Why you Draw Bad Assets || 2D Game Art

Summary

The video script discusses common pitfalls in game art, emphasizing the importance of strategic asset creation. It highlights that overly detailed assets can distract from the overall scene, especially when repeated. The speaker advises artists to consider the use and frequency of assets in the game environment before creating them. They also stress the need for a basic plan to maintain coherent silhouettes and to avoid overworking details that won't be noticeable in-game. The script advocates for a balance between simplicity and detail, directing player attention effectively, and using contrast to highlight key elements without overwhelming the scene.

Takeaways

• 🎨 When creating game art, it's crucial to consider the overall composition and how individual assets will be used in the scene, rather than focusing solely on the complexity or detail of each asset.
• 🌿 In game scenes, assets that are repeated should have simple silhouettes to avoid creating distracting patterns when viewed collectively.
• 🔍 Players' attention should be directed strategically in a game scene, with some assets demanding more attention than others to guide the player's focus.
• 🖌️ Adding too much detail to every asset can lead to a scene that is overwhelming and lacks a clear focal point.
• 🛠️ Before beginning to draw an asset, it's important to plan how it will be used in the game and how often it will appear to ensure it fits within the overall design.
• 🌈 Hue and value contrasts can significantly affect how much attention an asset demands within a scene; strategic use of these can help direct the player's gaze.
• 📏 Simpler assets are often more effective when they are meant to be repeated in a scene, as complex silhouettes can become annoying and detract from the overall aesthetic.
• 🚫 Overworking details on assets that will be used extensively can be a waste of time, as the details may not be noticeable in the final game environment.
• 🔑 It's more effective to add details as separate assets rather than making a single asset overly detailed, allowing for easier recognition and appreciation of those details.
• ✂️ Reducing contrast and saturation on non-essential assets can help to create a more harmonious scene, allowing key elements to stand out more effectively.

Q & A

Why might detailed assets not always be the best choice for game art?

Detailed assets can demand too much attention and make a scene look cluttered, especially when repeated throughout a scene. They can also lead to inadvertent patterns that are distracting to the viewer.

What is the importance of considering how often an asset will be used in a scene before creating it?

Knowing how often an asset will be used helps in determining its level of detail. Assets that are repeated should have simpler silhouettes and less detail to avoid creating a distracting pattern.

How can directing the player's attention through art assets enhance a game scene?

By reducing the detail and contrast of most assets and focusing attention on key elements, the scene becomes more coherent and allows the player to focus on important aspects of the game.

What role does the silhouette of an asset play in the overall composition of a game scene?

The silhouette is crucial as it determines how the asset is perceived when repeated or viewed from a distance. A complex silhouette can become annoying and distracting when used frequently.

Why is it recommended to create a basic plan before starting to draw assets for a game scene?

A basic plan helps in visualizing how the assets will be used and how they will interact with each other in the scene, preventing the creation of assets that might not work well when placed together.

How can simplifying an asset's details and colors improve its effectiveness in a game scene?

Simplifying details and colors can make the asset less demanding of attention, allowing it to blend better with the scene and not distract from the main focus.

What is the significance of contrast in directing attention to specific assets in a game scene?

Contrast, including hue and value, can be used to draw the player's eye to important elements. Strategic use of contrast can highlight key assets and guide the player's focus.

Why might adding more details and highlights to an asset make a scene look worse?

Adding more details and highlights to an asset can make it demand more attention, which, if done to all assets, can lead to a scene where nothing stands out and the player's attention is not effectively directed.

How can understanding the principles of game art composition save time when creating assets?

By understanding how assets will be used and their impact on the overall scene, artists can avoid overworking details that won't be noticed in the game, saving time and resources.

What is the advice for artists who are not confident in their drawing skills when it comes to creating game assets?

Focus on the strategic placement of assets and the principles of composition rather than striving for highly detailed art. The effectiveness of an asset is more about its role in the scene than its individual detail.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Balancing Asset Detail in Game Art

The paragraph discusses the common mistake of artists creating overly detailed game assets that may not necessarily enhance the overall scene. It emphasizes that not all assets need to be highly detailed, especially if they are used frequently. The speaker illustrates this by comparing two assets, one detailed and one simple, and shows how replacing all assets in a scene with the detailed one can lead to a cluttered and less appealing look. The key takeaway is that asset detail should be balanced with the frequency of use and the overall composition of the scene to avoid overwhelming the viewer.

