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11:00am
Molly Heady-Carroll Freelance Creature Consultant11:00am - 11:45amRoom 2The Weird Science of Creature Design
Wednesday 12th July11:00am - 11:45amRoom 2Creature design is a weird science and YOU are the mad professor! Designing unholy abominations may be fun, but it is also hard work. There is method to the madness. Creature designers combine knowledge of real world animals and fantastic ideas with clear and communicative sketching. In this lecture, Molly Heady-Carroll will take you through the entire gruesome process of designing creatures. Her methods may be unconventional, but her creations might just be crazy enough to work. It's alive… IT'S ALIVE!
Session Takeaway
- DESIGN: creature design requires an evaluation, ideation, prototyping and testing cycle, just like the design thinking cycle that is applied to game design. Nature also "designs" her animals in the same way. Animals are an iteratively tested solution (evolution) within a design system (ecology). Every animal is a design loop (species) that works for one of millions of very specific circumstances (niche).
- ZOOLOGY: nature has millions of species and all are a functioning solution to fill a niche. You know they work because they exist in real life. Having an extensive knowledge of real world animals provides creature designers with a mental library of real world possibilities they can draw from for their fictional designs. Artist can do this by researching animal zoology, observation and life drawing.
- DRAWING: focus on how well you can design imaginary animals, how well you can communicate through drawing and that you can do this fast. Clear visual communication is NOT the same thing as being good at rendering. Creating a functioning, appropriate concept comes first, polish and rendering is the polish on an already functioning foundation. It won't save a bad design.
12:00pm
Thomas Waterzooi Indie Developer12:00pm - 12:45pmRoom 3Unlocking The Power Of Paintings in ‘Please, Touch The Artwork 2’ (a double post mortem)
Wednesday 12th July12:00pm - 12:45pmRoom 3Solo-dev Thomas Waterzooi will explore the intersection of modern artist James Ensor’s paintings and accessible, yet deep, mobile game design. The session serves as a practical case study for game developers seeking insights into bridging traditional art with interactive experiences, but also designing for mobile. He’ll discuss and compare the different challenges faced during development of the first game versus the second game, and share things learned from his journey as a solo-developer, winning the Google Play Indie festival in 2022 and securing a Apple Design award nomination. From finding funding, game-design, PR, marketing to releasing a game on Steam, mobile, Nintendo Switch, and efforts post-release, there are lots of takeaways from this talk.
Session Takeaway
- How to stand out in an overcrowded gaming-landscape
- General insights into what it takes to be a solo-dev indie.
- Techniques to adapt public domain art into (mobile) games.
2:00pm
Aubrey McCarthy Roll72:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 2Everything I Learned Making Art for Illustrative Styles
Wednesday 12th July2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 2With a stylised art direction, art which looks good in a screenshot isn't necessarily what makes for great art in motion. And, as we found out in a fast paced action game, can be complete cognitive overload . Oh no, we've overwhelmed the player! What are we going to do now?
Aubrey McCarthy will take you through 3 games worth of learning about illustrative art styles. Drawing from Rollerdrome, OlliOlli World, and John Wick Hex's development. Come learn practical lessons on what it's like to make a video game which audiences will look at and think is hand drawn.
Looking different requires a different art creation approach. As well as throwing up a abundance of visual challenges. This talk will help you navigate some of the early pitfalls you'll likely fall into.
Session Takeaway
- How we arrived at our illustrative art styles, things to consider when choosing your own, and how to make your life easier if you do
- Colours: Where art meets science. How to make colours do heavy lifting for you.
- Detail: How to balance making a game which is visually rich and stylised, while still looking great and not overwhelming in action.
3:00pm
Ryan Greene RebellionDaniel Meeuws RebellionChris Kabeya Rebellion3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 2Building Cohesive Worlds with Traditional and Emerging Art Pipelines
Wednesday 12th July3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 2This session is about world building and asset creation using traditional handcrafted art, photogrammetry, and Houdini driven tools. It is a demonstration of how a mid-sized team created lush expansive levels efficiently, with a high level of quality, yet remained flexible for design iteration. We will look at content creation, object placement, and play space creation via an intriguing fusion of methodologies.
The team will give insight into a broad range of artistic challenges, and our solutions to them. We used an interesting bag of tools to create an English village, assemble stone structures, ensure accuracy in vegetation ecosystems, and build entire levels. We will go through various case studies in the creation of both natural and man-made areas from one of Rebellion’s upcoming games. (Currently unannounced!)
Session Takeaway
- Be clear on your vision, and what you want to achieve with your art
- Be flexible in your approach to art creation, and open to new methodologies
- Save time on the tricky and tedious bits, then spend that time on the fun stuff!
4:00pm
Pablo Hoyos Isusquiza Rocksteady4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 1Method & Madness: The Rocksteady Approach To Material Layering
Wednesday 12th July4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 1A look at Rocksteady's journey into Material Layering, and the system we created to support character customisation. The "quality first" design philosophy and how we created and leveraged tools to create Rocksteady's highest fidelity characters ever! We will cover the rocky beginnings, the conversion of a team into Material Layering and the lessons we learned in the process, as well as the system's strengths and successes as well as its limitations and the aspects that could have been better.
Session Takeaway
- An overview of the character creation process at Rocksteady, with a focus on Materials & Textures
- An understanding of the challenges involved in creating a Material Layering pipeline almost from scratch
- How to overcome a team's initial resistance in order to successfully implement a new and "weird" pipeline
- A chance to peek under the hood and see how the system works
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11:15am
Nina Klos Sumo Digital11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 2A Deep Dive into Technical Art
Thursday 13th July11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 2Does technical art seem mysterious and confusing? And why is everyone looking for it? During this talk Nina discusses what technical art is, the history behind how technical art started and how they fit into larger developer teams. Including examples & practical advice on cultivating a technical art skillset.
Session Takeaway
- An understanding of what technical art is & it’s history
- The skills needed to be a technical artist
- Approaching a problem from a technical art perspective
2:00pm
Erin Somervail Jagex2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 5VFX Roundtable
Thursday 13th July2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 5An opportunity for VFX artists of all levels to meet and exchange knowledge and wisdom, and discuss the various challenges we have to deal with in our careers.
Non VFX artists are also welcome to come and gain an insight into how to work closely with their VFX colleagues to create visually stunning (and bug free) games!
Session Takeaway
- You will have a better idea of how VFX artists work in other studios
- You will get helpful advice about best practise in project and asset organisation
- You will get some tips to improve communication with other departments in your workplace
3:00pm
Semyon Voinov ZeptoLab3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 1Mobile Game Artist: 2024 Edition
Thursday 13th July3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 1I will use my experience to offer practical advice on achieving success in every stage of your career as a mobile game artist, lead artist and art director. I'll talk about the current state of the industry and the ways AI tools are transforming the art pipeline and a required skill set. I will explore the challenging decision many artists face in their careers: whether to become a manager or focus on their artistic craft.
This session will primarily focus on mobile game development, given my background.Session Takeaway
- Up-to-date advice on building a career in mobile game art
- Information on the impact of AI tools and how to adjust to the changes
- Advice on approaching an artist/manager dilemma
