This project was created by Guillem Álava Burgueño (@WillyTrek19) for the Project II subject in the Bachelor’s degree in Video Game Design and Development, under the supervision of Ramon Santamaría (@raysan5)

Introduction: What are they?

The Art Bible (or Style Guide) is one of the many game design documents useful for game designers to convey and communicate their ideas to the members of the team. It’s a communication tool used as a reference document or guideline created on the early phases of a project (shortly after the GDD) by the art director, the one who knows the details of what the game is going to look and feel from an artistic point of view and has a clear vision of the game’s visuals.

However, it should not be used as the only tool given to artists to produce the game’s art, but rather a quick reference guide used to show the main ideas and concepts artists should use to produce art; and the layout of more technical details such as camera placement or UI.

Main Usage:

Art bibles serve two main functions inside a project:

• Communication
  • Tell about how the game will look like (and the reasons behind it)
  • Help the art department understand the art direction
  • Allow new members to be up to date with the team
  • Marketing!
• Memory Aid
  • Reference to consult for details about the project
  • Maintain consistency through all the production process
  • Keep cohesion between all the members

Market Study: Items commonly found inside Art Bibles

Depending on the magnitude and level of depth of the art direction, the number of elements and the amount of detail dedicated to such may vary. Here’s some examples:

However, in most documents, the pages to be found can be categorized in different parts:

Art Style

This is vital for the understanding of the game’s most important feelings players should have while playing and what the main direction of the project will be focused on. It will define the game’s artistic key points that should be consistent around all its elements. This may include:

• Graphic style:
  • 2D/2.5D/3D
  • Realistic
  • Stylized
  • Cartoon
  • PixelArt
• Main Camera
• Time Period
• Atmosphere
• Shapes
• General Color Palettes
• Materials & Textures
• References

The choices made here will determine how the game will look in the end, so this is a good place to make the most important decisions about the game’s art. If there’s any fields that should be more defined, you can always dedicate a section to that item or define them better in the following items. Do you want to have a humoristic setting in a dark environment? Maybe dark undertones in a seemingly peaceful place? Perhaps a tragic retelling of a war? The choice is yours!

Character Art

Firstly, rather than considering the particular characteristics of the main characters or villains, it’s important to maintain consistency between the inhabitants of your game. Therefore, this section should begin by declaring the main model that all characters should follow, such as generalized sizes, proportions, gestures, expressions… with samples of characters inside the game (like common monsters or townfolk).

Afterwards, based on these guides, it’s when the more specific and detailed characters should be defined, like the protagonists, villains and other important NPCs.

Environments & Locations

Every game has to happen somewhere. This section has a similar structure to the character art. Firstly, define the most common places players will visit throughout the game, such as towns, ruins or caves. What structures will they find? How do they look like? What story do they tell visually? Conceptualize the main ideas of these environments like backgrounds, vegetation or terrains for the production to be more modular and give examples of important specifications. The more explanations given, the more detailed it’ll be.

Items/Powerups

If your game will have some sort of item, it should also be specified in the art bible. In the case of an RPG for example, things like weapons, armor, potions or key items should have some sort of consistency between them in terms of thematic and detail shown in the game. Start by making a general idea of the items players will use and, from there, give out some examples. This is also a good place to explain visual effects associated with them (Such as slashing or magic attacks).

Camera

Even though it may not sound like something an artist should be in charge of, camera control and the use of special techniques are crucial for visual storytelling (specially in 3D games). Will your game have a top-down view or is it going to be a side scroller? If there’re battles, how will the camera behave in such? If your game requires it, this is the place to define camera effects, fields of view, transitions, behaviours in cutscenes and how the characters should be seen in the screen.

User Interface

The presentation of information that the player will be interacting with throughout the game is also fairly important to ensure a good experience. How you will communicate visually to your user base can turn a suposedly an enjoyable time into an irritating chore, so stuff like fonts, menus, in-game interfaces, descriptions or dialogue boxes should have some sort of specification inside the bible. A good and easy way to showcase such is by creating wireframes of each interface players will interact with in your game.

Technical Guidelines

Finally, something that isn’t given much importance by some; but is actually a pretty important part of the document. This refers to the specifications related with exporting formats, image sizes, limitations, naming conventions, tool used, file structure inside the project and so on. Art directors should control these factors to optimize projects and organize all the files involved in the project to be easy to locate for programmers.

Advice on creating a good Art Bible

General tips

• Avoid large blocks of text. Directors don’t want their artists to have to read through a large amount of text when what they need is a quick image to compare to. Instead, put short captions to the images showcased
• Use formats preferred by the team. Accomodate to the needs the team and the project really have.
• Be open to feedback and keep updating. You never know where a good inspiration may come from. Share thoughts and ask for opinions.
• Source the content of the bible. If there’s more need for references that don’t fit the document, allow artists to consult the sources of the references themselves.
• Mind the resources and time limitations. Sometimes, less is more. If the team has a tight schedule or doesn’t have enough expertise, it’s preferable to put on some limitations and work creativity from there (for example, by limiting the color palettes and shape usage).
• Answer some key questions. Some of the questions art directors ask themselves in order to create a good document could be:
  • Who is this document targeted to?
  • How can I convey the most important information efficiently for new members?
  • What may attract sponsors or producers?
  • What resources can I use to make all artists understand and share the same visual intents?

Moodboards & References

In case you’re not the most avid artist and can’t give more than one example, get as many references and images from any media possible (films, other videogames, ads, comics, books, photographs) to encapsulate the idea you want to transmit. If there’s a need to create a table for each of the elements listed above, do so. The more references an artist can see, the better the message you want to transmit will arrive to them.

Proposed Solution: Template for our projects

Here’s a display of a sample template I created for Project II. If it is not shown, download it by clicking here

Improvements, innovations & comments

• Every project is unique. While the template created is a good point to start, it is by no means meant to be the mandatory way to do so. Start by lining up all the elements needed to be showcased in a simple document and adapt the bible to your project’s needs.
• Get creative! Remember that this is one of the best GDD to showcase a sponsor or publisher to present your game. Fonts, color choices, page backgrounds… Make them pretty!
• Show rather than tell. On exception of backstories and descriptions, be as schematic as possible in all items possibles. If there’s a need to include a moodboard for each item, do so, rather than trying to explain with huge texts.

Slides

Here are the slides used in the class presentation.

References

1. Nacke, L. (13/01/15) Communication and Game Design. Retreived from https://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/1376/communication_and_game_design_documents.php
2. Telang, K. (19/02/14) NGDC 2013: Game Art Bible – The secret sauce to making great Game Art. NASSCOM Game Developers Conference, India. Retrieved from various URLs:
   • Video Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuXxfnCM56A
   • Video Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaDIbe2GeCY
   • Slides: https://es.slideshare.net/kshiraj/game-art-bible-secret-sauce-to-making-great-game-art
3. Bjurman, J. (2017) Communicating your artistic vision. Luleå University of Technology, Skellefteå. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:1120383/FULLTEXT02.pdf
4. Silva, C., Monstert, D., Garcia, J., Sampaio, L., Galuppo, R. & Bradford, S. (29/11/2015) Headventures in the Underworld - Art Design Document V1.5. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53360d02e4b0ee18bbb5fe99/t/5705482227d4bda9559a29ce/1459963950485/ArtBible_HeadventureTeam.pdf
5. Blouin, A. (2021) Art Direction. Retrieved from http://alanblouin.com/artcreative-direction/
6. Other art bibles, style guides and resources for reference: http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Art_Bible