How does one go about describing visual
art? To the common man it is simply the process by which an artist recreates
objects on paper or canvas using pencil, ink or paint. Put simply, it is making "pretty pictures."
To an visual artist, regardless of
the type, it is the process by which they translates their thoughts, emotions
and technical skills into a viable two dimensional form that imitates three
dimensions. It is far more than making
"pretty pictures". All
artists leave a little bit of their souls with each piece of work they
complete.
Fine artists tend to place
themselves above mere "commercial artists". After all they do it to "express themselves and complete their
own vision."
Commercial artists, on the other
hand, do it for the money. I could not disagree
more. As a commercial artist/graphic
designer myself I have to say that a small piece of me lingers in each piece of
art I've produced. Despite the fact
that I did each for money, personal creativity, of any type, still demands commitment
and a strong sense of purpose.
Didn't the great Renaissance
artists all produce work for patrons and the church for a fee. Wouldn't that make them "commercial
artists"?
Why am I bringing this subject up? To make a point.
Many of today's finest artists are
commercial artists. And many of those
are working in video game design industry.
Ballistic Publishing has just
released its latest art book called: The Art Of Gears Of War 3 and if after
looking at this book if you have any doubts as to the tremendous talent that
goes in to designing such a complex video game then I have serious doubt as to
your capacity to really understand art and artists.
Just the design of the book itself
with its high gloss cover wrapped around 300 plus pages packed with production
art is impressive enough on its own.
When you look inside and imagine
the talent it took to design characters from scratch, create environments, equipment,
vehicles, creatures, special visual effect and all of the other visuals associated
with the game play the mind staggers.
The designers of Gears OF War 3 from
Epic are a talented crew. Designing the
game involves so much more than just what you see on the screen. Designers must understand engineering, fluid
dynamics, lighting, the human figure, painting and pigment application, all the
elements and principles of design, numerous scientific laws and functions,
biology, muscle structure, fabrics, visual effects-the list goes on and on.
Besides being a book that contains
"pretty pictures" it also contains notes and comments on the various designs,
techniques, game mechanics, vectoring, texture mapping, sculpture, rendering
and the hundreds of the other processes necessary in order to produce an award-winning
video game.