Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classic to Cutting-Edge Art Techniques for Winning Video Game Design
Sep 2012 · Sold by Watson-Guptill
3.6star
84 reviews
Ebook
240
Pages
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Eligible
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About this ebook
"This book supports my own 30-year crusade to demonstrate that games are an art form that undeniably rivals traditional arts. It gives detailed explanations of game art techniques and their importance, while also highlighting their dependence on artistic aspects of game design and programming.”
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— John Romero, co-founder of id Software and CEO of Loot Drop, Inc.
"Solarski’s methodology here is to show us the artistic techniques that every artist should know, and then he transposes them to the realm of video games to show how they should be used to create a far more artful gaming experience ... if I were an artist planning to do video game work, I’d have a copy of this on my shelf."
— Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room
Video games are not a revolution in art history, but an evolution. Whether the medium is paper or canvas—or a computer screen—the artist’s challenge is to make something without depth seem like a window into a living, breathing world. Video game art is no different.
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Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is first to examine the connections between classical art and video games, enabling developers to create more expressive and varied emotional experiences in games. Artist game designer Chris Solarski gives readers a comprehensive introduction to basic and advanced drawing and design skills—light, value, color, anatomy, concept development—as well as detailed instruction for using these methods to design complex characters, worlds, and gameplay experiences. Artwork by the likes of Michelangelo, Titian, and Rubens are studied alongside AAA games like BioShock, Journey, the Mario series, and Portal 2, to demonstrate perpetual theories of depth, composition, movement, artistic anatomy, and expression.
Â
Although Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is primarily a practical reference for artists and designers working in the video games industry, it’s equally accessible for those interested to learn about gaming’s future, and potential as an artistic medium.
Also available as an eBook
Â
— John Romero, co-founder of id Software and CEO of Loot Drop, Inc.
"Solarski’s methodology here is to show us the artistic techniques that every artist should know, and then he transposes them to the realm of video games to show how they should be used to create a far more artful gaming experience ... if I were an artist planning to do video game work, I’d have a copy of this on my shelf."
— Marc Mason, Comics Waiting Room
Video games are not a revolution in art history, but an evolution. Whether the medium is paper or canvas—or a computer screen—the artist’s challenge is to make something without depth seem like a window into a living, breathing world. Video game art is no different.
Â
Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is first to examine the connections between classical art and video games, enabling developers to create more expressive and varied emotional experiences in games. Artist game designer Chris Solarski gives readers a comprehensive introduction to basic and advanced drawing and design skills—light, value, color, anatomy, concept development—as well as detailed instruction for using these methods to design complex characters, worlds, and gameplay experiences. Artwork by the likes of Michelangelo, Titian, and Rubens are studied alongside AAA games like BioShock, Journey, the Mario series, and Portal 2, to demonstrate perpetual theories of depth, composition, movement, artistic anatomy, and expression.
Â
Although Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is primarily a practical reference for artists and designers working in the video games industry, it’s equally accessible for those interested to learn about gaming’s future, and potential as an artistic medium.
Also available as an eBook
Ratings and reviews
3.6
84 reviews
Sam Hall
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March 29, 2016
As a beginner, not a great start. better to learn from classics like The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed then copy your favourite game artists
8 people found this review helpful
Chris Davis
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March 29, 2014
I just wasted my money. Just a basic art book with the occasional game image thrown in. You can find all the info in this book free on the internet. Most of the imagery is from very OLD drawings. Why doesn't he use his own drawings? A game art book filled with crusty old master charcoal drawings - seriously? What the f!?# man.
17 people found this review helpful
Karol Led
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November 4, 2014
I bought this book hoping to enrich my knowledge about art in games but it is just a faint review of few games examples and few techniques of drawing.
9 people found this review helpful
About the author
CHRIS SOLARSKI received a BA in computer animation and began working as a 3D character and environment artist for Sony Computer Entertainment in London. Eventually, Solarski enrolled in art classes at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. During that time, he discovered the exciting connection between classical art techniques and video game design. He currently develops his own video games under Solarski Studio. He also works as creative director of the Swiss-based social gaming startup Gbanga, and lectures at SAE Institute in Zurich.
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