What is an Art Bible in VideoGames?
Art Bible
I am Rafel Brau, student of the
Bachelor’s Degree inVideo Games by UPC at CITM. This content is generated for the second year’s
subject Project 2, under supervision of lecturer
Ricard Pillosu.
INTRODUCTION
First of all, let’s understand what an Art Bible is, and that is a reference document produced by the
Lead Artist or the Art Director, that contains the information necessary to understand the game’s
overall art style as well as providing descriptions, concept art and screenshots for all of the heads
up displays, character models, in-game assets and terrain.
It is created after the GDD but before the Art Production, and helps the rest of the team understand
the whole aesthetic of the game, it speeds up the development process and helps in marketing and
communication of the game, as it is very visual and easy for investors to understand.
To start making a good Art Bible, you need to first ask yourself some questions, so that the final
product has the right elements and the right feel.
The first question: If a new member were to join the production team, which information would they
need in order to start working? With this question you have to make sure the document is detailed
enough so that even new members understand the whole aesthetic.
Second one: Which is the target audience for the document? For this one, you have to take into
account the people who will see the document, being these the members of your team or the
investors, which leads to our third question: What would need an investor to know about the artistic
feel of the game? For someone who has no idea of what goes on inside the development process,
they have to understand the necessary thing in an Art Bible, so that they can give their money.
And last but not least, the Art Bible has to unify all the styles of the artists inside a team, so the last
question is: How could i make all the artists understand the aesthetic of the game?
Apart from the four questions, you have to prepare some material to set the basis of all the content,
so that you can have better idea of everything once you start. This material consists of:
1-Concept Art: different sketches to exemplify the game that you are going to do.
2-Photographs: Photos which help explain better the feel of the game, the aesthetic.
3-Diagrams: Different diagrams to help see the difference or relation between different factors
4-Completed Assets: The final assets for the game with explanation of their theme.
5-References from other works: References to help visualize the idea you have in mind, so that
you can show visually what you want to achieve.
THE DIFFERENTS PARTS OF THE ART BIBLE
An Art Bible consists of the artistic part of a game put together in a document, and to understand
every aspect of the aesthetic, a lot of different content has to be explained, these different content
consist of 9 factors which will be further explained later on:
every aspect of the aesthetic, a lot of different content has to be explained, these different content
consist of 9 factors which will be further explained later on:
- Art Style
- Character Art
- Level Of Detail
- Camera
- Color Palette
- Environment / Atmosphere
- User Interface
- Technical Guidelines
- References/Moodboards
ART STYLE
During the art style part you have to set the period of time and place, with this you set an atmosphere
in which the game will develop, and depending in the artstyle of said game, the feeling that it will
transmit would vary depending in the style. You also have to set the proportions for characters,
technologies, cities, everything general that would help understand where, when, how, and what the
game shows us.
in which the game will develop, and depending in the artstyle of said game, the feeling that it will
transmit would vary depending in the style. You also have to set the proportions for characters,
technologies, cities, everything general that would help understand where, when, how, and what the
game shows us.
An example for this can be seen in League of Legends. The art style set for the reworked Summoners
Rift can be explained by their words as Timeless, “we want to deliver a unique, timeless art style that
remains relatable years after its creation. Our goal is to create a style independent of a particular time
or place that retains the "inviting, magic-infused forest" vibe of Summoner's Rift.”- explained
RIOTOTOWN in their post. With that in mind, their idea of what the Rift should look like developed
further and further, and for instance, the timeless style looked for Invisible technology, which led to
avoiding hard edges, overly realistic figures, and other things that would not match the style, and used
an updated method to upgrade the visuals to a much smoother and unified style.
Rift can be explained by their words as Timeless, “we want to deliver a unique, timeless art style that
remains relatable years after its creation. Our goal is to create a style independent of a particular time
or place that retains the "inviting, magic-infused forest" vibe of Summoner's Rift.”- explained
RIOTOTOWN in their post. With that in mind, their idea of what the Rift should look like developed
further and further, and for instance, the timeless style looked for Invisible technology, which led to
avoiding hard edges, overly realistic figures, and other things that would not match the style, and used
an updated method to upgrade the visuals to a much smoother and unified style.
pre-rework Summoner's Rift After-rework Summoner's Rift
For more information about Riot's Summoner's Rift update Art Style check out their post.
CHARACTER ART / ITEMS
In the Character Art Part/ Item, you have to explain every main character that has any kind of role in
your game, being either a main character, a side character, an enemy, or a simple NPC, every
character has to be explained in the Character Art and also provide information about the items that
can be found inside the game. The information for every character and item has to be explained in this
document, both technical/artistic and the lore. In the Lore you have to set a background for the
character or item, who he is, what he’s like, his hobbies or anything that would make the player feel
connected or at least sympathize with the character, this way when developing the character it will
be easier to know what hais traits are, his expressions and everything. The technical part consist of
the different aspects of the development of the character, like first of all, the silhouette of the
character, his poses, value gradient, value patterning, color palette and saturation, animations, and,
if the game is in 3D, the polycount and paths, alongside an image of the rendered model. More
information of character art in the Dota 2 post guide of how to create a character’s art. For the item
part, the logo, the concept art used for it, and what it’s trying to simulate or the meaning behind it.
your game, being either a main character, a side character, an enemy, or a simple NPC, every
character has to be explained in the Character Art and also provide information about the items that
can be found inside the game. The information for every character and item has to be explained in this
document, both technical/artistic and the lore. In the Lore you have to set a background for the
character or item, who he is, what he’s like, his hobbies or anything that would make the player feel
connected or at least sympathize with the character, this way when developing the character it will
be easier to know what hais traits are, his expressions and everything. The technical part consist of
the different aspects of the development of the character, like first of all, the silhouette of the
character, his poses, value gradient, value patterning, color palette and saturation, animations, and,
if the game is in 3D, the polycount and paths, alongside an image of the rendered model. More
information of character art in the Dota 2 post guide of how to create a character’s art. For the item
part, the logo, the concept art used for it, and what it’s trying to simulate or the meaning behind it.
