GAME ART will guide students in developing the look and feel of their games. An emphasis will be placed on a practical and experimental frameworks for individuals and small teams, with students approaching art direction and production as artists, moving laterally between all aspects of the pipeline, from research and outlining, to digital content creation in 2d and 3d. As an introduction to this approach, the course will start with a brief survey of video and computer graphics history and look at how artists and programmers have creatively incorporated the features and limitations of their tools and hardware as parameters of a visual language, or how they have side-stepped them altogether. Students will learn valuable skills in creating authored content, such as: how to imagine the player's experience inside your virtual world; using 3D software for modeling, rigging and animation, photogrammetry, 3D scanning and motion capture; and use of 2D software for imaging, digital painting, texturing, typography and UI work. Unique approaches for building Materials, Shaders, Lighting, and Effects, will also be emphasized in coursework, to exemplify the various alternative and creative ways to develop a visual style and atmosphere beyond photorealism.
