Browser development - presentation level

The only participant in the project, who, like the others, performed a large amount of work , but about whose work I can say so little, is an artist. More precisely, a few months before the start we already had two artists, but my understanding of their principles of work did not increase from this.

I undoubtedly see how much they had to do for the project, but I see only the end result in the form of a heap of illustrations, page layouts, sometimes intermediate drafts. We have so little contact with the artist that the history of Skype correspondence can be put into a couple of pages of the doc document for the entire time of work on the project. This is because the artist and I are completely different in character, and if the coordinator can adapt to the communication with each team member, then the artist and I, roughly speaking, are incompatible.

To describe part of the work from the point of view of the artist, I had to conduct a full-scale investigation, which allowed us to see and understand the main subtleties of his work. Moreover, the article contains the author’s text of the artist himself, since without his vision of his work on the project, this article would be incomplete.

The work of the artist

More than two years ago, as an ordinary developer, I watched how our project is being formed in a fairly short period of time - it was like the Big Bang - a set of critical masses of specialists recruited, somewhere loudly “banged” and he was born. From nothing. For his birth, minimal factors were required to allow the beginning of the chain of events leading us at the present time to happen - we found the main element of the system in the person of the coordinator, whose "mass" in the form of character and circle of friends made it possible to "attract" the developer, artist and concept designers.

As it turned out later, the artist did not immediately accept the offer, and our project could not have happened at all, or we could not have boasted such a level of graphics. It is worth noting that the artist, in his main profession, is engaged in the design and design of urban structures. Drawing illustrations, and especially design, was not part of his basic skills. But it was precisely the day when the artist agreed to draw the illustrations that actually marked the beginning of our path and the reality of our plans.

The theme of birds, for me, was very distant and least interesting to me from the whole animal kingdom. And rather, it came from experience. At that time, my experience was limited to drawing people and defaulted animals (cats, dogs, horses, bears). Therefore, when the coordinator invited me to participate in the project as the main artist, I doubted for some time. But having decided, he proceeded to drawing hundreds of sketches, training and mastering cartoon graphics. Gradually, the creative process captured me and began to gain momentum. In order not to dissemble, it is worth mentioning - the creative process is “creative” for that, which it lets go from time to time, forcing to stagnate. And if you want to get a unique pattern, and not stamping "on order", then you need "time" and sometimes - a lot of time. This cannot be explained to the coordinator or programmer.

The beginning of the way

The start of the artist’s work turned out to be so correct from my point of view that for a long time I was simply envious of the fact that he could afford to work like that. In fact, a study of the subject area was carried out - data were collected on birds, habitats, habits, descriptions of appearance, structure of the skeleton. Information was collected in a certain open blog, where it was possible to trace with what degree of responsibility a person approached the matter.

Immediately after realizing the magnitude of the problem, studying the theoretical material, the artist set about the next stage of preparatory work - an attempt to "get his hand in" rendering copies of other people's images. So in our piggy bank of the project appeared anatomical drawings, variations of wings, heads, images of famous characters from animated films.

At the very beginning of the journey, it is very difficult to budge a heavy engine of creativity, to unleash the mythical flywheel of free ideas. After all, a game is not just an “order” for a couple of dozen drawings in the same style, but a whole world that will develop and grow. It seems that now you take a pencil, sit in front of a white sheet, and amazing images will flow like from a cornucopia. So I thought, and so people who are new to the creative process continue to think. But this was not so at all.

It turned out that nothing of me “pours”, except irritation and despair. At these moments only images of future images described in detail in the technical task helped. Eye and hand training, daily practice in drawing, and, of course, “time” were required before the result was satisfactory.
Subsequently, I relied less and less on the description in the ToR, and later, the description completely disappeared. This meant that they now rely entirely on my experience and taste. I definitely liked it. Probably, something like this is felt by a person who walked on crutches for a long time, and then started to run without them (remembered Forrest Gump).

An important point was that I began to feel responsible for the look of the project. Being a concept artist is not an easy task! After all, the way I see the image of an icon, environment, character - everyone else will see. No more, no less! Along with responsibility comes the understanding that you are not just a “hired worker” who has fulfilled a task and received money. I have to constantly think about what the final style should be - “How do I want to show the city? How will our players see this? How to immerse them in the atmosphere and maintain interest? ” And if I feel that it should be different, I will redo the work, whatever it would cost me.

I don’t take part in creating the ideological part, and I can only influence the audience using visual means (although, of course, my concept art influences the final concept of the game). But these funds are very diverse.