05:01

🌿 Understanding Silhouette and Asset Repetition

This section delves into the importance of silhouette simplicity when assets are repeated in a scene. It explains that complex silhouettes can become distracting when used multiple times, suggesting that simple shapes work better for repeated assets. The speaker uses an example of grass to show how a detailed asset can create an unintentional, distracting pattern when repeated. The advice is to consider the use and repetition of an asset before adding details, and to maintain clear silhouettes in the final composition for a coherent look.

10:03

🖌️ Strategic Detailing and Contrast in Game Art

The final paragraph focuses on the strategic use of details and contrast in game art. It argues against overworking unimportant assets and suggests simplifying details and colors to maintain a clear silhouette. The speaker explains that contrast can direct the viewer's attention, and it's crucial to add contrast to areas that highlight the intended focus of the scene. The advice is to evaluate assets in the context of the game scene rather than in isolation, and to consider whether an asset is central to the game or just filling space. The speaker also touches on the idea of adding small details to a clean and simple scene to create interest without overwhelming the viewer.

Keywords

💡Asset

In the context of the video, 'asset' refers to the individual elements or objects that are created for use in a game's environment, such as bushes, tiles, or flowers. The video discusses the importance of considering the complexity and detail of assets in relation to their frequency of use within a game scene. For instance, assets that are repeated often should have simpler silhouettes to avoid creating a visually distracting pattern.

💡Silhouette

The 'silhouette' in the video refers to the outline or shape of an asset when viewed from a distance or against a contrasting background. The video emphasizes that for assets that are repeated in a scene, their silhouettes should be simple to avoid creating a complex or distracting pattern. A simple silhouette allows the asset to blend well within the scene without drawing too much attention away from the main focus.

💡Contrast

Contrast in the video is used to describe the difference in color, lightness, or saturation between elements within a scene. High contrast can draw the viewer's attention, and the video suggests that contrast should be strategically used to highlight important elements of a game scene. For example, adding more contrast to a central character or an important object can make them stand out against the background.

💡Attention

The term 'attention' is used throughout the video to discuss how certain assets or details within a game scene can demand or capture the viewer's focus. The video argues that not all assets should demand attention, and that the artist should consider which elements are important for the player to focus on. This is tied to the concept of directing the player's attention through the strategic use of contrast and detail.

💡Detail

In the video, 'detail' refers to the intricacies and complexity of an asset's design. The speaker warns against overworking details in assets that will be repeated in a scene, as this can lead to a cluttered and visually overwhelming result. Instead, details should be added thoughtfully to maintain the overall coherence and aesthetic of the game scene.

💡Post-processing Effects

Post-processing effects are mentioned as a technique to adjust the overall look of a game scene after the assets have been created. The video discusses how reducing saturation and contrast through post-processing can help to balance the visual elements of a scene. However, it also points out that these effects alone cannot solve the problem of assets demanding too much attention.

💡Saturation

Saturation refers to the intensity of the color in an asset or scene. The video explains that high saturation can make an asset demand more attention, which may not be desirable if the asset is meant to be a background element. The speaker suggests that reducing saturation can help in directing the player's focus to more important parts of the scene.

💡Tile Map

A 'tile map' in the video is a grid-based layout used in game design to create levels or environments. The discussion around tile maps focuses on how assets should be designed to fit within this grid, considering both their individual appearance and how they will look when repeated across the map.

💡Overgrown Castle

The 'overgrown castle' is used as an example in the video to illustrate the process of creating a detailed scene. The speaker describes adding various detailed assets like bushes, grass, flowers, and vines to create an overgrown look. However, the video points out that adding too much detail can make the scene look cluttered and unappealing.

💡Strategic Placement

Strategic placement is discussed in the context of knowing where to add details and where to keep assets simple. The video suggests that details should be added to areas that are important for the player to notice, while less important areas should have simpler assets to avoid distracting from the main focus of the scene.

