Silloughette Design: Beyond "Does it look like it"

jocose

I'm wondering if any of you have any opinions on things to look for in silhouette or shape design. I think a lot of artists just focus on the design of the positive and negatives flats and curves and how they inform the aesthetic of something.

I'm wondering if there are any patterns, rules or cannons, realted to demographics, styles, or genres of games (hard surface organic, Japanese, western, gritty, cartoony).

Or perhaps its just completely subjective and up to the artist to make a judgment call.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Joseph Silverman

"Or perhaps its just completely subjective and up to the artist to make a judgment call. "

This, this, always this. Just like anything else in art!

Does it communicate what it's supposed to? If so, it's the right choice.

jocose

Don't get me wrong I completely agree that your ultimately getting paid for your opinion/ability to make judgement calls.

However, ways of thinking about problems can aid in this There are no rules, but there are interesting guidelines which can shape your thoughts about objectifying, and memorizing and communicating things.

So don't think I'm searching for a solution, just opinions out of curiosity

ZacD

jocose

Yeah man those are great. I think one of the things to note there is that these are all sets. Silhouette counts big time in the context of the OTHER silhouettes because the point (in games particular) is often to design enough unique shape anatomy into each one to make they not only communicate the idea, but do so in the context of each other.

Ace-Angel

ZacD pretty much summed it up in images.

It's has much less to do with style, and more about 'reading' the character WITH the style you wish to portray it. Your character needs certain elements in the silhouette department that aren't all about 'style' or how you want it to look, but more on WHAT you can do to change that look from the distance.

Basically, to put it out, can your character have their 'presence' put into silhouette form? What about posing? Again, the perfect example is TF2, since even with the same poses the characters would stand out from each other.

I would say this is the perfect page to get started on the subject matter:
http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/page/5

jocose

Holy crap that page is awesome thanks for posting that Ace-Angel

ZacD

Also

jocose

Oh I love that entire article. Skim it before I start an environment all the time.

This is also a great example:



[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Silhouette // See the design as a whole, not as individual parts. Does it have interesting cuts (ins, outs)? When you squint, can you still tell what it is? In the graphic below, I realized I'd missed an opportunity to convey info and improve sihouette value by not showing the outline of a robot's clawed hand. [/FONT]

From: http://www.autodestruct.com/thumbwar.htm

Also: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-OHuBV9WEY[/ame]

and
http://youtu.be/4yKxY0KKrak

LRoy

Awesome info in this thread. Bookmarked for sure!

DeeKei

Nice links, def worth a read.

jocose

One other consideration is that the more positive space you have the mass you imply and it makes the entire shape feel abstractly heavier. So if you are designing silhouettes for something that is qualitatively associated with "lightness": air , skinny, brittle, weak, streamlined and so on you may want to consider putting in more negative than positive.

Also when designing for 3d art never forget to consider how it will read in the round. I find a lot of people to hyper focus on the orthographic views and lose legability at more obscure angles. Just because it works on paper doesn't mean it works in 3D, small design changes can make big differences in legibility.

Nick Carver

I think it's amazing how much a person can decipher about something (orientation, scale, pose etc.) purely from its silhouette. One thing that really sells silhouettes is the variety of angles and cuts (Like Paul Richards says in his tutorial). I find that using an eraser with a sharp edge in Photoshop is really handy for honing a good shape down after making the initial marks with a big fat brush. I also think often it's good to overaccentuate breaks and form changes on the silhouette to really sell the design and also to stop yourself from forgetting the details when you come back to work into a design with tone or colour.

jocose

Very good points Nick, major forms, story, context, can be important notes to hit. Something might feel and read just fine but isn't selling some key element. Like the size, of a significant garment, accessory, or weapon.

ZacD

I'm know I'm not discussing it much, but I feel the examples explain a lot more visually than I could just say with words.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YWpBiREKsg[/ame]

jocose

nice! excellent example, I had forgotten about that!

And your point is understood and respected. We are dealing with a visual language here, not a spoken one. Especially at the abstract level of the silhouette.

I know I'm talking a lot, but I'm trying to back it up with some visuals .

Please don't hesitate to post more if anything comes to mind. This is great stuff.

BTW your post reminded me of the images below. Which I think back up the point that you want to take into consideration WHAT your saying, not just that it "feels" right. Its good to back up your readability to with conceptual relevance once the viewer moves beyond that first read.
















more here: http://ama-zing-arts.blogspot.com/2008/05/shadow-art-from-trash.html

conte

^dat art