Until one of my games "makes it" big, or I get flooded with gold ingots, I will have to handle most or all of my game art myself. The crux of my question is: how can I learn enough art to get beyond "programmer art" and into something I would actually be proud of?
The focus of my question is 2D, not 3D.
I already have a good grip on:
- Photoshop/GIMP (image maniplation and creation)
- Flash (animation and drawing simple art)
- Simple drawing (by hand)
- Digitizing hand-drawn art
- Graphic design
However, games require complex and varied art; anything from backgrounds to icons, sprites, animation, and complex effects.
How do I bridge the gap, artistically? I already have the experience and confidence that I can do it; I only need to know the direction in which to put my modest efforts. I know this will pay off, especially in the long term. But I'm not sure how to get there.
Using existing art is something I already do, so please don't address that in your question.
Answer
Lots and lots of practice. Most artists have been doodling and drawing since they learned how to hold a pen, you need to make up for lost time.
My suggestion: start with hand drawn things and other basics. Having a grip on how a program works vs bringing out the fullest in a program for art are two different things so look up some online tutorials and the like and get a couple of new techniques.
Next: practice like crazy. My favorite way to do this is set up a list of things to make, usually simple things - get about 20 to 30 subjects (this is pretty difficult and you wont always use all of them). Then get an alarm clock you can set for 10 - 15 minute intervals set it and in that time do your best to draw up a single object.
When the alarm goes off thats the end of that drawing. No 'but's. You now have the option to begin the same object again (10 to 15 minutes again) or start the process all over again. (Rinse, wash, repeat until you get the desired effect)
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