IMGD 1001 - The Game

Development Process:
The Art Pipeline

by
Robert W. Lindeman (gogo@wpi.edu)
Kent Quirk (kent_quirk@cognitoy.com)
(with lots of input from Mark Claypool!)

Outline
 The 2D art pipeline

Concept

Creation

Conversion
 The 3D art pipeline

Concept

Modeling

Texturing

Lighting
 Asset Management

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 2

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What's a Pipeline?
 In the pipeline

Informal. in the process of being developed,
provided, or completed; in the works; under
way. (Random House)
 For our purposes

The sequence of operations required to move
art assets from concept to the finished
product

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 3

Types of 2D Art
 These are created with tools:

UI

Sprites / pixel art

Type and fonts

 These need a pipeline:

Character art

Scenery / worlds

Characters

Animation

Video
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2D Asset Creation

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 5

2D Pipeline (1 of 3)
 Now draw charts for for each of the
remaining things
 Concept:

Sketches
 Napkin-style
 Detailed design treatments
 Paper prototypes (for UI)

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2D UI Prototype

designersnotebook.com
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 7

Paper Prototype UI

boxesandarrows.com
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2D Pipeline (2 of 3)
 Creation

Commercial / third party tools:
 Photoshop, The Gimp, sprite editors,
HTML/browsers, Flash...

Homegrown tools
 Specialized animation systems
 Tools that simulate key game features (UI
layout tool, etc)
 The game engine

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 9

Assets for a 2D animation

eberlein.org/euphoria
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 10

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Another 2D character

cvrpg.com
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 11

One More

aniway.com
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2D Pipeline (3 of 3)
 Conversion

Putting the assets into the final form
 File type conversion

PSD to TGA / JPG, for example

Compression

Collection (zip files, pak files, etc)
 Testing in the game
 Debug / fix

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 13

3D Asset Creation

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 14

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3D Pipeline (1 of 4)
 Concept:

Sketches
 Napkin-style
 Detailed design treatments
 Paper prototypes (for UI)
 Maquettes
 Animation sketches / flipbooks
 Mockup models
 Texture mockups
 Architectural layout

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 15

3D UI Prototype

lostgarden.com
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3D Pipeline (2 of 4)
 Creation

Commercial / third party tools:
 Photoshop, The Gimp, sprite editors,
HTML/browsers, Flash...
 3D tools: 3D Studio Max, Maya, Lightwave,
Blender

Homegrown tools
 Specialized animation systems
 Tools that simulate key game features (UI
layout tool, etc)
 The game engine
 Exporters / plugins
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 17

3D Studio Max

gamedev.net
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 18

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Stages of a Model

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 19

3D Pipeline (3 of 4)
 Animation systems

Motion capture

Third party tools

Homebuilt tools

 Texturing systems
 Shaders / surface tools
 Renderers / video systems

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Texturing and Accessories

garagegames.com
Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 21

A Model, Textured

zbrush
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Character and a Skin

secretlair.com
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Another Skin

cresswells.com
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3D Pipeline (4 of 4)
 Conversion

Export from modeling to custom formats

Putting the assets into the final form
 File type conversion

PSD to TGA / JPG, for example

Compression

Collection (zip files, pak files, etc)
 Testing in the game
 Debug / fix

Lindeman & Quirk (& Claypool) - WPI Dept. of Computer Science 25

Asset Management
 How do you share the production process
across time, space, and content
creators?

Source code has many tools -- "solved"

Data is harder
 Not easily merged
 Dependencies not obvious
 Relationships complex

Some commercial systems are trying

Typically a combination of:
 Homegrown tools
 Convention and process
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