Each new task requires a different degree of immersion. Before sketching, I sketch with photos. For artists, this is called "work with references." When the moment of “self-confidence” comes, I proceed to the sketches, most of which are born “in between cases” in pocket notebooks. Having scanned the sketches, it is time to fine-tune them in a graphical editor.

All training sketches were made on a piece of paper in between the artist’s main employment, then they were scanned and stored in an archive for future use. Subsequently, the process was repeated in a similar manner for many other types of illustrations. For example, in the game there is the “mail” section, where the image of the postman squirrel is located, and to create such an illustration, the artist also made a batch of training sketches.



But, of course, most attention was paid specifically to the birds, and precisely to those species that are involved in the main gameplay.

Style and idea

Attempts to develop a unified style of illustration in the initial stages of the project actually ended in failure. In fact, the artist did not have enough experience in our current business to create many different images for one project, creating a single picture.

In order for the project to somehow get off the ground, a decision was made by the artist, approved by all the remaining participants in the project, to create basic illustrations in a 3D editor. This approach made it possible to quickly correct illustrations in terms of position, size, colors, shadows, and other elements. But, of course, the basic basis for creating a 3D image was still pencil sketches.



Thanks to 3D illustrations, we were able to adjust the level of detail of the image depending on its size without a complete redraw and global corrections. In addition, after such basic illustrations, it was possible to understand what drawing style we are striving for at the moment, and to accept it for a certain period as a general vector of work.

Over time, instead of 3D objects, it was possible to make 2D by computer processing of pencil sketches, which subsequently was taken as a new “trend” for creating project illustrations. Thanks to the proven modeling technology, the artist was able to create an initial set of icons, determine the direction of the style of his future work and have a motivating effect on the rest of the team, in particular me.

To be able to depict an object is only half the battle. The most important element of the final image is, of course, stylization. Understanding the art of stylization requires time, attention, analysis and constant practice. Every day I look through a huge number of pictures. Download, organize. It takes a lot of time, but it is this that develops the artistic taste. What you like, what you don’t like, what is expressive, what is not long. This can be seen by a person without any artistic education. But my task is to comprehend the essence, identify patterns, understand what elements distinguish the most high-class characters, icons, environments. And how can I make my images just as spectacular.

For more complex works than trivial icons of one simple object, first of all, a kind of “scenario” is required - an idea for the scene, which will be depicted in the illustration.

It would seem that if a person knows how to do his job, then he can carry out any task, but to invent something completely unimaginable was scary - probably the experience of “play with the duck” from the time of the development of simple websites crushes. On the one hand, the phrase “a rooster standing on one foot in the middle of the field, holding a mug of coffee with his wing and a pen of the second wing stirring sugar in a mug with his finger” reflects the idea in the best way possible, and it is quite feasible. On the other hand, I personally can’t imagine how to draw it, so I had to limit my imagination and constantly ask again: “Is it possible? But will it work? ”

As a result, almost all subjects of illustrations had to be invented by our coordinator. His ideas were simple enough, at the same time accurate and interesting for the overall design.

Each idea ends on a piece of paper in the form of a sketch - schematically in pencil. Some workpieces inspire the artist more strongly, and colors immediately appear in an upward burst of mood.

Details and lines

With the advent of the finished sketch, the process of detailing and simplifying it at the same time begins. It is worth clarifying that our current finished illustrations are made in the form of a simplified vector image - many details of the original drawing are removed, the number of colors is reduced, the shadows are simplified. But at the same time, a detailed study of the sketch allows you to choose a set of elements that fall into the final version.

At the stage of detailed study, the image is being adjusted - the position of the object, interaction with other objects, the overall picture of the plot.





Together with the elaboration of details, one of the longest stages of rendering begins - a clean stroke. At this stage, at a certain time in the life of the project, the main artist was helped by a new girl in our team, which I mentioned in the first article. Thanks to this division of labor, the process of creating illustrations was accelerated many times - a similar effect happened for me when the project coordinator saved me from layout.

With a stroke, basic accents of shadows and hints of color usually appear, while the stroke can, in turn, go through several stages with a gradual cleaning of the wrong lines.



The final step on the path to ideal is only refinement in the editor and giving the final appearance of the illustration. Everything that could not be done at the previous stages is being completed - the final fill with color, the application of lighting and shadows, correction of the contours and giving emphasis.

It may well happen that even when making very minor changes during the entire drawing process, the illustration as a result becomes completely different from the original sketch - it may just look different or display a completely different character.

Logo - head all over

It took almost a year and a half for the project to have the final version of the logo.