Example of Dota 2 character palette Character example for The Trip
LEVEL OF DETAIL
During this section the level of detail has to be expressed carefully, it has to be expressed what
elements in the game require more visual details than others and what these details are, in order
to make the game more visually coherent, or what elements may attract the player attention more.
Everything relating to the detailing process, like how to decrease or increase the level of details
should also be specified here, visual color hierarchy should be specified here as well. An example
for this can be Summoners rift visual hierarchy:
elements in the game require more visual details than others and what these details are, in order
to make the game more visually coherent, or what elements may attract the player attention more.
Everything relating to the detailing process, like how to decrease or increase the level of details
should also be specified here, visual color hierarchy should be specified here as well. An example
for this can be Summoners rift visual hierarchy:
or Kshiraj Telang, Game Artist at King take on Metro City buildings details.
CAMERA
During this section, all of the camera specifications have to be explained here, like the orientation of
the camera, how will it follow the narrative,what is the player able to see, the cutscenes, camera
effects like motion blur, the field of view, and everything necessary to understand how the player will
see the game world through the screen. You have to specify all of these thing so that it is possible to
understand which things take part in the game, and do not overload the player with everything of the
world at the same time.
the camera, how will it follow the narrative,what is the player able to see, the cutscenes, camera
effects like motion blur, the field of view, and everything necessary to understand how the player will
see the game world through the screen. You have to specify all of these thing so that it is possible to
understand which things take part in the game, and do not overload the player with everything of the
world at the same time.
Camera and UI example for the game StoicSugarCubes
COLOR PALETTE
Here it’s pretty straight forward, you have to specify the color swatches of your game, the hues,
saturation, and the different palette choices for every different environment. The color used in the
game will affect all the game’s feel, so you have to take into account what game you are making
and which color palette suit that game better.
An example of this can be seen in the post made by Herman Tulleken, which explains the importance
of color in video game graphics:
saturation, and the different palette choices for every different environment. The color used in the
game will affect all the game’s feel, so you have to take into account what game you are making
and which color palette suit that game better.
An example of this can be seen in the post made by Herman Tulleken, which explains the importance
of color in video game graphics:
Casual games
FPS games
There are different tools to help you create a collor palette with colors you like or feel would be
convenient, so that the process of creating the palette speeds up.
https://www.buildbox.com/best-color-palette-generators/
convenient, so that the process of creating the palette speeds up.
https://www.buildbox.com/best-color-palette-generators/
ENVIRONMENT / ATMOSPHERE
In this part you have to explain what the different environment and atmospheres will be for every level,
so that the artists know what feeling it is trying to convey. It has to have information regarding scale,
scheme, openness, weather conditions, lightning,... everything relating to the place where the game
will be taking part in has to be explained here.
so that the artists know what feeling it is trying to convey. It has to have information regarding scale,
scheme, openness, weather conditions, lightning,... everything relating to the place where the game
will be taking part in has to be explained here.
Example of the change of feelings by changing environments
USER INTERFACE
During the UI part of the Art Bible you need to explain how the UI will be managed, elements inside
the UI, the navigation between menus, settings, and game specific menus. In the words of Jacob
Duniam, a video game designer, “You must clearly break down every icon decision and layout rationale
to suggest how your design coheres with the artistic direction and user experience.”
Taking this into account, you have to define animations, HUD, Interface design technique, and user
experience.
the UI, the navigation between menus, settings, and game specific menus. In the words of Jacob
Duniam, a video game designer, “You must clearly break down every icon decision and layout rationale
to suggest how your design coheres with the artistic direction and user experience.”
Taking this into account, you have to define animations, HUD, Interface design technique, and user
experience.
An example of UI in an Art Bible on the game Isabelle Snow and the Crown of Command
TECHNICAL GUIDELINES
Apart from the art, you will need your team to work coordinatively. Following the same process in the
making of assets is very important so that everything is consistent, even with new member joining in.
In the Technical Guideline you have to specify this process, utilizing as many details as possible so
that it’s easier to follow for everyone, like for example, the tools used, the name criteria, how to export,
the layers organization, limitations,...
making of assets is very important so that everything is consistent, even with new member joining in.
In the Technical Guideline you have to specify this process, utilizing as many details as possible so
that it’s easier to follow for everyone, like for example, the tools used, the name criteria, how to export,
the layers organization, limitations,...
REFERENCES/ MOOD BOARDS
References and mood boards are a basic to help illustrate and convey the feeling of what you have
in mind, with example of existing games, ads, comics, photographs, movies, illustrations ,... you can
show which path to follow during the art development with these tools and provide useful material for
the team to have a better idea of the final product.
in mind, with example of existing games, ads, comics, photographs, movies, illustrations ,... you can
show which path to follow during the art development with these tools and provide useful material for
the team to have a better idea of the final product.
MoodBoard for a custon LoL character by the artist Leon Ropeter
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, to write a good Art Bible you have to understand your team, and know how to
express your artistic ideas to them in a clear way. So in order to do that, you have a few advices:
express your artistic ideas to them in a clear way. So in order to do that, you have a few advices:
Do not use a lot of text, speak with images.
Use a format your team is comfortable with.
Caption your images.
Webs:
Books:
Example of Art Guides:
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