Fundamentals

I have bought an 'Art Fundamentals' book by 3dTotal (see image below) back in the end of December 2013 to refresh all the art fundamentals knowledge. Even though I have some other books related to this subject I have bought it because it was created by digital artist. The book contains many digital drawings and I thought it would be interesting to look at art fundamentals through the digital artist’s point of view. Also, all the paintings can serve as a good inspiration source for my projects work.

When I had some time I was doing some exercises in the book. Here are some of the things I have looked at:

Light and shadow

Starting image

Added key shadow

Added key light

Added cast shadow

Added reflecting light

Added key highlight

Added spot highlight

Added rim light

For this light exercise I have used some of my own custom brushes to give a bit of texture to the ball.

My final game idea is to have a low light scene in the forest light by the sunset sky, so obviously getting light and shadow areas right will help improving the overall image. Even though it is a fantasy world some basic things need to work (look realistic) to make since and light and shadow is one of them.

Colour was another area I wanted to refresh, as it will play a major part in my final work. Also mixing colours digitally is not the same as mixing them on canvas. It differs how it’s technically when using brushes, opacity and layer or brush modes but also do to the fact that is mixed on screen and within an environment of particular software (in my case Adobe Photoshop). For example the issue of mixing blue and yellow to create green with does not happen in an expected way when doing it digitally (There is a discussion o this topic in CGSociety forums: http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-427907.html and can see an example of it in video that can be found here:  http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2005/06/digital_color_m.html ) Also there is an issue about colour mixing in general even in traditional painting. Scott Naismith's YouTube Video where he actually explains the problem with RGB colour wheel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQqxN8LpGzw) (Scott Naismith is a Scottish landscape painter and a part-time art tutor at Reid Kerr College)

Colour wheel used by traditional media artist (mixing paint) Subtractive system.

Colour wheel when working with light (also on screen) Additive system.

Colour wheel

Complementary colours

Colour Hue

9 Value scale in black and white

and the same 9 value scale in colour (see image below)

And here is a CMYK colour wheel that works much better than a RGB

Scott Naismith.[No date].Colour Wheel Plain.[online]. Available from: http://scottnaismith.com/buy-online/product-category/resources/colour-wheel-for-artists/ [Accessed 10 January 2014]

* 3dTotal. 2013. Art Fundamentals: Color, Light, Composition, Anatomy, Perspective and Depth. 3D Total Publishing

Literature struggle

On Thursday I will have a Pitch presentation and I am struggling with my  project. I do like the idea for  my project  and I knew it is probably not going to be an easy one, considering there arent that many people creating so called 'art house' games, but I was expecting a bit more literature on the actual 2D art in games. Sadly I am finding it really hard to find relevant literature. Most of the books I've looked so far* tend to talk about aesthetics of the games as a whole and primamrily consentrate on gameplay  and hardly mention the actual art part of game development and what role it plays in user experience. At the moment there is a lot of information about 'whether games are art' in general and very little about the actual art in games. Also, a little bit of more relevant information can be found on the web but even there information is very sparse therefore at the moment I am trying to salvage all the info I can just to have something useful for my Pitch this Thusrsday and see how it goes and what feedback I'll get because now at the particular moment I am feeling really desperate. Even contemplating if deciding to do this particular project was a good idea after all. The main concern is: what I am going to write about when there is hardly any literature on this topic and if there is more information, then where I can find it.


* - Kirkpatrick, G. 2011. Aesthetic theory and the video game. Manchester : Manchester University Press

Talks about gameplay aesthetics and audience as well as place of videogame as an aesthetic object within the art and culture itself. Most interesting bits of  information that are related to my project are:

• lack of knowledge in visual aesthetics by theorists as well as gamers themselves.
• findings that players do enjoy gameplay as well as visuals and are appreciative of visual styles.
• claim that art itself is becoming game like with a lot of interaction, however digital culture has changed/been changing it and seem to move art further towards entertainment that way distancing it from  aesthetic. p.109
• claim that “Players do not approach games with anything like the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ that applies to theatre goers or even modern film audiences.” p.41  with whitch I would like to disagree personally and found some information to support it.

Tavinor, G. 2009. The art of videogames. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell

In this book author tackles topic of videogames becoming a new form of represeantational art.  He points out that recent games have seen growth  not only technical but also artistic sofistication while developers are exploring artistic potential and new ways of engaging and  influencing players aesthetically.
Information related to my project that I have found within the book:

• author points out that games seem to raise the same issues and concerns  as traditional arts: aesthetics, narratives, emotional engagement. p.13 and can be considered as art if we apply 'cluster' theory. p.172, p.194 and p.195
• people working ing game development (e.g. artist) need great amounts of skill to create games and therefore are silmilar to artists placticing traditional arts. p.172
• evolution of graphical representation in videogames is one of the most important  aesthetic achievements. p.69-70
• agrees that suspention of disbelief is part of the gamepaly if one is to experience game emotionally:   games draw players in to imaginary worlds and stories. p.133 p.183-184
• claims that gamers do apreciate the art withn games. p.174, p.175, and p.180
• also points out the lack of visual literracy between players and theorists while discussing games therefore makes it harder when taling about videogames within a wider understanding of culture and arts. p. 186

Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. Et al. 2008. Understanding video games: the essential introduction. London: Routledge

This book did not contain much of really useful information that can be relevant to my project. A few related peaces of information were:

• the book author claims that games influences players in a number as ways. For example: communicates values and ideas p.25 therefore contributes to culture as well as reflects it. p.28
• author also supports idea that games are popular art. p.31
•  mentions Aki Järvinen who identified 3 graphical styles that dominated video game design:  photorealism, caricaturism and abstractionism. p.122 

Newman,J. 2004. Videogames. London : Routledge

Another book that I have found to contain hardly any relevant information.  He points out that video games have been largely ignored by academics and reason for it in his opinion is, games so far has been considered childs play in spite of their maturing audience.


Bentkowska-Kafel, A., Cashen, T. and Gardiner, H. 2009. Digital Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. Bristol: Intellect

Another book that I have felt continued little information that would help me with my project. I was expecting to find more data relating to actual art in digital media but did not. However, some of the essays did support idea that some art aesthetic theories may need change somewhat to be able to include visual art produced digitally. I have also found myself agreeing with a claim that "...new media art seems to be the only sphere of artistic activity in which there is any hope of realising the goal of overcoming the elitism of fine art." p.64 I think video games is/can be a great medium for that.