What is Art Direction?
Without any research we can guess that the art direction of any particular project dictates how the product appears over all. This can apply to many different products; films, magazines, games, musical artists/videos, books, fashion line, car series, anything that’s created really. Fundamentally a product has to be fit for the purpose – A kettle has to boil water, but if you have the coolest kettle it would have a cool look too – This is simple marketing.
Here is a Bugatti kettle on amazon for £209.00, it’s got a 1-star review rating.
Notice the angular look and impracticality high handle.
It is red too – the classic Bugatti colour.
Even though this is classed as product design it is a simple look at how its appearance has been manufactured.
I’m guessing there would have been an art director (or equivalent) deciding on all these factors before production. Here they obviously stuck to the Bugatti theme and are using their image/name association to sell “cool” product – like their cars, very expensive.
The art director is the person who oversees the overall visual appearance and direction of a project. They would be near the top of the development ladder and be collaborating closely with lead artists and the production manager. Their role is insuring that the visual presentation and appearance is unified and fits with the vision of the project. It is a lot of responsibility as in the end they are the ones responsible for how the final product looks and in some levels works. They will have a lot more power over the appearance then say a concept artist – who would be creating images to suit the director’s needs.
The Art director will be brought in the early stages of a project during idea development. It would be essential that they share the same vision and goal with the Lead Designer, Script Writer, Story Board Artist… There are so many aspects and roles, it depends on the project and development team. Even if in an independent team of seven people (Bastion) the role is still the same.
I think to be an Art Director you need;
Experience – A degree to learn the fundamentals of visual design. A job in the same area, working under an Art Director producing images for other people, generating strong ideas and getting accustomed to how the industry functions.
Understanding & Flexibility – You need to be able to pick up what others require visually, what works, why it works, current trends – and the flexibility to do this work as required. You can apply this to people skills too – Don’t be a dick
Passion & Luck – The more you care the more effort you put in and the better the work. This will also create enthusiasm around you and a positive outlook. For luck you just have to keep at it – be nice to everyone and hang in there. Do your best to actually do the role you want – even if you’re not getting that wage, you are getting experience and hopefully recognition for it and your “foots in the door” so to speak.
Strong Visual Style – This isn’t a must, but is what will set you apart from mediocre art directors. If you really are passionate about it, it will translate through into a game. I think the perfect art director would have the markings of transparency – where the game environment just feels “really fucking good”. This could be from ensuring smoothness and flow of gameplay (presentation, conveyance, user interface) to creating a really detailed and complex universe.
Setting the Scene
This is what it’s all about in a nutshell – Setting a convincing scene. This has to be fit for purpose. If we are talking about Skyrim it is all about atmosphere and realism in an epic fantasy world – You wouldn’t through in a cartoon character side-kick for comic effect and as a guide. What I’m getting at is the reason it doesn’t suit the theme and would not be fit for the purpose. Games have to function how you like and the Art Director needs to consider this before making it cool or interesting.
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