Ways to improve?

This shows again what I've experienced countless times: irony does not work with email or forum postings. At least not with strangers...

 

As with everything else in business, play to your strengths. Many times you can turn your weaknesses into strengths. If you can't make realistic-looking art and can't afford to buy it, then:

1. Choose a type of game that isn't art-heavy.
and/or
2. (My Favorite) Go with an art style (likely a simplistic/minimalist style) that you can do reasonably well (or at least better than other styles), and make it a selling point.

Platypus is a good example. (Disclaimer: I'm not trying to imply Anthony's a bad artist: I have no idea how much of an artist he is.) If someone can't do fancy space-shooter pixel art (again, I don't mean to assume Anthony can't), then maybe that person can do claymation. Or maybe lazery-wireframey art (Rez), or doodles (Vib Ribbon), or "rough cartoony" (Alien Hominid), or paper cutouts (South Park), etc.

It's better to do an easy style well than a difficult style poorly.

That's my suggestion anyway.

I always thought that too . (I've seen that book you mentioned. I'll have to take a closer look sometime.)

 

Thanks for staying on topic Abscissa

 

Oh, heh, I guess that will tend to happen when I don't read most of the posts . Maybe I should start ignoring previous posts more often .

 

soniCron: yeah, don't take it too seriously man. I don't want to add anyone to the ignore list (in fact, I think I'll add you to my buddy list )

and about staying on topic... it's been a loooong time since this board was on topic But it seems to be what people here want, community and all that...

 

Yeah but I sneaked back after a bit... I had a bust up with Omega too once upon a time but I've got a short memory and can't remember what it was about

Cas

 

It was about how Beer should be cold not Warmed up.

 

ERoberts - this being the second time in as many days that you've suggested that this board and the people posting on it are worthless... why not do yourself and everybody else a favour?

 

It's a pity this thread doesn't have a more searchable subject name because it's a treasure trove of art-related links (excluding the art of occasional mud slinging!).

 

Oh, come on, let me have my fun Since the board have now changed from a business resource based on the sharing of experience into this "community" forum based on sharing opinions, at least let me make use of what little entertainment value there is Don't worry though, I'll try and play nice...

 

Do you really think this forum has changed? Doesn't seem all that different to me. But what of credentials? Who has sufficient credentials?

I think SoniCron works nicely as a provocateur in the princec mold. I'm not concerned with credentials myself, so long as the argument is well-reasoned.

Despite your best efforts to assuage me, I'm still deeply offended! Well okay, no I'm not, but just for the record, I can paint and draw very well , and good claymation is very fiddly and difficult work - I wouldn't recommend it as a soft alternative. However, I do believe that it can be faster than animating by hand if you know what you're doing. Well, maybe.

But your point is a good one. You can turn a weakness into a strength if you're smart about it. However I do think you need a good artistic eye to pull this off. You don't necessarily have to be able to draw or model or do anything else well... but you need to have a feel for what works and what doesn't, otherwise your stylish primitivist art will instead come out looking like old bollocks. You still need to think carefully about your design; make sure it is consistent. And pick nice colours! I cannot emphasise enough how important that is. You can improve your art 100% with better-chosen colour.

 

Claymation as an "easy" alternative?

I can't even begin to imagine how long it must take to get a single "clean" animation cycle from claymation. And if something happens to a model... Well, my equivalent of "Ctrl-Z" would become "trash room in a rage, then drink self into a stupor."

 

Good artwork in a game is largely a matter of style and coherence. A simple design utilized throughout a game can add charm.

The worst thing a game can have is a bunch of different styles floating about. I've seen some games where people hired professional artists and the individual artwork looks good, however it looks mangled together and the result is crap.

 

Wow , I have alot to learn from this thread .......

 

Good game art independently of the style requires a minumum of art knowledge (colors, shape, proportions), and to improve art skills there is no shortcuts, just good references and a lot of practice

my two cents

 

Heh heh. Well, I guess Platypus and claymation wasn't a good example after all . But like Anthony (thankfully ) noticed, my real point was:

Although, I guess he probably is right about needing an artistic eye to pull it off (In the specific case of artwork). (Although, I will say that I've seen a fair number of people with an artistic eye that didn't realize they had an artistic eye. Usually because of either perfectionism or identifying themself primarily as something else (ie. hidden talent))

And then, my other point was just that it's better to do an easy thing well than a difficult thing poorly. (Which I guess still applies to claymation, but in a different way that I originally thought: Specifically, if you can't do claymation well, then don't do it in a commercial endeavor.)

EDIT:
In summary:
1. Use a weakness as a strength, if you can.
2. When creating a commercial product: If you can't do something well, don't do it at all.
3. When creating a commercial product: It's better to do an easy thing well than a difficult thing poorly (Corollary of #2).

 

I didn't know anything about 3D until I took a class on Java3D. The only useful things I learned in that class was in the small part on JOGL (about matrices, state-based instructions, and such). I used this knowledge to learn Direct3D, which the class didn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Moral: Take classes. Even if they suck, you still learn.

Disclaimer: I am in no position to give anyone advice, ever. This is common knowledge.