Video Gaming’s Parallels with the Animation Industry

Posted on December 17, 2012 by csolarski

I’ve just started reading The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (Disney Editions 1995) by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, and I’m amazed at the parallels between the animation industry and video gaming.

Animations earliest films focussed exclusively on “gags” to the detriment of the medium: “Most people felt that by 1923 just about everything had been done that was possible.” Ninety years later we find the gaming industry saturated with games that explore a narrow range of artistic emotions through repetitive gameplay—first person shooters, platformers, etc. There are many lessons we can learn from the animation industry (and countless other artistic disciplines), which found success through expressive character’s with which the audience could empathise.

“At first the cartoon medium was just a novelty, but it never really began to hit until we had more than tricks… until we developed personalities. We had to get beyond getting a laugh. They may roll in the aisles, but that doesn’t mean you have a great picture. You have to have pathos in the thing.” —Walt Disney

Coincidentally, I’ve just written an article for Gamasutra on the topic of dynamic composition and character development (to be published sometime in January), which reveals several ways in which we can infuse video game design with a greater sense of life.

Guillermo del Toro on Video Games

Posted on October 14, 2012 by csolarski

A fantastic statement by Pan’s Labyrinth director, Guillermo del Toro, in support of video games as an art form:

“In the next 10 years, I see a huge shift whether we like it or not. It’s going to take you either by surprise or you’re going to be there to do it. It’s going to be like going from silent films to sound. There are going to be a lot of us that cannot do the talkies because we are not familiar with the form. I think it’s urgent that you get familiar with them. The art direction, soundscapes and immersive environments in videogames are as good, if not superior to, most movies. I’m not talking about [Krzysztof] Kieslowski or Bergman. I’m talking about most movies. They are far more advanced and far smarter about it, so I think it’s something we all can learn from and it’s urgent that we do.”

Source: The Guardian

Interview with The Daily Bruin at UCLA

Posted on September 29, 2012 by csolarski

I had the honour of being interviewed by UCLA’s student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, during my recent visit to Los Angeles to give talks at UCLA’s Game Lab, and USC’s Interactive Media Division. Visit the Daily Bruin website for the interview conducted by Colin Reid, or read the transcription below.

ARTIST GAME DESIGNER SHARES SURPRISING LINKS BETWEEN CLASSICAL ART AND VIDEO GAME ART
By Colin Reid, Bruin Senior Staff
September 26th 2012

With a background in both classical art and computer animation, artist game designer and recent author Chris Solarski can be considered somewhat of a Renaissance man. After having worked at Sony Computer Entertainment in London for a time, Solarski attended the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, where he discovered a personal interest and surprising relationship between classical and video game art.

Now, in an era where video games are both acknowledged and disputed as a legitimate art form, Solarski found an audience in the UCLA Game Lab, where he will be lecturing this evening on his new book “Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classics to Cutting-Edge Art Techniques for Winning Video Game Design.” Daily Bruin’s Colin Reid spoke with Solarski about the evolution of video games, the similar psychology behind classical and video game art and his views on the virtual medium’s place within the art world.

Daily Bruin: While writing your book, what end goal guided you to its completion, and what were you hoping the book would accomplish? Continue reading →

Design and Composition in Pixar’s ‘Up’

Posted on September 18, 2012 by csolarski

Composition is important to every artistic medium if you wish to design the viewer’s emotional experience. As Wassily Kandinsky wrote in his book, Point and Line to Plane (1926):

“The content of a work of art finds its expression in the composition [...] in the sum of the tensions inwardly organised for the work.”

Kandinsky was a modern painter, but this statement is equally applicable to video games, film, and animation. One example from animation, which I was unable to include in my book—Drawing Basics and Video Game Art (Watson Guptill 2012)—is from Pixar’s Up (2009), directed by Pete Docter.

A still from Pixar’s ‘Up’ (2009), illustrating composition and design techniques to wordlessly communicate information about the character of Carl and Ellie, and create a strong emotional tension.

There are several things to note in the above image, touching on shape, colour and texture, gesture, and composition.

Shape
Unless you haven’t seen this fantastic animation, Carl (left), has a stubborn and conservative character. His wife, Ellie (right), is the dynamic and energetic personality in Continue reading →

US Book Tour—September/October 2012

Posted on September 17, 2012 by csolarski

Hi All!

The US launch date of my book, Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classic to Cutting Edge Art Techniques for Winning Video Game Design (Watson Guptill 2012) has finally arrived on Tuesday 18^th September. This day coincides with my presentation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC, where I have the additional privilege of doing a book signing.

Drawing Basics and Video Game Art book cover

Front cover of Drawing Basics and Video Game Art (Watson Guptill 2012).

An exciting 4 weeks will follow the Smithsonian talk, as I’ll be touring around the US and Canada to give another 14 presentations on classical art and video games—taking me to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Boston, and Toronto. The tour is kindly supported by the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, and swissnex—an annex of the Consulate General of Switzerland. Many of the presentations are free and open to the public , so you’re very welcome to visit the events page for a full listing. I’m looking forward to all the talks but to name a few highlights:

• (20. Sep) A panel discussion at swissnex San Francisco alongside Robin Hunicke, Henry Lowood, and moderator, Eddo Stern.
• Presentations at top game design schools, including (24. Sep) The University of Southern California’s Interactive Media Division, and (5. Oct) NYU Game Center.
• (13. Oct) A book signing at New York Comic-Con.
• (18. Oct) A presentation at Toronto’s international technology and design conference, Digifest 2012.

