Game Art / Exercise & Projects
22/4/2026 - 03/8/2026/ Week 1 - Week 14
GUAN YAXIN / 0370687
Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
LECTURES&PROCESS
In the first week of class, Mr. Kannan introduced the main content of this course to us. In this semester's study, we need to design a distinctive game character and define its background story. We should not only design their appearance and costume, but also define their personality, occupation, and the world they live in, so the overall design must be reasonable and coherent. Mr. Wang also told us how to use a software to make a mood board. He told us to confirm the character type and make a mood board when we go back this week, so as to facilitate the subsequent smooth completion of projects.
According to Mr. Kannan's request and suggestions, I first searched for some interesting character designs to determine the theme I want to design.
At the same time, I also began to collect pictures to complete the production of the mood board.
Because I have always liked rabbits, I decided to take rabbits as the main reference when determining the theme of the game characters, hoping to design a furry, cute and fantasy character. I hope that the character can not only give people a kind and warm feeling, but also conform to the setting of the whole game world view.
In the second week of study, Mr. Kannan explained to us a series of methods for creation and practice, such as character structure design, value painting, etc. Because I hadn't fully confirmed the theme of my character and was still looking for materials to complete my mood board, I just drew some simple sketches.
When I first reported the design to Mr. Kannan, the teacher affirmed my idea, but at the same time reminded me that a complete Game Art project is not only to design a character, but also to build a complete game world. In addition to the characters themselves, it should also include the environment, weapons, props and other important elements that can reflect the world view of the game, so that the whole project will be more complete and more in line with the process of making game art.
After listening to the teacher's advice, I rearranged my production plan, no longer focusing only on the characters, but began to improve the settings of the whole game world. At the same time, I also re-conceived the background story of the character. I set the protagonist as a trainee magician with magical talent, who embarked on a journey to save his seriously ill sister and grew up on the journey. The girl character designed before became the sister in the story, and the two characters therefore had a more complete story connection.
After determining the background of the story, I officially started designing the protagonist. In order to show the process of character growth, I designed two different stages of characters respectively.
The first edition corresponds to the period before the character became a magician. In my setting, he likes painting very much, and often carries a sketchpad to sketch in the wild. Therefore, I added many elements related to the painter to the costume design, such as a cap, suspenders, plain shoes and socks and a large scarf, hoping to increase the recognition of the characters and reflect the original calm and simple life of the characters.
After completing the overall design, I further revised the character line draft.
Then I designed some props related to the role, hoping to enrich the daily image of the role.
Then, I began to color the characters. I designed five different color schemes altogether, and asked the teacher which one was more suitable in class feedback.
Teacher Kannan didn't tell me the answer directly, but hoped that I could make my own judgment according to the character and story background. He believes that there is no absolutely correct answer to design, but more importantly, the designer's own choices and reasons. At the same time, he suggested that I continue to improve the weapons used by the characters, and I can combine the character settings. For example, the protagonist likes painting, so he can use the brush as a magic weapon. After thinking, I began to design the characters in the second stage.
The role of this period has officially become a magician and embarked on a journey. Therefore, I added hoods, cloaks, boots and more mature costume design, which made the characters more stable than the first stage and more in line with the identity of wizards.
At the same time, I began to design the weapon of the character. I hope the weapon can correspond to the identity of the character, so I chose wand and magic book as my main equipment.
I first drew several versions of the character sketch, and then began to design weapons.
Of course, as before, it is also important to find moodboard.
For wands, I tried many different lengths and shapes. Some wands are shorter as a whole and refer to the shape of the brush, which is more in line with the setting that the protagonist likes painting; Some wands are taller, even close to the character's height, making the whole more magical.
In addition, I also designed a variety of different styles of magic books. After consulting a lot of materials, I finally reduced the design scheme to four, and prepared to choose the final version.
Due to some physical problems in the middle, my production efficiency has been affected to some extent, so the overall progress has slowed down. Teacher Kannan reminded me to arrange my time reasonably and keep up with the progress of the course as soon as possible.
After that, I first completed the line drawings of two weapons and made a simple coloring. At the same time, I continue to adjust the different color schemes of the characters, hoping to find the most suitable color collocation for the characters.
The teacher also reminded me that in addition to the role, I must complete the environmental design. Therefore, I added two environmental concept maps, one from a head-up perspective and the other from a top-down perspective, hoping to show part of the environment in the story world and make the whole game world more complete.