Highlights

The importance of choosing the right assets for game art is emphasized, as not all detailed assets are necessarily better.

Assets that are seen multiple times in a scene should have a simpler design to avoid visual clutter.

Adding too many details to assets that are repeated can make a scene look worse, as each asset demands more attention.

The problem with detailed assets is demonstrated by creating an overgrown castle with too many intricate details.

Advice on how to improve asset design by focusing on shadows and highlights is critiqued for not necessarily improving the overall scene.

Reducing saturation and contrast in a scene can sometimes help, but it's not a universal solution for all design issues.

The key to a good scene is directing the player's attention, not just reducing the attention demanded by all assets.

An example is given where reducing detail and contrast on all assets except a few makes the scene look oddly acceptable.

The necessity of planning how an asset will be used and how often it will appear in a scene before creating it is stressed.

The silhouette and shape of an asset are crucial; too much detail can be distracting when repeated.

A simple silhouette is preferred for assets that will be repeated, to maintain a clean and non-distracting scene.

The concept of creating an underlying composition or outline before adding details is introduced.

The importance of maintaining silhouettes for a coherent scene is discussed, with examples of how details can ruin the outline.

Contrast and color saturation are identified as key factors that can demand attention and should be strategically used.

The idea that unimportant assets should be designed to demand less attention is presented, to allow important assets to stand out.

A strategy for drawing individual assets is suggested, focusing on not overworking details that won't be noticed in-game.

The value of strategic detail placement is highlighted, with examples of how details can enhance a scene when given space.

The principle of adding details as separate assets rather than making the main asset overly detailed is explained.

The talk concludes with advice to consider the placement and importance of assets before drawing them, to avoid wasting time.

