I have been obsessed with art since the day I signed up for DeviantArt.com and discovered the sprawling ecosystem that is the art world. I sketched religiously, ignoring my grades and therefore homework in exchange for doodling characters that I could call mine, and when I got my academic standing together I still drew in my scarce moments of brevity, creating pieces that stand on my portfolio today. While I fumbled in my traditional art classes, I soared in the digital art world. Naturally, the idea of becoming an artist full-time appealed to me, and in the digital world it wasn't a far-fetched idea either. That dream only truly materialized in my Junior year, in the here and now: I wanted to become an Art Director. I wanted to be the eyes for determining the aesthetic of the game I was working on, and bring my vision-- the team's vision-- into reality. Choosing the game design course finalized this dream, and made me realize what a treasure trove the game design world was; a chest brimming with talented, borderline obsessed people with too much creativity and work ethic for a normal person to deal with.
Realizing I was a perfect match for that sort of environment was breathtaking. |
Sybil, 2021. All work present belongs to Jay Phung.
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Artifact 6 - Design Pipeline Reflection |
Artifact 7 - Pre-production Artifacts |
The entirety of the game development pipeline is broken up into three stages: pre-production, production, and post-production. Every game development company has teams dedicated to each task on each stage of this pipeline; and together, they can make a game that everybody can enjoy.
The pre-production stage is arguably the most crucial stage, as it provides the framework for the game to be built off of. The stronger the framework, the stronger the game. Henceforth, the more time you spend on pre-production, the better time you'll have in the stages after it. Here, the brainstorming of ideas occurs. The rough planning of a budget is outlined once there is a vague format of ideas, and artists usually sketch down a few conceptual art that is either scrapped (90% of the time) or kept and refined. You can't stay in the pre-production stage forever, though. Eventually, production stage must come in and this is where the actual materials, assets, etc for the game are refined and actually implemented. An actual game is created. The programming is happening, the writing, art assets like models, textures, environments are made and implemented. In this stage, the team is more concerned about having a game actually there instead of a quality game. In order to refine something, it needs to be created first. In post-production, bug fixes and QA testing is the main goal. Now that a game is made, it's time to fix any issues, errors, and optimize whatever possible. Advertising efforts will be made to promote the incoming game as the team urgently works towards their deadline. Once the game is released, bug fixing and QA testing will still occur, but the game overall is polished and made. The work isn't over, however-- most of the team at this point has moved onto the next project, and now it's time to start the process all over again! To the right, you'll find some pieces I have worked on that could be argued as pieces for the pre-production cycle. They are largely concept art, but you can learn a lot based on creating mock concept art! |
In this concept art, I learned how to convey energy and personality through character design by utilizing colors, design, and poses. Tools used are Clip Studio Paint and Wacom Intuos Tablet.
In this concept art, I learned how to create different outfits and designs that I could see myself actually wearing in a fantasy setting. Tools used are Clip Studio Paint and Wacom Intuos Tablet.
In this concept art, I learned how to convey action and impact from certain poses, and how certain effects added a certain energy. Tools used are Clip Studio Paint and Wacom Intuos Tablet.
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Video Presentation |
Conclusion |
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The Game Art and Design not only informed me about the game development pipeline, but about who I want to become career-wise. Through brainstorming ideas for my own game, to creating games myself and learning seemingly an entirely new language, I learned more about myself than the subject I was supposed to be learning. I learned that only the truly obsessed and insanely creative can survive in the game development industry, and even then it's a sharp edge. I learned that in the art sector, I wanted to work with other people and create aesthetics that the world hasn't seen yet-- and I want to be at the head of it all, leading it.
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