of design"  are the techniques used for the effective arrangement and distribution of elements into a composition.  The principles are...

Balance

direction

emphasis

proportion

rhythm

economic system

unity

Only every bit multiple elements can be combined together, so can multiple principles.  Artists are definitely not limited to ane principle per image. By agreement and applying these principles to our levels we can exist more effective in achieving our visual goals, and communicating our ideas to our audience.

Residual: Balance is a effect of the fact that the player'southward middle will unconsciously use the middle of the screen as a fulcrum, a center point of the left and right side. Balance is achieved by arranging elements so that neither side is visually overpowering or heavier than some other.

All the elements an artist has to work with accept a visual weight associated with them, depending on their colour, value, and size. Night elements weigh more than light elements, large elements weigh more than than small elements, etc. Maintaining visual balance requires consciously distributing an appropriate number of 'heavy' and 'light' elements on either side of this fulcrum, at appropriate distances. There are 2 ways to balance elements on the screen, symmetrically, and asymmetrically.

Symmetrical Residuume is pleasing to the eye and has an emotional effect of peace, at-home, and tranquility. There are three different types of symmetrical rest… Translatory, Rotational, and Axial.

Translatory Symmetry is where elements at the same elevation in the Y axis are copied from correct to left.

Rotational (Radial) Symmetry is the rotation of elements from a common pivot

Centric (Mirror) Symmetry is where elements are counterbalanced equally on both sides of the fulcrum

Asymmetrical Balance: Asymmetrical residual is achieved by arranging elements of differing size and weight unevenly effectually the fulcrum so that they rest each other respectively.

Some other asymmetrical balance is one large dominant chemical element showtime by many smaller/lighter elements.

Asymmetrical compositions more often than not have a greater sense of visual tension and have an opposite emotional outcome on the histrion than symmetrical residue. They instil a feeling of excitement, marvel, or anxiety.

Direction: Management is given by the organisation, angle, and distribution of elements. The visual period created by direction is used to atomic number 82 the player'due south middle through a composition, or even more literally, used to physically lead the actor where the designer wants them to go.

Direction can exist used to emphasize depth and the scale of a location or area. the placement of night and light values are very powerful tools for creating management.

Emphasis: The emphasis in a level is the ecology focal point of a location.  This is likewise known as a 'center piece' or a 'hero object'.

Direction can be used to atomic number 82 a player through an area, only yous don't finish them with emphasis points of interest, the area volition not exist interesting and they'll run by all your hard piece of work.

Proportion: Proportion in limerick refers to the size human relationship of elements versus each other, and vs. the world as a whole. Structural proportions (like the distance between a ceiling and floor) are used for a number of things. They can create visual emphasis and importance, and can have an emotional consequence on thespian such as ability, intimidation. Proportion also refers to the Golden Mean and the Rule of Thirds.

In videogames our dynamic and actor-controlled camera'south brand information technology difficult to implement these aspects of proportion into our compositions, merely in certain circumstances they tin can be a used. These proportional 'rules' take been studied for hundreds of years, and are very important in composition due to the emotional response it brings from the viewer. The golden mean is i : 1.618, or this…

The rule of thirds is the partitioning of screen into 3 equal sections vertically and horizontally. When elements are placed at these intersections the composition volition be more pleasing to the viewer.

Rhythm Rhythm is the repeating occurrence of visual elements.  Rhythm is visually soothing to our eyes and people instinctively will follow a rhythmic pattern. In a limerick, Rhythm can be used to create depth in a scene. Information technology tin create a sense of movement, or identify emphasis on an object.

Economy A level in a videogame is typically filled with motility, VFX, sounds, and mayhap a picayune besides frequently someone trying to shoot y'all.  With all of this action (and distraction) a limerick needs to read very quickly and clearly. If it is too circuitous, cluttered, or subtle, it volition be missed and lost.  This is where 'economy' comes in.

If you can remove an element within a design and the design still works and then you tin communicate your composition more than efficiently. When creating a limerick there is no demand to offer more than what is required. Use what you need, optimize where you tin.  (Just similar polygon modeling:)

The following are dissimilar examples of economy, using symmetry, direction, rhythm, and size, and emphasis.

Unity: The final of the principles of design is Unity, as well chosen 'unity within variety'. Unity is the relationship between all the separate elements of a scene or level.  It creates a feeling of 'wholeness' to a scene, the sense that everything is tied together visually.

I method of achieving unity is through proximity.  When placing props for instance, small clusters or groups is more than aesthetically pleasing to a composition than randomly scattering them nigh.

Repetition also results in unity.  This can exist the repetition of colour, shape, texture, or other elements.

Continuation is a more than subtle technique involving decision-making the eye movement and intentionally leading information technology back into a composition.

-jeremy price