What is a game artist?

Game art designers can be simply divided into 2D and 3D. 2D means making games with 2D graphics such as bitmaps. 3D is to make 3D models of the game world and various objects through a large 3D game engine, and get realistic 3D images after computer processing.

technical subdivision

due to the huge and varied workload of art, game companies usually subdivide game artists into the following different jobs.

The conceptual designer of the original painting

needs to have a sketch and color foundation and be promoted to a conceptual designer step by step. There is an art propaganda group in the original painting department, which is particularly demanding. It must have the foundation of drawing illustrations and the foundation of conceptual design. As an original painter, you need to know how to use photoshop and paint software and electronic hand-drawn board to create, master the computer CG painting language and color principle, transition from traditional painting method to computer painting method, and finally understand the game art performance skills of light, shadow, color and material. Be able to understand the copy given by the planner and convert it into pictures. Meet the requirements of the project and design the original painting with a unified style. Be able to make detailed three-view and props analysis drawings for 3D artists, and explain the colors and materials clearly, and design a model design manuscript that conforms to the number of triangles of the project.

UI concept designers simply mean the design of game operation interface, landing interface, game props, skill marks, small objects in the game and so on. The main requirement is to have a graphic design foundation. There are not many positions, but the requirements are more comprehensive.

The 3D scene artist scene is the dead objects such as environment, machinery and props in the game. At the beginning of the scene, the requirements for art are not so high, as long as you are proficient in using 3D software. Gradually master the design concept of game scene elements and the production methods of different styles of games. Emphasis on training students' material processing techniques can enable students to make fine and realistic scene elements according to the original paintings. To meet the game production requirements of major companies, online games, next-generation games, film and television animation companies are all competent. Scene artists will be exposed to many other professional knowledge, observe life and accumulate a lot of experience. For example, to be a street in a city, you need to know the knowledge of urban planning, and even study how the sewers are laid out. For example, if you want to make a suit of armor, you should study the development history of weapons, look at the characteristics of the times of this weapon, and even know what parts this suit of armor has and what the wearing order is. Only the more detailed you know, the better you can do it.

The role of 3D role artist is the living things such as characters and animals in the game. The starting point of the role is relatively high, and it requires a good art foundation, a skilled understanding of human body structure and, of course, the use of 3D software. Because no matter what the role does, the principle is the same, that is, the organizational structure of the human body, you will become more and more skilled, and even you can do it with your eyes closed in the end; Scenes are endless. So in general, the role is difficult to get started, and the easier it is to do it; It is relatively easy to get started in the scene, but to do well, you need to constantly learn and improve your literacy in all aspects. Next-generation games and high-level modeling of film and television characters, application and practice of Zbrush carving tools, analysis and drawing of next-generation game maps, and normal mapping technology.

The knife light of the characters in the game, the sparks generated by fighting, the explosion smoke, the burning flame and the texture of the water flow are all special effects. Special effects is a relatively scarce position in China, and its salary potential is also the greatest. Generally, the starting salary of a qualified special effects newcomer is 4, to 5, yuan, and after one or two years, excellent special effects designers can reach tens of thousands. The biggest post quality requirement of special effects is that it needs a very rich imagination of picture performance. For example, a missile hit a tank and exploded. How do special effects show the effect of explosion? The shape of the smoke? Flying debris? The shape of the burning flame on the debris? What is the difference between the explosion effects of various weapons? How to make this scene both logical and artistic? This is the most important accomplishment of excellent special effects. Secondly, you need a certain artistic skill, at least a certain PS hand-drawing ability. However, the requirements for the foundation of art are not as strong as the original paintings, roles and scenes. If you think you are a person with active thinking, strong imagination and expressive force, then maybe game special effects are a very good choice. Moreover, this position is also a very potential position. If major companies are eager for talents, their salaries will naturally not be low and their development will naturally not be bad.

Game animator When a character is designed, he is still dead, so he needs an action designer to design how he moves in the game: walking, running, jumping, attacking, etc., not only to move, but also to move beautifully and harmoniously. This is the basic quality of a good action designer. In all the division of labor in the art department, it can be said that action is the position with the lowest requirement for the foundation of art. But you need to have very strong action design ability. For our common people and animals, it is necessary to study the law of movement and design the movements smoothly, coherently, harmoniously and beautifully. The strange creatures provided by the original painting, such as aliens, which have no physical reference, depend entirely on the imagination of the animation designer to design. In short, the more handsome and coordinated the movements, the better your work will be. Therefore, we can see that many excellent action designers have professional backgrounds such as dance and sports, because compared with other majors, these majors that require higher understanding of physical coordination can often design handsome actions. The game is like a movie, just a dream. In the dream, nothing is impossible, only more beautiful and extreme. Understand the principle of animation and the basic animation rules of various common character types. Learn the use of Character Studio system and Bone bone system, and the combination of CS with bone and Reactor. Master skin technology, weight distribution and deformation method. Add bones and animation control equipment for the game characters. Making of circular and non-circular actions commonly used in games. The method of making expression animation. The making method and learning dynamics system of particle special effects for common mapping special effects in games. Master the principles and skills of animation, skeleton and model structure, skin technology, game action production, expression animation production, game special effects production, dynamic system, and have the ability to independently produce character animation.

The director of game art needs to know how to cooperate with each other in the game project, including planning, all production and integration of original paintings, scenes, characters, props, animations and special effects. Need to make the technology, norms, understand the production process. Consolidate and improve the previous knowledge by completing the simulation game project, and master the comprehensive skills of game art design. Lead the sense of teamwork in the game work, and be competent for the task of the game art design project in the future. Be able to recruit and find new members who meet the requirements of the project and lead him to quickly integrate into the project. Know how to communicate and manage the team, and each team member is good at arranging tasks.

Requirements for this post of folding editor

Practitioners should have a good foundation in painting and fine arts, have a strong sense of teamwork and master 2D, 3D and post-production software and professional development tools such as Photoshop, 3dsmax or Maya, Zbrush and AE.