I hope your hangovers aren't too bad, because I'm doing some serious discussions about art and its place in game design.
Last time around, I mentioned that there are various stages in the creation of art. I really only touched on what I meant; giving the merest of hints at what's in store for you today. I gave an overview of the factors of art in game design, specifically mentioning cover, interior and pieces. But how much of what you see in a game is ART, and how much is DESIGN?
Stephen Glasgow, owner of Mox Creative, elaborates this way:
When I’m “on the clock”, and talking to a potential new client, I am pitching my design work. As I explain my process and methodology I emphasize that there is a huge difference between “art” and “graphic design”. Technical skill wise, both have the same core - strong use of creative eye, hand skills, use of balance, contrast, etc.
One crucial detail however, separates the two into completely different entities. As a graphic designer, I am visually communicating someone else’s message. As an artist, I’m visually conveying my personal emotion.
I like this explanation very much. What it boils down to is: Am I making this for love, or money? In deciding that ART is a personal, emotional message, it's time to look a little more closely at who is creating, what they're making, and why.
Today, I intend to address the concepts of art, with some prime examples of things that affect our intellect, senses or emotions as evidence of the work yet to come from among our brothers and sisters. As I said before, there are various stages of art (at least in my view, and this is my series, so as SinSynn would say, Nyah). I think it's critical to examine the stages, as well as the implications each one has on game development.
For some, art is taking an existing product, and giving it a personal touch. A breath of vibrancy, a stroke of darkness, the timbre and hue of the colors turned up or down just enough to matter, a twist in perspective, or any number of other variations that bring an existing piece all the more glory.
Excellent showcases of such works are featured here, with Brian Nero's work at A Gentleman's Ones.
These stellar submissions are merely plastic, nothing more than bits from a sprue. Brian's vision has taken the random pieces and crafted a vision from another time and place, giving us just a glimpse of the world he wants for his games. He talks about both issues- plastic and looks, here:
Brian N: Again, if you doubt me, I need only say one word: plastic. Nobody else is doing (or, as far as I am able to discern, can do) what GW does with its models. In my opinion, this makes them a pretty high-end item in a field of its own creation.
-Aesthetics. [Minor snip] I will not play with unpainted models. We are into the visual components of the game as an essential, absolutely essential, element. I think that the models GW produces are superlative, and the aesthetics of that world have me on a hook.
Brian freely admits he views the material he uses as the pinnacle of created work, but he brings something intensely personal, deeply felt; raw and honest to each and every model he touches. His work strikes on the senses, intellect and emotions we've established are the keystones of art. Thus, I'd venture to say his models are artistic creations all on their own. That Brian works solely for his own enjoyment seems even more testimony to this assertion.
For others, art is seeing something and recognizing that while it is close to what they want, it isn't QUITE what they hoped for.
They see "what isn't there", and make it. Their talent is recognizing a void and filling it with their personal, emotional connection to the new idea can be incredible and lovely. DaveG of Wargaming Tradecraft's brilliant example, shown here, is a perfect exposition of creation.
He talks about his work and inspiration:
Dave G: The project itself is to take Privateer Press’ Trollblood faction for the Hordes game system, and turn them into the Horde faction from the Warcraft series of video games. I’m going well beyond just painting them green like orcs; I’m finding whatever I can to modify their regular poses, adding “real” elements like carved stone weapons, and modifying figures to give them “flare” from the Warcraft universe. (Turning troops into Tauren, army leaders into important named characters, mounts into wolves, giving them hair, etc.)
As for the inspiration: Having moved to a strange city and not knowing anyone, I poked around for like-minded individuals. The one gaming shop in the area mentioned that Sundays they have Warmachine / Horde games. I’d only ever played Warhammer 40k before and was curious, so one Sunday I swung by to see what it’s about. After a couple weekends of hanging out with the guys, a really friendly and welcoming bunch, I began getting that “gaming bug”. I got to know a little about some of the armies, and I knew I wanted to play something very different from my squishy shooty Eldar, but I was having trouble – I knew nothing of the various armies or their backstories. Reading a little didn’t help – I had too many years of the 40k universe swimming in my head, so nothing made me feel passionate about choosing one unfamiliar army over another. I was looking over a battlefield, full of Trollbloods, when inspiration struck. These guys resembled [Warcraft] Orcs. Like, really closely. Strong ferocious warriors, hooded ones, great ones on the backs of furry mounts… they had intensity and emotion… and I just flashed to The Horde. (Even before meeting my wife on World of Warcraft, my friends and I spent many hours gaming in Warcraft 2 and 3.) What sealed the deal was I knew the backstory quite thoroughly, just as well as 40k. I could look at these figures and now feel like they had a purpose. When I look at Madrak, an army leader, I don’t know anything about the plight of his people as they’re driven from their lands… but I do know about Warchief Thrall and ALL the battles he’s fought through – I’ve commanded and fought beside him before, digitally.
Loquacious: So for you, your project is almost entirely about the visual aesthetic and emotional flavor of a certain reference point, is that correct?
