Creating the Art of the Game [Paperback]

Matthew Omernick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735714096 | ISBN-13: 978-0735714090 | Publication Date: April 2, 2004 | Edition: 1

The key word here is art: the dynamic 3D art that defines the world of computer games. This book teaches you everything you need to know about the planning, modeling, texturing, lighting, effects creation, and interface design that go into creating today's most advanced and stunning video games. You'll be learning from a master-veteran 3D artist and instructor Matthew Omernick-as you progress through the carefully chosen, software-agnostic tutorials that make up this beautiful, full-color volume. The end result will be skills you can apply to whatever 3D tool you choose and whatever wildly imaginative game you can think up. Through a unique combination of explanation, tutorials, and real world documentation-including discussions of the creative process entailed in some of today's most popular games augmented by screen captures and descriptions--you'll quickly come to understand the workflow, tools, and techniques required to be a successful game artist. In addition to learning the ropes of game art, you'll also find in depth tutorials and techniques that apply to all aspects of 3D graphics. Whether you are using Photoshop, 3ds max, Maya, or any other computer graphics software, you'll find a wealth of information that you can continue to come back to time and time again.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Matthew Omernick currently works as a lead artist for LucasArts Entertainment Company near San Francisco, CA. With a B.F.A from The Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, Matt has more than seven years of industry experience as a 3D artist and animator.

Matt has also taught college-level 3D graphics for four years at Cal State Fullerton and the Academy of Art College in downtown San Francisco. He has worked for companies such as DreamWorks, Day 1 Studios, and Electronic Arts. He began his career working for various film and broadcast studios in Florida and Chicago, then branched into creating 3D art for video games. Some of Matt's credited titles include the Medal of Honor series, RTX Red Rock, and Secret Weapons Over Normandy. He is currently working on several cutting edge projects for multiple platforms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Games; 1 edition (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735714096
• ISBN-13: 978-0735714090
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is definitely for Beginners., May 18, 2005

By 

LatinMessiah (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating the Art of the Game (Paperback)

This book does a great job at covering the important areas of game art production, like what is to be expected from a game artist and what a game artist should expect to encounter while working in the game industry, but the author doesn't elaborate enough on the problems that are associated with modeling and texturing for games, i.e. the technical aspect. He over emphasizes what game art should look like, but does not dwell on how to achieve the best, most efficient results on modeling and texturing objects that may be difficult to work well in real-time game environment.

There is not enough "meat on the bones", sort of speak. The author covers a wide range of topics briefly, highlighting pros and cons and then quickly moving on. Personally, I was left with many unanswered questions, chapter after chapter. The examples throughout the book were oversimplified; using pine trees, wooden crates, and basic shapes (triangles, squares, and circles) to get some of the points across. Clearly, the author was thinking the reader would be completely new to game art.

On average, the screenshots took up about 50%-80% of the page. The rest is filled with very short paragraphs. I was amazed as to how much space was left blank on each page, almost as if it were there to jot down notes or do quick sketches.

The "tips and tricks" at the end of the book are, unfortunately, not that groundbreaking. You come across a lot of these "tricks" just by simply surfing the web or reading one of the various tutorial books and magazines that are out there.

One upside, however, is that most of this book is devoted to motivating and inspiring you, the game artist, to find out things for yourself and to raise the quality bar on your own. At times, it almost feels like your reading a self-help book for game artists, but at least his makes for easy reading.

-LatinMessiah
(Game Art Student)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for 3d artists and those aspiring to be., April 23, 2004

By 

Michael Cicchi (American Canyon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the Art of the Game (Paperback)

Creating the Art of the Game is an excellent place to begin for any artist interested in entering the video game industry. It hits all of the basics of modeling, texturing, lighting, vertex coloring and so on. Being an artist in the videogame industry for almost fourteen years I wish there was a volume like this when I was starting out. Well actually there weren't any actual 3D games being produced when I started out, but be that as it may, Creating the Art of the Game will give those entry-level and intermediate game artists who read and take to heart the lessons in this book a good head start above their peers. Advanced artists may also find sections of this book to be very valuable. I personally found Matt's tips and tricks interesting. Every artist has their toolbox of tricks and shortcuts and its fun to look into another artist's toolbox and find that there are different ways to achieve the same result.
I'm glad that Matt mentioned right off to the budding talents out there that it is their artistic talent that makes them marketable not the knowledge of a particular tool. It is through the development of their observational skills and their ability to translate that information into whatever medium they are using that is the utmost importance. I can take a talented artist and within weeks I can teach them to be proficient with any tool. I can't take a technician of a tool and teach them to be an artist in that same amount of time.
I found the information in this book to be very well thought out and presented in a clear and understandable format. We, in the industry, can speak in acronyms and shortcuts that are unintelligible to the average person. Matt has explained what a lot of the terms we use mean. He has deftly presented the in and out of the production of game art and I highly recommend this book most of all to entry level and intermediate artists with less than five years under their belt. For those advanced artists out there I think this book would be valuable in affirming your processes and possibly you may be exposed to something that your work experience may not yet have taught you. Matt is an excellent artist and a very skilled teacher and you would do well to learn from a person who will lead you on the right path to your goals of working as an artist in the video game industry.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3d Artist Must Have!!, April 12, 2004

By 

Terry Hess (anaheim, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating the Art of the Game (Paperback)

This book is an absolute must have for any inspiring 3d game artist. You will save years of trial and error by reading "Creating the Art of the Game". You want to become a game artist? Matt Omernick describes in detail the complete process of making art for video games from the artists perspective that will put you well ahead of any other artists that are inspiring to work in the game industry. He shares some of the in industry information that you will never learn in a classroom. Matt covers both Maya and 3DS Max throughout the book. His coverage on Modeling, Texturing, Alpha maps,UV's, Lighting and Effects is stellar. I have been doing Max for 4 years and this book taught me a ton.
Thank you Matt.