I'll take a break from the Map Layers series and instead talk about some of my thoughts on art. Why art? First off, many game designers are also, to some degree, visual artists. Whether it's the layout of texts, designing maps, or full on illustrations, art plays a big part in bringing the setting to the readers. They can show landscapes, the way of life in the world, different races, and much more. Which is why I want to spend a little time focusing on some of my theories on the two types of illustrative art.
For me, there are two general types of art: Macro Art and Micro Art. What differentiates these two?
Macro Art shows the big picture. Landscapes, sprawling and open spaces, and so forth. Basically, when artists zoom way out and show the general view. This type of art is great at conveying the general picture, and to give viewers a good idea of what the world looks like in broad strokes. This doesn't necessarily mean that such illustrations lack detail, but they are still limited in how many small things they can conveniently show.
Micro Art is the opposite, when artists show a small bit of action (or a static scene), with the view zoomed in. This type of art is able to give viewers an idea of what the details of the world are like, how the people live and work, as well as how single structures or landmarks look. Of course, this is much closer to the perspective an average inhabitant of the world will have, but it only shows a small part from a big picture.
Both types of illustrations are important, and when effectively used, can add a great deal of information and flavor to a world. These two types are so general, in fact, that often, when artists already have a general idea, they don't have to sit down and choose which type of art to use. If they think of drawing a city with a mountain range in the back, it's automatically macro, and if they want to draw a scene in a tavern, it's immediately micro.
This post is hence much more a piece to collect vocabulary to which I can refer to in the future. I suspect that I'll post several "Vocabulary" articles to make any future posts easier to write by just referring back to such articles. So much for now. Until my next post,
Qi
For me, there are two general types of art: Macro Art and Micro Art. What differentiates these two?
Macro Art shows the big picture. Landscapes, sprawling and open spaces, and so forth. Basically, when artists zoom way out and show the general view. This type of art is great at conveying the general picture, and to give viewers a good idea of what the world looks like in broad strokes. This doesn't necessarily mean that such illustrations lack detail, but they are still limited in how many small things they can conveniently show.
Micro Art is the opposite, when artists show a small bit of action (or a static scene), with the view zoomed in. This type of art is able to give viewers an idea of what the details of the world are like, how the people live and work, as well as how single structures or landmarks look. Of course, this is much closer to the perspective an average inhabitant of the world will have, but it only shows a small part from a big picture.
Both types of illustrations are important, and when effectively used, can add a great deal of information and flavor to a world. These two types are so general, in fact, that often, when artists already have a general idea, they don't have to sit down and choose which type of art to use. If they think of drawing a city with a mountain range in the back, it's automatically macro, and if they want to draw a scene in a tavern, it's immediately micro.
This post is hence much more a piece to collect vocabulary to which I can refer to in the future. I suspect that I'll post several "Vocabulary" articles to make any future posts easier to write by just referring back to such articles. So much for now. Until my next post,
Qi
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