HA1 Task 3 – Graphic Types

Pixel art

Pixel art is a type of game graphics mainly used in old titles or remakes of old titles, some of the most popular games that use pixel art are Super Mario Donkey Kong. Pixel art was brought into the gaming industry when technology was not very advanced and the world of gaming was new, so there was very little technology available to create anything like the games we have today. 



Pixel art is a type of game graphics typically used in 2D games, most commonly found in older games that are widely popular such as the older and newer Super Mario and Donkey Kong games. Below you can see some animated pixel art for the mentioned game series'. 


http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lcrtz02G9u1qzj5ggo1_400.gif
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyubnhubU91roc7wpo1_500.gif

Pixel art was brought into the gaming industry when technology was not very advanced and the world of gaming was quite new, so there was very little technology available to create anything like the games we have today, that reflect real life with intense realism.

When gaming was introduced, all games were extremely simple, so when games were introduced in the 1980's with the first ever recognisable character, it was quite an advancement. Due to the low level of technology around back then, games were made up of pixels that were manipulated to appear as various assets within a game.
Pixel art is still used today in many 2D games, as they have retained their popularity over the years since being introduce, I myself have recently created my own 2D game using some pixel art as you can see below.

As you can see I have used some basic 2D shapes within my 2D game, though the red player character on the left of the screen at the beginning and the blue and red enemy players are made up of small pixels.

Concept art
Concept art is usually created at the beginning of the production process of a game, this is done to get a feel of what the game is going to look like, how the characters and environments will look in a game and what weapons will be featured in the game.

Concept art is also used for game posters and advertisement and sometimes on loading screens during gameplay.

Below is concept art for the game World of Warcraft. If you are aware of to overall appearance of the game World of Warcraft, then you will know that though there are similarities with the below concept art and the game, there are very few. The game World of Warcraft is far less realistic when compared to this artwork, this is an extremely regular occurrence within the games industry, in which the concept is only vaguely representative of actual gameplay and in game models such as structures and characters. 

http://imagery.playerattack.com/2010/01/WarcraftMovie-WorldTree.jpg

Below is another example of concept art for the game World of Warcraft. This particular concept art does not actually represent anything I can recognise within the game itself and I have played this particular game for many years. 

http://i.neoseeker.com/ca/world_of_warcraft_wrath_of_the_lich_king_conceptart_vYSwv.jpg 

Texture art
Texture art is created to be put on 3D models and character models, it is a necessity in a game, if there was no texture art then all the characters and models in the game would just be general outlines of what they are supposed to represent, games are covered in texture art and it is primarily what brings a game to life. Below is the texture art for a World of Warcraft character, with individual UV coverage laid out side by side, so you can see every texture that is used to texture a single character. 


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnmy_CApbbuIgVn9AqY7xqB7aY-cUl_V5KbHmg_yUkXPAAcnxAbVW3ji6hLKmVww0-WSQxWiI67iWA0yERXr070VxJ9QoGPzADiQvtTF78kVlZfA7UxUEPA8crorXCq6hFeWJUnsfHQg/s1600/texture1024test.jpg

Methods like this are used all the time in the games industry and you can quite clearly see how complicated the process of texturing models including character models actually is. It is a very lengthy process to get this operation right, but when done correctly you can end up with magnificent results!

Background graphics 
Background graphics are used in a game to help give a game a theme, though you usually can't interact with them, they are what brings the game together and make it complete. Depending on whether the game is 2D or 3D the, the background graphics will vary.

As you can see below a 2D background graphic is a simple singular backdrop that is often layered and moves along with the player as the move through the game. 

Below you can see Super Mario, the background graphics are the sky and the trees, these are the only non-interactive assets in the game and are there just for show, as they are there to make the game appear more complete and appealing to the eye. 

I particularly admire this overall look of the below game and I have played it many times myself, as well as other similar games. 

http://cdn.canadiancontent.net/t/screenshot/750/super-mario-forever.jpg

Below you can see a screenshot of one of the games from the Call of Duty franchise. As you can see there are assets in the foreground that can be interacted with, though the furthest assets such as the trees and the backgrounds furthest away are merely just for show.

This is a very effective methods of making a scene more appealing and creating boundaries for a game, as if the player could infinitely walk in one direction, they would go past the playable area filled with assets and enter nothingness, which would have a very negative impact in the game and its solidarity.

http://pichost.me/1452265/

Print media art
Print media art is the art used to promote the game physically, typically used when creating posters and game cases. 

This kind of art is typically what attracts a lot of people to a game, like when your in a game store and a game case or poster catches your eye.

An effective way to boost sales for a game is to have an appealing array of media art, as this is what is advertised to the public and encourages them to either look into the game or buy it outright. 

http://dgeiu3fz282x5.cloudfront.net/g/l/lgFP2848.jpg
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/02/06/26/72/0002062672212_500X500.jpg

I find this particular artwork very appealing and it would definitely encourage me to play the game if I was not already, though I recall the media art encouraging me to play the game many years ago.