Dave G: Absolutely. I always knew I wanted to create an “art army” at some point, and I had planned it to be Dark Angels… but even after picking up a bunch of used marines and Dark Angel sprues, I never got around to it. Sure, I think Dark Angels look cool… but nothing was really pulling me in that direction.
Again, touching on emotion, senses and intellect to bring something new, innovative and stunning to the table. I'll gladly classify Dave's torturous and brilliant work as art. Given that this is a project of love and not one of money (except to spend on all those amazing touches), it's definitely art and not design.
Thomas, aka Goatboy, had a similar vision with Lemmy, his GoatLord.
Loquacious: Can you tell me more about Lemmy? Was he a kitbash or did you create him via a greenstuff model? What inspired you to make goats as an army?
Lemmy was a kit bash. I had one random plastic Jugger left after a search through my bits bins. I decided, even though I have like 10 Space Goat Juggers, to make another one that would represent my extremely expensive Wolf Lord. Thus Lemmy was born from glue and bits to rule the Space Goats in his clawed hands. And I made Goats partial because of my nickname and also because I knew that no one else would want an army like this. I paint other people's army to help fund the model addiction and finding a color scheme and design that is just for me is extremely important. Once I complete another's army it is hard for me to go back and do another army of that type for myself. Thus I needed to find something that was just for me and only me.
My process is to start with what I like the most - something mean and chaos like. I go from there finding plastic pieces and combining things into some kind of mad creation. If it works I prime it up and get to painting. The same goes with drawing as I just start with pencil doodles to build up the shapes and then grab the markers and pens and get to inking. I want to look for a strong outline and I go from there filling in the details.
Thomas wants something mean, something personal. something with colors and grunge like no other. These elements strike on our pillars of art, and make something vibrant and special. Goatboy does indeed work for money, but the piece in question was one intended just for himself, something that he would LOVE. Again, art.
There are artists who see something in every day life, find it inspiring in some way, and then turn it on its head to make something truly brilliant. I visit Brian Nero again, agape at his continued and prolific output.
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| His inspiration, in color and shape. |
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| A board bearing at least some of the outcome of said influence |
Narrative. The universe came first. The building of teams and individual models also helps create the personality of the models. This, in turn, helps build the tension and narrative of the game. It’s grim. It’s dark. You get to annihilate things with plasma cannons.
When working on his pieces, he thinks of the universe they belong in first. He puts pieces that fit into that world with such grace and class its as if they were meant to be there all along. I'm going to call a spade a spade and say yet again: What Brian does is art. His continued work solely because it pleases him only cements him more firmly in this camp.
So far, I've brought examples mainly from the tabletop world, with a specific tip of the hat to Games Workshop. In order to find different material, I had to move away from that field and move into other worlds that the HOP network may not have explored as fully as the grimdark.
Next in the stages of art come what most refer to as the 'visionaries'- those that see well beyond the known and imagine places to explore, worlds to plunder, and people to meet.
I spoke at length with Porky of Porky's Expanse (whose artistry is in the written word rather than visual media) about art and making new worlds.
Loquacious: I know you are active in encouraging new designs and designers through your blog. Many of the projects I see currently are "mechanics oriented" (ie rules) and art has yet to enter their scopes. How does the gaming/hobby community promote new and innovative art for gaming?
Porky: I'd say art has to be much more central to new projects. I don't mean there needs to be a big art budget, or any budget at all, or even any art in the finished product, because there doesn't. I mean game designers ought to recognise that by designing a game they're evoking a world or an interpretation of one, and that they can liberate themselves from the limits of words and mechanics only in doing that.
They should really be aiming to get as much of their mental, emotional and spiritual vision out as possible, whether down on paper in a sketch, or in movement of some kind. Build a mini maybe for the tactile aspect, or make up a scrapbook; work out a wardance or play out a critical event. At the very least think about the ideal arrangement of the words, so that layout goes hand in hand with content. I'm working on a couple of semi-secret projects at the moment, and they won't have any art at all in the traditional sense, but I'm hoping when people are using them, or thinking about them, they get the impression there is art in there, and that they're feeling it's a piece of gaming art in itself, composed, suggestive and even dynamic. Nothing's hard to do if we set our minds to it and practise.
I haven't answered the promotion point in that, but one way to get more gaming projects using and thinking in terms of aesthetics is by different talents grouping together. The casual Hydra cooperative is doing this for old school roleplaying, at least initially, and they've got access to writers, playtesters and editors, but also artists and potentially sculptors too. That pooling of skills and a process of constant creative feedback and challenge is one smart way forward.
Loquacious: How open do you believe the gaming/hobby community is to new art concepts? The majority of art I see appears to be based on longstanding ideas with deep resonance. Examples include orks, dragons and spaceships. How does a designer introduce a new premise and make it "take hold"?
Porky: Here again I'd point to a team like Hereticwerks. They have some very imaginative approaches, even groundbreaking ideas, but you can almost feel the resistance from the community. Even though the quality is excellent - conceptually and technically - people seem unable to see what they're doing because it's not exactly the things you mentioned - orks, dragons and spaceships. I like those things too, but man they make me hungry for fresh things to go with them. Really craving fresh things. We're complex creatures with an inner life we barely understand. There's much more to come, or rediscover inside ourselves, because it's in us, not in old pages or clips.
