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The Artist Synapse Back to Intro |
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Example Artist Interaction: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 |
| Degrees of Separation [View] |
| Psychology [View] |
| Suggestions [View] |
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Features vs. Beauty [View] |
Get coders to understand your issues. For example, if you need more texture memory, don't just beg for more. Show them dramatic (but not faked) "before" and "after" textures so they can see the benefit of an improved texture and weigh it against the cost of the memory usage. If you can show a dramatic improvement, they'll be trying to figure tricky ways to get that cool art into the game. Be aware of the level of understanding that programmers have for varying parts of your work; don't explain concepts they already understand.
Be assertive about artistic judgment issues - remember, you're the expert at that. If a proposed feature doesn't add much to the environment, say so and recommend that it not be implemented (expressing this dissenting opinion without causing strife is tricky indeed!). In a similar vein, be respectful of your colleagues' fields of expertise, unless you have very solid reasons to doubt them.
Keep programmers in your loop. Consult with them, in their terms, especially about issues that affect performance. For example, if you're trying to create an army of 100 action figures, but your face count is too low, show a programmer a sketch of the scene you want and run through a frame-rate calculation with them ("O.K., so 100 figures means 8,000 faces. The performance of 1,000 faces per frame means…."). This provides a reality check (and a solid justification if anyone questions your decision), and it also gives the programmer a chance to suggest an innovative solution.
Stay in your programmers' loop. Excellent artists know the limits of their medium no matter what the art form. Also, tech-savvy artists can see improvements that others can't. Becoming technically savvy isn't difficult if you can find a friendly, communicative programmer.
Don't waste excessive hours addressing unimportant or unrelated issues. If you have a hard time distinguishing, don't suppress your queries, but do confine them to lunch-time or off-hour conversations.
