Ah, another aspiring artist, welcome, welcome. Please pull up a chair and get comfortable. I'm very exited to show you some of the techniques I use to create my art, and I sincerely hope they can be of some use to you when creating your next master piece.
Oh, you've got some tips and tricks as well? By all means, please leave them in the comments below, I will most definitely check them out.
In this post I will be showing you my workflow for creating the Gloobies Gold Coin that was used in our game Gloobies Lab. (Click here to get it free on Android!)
I will not be going into detail on how to work with each of the software packages I used, which is Google SketchUp and Photoshop CC. There are outstanding tutorials for both these programs on the internet, so rather than try and explain each step in detail, I will link to the tutorials for those who want a bit of extra information.
Right, so on to the first and most important part...
1. Research and Planning
Whenever I create a new asset I ALWAYS start by Googling the subject first. If it is something unique or obscure, I will Google things that are related to it. This both focuses your thoughts and provides you with a vast amount of references that serve as inspiration.
The artists of the 18th century would have given their left eye for a tool that could provide them with an instant reference of any object on the planet, so use it!
If you estimate that you are going to need 8 hours to complete your asset, spend at least 30 min of that time doing research and planning. This might seem like a lot of time, but if you make a conceptual mistake like getting the perspective or key details wrong, you will need to redo the asset, costing you another 8 hours.
So using a little time in the beginning can help save you a lot of time in the end.
"Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln
So for Gloobies Lab I did a search for "gold coin" and picked a few of the best results as references and inspiration.
On to the planning. I started thinking of what style I should use for the coin fit, and what angle the coin will be viewed at? Will it be animated? What type of details should appear on the coin?
In the end I settle on simple design with a "G" in the middle which represents both Gloobies and Gold.
After comparing the play area with some of the other screens of the game, I decide on a slight top down angle for the coin to give it a nice 3D perspective. By doing this little bit of planning I ensure that the coin will fit in neatly with all the other assets.
2. Creating a 3D Reference
When creating a static asset like a ship, box or coin (not something dynamic like water or fire), having a 3D reference can really speed up production.
To create my 3D coin reference I use Google Sketchup Make. It's a very easy tool to learn, and its simplified tool set enables you to rapidly create the overall shape of your asset. (Download Google Sketchup Make Free Here)
I start by Pulling a disk from a circle, Offsetting a rim and then Pushing back the face of the coin. I use the 3D Text tool to create a "G", place it on the face of the coin and Pull it out to give it depth.
With one half of the coin complete, I convert it to a Component and Copy and Rotated it to create the other side of the coin.
Everything I needed to learned about Google Sketchup was contained in these very helpful video tutorials:
I decided that a 30 degree angle from the horisontal will work best given the ingame perspective. I setup the Scene, Rotate the coin in increments of 15 degrees and Export each rotation as an individual image.
Tip:
Give each image a descriptive name lie "Coin - Frame 01" or "Coin - 120 Degrees". It's a great help when working in a team or with your future self.
3. Animation Setup and Colouring
In Photoshop I use the "File"->"Scripts"->"Load Files into Stack" macro to load all the images into a new document. I open the animation panel and assign a new layer to each frame and test the animation.
My two main colouring options are:
a) Raster (or Pixel) layers, which are easier to draw and detail, but your maximum resolution is fixed at the resolution you start with.
b) Vector (or Shape) layers, which take more time to setup and draw, but they are resolution independent.
I know that these coins will be used again in marketing material at various resolutions, so I opt to go with Vector.
For each frame of the coin I create a "Side", "Rim", "Face" and "G" Vector Shape. I then apply various Layer Styles to the shapes to give the coins their golden appearance.
4. Done and Dusted
Once each frame is finished, all that remains is to export the frames into the format of your choice and import them into your game.
I typically go for sequentially numbered files or sprite strips, whichever is most convenient.
And there you go, it's that simple. And I doubt whether I showed you anything that you wouldn't be able to do as well. All it takes is a little time and effort and anyone can create professional artwork for their game.
As a guide, the Gloobie Gold Coin took me 8 hours to complete and import into Gloobies Lab. If you are going through each of the Sketchup and Photoshop tutorials as well, expect to take about 3 days to finish your own coin. Alternatively you can just download the finished frames of this coin below.
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