The major tropes weren't always there. Tolkien was just a man with weird ideas once. People like Wells and Verne had to make their space. The great visions like Lovecraft's and Stapledon's survived. To some extent you're playing the long game with the really good stuff. It takes time for the magic to be widely recognised.
How do Hereticwerks do it? They go wide and open. They collaborate with other interested individuals and groups, look into new spaces and communities, support adaptations of their work and develop crossovers, basically put their material out there for people to see and use. They know that if you try it you'll probably like it. They believe enough to let go and give, and that comes back.
Be passionate and let the thing live, and it might live.
Rather than just take Porky's word for it, I decided to ask the folks at Hereticwerks directly. They are a husband and wife team- Jim and Jody. Jim is the creator and Jody is the support for that environment. They have a different and rich perspective on the things they create. Jim was kind enough to talk about his work with me. Here's an example of the things he's creating:
Rather than just take Porky's word for it, I decided to ask the folks at Hereticwerks directly. They are a husband and wife team- Jim and Jody. Jim is the creator and Jody is the support for that environment. They have a different and rich perspective on the things they create. Jim was kind enough to talk about his work with me. Here's an example of the things he's creating:
Loquacious: What inspires you (personally and collectively)? Can you describe your creative process? What challenges do you (again personally and collectively) face when working on a piece?
Jim: Our daughter. First and foremost, I am inspired by our daughter. I could name a long list of names like Jack Katz, Andre Breton, Goya or Odilon Redon or even David Hargrave...but really it's not so much what anyone else has done before that motivates me, personally, so much as seeing just what I can do myself, on my own terms, with the tools and resources available to me here and now. Of course that is also something that can be fairly daunting, at least until you break yourself of the habit of comparing things and you realize that it's all one big dialogue, not a foot-race. We're only competing with ourselves, always trying to do things better, or to try out a different approach, always experimenting. Like Breton said: 'Always For The First Time.'
Here's another sample of the work he does, on his own:
Creative process...hmmm...get up. Start writing or drawing or working in Photoshop or Artweaver. Eventually get some coffee. Work away until it's time to go do something else. When an idea shows up, even at 3AM, I get up- and write it down, sketch it out or go to work on the computer. Ideas and the imagination tend to keep odd hours, so I try to be accommodating as much as possible. I really do make a lot of use of the method Breton prescribed: http://riskail.
Loquacious: What role do you feel art has in games and game design? Why do you feel this?
Jim: A well-defined aesthetic can provide a lot of imaginative momentum, look at Warhammer and 40K. Art has whatever role in a particular game or design of a game that the people involved decide to give it. Whether the art comes at the end of the process and is getting picked to better market the designer's golden prose, or the art is right up-front and even driving the design process, or whatever variation is involved, art is intrinsic to the overall game-design process. Art can't save a crappy system or a badly designed game. Art won't sell game books nearly as well as some people have hoped. Art can take a designer's vision and carry it forward, expand it and make it more accessible--that whole 'picture is worth a thousand words' thing really can be true, when the art is in synch with the text. When it's just slapped into place to fill a spot or to break-up glaciers of verbiage, well, it's probably not going to save things.
So we come back full circle to Steve's comment about art vs design. Art can be used in the course of design, and design can be made to effect art, but they are separate beings unto themselves. It's when art is used in synchronicity with the design that things come alive, and create something that's "more accessible". Something that you might want to buy.
Yet, as I said a few weeks ago, art is intensely personal. What I've shown here today are examples that struck a chord with me, that I find appealing in some way.What I find compelling will vary greatly from what others in the hobby find enjoyable, and finding common ground, where something is appealing enough to be accessible AND personal; that takes work.
Want to see more of the work featured here? Please check out the following links:
Brian Nero: http://agentlemansones.blogspot.com/
DaveG: http://nplusplus.deviantart.com/ and http://www.wargamingtradecraft.com/
Thomas aka Goatboy: www.fullofmonkey.com and goatboy40k.blogspot.com
Porky: http://theporkster.blogspot.com/
Jim and Jody: http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/
Yet, as I said a few weeks ago, art is intensely personal. What I've shown here today are examples that struck a chord with me, that I find appealing in some way.What I find compelling will vary greatly from what others in the hobby find enjoyable, and finding common ground, where something is appealing enough to be accessible AND personal; that takes work.
Want to see more of the work featured here? Please check out the following links:
Brian Nero: http://agentlemansones.blogspot.com/
DaveG: http://nplusplus.deviantart.com/ and http://www.wargamingtradecraft.com/
Thomas aka Goatboy: www.fullofmonkey.com and goatboy40k.blogspot.com
Porky: http://theporkster.blogspot.com/
Jim and Jody: http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/
Getting better products onto the shelves is the ultimate idea behind intelligent design, and the purpose behind this series. Please feel free to talk about the ideas here in the comments. Next week, I will examine mechanics. Please join me!
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