HA1 Task 2 – Artistic Styles

This is my illustrative report on the following artistic styles found in games:

• Photorealism
• Cel Shading
• Abstraction
• Exaggeration 

Photorealism

Photorealism in games is when an in game sequence or event replicates real life to an immense standard. Photorealism is when what you see on screen appears extremely realistic in many different ways, such as the extent of realism in textures, 3D models and in game physics. Each of these mentioned assets works together in a way that creates an extremely realistic environment.

The main reason games are able to be so realistic is because we are in a time where we as mankind are the most technologically advanced we have every been. The technology we have created in all aspects of life such as science and for the purpose of war, has all been transferred into many other aspects of life, such as the technological advancements that are constantly being made in the gaming industry.

With the recent release of the latest console such as the Xbox One and the PS4, as well as high spec PC's. games are able to look their best, due to being able to handle a lot more intense detail without having a poor effect on the overall performance of games. It used to be that games were really hard to run at a high performance and quality simultaneously, but now both quality and performance can be easily optimised for a next generation experience, in which games are starting to look realer than they have ever before.

Here are some examples or photorealism in games:

Call of Duty: Ghosts - Underwater mission - Below you can see a screenshot for the game Call of Duty Ghosts, you can easily identify the hundreds of assets that have been brought together to create a photorealism scene, and it is hard to believe that this is in game footage. The player in this game can explore many vast areas full of photo-realistic textures and 3D models. The photorealism also lies in the sleek movement of character models and the life like features that they maintain throughout photo-realistic games.

http://canadianonlinegamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/COD-Ghosts_Deep-Dive-600x375.jpg

Ryse: Son of Rome - Marius Titus - Below you can see a screenshot from a cut-scene in the game Ryse: Son of Rome. You can see the main character and protagonist of the game, Marius Titus. The photorealism on his face is beyond realistic, each individual feature has been modelled to replicate that of a real face and human being. The armour he is wearing has been modelled to reflect light realistically and appear to be crafted from the appropriate materials such as metal and chain. Depending on the console or computer you are running this particular game on, if the hardware such as the (Graphics Processing Unit) and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) which effect the overall quality of the game being ran, the quality of the overall photorealism will vary, the newest console with the highest quality and latest hardware will allow the game to be far more realistic and it will run a lot better and efficiently

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/ryse/thumb/6/66/Ryse3.jpg/468px-Ryse3.jpg

Photorealism is by far my favoured artistic style in games today, recent developments in this area of game art have provided gamers such as myself with a far more realistic experience, that brings the player closer to the action. Narrative is made far more believable by the photorealism of characters and scenery as it is brought to life and the most fictional of stories can seem so real and indulgent.


Cel shading
Cel shading is an artistic style that is used in games that have a more cartoon like look to them, usually in games that have little connection to reality, just to give them that extra edge and bring a different feel to the game compared to games that use various other styles.

The use of Cel shading gives a very otherworldly experience within games, they seem a lot more exiting that many other genres and it feels like you are playing through the pages of your favourite comic book.

Cell shading is also a very simple way to texture 3D models, without having to consider realism there is much more room for creativity and flair.

Cell shading has such a powerful effect on the entertaining value in a game, that it can help a game rise to popularity, due to the unique feel it has, compared to most other games that sometimes focus too much on a realistic look to their game, which often leads to a fairly boring and a rather uncreative feel to a game.

Below are some examples of games that use cell shading:

Crackdown 2 - As you can see in the image of Crackdown 2 below, the game instantly looks appealing and desirable due to the cel shading it contains. I believe if the game did not feature cel shading, it may not have been as popular, as it would replicate a lot of games that already exist, though the use of cel shading really brings to game to life, with a very unique feel.


Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars - This is another game that uses cel shading. With a mixture of a unique player point of view and cel shading, this game has an extremely unique feel to it and it is an extremely fun game that I have played many times over.

http://gameflak.net/images/game_images/1288983721_chinatownwarsiphone.jpg

I am personally rather fond of cel shading within games, it brings a really unique feel to a game and helps to give it such a light hearted feel, even when the contents of the game can be particularly gruesome!

Abstraction
Games that use the artistic style of abstraction are games that use no representational images and geometrical shapes, this artistic style does not represent anything from reality and is in games like Tetris and Guitar Hero. In Tetris random shapes are used for the basis of the whole game, Nothing is really being represented within this game, the objective is simply to stack objects as well as you can whilst leaving the less gaps.

Tetris is a very simple but effective game, that has been popular for many decades and has become a cult classic.
















http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/Tetris_DOS_1986.png

Another game that uses the abstraction art style is Guitar hero. Though the characters and most of the 3D models involved in the game are not relevant to the abstraction art style, The assets of the game that are relevant to the abstraction art style are the notes that are hit by the player during gameplay, that are constantly being streamed down the screen. These assets are not particularly relevant to the genre of the game, but their abstract feel brings a unique style to the game and is part of its extreme popularity.

http://www.wallsave.com/wallpapers/1280x720/heros/377465/he
ros-guitar-hero-iii-legends-of-rock-gameplay-computer-system-information-377465.jpg

I am not immensely fond of the abstraction art style, particularly in the games I have mentioned, though it can be quite effective, I also think it is quite boring and sometimes a lazy method. With Tetris it is effective and for its time of release I can see that this would not have been a lazy approach to the creation of a game, though with Guitar Hero, I think they could of created a far more effective play style by replacing the abstract note assets they use, as it seems like a relatively safe and boring approach to a game and does not help the sense of realism.