After completing most of the settings, I officially started to enter the three-dimensional production stage.
First, I made a wand model with ZBrush. By constantly adjusting different sub-tools and combining them together, I completed the general shape of the wand.
The magic book first made the overall outline, and the details were prepared to continue to improve.
Later, I began to make character models.
First, complete the overall body proportion of the character, and pay special attention to keeping the character in A Pose, which can facilitate the subsequent binding of bones and making actions.
After completing the preliminary model, I gave feedback to Mr. Kannan. The teacher thinks there is no problem with the overall direction and can continue to make it. At the same time, he reminded me that the legs of the characters must be kept apart, otherwise it will be very difficult to bind the bones or pose afterwards. So I made some changes.
After completing Exercise and Project One, I started to enter Project Two. Project Two is more like a further improvement on the basis of the previous content, so I started to improve the role model first.
For characters, I think the face is the most important part, because in real life, most people's attention will be focused on the face first, so having an attractive face is very important for the role.
Therefore, I spent a lot of time modifying character's faces. I re-sculpted the eye socket, added the eyeball, and readjusted the overall proportion. In my opinion, if you only use the map to draw the eyes, the overall effect will be slightly flat, and directly making a complete three-dimensional eye can make the character more vivid.
And continue to do some parts, such as hair, cloak, shorts, etc., and also add some wrinkle details.
After I finished, I gave feedback to the teacher again. The teacher thinks the role is good as a whole, but because my role is a furry rabbit, my face should be more rabbit-like.
According to the teacher's suggestion, I revised the face model again, constantly adjusted the overall proportion, and carved more details. At the same time, I almost re-made the whole hairstyle. Compared with the original design, I readjusted the overall structure of hair, constantly revised the outline, and added a lot of upturned hair to break the pattern, which made the whole character more agile and greatly improved the character recognition.
After carving, I began to use ZBrush's Polypaint to paint the characters.
In the process of drawing, I constantly adjust the strength of the brush to make the color transition more natural, while some solid color areas are directly completed by Fill Object to improve the overall efficiency.
After feedback again, the teacher thought that the face could still be optimized, and suggested that I continue to add details of clothing, which can be further enriched in both two-dimensional design and three-dimensional model. Therefore, I continue to modify the face proportion, add more patterns and wrinkles to the clothes, and constantly adjust the shapes of different sub-tools to make the overall effect more exquisite.
In the meantime, I also perfected the 2d part.
The main purpose of this stage is to reduce the number of models, while preserving the overall shape of the high model as much as possible, so as to prepare for the subsequent use of game engines.
In addition to the characters, I also started to make three-dimensional environment and various scene props according to the concept map drawn before, including buildings, plants, stones and some small objects that can enrich the scene, making the whole world more complete and more in line with the overall atmosphere of the game.
After modeling, I began to made two different sets of action postures. One set One action has a large amplitude, and the other has a small amplitude, hoping to show the character's personality more vividly and make the model more expressive.
Later, I continued to modify the details of the model, use sculpture and noise to add more textures to the characters, weapons and scenes, so as to enrich the performance of various materials, such as cloth, wood, stone and metal.
Finally, I constantly adjusted different material parameters, lighting and rendering settings, and combined with modifiers to produce different display effects, rendering the role A Pose model
And I tried to give the model a profile light to enrich the light perception.
Then render the display model after posing.
By constantly comparing different rendering effects, I finally chose the scheme that is most in line with the overall style.
At the same time, I also made a model rotation animation.
For the final project, I think something needs to be added. So in a limited time, I quickly made some props models, which were made according to the previous 2D design. Finally, as before, I added textures to make the details more.
In the end of the project, I redrawn a more complete illustration of the two-dimensional scene.
Compared with the previous design, this time I not only added characters, but also further enriched the details of the environment, architecture and various props, which made the whole picture have a stronger sense of story and world outlook, and also showed the game world I designed more completely.
Finally, I imported the model into unity for testing. Before that, I need to expand some UV of the model, and then I can access it into unity to display it correctly. This is my final test.
INTRODUCTION
Exercise
Project 1
Project 2
Final Project
FEEDBACK
WEEK 1
General Feedback :Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN introduced the course to us. He explained that students would be creating a complete game art project, including character design, environment design, weapons, props, and 3D production.
Specific Feedback :None.
WEEK 2
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN explained the importance of concept design and encouraged students to develop clear visual ideas before starting production.
Specific Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN suggested that I expand my project instead of focusing only on the character, and reminded me to build a complete game world with supporting assets.