Transcripts

I want to talk about an issue that I

sometimes see when people make game art

that is that they choose to make the

wrong assets take an asset like this one

it's in many ways more difficult to make

than this but is this a better asset

than this well not necessarily why well

if we look at this scene we can see that

it's composed of quite a bit of assets

some assets like this one can be seen

several times whereas other assets like

this one only appears once or twice now

I want us to look back at this asset we

still think it looks pretty nice but

take a look at what happens to this if I

replace all these assets with this one

now you might think that this still

looks pretty nice you might even prefer

this asset to the previous asset and

think that the details are awesome but

the idea of making this type of asset is

generally bad so I want to show you the

problem that occurs when some of you

make detailed assets like this one

suppose you're making assets to fill

this tile map and you want to make an

overgrown Castle so you make this bush

and you start making some nice detailed

tiles and then you want to make grass on

top of the tiles to make them look even

more worn down and overgrown and you add

these nice small details like flowers

and then you want to add vines in the

background once again you really focus

on making it look nice and on top of

this since it's a overgrown Castle maybe

add some pillars and once you're

finished you're happy with it and then

you throw it all together and well it

looks really awful now how would you

solve this well naturally you might want

to fix the assets so perhaps you see a

video with some YouTuber talking about

how Shadows tend to be slightly more

saturated and Bluer and highlights tend

to be less saturated and yellow and so

naturally you go over each and every

asset and add more shading and more

details and now each asset looks even

better we can even do a side by-side

comparison and see that each asset looks

a bit nicer and so you place it in the

scene and the scene actually looks worse

here's the side by side the left one was

before we reworked it and the right side

after more details but it becomes more

annoying to look at why well the thing

is that the problem in our original

scene was that every single asset kind

of demanded attention it was detailed

and intricate and our Improvement was to

add more details and more highlights to

every single asset which just makes

every asset demand even more attention

so suppose at this point you ask someone

else for advice and they tell you what I

just told you they tell you what the

problem is they tell you that there are

too many colors and that the colors are

too vibrant good now you just have to

use some post procing effects and drag

down the saturation and contrast and now

the game should look good right well no

the game still looks bad the thing is

that the key to making a scene look good

is often about directing the player's

attention you want the player to ignore

some things and focus on others if you

just reduce the attention of everything

so that everything demands less

attention you still have the same

problem the player still doesn't know

what to focus on so let me show you what

happens if I reduce the contrast and

saturation of every single asset except

these tile flowers now the scene

actually looks weirdly okay I mean it

looks kind of stupid but even if the

choice I made was a legit legitimately

weird because the fact that I can rest

my eyes on these tile flowers makes the

scene look kind of okay to look at I

reduce the detail reduce the contrast

and move the focus to something

completely nonsensical there's no

purpose to look at these flowers but the

fact that I know to look at them makes

this more relaxing so in practice this

means that before you even make an asset

you need to think about how you're going

to use that asset and how often you'll

place the AET in the scene and before

you start drawing please make a basic

plan so to show you why this is

important I want us to go back to this

scene the underlying composition of the

scene isn't too bad if I just remove all

the details from the scene and just add

flat shapes we get this and it's pretty

cool even if it's just basic Silhouettes

but here we can see another thing that's

an annoying issue we already have with

this silhouette this asset is annoying

and I don't mean the colors or the line

art but the silhouette and shape of the

asset is annoying just like with the

details in the asset when your

silhouette contains too much detail it

also becomes annoying to look at so if

we repeating our asset a lot the

silhouette needs to be simple like a

blob or a block if the silhouette is

complexed and we're repeating the asset

it becomes distracting so let's look at

an example so here we have a simple

scene with just a tile map and I want us

to cover this bottom area with grass now

grass obviously consists of grass

strands so we might draw something like

this but if we look at what happens if

we repeat this we can see that it

becomes a mess even if the asset itself

looks quite decent but this shape the

silhouette is complex so when we repeat

it we create an inadvertent pattern a

distracting pattern once again annoying

to look at compare that to what happens

if we just draw a random squiggly line

and color the bottom green and now we

have grass and it looks kind of nice

even if it's simple so you need to be

aware of how you're going to use it we

can look at this scene the bottom grass

here simple silhouette and the grass is

not that detailed and then we have this

flower it's detailed but it's not

repeated so it works but if you repeat

it it looks bad so if it's supposed to

be a lot of grass you need that grass to

be viewed as one unit the silhouette

should be read as one single chunk of

grass and with this type of grass that

is almost impossible and this is one of

the points of making a basic outline

like this first of all if you had an

outline like this you wouldn't ever make

assets like this because you can see

that this asset would fail it already

looks bad as it is so we should remove

it but more than that we can see that

when we have our final scene we need to

maintain these Silhouettes for the scene

to look nice and what I ruined when I

made the scene is that I made these

Silhouettes hard to distinguish you can

no longer see where each individual

asset begins and ends when you have an

outline like this and the outline for

this looks nice you know that your

finished product will look nice if it

continues resembling this outline and so

with a plan in hand you kind of get the

idea for how your scene should look

without having to invest that much time

and you might think that this doesn't

apply to you because you can't draw an

asset as nice as this well no this same

principle applies to you it actually has

nothing to do with how nice you can draw

but everything to do with how much

attention your asset demands so what

does this mean how do you know if your