Exaggeration
The artistic style of exaggeration is on in which a game is greatly exaggerated, games like this are extremely over the top and fairly insane, some examples are Dragon Ball Z and Mortal Kombat.

These games achieve their fame and popularity, due to the amount of sheer exaggeration that they contain. Whether your fighting an enemy or scrolling through the interface to select a character, in both games you are constantly faced by mass hysteria, crazy scenes full of chaos and graphics and scenes within gameplay that nearly break the boundaries of gaming itself.

Dragon Ball Z - Dragon Ball Z is known as a television series to already be quite over the top and exaggerative, but the games based on the series, really push the limits of home consoles.

http://picsofcartoons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dragon-ball-z-gt-games-45.jpg

I particularly admire the outright bizarreness and exaggeration of the Dragon Ball Z games and I still play them to this day.

Mortal Kombat - Mortal Kombat games are vast in quantity and full of constant bizarre exaggeration, they are well known for this fact and have became one of the most renowned and popular game series' every created, having been around for decades.

This game is particualry focused on being so outight outragous, from the mentally suntable characters to the intgesne destruction featured within the games.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SqkG7xdp8w-jWPZ4wSfqWylzKPJ_FEb1pSjBzKRPyBiZrVR9_CG9Jgs8ua6Otbt-cAYVFN9A2fRY8htWh_dpYvEoqKrJAIy4vp1ajE9WlmdNkY73-zCckV7KTPBmgiFhmr-z0yosZ827/s1600/Mortal+Kombat+2013+Download+PC+Game+www.fullytopgames.net112.jpg

I grow ever fond of this series and I applaud it for its uniqueness, individuality and constant and never ending popularity.

HA2 Task 7

HA2 Task 7

Review

When I was handed this assignment, the first thing I did was read the assignment carefully to ensure I knew what It was exactly I had to do, I examined the criteria thoroughly to get an idea of what work I will have to produce to get the grade I wish to achieve. I examined the assignment to see how I should structure my work in my assignment and I then went on to create a blog, well structured to contain my work as I went through the assignment.
There were several stages of this assignment in which I had to carry out very different tasks, some were fairly simple and just involved research so they were not a problem, and some involved a more practical work, which was a slight struggle for me as I was fairly new to the software in which we had to use to create our illustrated characters in Adobe Illustrator. Thought I did face a few problems as I progressed and got more familiar with the software, I was able to crate a fairly satisfactory piece of work, using the primitive tools and shapes that I managed to work out how to use. There was one task that I had previously undertook where I had to use the same Adobe Illustrator software to template a face, but as I struggled with that the help in which I received from having carried out that task was not substantial.
As I progressed through my work, being sure to keep a log of what it was I was doing, I saved documents and put them on my blog featuring all of my work and I believe they are of a good standard, I covered every possible thing I could when carrying out my research and think I did a good amount in the time that I had.
I was restricted a fair amount in this assignment as I have been with others, due to the fact that I had joined the course at the college I am currently studying at quite later, so when other pupils were starting new assignments I was either finishing or getting introduced to an assignment that they had already started or finished. As I progressed through the course and took a substantial amount of my own free time to complete my work, I was able to provide my finished assignment fairly fast, considering I also had several other assignments from the class that issued me this one and other classes that I participate in at this college.
Overall, I think I have done very well, my work using Illustrator is not of the best standard but I think due to my circumstances it is not poor and I have definitely done well in this assignment.

HA2 Task 6

HA2 Task 6

Final character in template

HA2 Task 4

HA2 Task 4

Work plan

Below is my work plan and progress across the five weeks it has taken me to complete my project. 

Workplan2 from Luke Summers

Unit78 landec from Luke Summers

HA2 Task 5

HA2 Task 5

Main production 

Photoshoot
For the creation of my final product I took part in a photoshoot, I already new what pose I needed for the completion of my work and to use as a background layer to build my final product on top of, so I was more than happy with first image I had taken as you can see below.

This pose allows for easy manipulation and makes it very easy for me to layer and create images on top of.





















Research for character creation

Research for draft sketches from Luke Summers

Concept Art for Character Creation

Below is my hand drawn concept art for the creation of my final character.

Production

Below in my production log, you can see that using the concept art I created above, I created a rough version of my final character using my chosen inspiration and research before creating my final version using my photograph of myself. I was told to use Illustrator for the whole process of creation, as I was initially instructed to use PhotoShop for an initial bases for my final piece, though it was no functioning on my college PC and that is way there are two version of character creation in my production log, the initial planning creation and my final creation which I am very happy with. 

Unit78 production log from Luke Summers

HA2 Task 3

HA2 Task 3

Character profile

Character profile from Luke Summers