Tricks to Find Balance in Game Art and Design for Game Artist

In the dynamic industry of video games, the compelling and powerful aesthetics and art direction are some of the significant values for a player. This becomes an essential factor in determining a game’s success. What matters is the environment, characters, and objects in the process. 

Whether a person is just starting their journey as a game artist or has been in the industry for years the search for the appropriate balance between art and design will remain a fundamental aspect of designing and creating immersive game worlds. 

In this blog, we’re showcasing how a game artist can balance game art and design by going beyond the surface aesthetics:

Embrace Concept Art as Your Creative Foundation

Concept art is the beginning of any game project. As with any art, its significance exists in the eye of the beholder, and the process is much the same for each game. But mixing it with the more tangible parts of game design is also essential so as not to lose touch too much with reality. 

A more realistic approach can be used to produce concept arts that embody the look and feel of the game as well as the feelings it tries to create. Also, you have to think about the technical side of things. Pay special attention to what might be visible to the players and what has to do with the nuts and bolts of the game. For example, armour, weapons, etc., designs should portray abilities and the character’s story and, at the same time, be well designed to enable smooth control on the console.

Image Source: MAGES Institute

It comes naturally to most artists to overdo it; freedom gives an artist lots of room. But don’t overdo it because the objective of art in a game is not to make designs sumptuous but to give the game an aesthetic value without suppressing its functionality. 

Use Design Constraints to Fuel Creativity

Evaluate constraints, like maximum numbers of polygons, texture size, and native abilities of the target platforms. They may appear as antagonists that hinder creative processes. However, it is important for a game artist to learn how to accept these limitations to strike a balance between game art and design. Treat them as a chance to change. 

For example, if the game engine dictates that the level limits the number of assets or textures it can handle, look for ways to reuse as many assets as possible and design them in a modular fashion. It will help you avoid overworking the game engine while still presenting a good-looking environment. 

Image Source: Artstation

One potent trick, for example, is ensuring that art backs up gameplay without exerting pressure. In such a way, you can design visually appealing environments and assets while ensuring the game will perform as it should on various systems.

Iterate Between Visual Appeal and Playability

There can be constant flux between a visual aesthetic that will make the game look attractive and a player experience that will guarantee the game is fun to play. Game design and art should be something that can be revised and rearranged in the course of work and in its creation. Make a low poly form of your art and try it in the game environment, and then make alterations depending on the effects of the game. 

Sometimes, a beautiful piece of art can be conceived as a game concept only to turn messy and nearly incomprehensible in actual play. In such instances, one may keep a more accessible balance by reducing specific detail, altering proportions, or lessening the intensity of the tones used in designs. 

The last important piece of advice for game artists is to cooperate with the game designers during the testing stage so that their art corresponds to how the game is used. The first thing is not to make the world look good—it is to have the art matter and not clash with the game while making the world a better place.

Consider the Player Experiences in Visualization

What you need to know is that your game art should always work to benefit the player. While concept art is about creativity, the art developed for the game must convey the location to the players. That means designs can be visually stunning and should also prove helpful in guiding the player through the game’s environment and how it works. 

For example, the character designs should not be complex in a game with an action-packed theme. Otherwise, they may become hard to view clearly when some actions occur. Similarly, concept designs should give tips about the specific movement and decision the player has to make at every level without providing him with much information.

One of the most crucial questions in sharing responsibility for concept art and game design is whether to make your game art realistic or stylised. For instance, very detailed furnishing does not necessarily meet the mood of the game or the demands of game performance. Stylisation, in this case, is more flexible but must be implemented following logical design principles. 

Image Source: Art Simple

Draw amazing-looking characters, environments, and objects and maintain the proportions so that they look real but not exaggerated. Even when stylised to the point of exaggeration, characters do not need to be drawn with rigid, anatomically inflexible stances to indicate movement; they must still have realistic joints and bone structures.

Likewise, environments could have stylized elements and practical paths that work in a 3D manner. This trick keeps the art level and avoids becoming unmanageable while making the game or concept interesting and unique.

Uniformity in Visual Language 

Consistency is quite important when addressing game art and design. A break in art styles can take players out of the game and make them unable to return. This might be due to inconsistency in character designs or perhaps certain parts of the game concept being toned down or ramped up in quality compared to other areas. 

When designing your game art, ensure a uniform art style, whichever is to be used in caricaturing characters, backgrounds, UI designs, or any props you will be using. Establishing a style guide as far as possible at the beginning of the undertaking is ideal so that a consistent mode of visual thinking is maintained throughout the project. 

As you sketch over the concept arts, think about how these will be implemented in various aspects of the game and ensure that all aesthetic features are in harmony.

Bottom Line

This blog has argued that there are everyday opportunities that game artists can adopt to achieve the desirable balance of in-game aesthetics. All you need to do is stay in touch with your designers, never stop revising your skills, and have the art and the concept influencing each other. This balance will finally take your work higher and produce those experiences that will ignite the hearts of the players.