If you’re unable to attend any of the up-coming events, there’ll be an opportunity to view my Smithsonian presentation online. I’ll post a link on my website, Twitter, and Facebook Page as soon as it becomes available.

Drawing Basics and Video Game Art can be purchased through Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. It will be published in the US on the 18^th September, and 1^st October in the rest of the world.

I hope you enjoy the book!
Chris

My book! It’s here!!

Posted on July 25, 2012 by csolarski

My game art book finally arrived! And it’s fantastic (if I say so myself)!! Apologies for the cheesy grin in the photo—a lot of very hard work went into it.

Drawing Basics and Video Game Art won’t be available till September 18th in the US, and October 1st rest of the world, however you can already pre-order it on Amazon.

The number of events on my US tour throughout September and October continues to grow, so please do check out the events page of my website if you live in the States.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or would like to propose an event.

Storytelling Workshop with Iain McCaig

Posted on May 28, 2012 by csolarski

I recently returned from Kansas City, Missouri, where I attended the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live (SFAL) event. The event was relatively small—being the first organised by Spectrum—which made it very intimate and personal. The cosy size also meant that it was easy to meet, learn and share ideas with some of the best contemporary illustrators and concept artists, including Mike Mignola, Phil Hale, Iain McCaig, Andrew ‘Android’ Jones, and BROM. SFAL will hopefully become an annual event, so I highly recommend following it on Twitter and Facebook to stay informed.

The lineup up of artists at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live was incredible, going beyond the headliners featured above to include, among others: Sterling Hundley, James Gurney, Paul Bonner, and Gregory Manchess.

The talk that I will remember most was Iain McCaig’s visual storytelling workshop. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of Iain’s workshops—GO!—because his hyper-energetic personality and extensive experience are sure to inspire. As artist William Stout wrote:

“Iain’s infectious enthusiasm is extremely dangerous. In less than an hour with McCaig, the people in his presence soon begin to believe they can do anything.”

The workshop was particularly useful for me at this very moment in my career, as I’ve just begun working on my first full-length video game for which I must write a story; something I’ve never done before.

The following text contains my notes (and therefore may contain errors) from the workshop, along with additional content that I researched myself—such as the references to The Lord of the Rings, Aliens, and WALL-E. If you find any mistakes or would like to contribute additional material then please feel free to get in touch.

Continue reading →

Picasso’s, Seated Woman (1921)

Posted on November 4, 2010 by csolarski

I’ve never particularly liked the majority of Pablo Picasso’s abstract work, so I was surprised to discover the powerful impression that the figurative painting below made on me, and many others currently hanging in the Picasso retrospective at the Zurich Kunsthaus.

Seated Woman (1921), Pablo Picasso, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany

The painting is larger than life but what makes it particularly impressive is the sense of depth that gives you the impression that the figure is a three-dimensional sculpture rather than a two-dimensional painting (an effect that is lost in photo reproductions).

This sensation is created with classical art techniques consisting of over-simplified forms—such as the box-like head—which are lit almost entirely with form shadow. Considering that the light source is from top-right, notice how the figure’s left arm doesn’t appear to cast any shadows onto her lap; and that her head would have created a sharper and darker cast shadow over her right shoulder.

It’s nice to see modern and classical ideas working so well together. Picasso apparently painted it after a visit to Italy, where he was likely inspired by ancient and Renaissance art. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to see the painting in person at its permanent home in the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany.

Storytelling / Jon Foster

Posted on March 6, 2009 by csolarski

This illustration by Jon Foster is a great demonstration of how to reveal a story in a static artwork, with its excellent composition and unusual cropping.

You’ll probably first notice the passengers expression because of their direct gaze (eye contact being the strongest way to attract a viewer’s attention). Next, your attention will likely cycle around the passengers flapping t-shirt (which has been deliberately painted in green; the complimentary colour to red, which is used for the vehicle) to the passengers arm, which leads you past the driver, down to the cartoon character, and on to the twisting tubes and detailed engine, before coming back up again to the passenger.

Skyborn, Jon Foster

It’s only once you’ve cycled around the composition and become familiar with the larger, more detailed and colourful elements that you notice the vehicles in pursuit—painted in muted colours and softer contrasts—revealing the images context as a chase scene.

Quotes from Alex Kanevsky

Posted on January 24, 2009 by csolarski

The following are extracts from an interview with Alex Kanevsky, who is a fantastic fine art oil painter. This interview was conducted by Vivianite

What inspires you?

…[The] naive artist works with first-hand experiences, uncompromised by self-analysis. Sentimental are works that are self-aware of their place in history, theory, etc. One usually sees this kind of work accompanied by an artist statement. I think I am more naive than sentimental in the things that inspire me.

What would you say to an artist just starting out?

Build up your self esteem to the level that might seem unwarranted. This will help you to ignore both positive and negative responses to your paintings. Both are usually misguided, since they come from the outside. Be your most severe and devastating critic, while never doubting that you are the best thing since sliced bread.

The moment something works well and is under control – is the time to give it up and try something else.

Put all your eggs in one basket. Precarious situations produce intense results.

Forget subjective, it is mostly trivial. Go for the universal.