It is difficult to overestimate the meaning of the logo for the project. It reflects the essence of what is happening, inspires you to immerse yourself in the process. Yes, and just pleasing to the eye. In our game, three fractions, three species of birds. And the main task was to make them equally attractive to players. The logo is dynamic. That is, it can respond to the seasons, generally accepted holidays or some kind of game promotions. In other words, “something will constantly happen to him.”

The logo has come a long way to improve - with regard to the very first sketches, I always wanted to say: “Sorry, dear, our owl seems to have a wing fracture”. And do not be surprised at the bird-gopnik on the first drafts - it was originally assumed that other birds would take the place of the eagles.

One of the three bird fractions was initially “blackbirds”. But when sketching and styling, it became clear that this is the least winning fraction. It was decided to replace it with "eagles". And did not fail! Now all three fractions are equally majestic and easily styled, having characteristic features and habits.

A similar approach should be carried out in relation to the avatars of the players - there should not be obvious favorites and outsiders, each avatar should especially like a certain circle of people. And again, for each avatar, warming objects were added to the new year to match the atmosphere of the logo.

An avatar is primarily a character that attracts. A character that is pretty to the player. When creating them, the most important task was to make all birds equally attractive, so that only a few of the most successful were not preferred.

Before starting the sketches, I individually studied all the species of our birds (owls, eagles and parrots). Features of anatomy, characteristic postures, color. In parallel, sketching people in the poses I needed. Having become skilled, I schematically sketched out the sketches, all at once to feel the differences and individuality. Drawing "all at once", it is possible to withstand all the characters in a single style. Therefore, the first brainstorming is the most important, though not the longest. Later, in graphic editors, it will be possible to clarify details, to work out the curvature of the lines.

A new series of avatars has been prepared for the start of the game, with a greater degree of detail and realism. I am sure that players will appreciate the new character style.

The development of Zhelezyaka required the search for a dramatic silhouette. And only after that drawing with color. And now, looking at him, I no longer want to change anything. Unless to move a hood a little.

Instrumentation and Methodology

I am obsessed with tools. I will not call myself a hostage, but I like to experiment with different "tools" very much. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, experiments produce images of different styles, created at different times (this is a drawback that has to be corrected). On the other hand, a test of various instruments allows me to better understand the intricacies of fine art, makes me more creatively liberated, helps to understand the essence of objects, shapes, proportions, silhouettes, compositions and colors. I try to draw sketches regularly. These are mainly people and animals (the most complex topics). The first sheet that I draw, I consider warming, or "sheet of shame." In the visual arts, as in sports, a warm-up is required. And already the fifth sketch gains the ease and freedom of the line. Also, these workouts develop visual, fluent memory. After spending an hour at such drawing, I walk along the street and only for a split second, seeing the object, the imagination immediately takes a photo, noting only the most characteristic lines and features of nature.

For sketches I use ink pens, felt-tip pens, markers, pencils. I try to learn watercolor and acrylic in fits and starts. Plans to practice sculpture.

Creating posters for locations, I sketched a sheet with all kinds of objects. And after that I could only successfully compose them in the final image.

When drawing the “flock area” I used images inspired by travels to the Himalayas and northern India.

Back to the Future

The impending amount of work that the artist will need to complete in order for the next stage of development to be completed on the project, which is expected after the final launch, seems already so large that it is necessary to change the established traditions of the project for drawing illustrations.

После запуска игры, в течение года будет происходить постепенный «рестайлинг» игры. Графика сохранит свое мультяшное настроение, но станет более проработанной и основательной. Локации будут максимально погружать игрока в атмосферу игры, заставляя верить в возможность существования её удивительного мира. Концепция «браузерки» не подразумевает просиживания за ней часами, но то непродолжительное время, что человек находится в игре, он должен получать максимальное удовольствие и положительные эмоции, а возможно и вдохновение. Например, порисовать...

От «Большого взрыва» до наших дней

When the text of this article was created, only a few weeks remained before the start of the project, however, in the process of agreeing with the artist, selecting illustrations, editing and the main work on the project, time passed almost imperceptibly. We have come a long way in the evolutionary leaps of the graphic component of the game, and in fact have come to a new stage in the development of the project, which will allow the world to develop faster and better, satisfying more and more players in terms of aesthetic pleasure.

Without our artists - without any of the two (and one might say, already three) - the project would not have taken place and could not have achieved the current results. There were stages of calm, when the coordinator and I waited for new portions of the graphics for several months, but now the work is going at an accelerated pace during the launch process.

A sufficient amount of effort was invested only in order for the project to begin to exist, and very soon it would be necessary to find out how much more effort would be required for the project to continue its development. Obviously, each new player will extend the life of the game, and in the near future we will have to take on the role of advertisers, salespeople, entertainers - but more about that some other time.