WEEK 3
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued reviewing students' concept designs and provided suggestions on character development.
Specific Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN encouraged me to determine the final colour scheme independently and suggested that I design weapons that matched the character's background and personality.
WEEK 4
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued giving feedback on students' concept art and reminded everyone to enrich their projects.
Specific Feedback: The teacher reminded me that besides the character, I should also complete environment concepts to better present the overall game world and speed up my progress and continue completing the character, weapon, and environment concepts.
WEEK 5
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN reviewed students' progress and reminded everyone to manage their time efficiently.
Specific Feedback: no.
WEEK 6
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN introduced the workflow for creating 3D assets and explained the transition from concept art to 3D modelling.
Specific Feedback: The teacher affirmed my overall design direction and reminded me to keep the character in an A-pose with separated legs to make future rigging and posing easier.
WEEK 7
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued reviewing students' 3D models and provided technical guidance.
Specific Feedback: The teacher suggested that I improve the character's facial features so that it looked more like a rabbit, and encouraged me to continue refining the overall model.
WEEK 8
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued checking students' modelling progress and explaining techniques for improving model quality.
Specific Feedback: The teacher reminded me to continue adding more details to the character, including the clothing, hairstyle, and facial features.
WEEK 9
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued reviewing students' work and provided suggestions for weapon modelling.
Specific Feedback: The teacher affirmed my weapon designs and suggested adding more decorative details and textures to improve the overall quality.
WEEK 10
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued monitoring students' progress and reminded everyone to prepare their game-ready assets.
Specific Feedback: The teacher reminded me to begin the retopology process and continue refining the environment and prop models.
WEEK 11
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN reminded students to complete their models and prepare for the final presentation.
Specific Feedback: The teacher suggested that I improve the overall model quality by adding more textures and refining small details before rendering.
WEEK 12
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN continued reviewing students' work and reminded everyone to complete their remaining tasks.
Specific Feedback: The teacher encouraged me to finish the character poses and continue improving the environment assets.
WEEK 13
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN provided guidance on rendering and presentation techniques for the final submission.
Specific Feedback: The teacher suggested that I experiment with different materials, lighting, and rendering settings to achieve better visual results.
WEEK 14
General Feedback: Mr. KANNAN VIJAYAN reminded students to complete the final project and prepare all presentation materials before submission.
Specific Feedback: The teacher suggested that I polish the final renders, improve the presentation layout, and further refine the 2D illustration to strengthen the storytelling and overall visual quality.
REFLECTION
Experience
In the process of making, I encountered many problems that I had never touched before. For example, I didn't know when to expand UV at first, and I didn't know that only the model of Polypaint could not directly display colors in Unity. I also encountered problems such as the model can't be displayed and the material is lost. Although I was a little confused by these problems, I finally succeeded in solving them by constantly consulting materials, watching teaching videos and trying again and again. Every time I solve a problem, I will have a deeper understanding of the whole game production process and have more confidence in my ability.
The whole project made me realize that game art needs not only patience, but also the ability to try and solve problems constantly.
Observation
Making game characters and simply "making a good-looking model" are two completely different things. In the past, I was more concerned about whether the final effect was beautiful, but now I realize that a qualified Game model should not only have excellent appearance, but also fully consider the number of models, the rationality of topological structure and so on. Only when all these links are properly handled can the model truly become an available game resource. And the whole production process is highly related. . These experiences have made me deeply understand that the production of game characters must follow a complete and standardized workflow, and not just pay attention to a few steps.
At the same time, I also realize that planning the production sequence and key nodes in advance can significantly improve efficiency. If we have a clear understanding of the overall process at the beginning of the project, we can avoid a lot of repeated modifications and unnecessary mistakes, and make the whole project move forward more smoothly.
Findings
Through this project, I not only mastered the specific method of making a complete game character, but also established a systematic understanding of the whole process of game art. From 2d design, ZBrush carving, model optimization, UV unfolding, to Polypaint mapping conversion, and finally to Unity for effect debugging, I have accumulated valuable practical experience in each stage.
At the same time, I also know that I still have a lot to improve, such as making higher quality normal maps, studying PBR material principles, getting familiar with Shader settings and mastering role binding. However, this project has laid a relatively solid foundation for me, and it also makes me full of motivation for my future study in the field of game art. I hope that in the follow-up projects, I can continue to improve my technology and create more complete and higher-quality works.
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