A perfect theme, color combination, and character design make any game more interesting. They can be an inspiration for budding game designers for their new projects. One may take reference from popular concept art design to spark one’s creativity.
Game designers may have a hard time deciding the accurate representation of narratives. However, it is the most exciting stage in game development. One can overcome these challenges by balancing visual features with practical navigation. This article will explore the best examples of concept art design that can empower you to achieve extraordinary games.
The Importance of Concept Art Design
Concept art can help designers to define a game’s style, mood, and aesthetic. It can serve as a creative pinpoint for the entire development team. Its spark can ignite the imagination of game designers and players.
Think of some of the most iconic video game landscapes or characters. You will realize that a skilled concept artist can take you to a different world before the developer creates a 3D model of that design. It can help in different ways:
- It can establish visual identity and artistic direction
- It can facilitate collaboration and communication among the team
- Designers can explore and iterate on ideas with concept art
- It can communicate the story to players
Inspiring Examples of Concept Art Design
Concept art is the most important step while designing characters or landscapes for visual media. It goes beyond the aesthetic value. It rather communicates the tone and theme of the game. A game can miss the visual blueprint without concept art. Mentioned are a few examples that incorporated it right and became successful.
- Tomb Raider – An Unparalleled Character Design
Character design needs a deep understanding of anatomy, fashion, mood, and storytelling to create relatable figures.
When Tomb Raider was rebooted in 2013, it took inspiration from an earlier concept, Tomb Raider: Ascension. It was intended to be a survival horror prequel that explored Lara Croft’s origins. The reboot faced the challenge of creating new concept art for the game and its environments. Moreover, game designers also had to reimagine Lara herself along with her iconic weaponry, enemies, etc. They completely change the aesthetics of the artifacts.
The concept art succeeded in delivering a fresh take on a younger Lara Croft while maintaining the beauty of the game’s environments with an eerie atmosphere.
Technique and Tools
The concept art team concentrated on her vulnerability and strength. They used sketching, digital painting, and photobashing for this process.
Moreover, the team used silhouette testing to bring Lara’s design to life. They maintained her iconic status and modernized her look. It seems that anatomy studies were also done to make Lara look realistic.
They have mainly used Adobe Photoshop for creating detailed digital paintings. Artists must have experimented with different lighting, textures, and details.
Similarly, ZBrush and 3D software have contributed to creating rough models. These tools have helped them with perspective and anatomy before refining the final 2D concept.
2. Witcher 3 – A Creative Take on Environment Design
Although characters are the heart of the story, they cannot feel realistic if you don’t put them in a suitable environment.
Some of the best examples of environment concept art showcase rich, detailed worlds. Most of them are immersive, atmospheric, and visually stunning. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the popular environmental concept art.
This game’s environment concept art captures the diverse world of the game. It accurately mimics the lush forests and serene villages. Moreover, the war-torn landscapes and mystical realms feel quite realistic. Each piece of art reflects the game’s dark, medieval fantasy tone. Its environment can immerse players in its lore-filled world.
Jakub and Marcin are the designers of the game. They have done exceptional work with a keen eye for detail and an understanding of how settings influence the narrative.
Technique and Tools
Environmental storytelling has taken The Witcher 3 to the next level. Artists used a combination of traditional landscape painting techniques with modern digital tools.
Mood boards must have helped them to gather visual inspiration from medieval European architecture. They have studied real-world references to create a fantasy world.
Corel Painter and Photoshop were important tools too. They must have helped in rendering initial concepts. Moreover, 3D modeling software like 3ds Max or Blender was used to block out scenes.
One can speculate the use of SpeedTree. This tool can help to visualize natural environments before the 3D modeling phase.
3. Destiny: Impeccable Prop Concept Art
Prop concept art deals with vehicles, weapons, and similar props in the game. Destiny by Bungie is one of the best examples of prop concept art in video games. The game’s prop concept art is celebrated for its creativity, intricacy, and futuristic design. Its weapons, armor, and gear feel too realistic for a video game.
Destiny’s prop concept art is a perfect blend of sci-fi and fantasy components. The designs also carry a strong sense of function and lore. Each prop is distinct i.e. it comes with sleek, angular lines and unique technological features. The props fit perfectly with the game’s space-opera universe.
For example, the game’s iconic weapons like the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher stand out due to its exclusive design. Gjallarhorn has gold filigree and wolf motifs which visually convey its power. A lot of props in this game embody the game’s theme.
Technique and Tools
A great use of Silhouette design is clearly visible in the Destiny game. The team used strong shapes to develop iconic designs.
The game’s futuristic, sci-fi aesthetic must have developed through kitbashing techniques. The team has taken elements from real-world objects and combined them with original designs. They blended it perfectly to create futuristic prop designs.
Concept artists create the finest texture by focusing on light and material interaction. It has helped them to make the props feel real in the game world. Moreover, the team used iteration and feedback loops. They produced multiple variations of the same weapon to fine-tune the look.
3D software like ZBrush or Substance Painter must have created high-detail models. They have explored the objects in different lighting conditions.
Lastly, KeyShot seems to be a worthy rendering tool for this game. It has helped the team to explore lighting and surface details on 3D models.
Conclusion: Unlock The True Potential of Your Concept Art Design
If you are looking to level up your artistic abilities, have a look at MAGES Institute’s variety of courses. Their programs offer complete training in concept art, digital painting, character design, and more. They will provide you with the conceptual knowledge and technical skills to excel in the real world of concept art design. Contact them today and book your seat!
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