Workflow of Game Art Outsourcing Studio
- Sonderflex Studio
- Jul 17, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 19, 2024
Captivating visuals and top-notch art quality are the secret sauce to grabbing players' attention. In the world of video game development, art isn't just a pretty face – it's a crucial element you can't afford to overlook. But here's the thing: creating high-quality art often requires a little outside help. Enter the game art outsourcing studio.
These studios are on a mission to deliver the best game art possible. To make that happen, they've got a whole bag of tricks – plans and workflows that help them knock projects out of the park. They break things down into bite-sized pieces, tackling everything from art production and 3D modeling to animation, step by step.
Whether you're a game dev wizard or just a regular video game enthusiast, understanding how these game art outsourcing studios work their magic can seriously boost your knowledge of the game. So, let's dive deep into the workflow of a game art outsourcing studio.
The Game Art Outsourcing Studio Workflow Breakdown
Typically, these studios follow a series of steps, considering various aspects from idea development and design to production and game integration.
To keep things simple, we'll break it down into a few categories:
Art Production Workflow
Art production covers all the visual designs and compositions for the game in development. We're talking characters, settings, backgrounds, objects – basically, how the whole game will look.
In practice, art production follows these steps:
Art Style Research
Research is the fast track to finding ideas and turning those crazy imaginations into something more concrete. This is where game artists hunt for and decide on the art style they'll use. It's also a chance to study what other games are rocking style-wise.
After all, you want your game to stand out with its own unique visual flair, right?
See also: Choosing Art Style for Different Games
Concept Art Production
Once the art style is locked in, it's time to get those creative juices flowing with concept art production. This process involves a lot of back-and-forth between the folks working on the game.
It starts with rough sketches straight from the brain, which then gets polished based on feedback from the team (or the client, in this case).
Finalizing Design and Illustration
When you hit this stage, all those visual designs and compositions start looking like the real deal. The game art outsourcing studio adds necessary details and cleans up the final line art from those rough sketches.
As the client, this is where you get to see the whole visual package with its final polish.
2. 3D Modeling Workflow
Some games call for 3D assets to create a more immersive and realistic gaming experience. After all, who doesn't love being able to check out characters, places, or objects from all angles?
Creating these 3D assets requires a different workflow. Here's how it typically goes down:
Choosing The Best Approach
Picking the right approach is crucial. The artists or studios need to consider the game engine and the desired level of detail in the final product.
Getting this step wrong can seriously slow down what should be an efficient production process.
Modeling & Texturing
This is where the magic happens – turning raw designs into shaped, textured masterpieces. Game art outsourcing studios usually bring in 3D artists to handle all things 3D visual.
The result? A design that looks like a sculpted version of the previously conceptualized character, object, or place.
Rendering
Rendering is the grand finale of 3D visualization. It involves creating the object model, texturing it, and adding lighting to the scene. This process transforms all those 3D designs into something that looks real and well-defined.
Check how we do: 3D and 2D Asset for Bantam Planet Website Integration
3. Animation Workflow
In a nutshell, animation is all about bringing static designs – both 2D and 3D – to life. We're talking running, jumping, ducking, even something as simple as blinking or opening a mouth.
Game art outsourcing studios typically follow these steps:
Reference Collection
Gathering references can make the animation process a whole lot smoother. You and the studio will decide on the animation style. Will it be stop motion, motion capture, or even puppetry?
These animation styles will shape the overall visual style of the game and impact the player experience.
Character Rigging
Character rigging is an animation technique that involves adding controls to a model. It defines the character's or object's range of motion, determining its actions, body movements, and... well, actions!
A "rig" in this context consists of interconnected "bones" used to move the character's body, much like real bones in a human body.
Animation Blocking
Blocking is an animation technique where key poses are created to determine the timing and placement of characters or objects in a particular scene or shot. This technique is most common in 3D computer animation, sometimes called step animation.
Final Delivery
Once the animation is created, the final result is often processed directly in the game engine. From there, developers and the game art outsourcing studio can see what aspects need tweaking or additions.
Conclusion: A Dynamic and Flexible Workflow
The workflow in a game art outsourcing studio isn't set in stone. It's dynamically determined by the type of service the client requests. This approach allows studios to adapt to each project's specific needs and ensure high-quality results.
Open and transparent communication between the studio and the client is key to determining the right workflow. From the get-go, the studio needs to fully grasp the client's creative vision and goals. With this deep understanding, the studio can craft an efficient and effective workflow that maximizes the team's potential and produces killer game art.
The ability to adapt and collaborate with clients is crucial for a game art outsourcing studio's success. By implementing a dynamic and flexible workflow, studios can deliver high-quality services that meet the diverse needs of clients and projects. This ultimately contributes to a positive studio reputation and long-term client relationships.
Experience = Quality! Sonderflex Studio Delivers Top-Notch Game Art!
Worried about long turnaround times and results that don't match your expectations? Fret not! Trust your game art needs to Sonderflex Studio. With years of experience in the game industry, we're equipped to deliver the best results tailored to your needs.
Sonderflex Studio's professional team consists of talented artists skilled in creating various types of game art, from characters and environments to mind-blowing visual effects. We're always on top of the latest developments in the gaming world, ensuring innovative and cutting-edge work.
Sonderflex Studio is your go-to solution for all your game art needs. Get in touch now for a consultation session and our best offer!