asset demands attention or not well

let's look at this asset which one did

you look at first probably this one what

about these two assets probably this one

so why do you pay more attention to this

asset than this one one well one thing

you can look at is contrast if an asset

has a lot of color variation a lot of

different Hues like purple red green

that Hue contrast will demand my

attention if an asset has a lot of value

contrast that is very white things and

very black things the value contrast

will demand my attention conceptually

this will apply to a scene as well if my

scene is overall quite Bland but I have

one or two items that are distinctly

different color and are more saturated

those assets will stay out so if you

have this underlying outline you should

be outlining an added contrast mainly to

the areas that highlight this outline

adding contrast here or here will direct

attention to the wrong places in the

scene and thus make your scene look bad

it's important when we make our asset to

think is this an important asset that I

want the player to pay attention to that

is Central to the game or is it an

unimportant asset that is there to fill

the space and if it's an unimportant

asset I shouldn't just not overwork the

details but probably remove the

details if we look at this scene in

super skelemania yes the main focus is

around the character but at the same

time why do we have all this detail and

contrast on the edges here why do we

want to look here even though I can see

that these are rocks this consistent

pattern makes it look more like a

wallpaper same as what happened in the

scene earlier this mostly becomes

annoying now look at what happens if

instead of a nice tile like this one I

just have a dark brown tile the ugliest

tile possible but a tile that doesn't

contain information and thus doesn't

demand attention it looks better even if

it's the ugliest tile possible a tile

that isn't even drawn I'm not saying

this is good just that this kind of

looks better than this so if we look at

our outline this is the shape we need to

highlight so when we make our Bush these

details here will lurin our overall

shape and so we remove those details and

simplify the colors and we just skip

this asset and instead we can just make

something simple like mountains in the

background on these small Vines we

remove the details as well and now when

we put it together it looks coherent and

nice even if all I did was remove

details so because we know that this

outline works we know that as long as we

add details that maintain this

silhouette then our scene will kind of

work so I repeat you can't evaluate your

asset in this context you need to

evaluate your asset in this context it

might look good here but if it looks bad

here it doesn't matter and this is

actually important not just because it

makes your scene look bad but it will

make you waste a significant amount of

time with every asset that you draw so

let's look at how this affects how you

draw an individual asset for instance

let's look at how we might draw a rock

so you might see that I normally draw my

rocks kind of like this rather simple

but something as the unication is people

starting out like this then they add

some grass and then perhaps a flower or

to now I already mentioned how this type

of color selection is problematic

especially if we're going to use this

asset a lot in our scene but I want this

to look at something even more specific

we can see that this flower I made looks

terrible it kind of looks like I can't

draw a flower so naturally I would want

to fix this right well no that is a

mistake this is one of the biggest time

wasters that occurs when you try fixing

your art before you have actually placed

your asset in game I can draw and fix

this flower now it looks a bit nicer

right at least it looks significantly

better than the blue flower but if you

look at this asset in game it still

looks terrible we still have this issue

where when we see it in game all we see

is this red and blue dot we don't see

the detail we actually barely see a

difference between this flower and this

flower and so we actually don't see how

much I improved this flower and if you

can't see the difference it actually

didn't matter that I spent time fixing

it your asset might quite often look bad

in your drawing software but if it looks

good in game then it doesn't matter the

asset works so skip over working details

that don't matter now this whole rant

might you think that I'm against details

and I'm not I just want you to be

strategic with this placement and more

generally I tend to prefer the principle

that I can add an asset that is a detail

in my scene but I generally avoid making

detailed assets why well when you skip

the detailed assets but add an asset As

a detail it makes it easy to notice that

detail see what it is and think huh

that's cute and then we continue

ignoring it and playing the game a kind

of textbook example of this can be seen

in Adventure Pals most of the time map

is kind of clean and simple but then we

have some small assets like this skull

this flower or this root add it as a

detail to spice it up a bit a

consequence of all of this is that if I

want the detail to be noticed I kind of

need to give it some room if you make it

simple around the detail the detail

sticks out so for instance I might place

a small flower pot here and Bob The Blob

right behind it and now you have this

small nice detail and now the scene

starts looking more intricate and as I

mentioned earlier since we know that

contrast pulls Focus now if we want Bob

here to be noticed now we can make him

bright red since our scene isn't too

saturated and we have no red now we

immediately notice Bob but we can still

see the scene quite well overall I think

this generally looks nicer but all of

this said if we look back at our

original scene with this whopped bushes

this kind of works but only because the

mess is constrained to this area

the rest of the scene is fairly open and

relaxing but you need to have a sense

for where to add detail and where not to

add it and then you can start breaking

the rules more easily so overall many

games do a mix of this without any

problem where they have fairly detailed

sections of their game but at their core

they at least somewhat follow the idea

that this part isn't important so we're

going to fade it out and then they might

think oh we don't want it to become too

boring so we add a small detail here

overall there's a significant amount of

nuance that can be discussed here and if

you're a really skilled artist you

probably have a feel for how to make it

work but for quite a bit of you I just

want you to think about your asset

before you start drawing them think

about the silhouette and how you're

going to place the asset later on and

think about these inadvertent details

that you might be creating that pull

attention that you might not want the

problem might not be how well you draw

your asset but which asset you choose to

draw thanks for watching bye