Students will learn about the art side of the mobile game industry in general and how to design, research, and create tileable isometric buildings and props from thumbnail sketches to final renderings. By the end of the course, students will be able to comfortably know how to design buildings and props with mobile phone limitations in mind. Specifically, they gain knowledge on how to go about the researching style, theme, pinpoint a demographic for the game, creating meaningful thumbnails, refining sketches, create effective color schemes, create stages and levels for modular isometric building and prop tiles and how to present them. Assets created in the course could be used for production art in 2D and concept art for 3D mobile games.
Registration Now Open
Registration Period
Oct 09, 2024 -
Jan 27, 2025
Course Start
Jan 19, 2025
Course Format
Live
Skills Level
Intermediate - Advanced
Duration
8 weeks
Q&A
Once a week
Feedback
Individual recordings
Lecture Type
Live Lectures
Assignment
Due each week. Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk viewing lectures, Q&A, and assignments
PREREQUISITES
Dynamic Sketching 1, Perspective, Digital Painting, or equivalent knowledge
MATERIALS
Adobe Photoshop, digital pen display tablet or regular pen tablet
The more you know, the better.
Week #1
Introduction to Mobile Game Art 1/ Drawing within confines of grids
Introduce Boom in Mobile game industry | Review some major popular game genres and what type of art is being produced | Introduction to my background | Introduction to mobile game building formats and modularity- Various types of building grids, isometric, top-down, fusion formats | How to draw within the grid
Week #2
Audience / Theme / Genre / Stylization
Background about demographics and establishing an audience for the game | Theme and story of the game influencing visuals | breaking down building style elements , going over various types of game themes | breaking rules of isometry and top down rigidity for style sake
Week #3
Designing for Mobile Games not Console or PC
Contrast mobile vs pc/console game visuals | mobile game limitations | Go over creating iconic representational tools to convey first read | 1st, 2nd, 3rd read
Week #4
Building functionality/ stages/ Research/ Thumbnail
Introducing various gameplays and implications of building functions such as training camps, defense towers, or just an Inn to live in | creating stage and levels of buildings | how to visually design and create a succession of various buildings | designing to allow for animation and creating visual markers | scale | lecture on initial thumbnail creation/ silhouette sketches
Week #5
Prop functionality
Introducing various type of building props and functionality | creating visuals for props | give examples of prop stages and how to draw them and ways to make them visually effective
Week #6
Sketch Refinement and Color variations
Picking out best designs from thumbnail variations | colors variations, adhering to overall game color style | provide examples of sketches and color storytelling
Week #7
Final Concept and production rendering
Rendering techniques based on style | Lighting ( direct and ambient) | material/ texture | Creating an attractive mock game screen shot from game tiles
Week #8
Presentation Layout and preview
Going over various layout techniques and principal | preview of mobile game art 2 class
STUDENT GALLERY
Prepare to meet your master.
LECTURES BY
Isaak Lien
Course Start: Jan 19, 2025
Isaak Lien currently works at Jam City as an Art Director and Concept Artist. He has been in the mobile game industry for 9+ years working on 2D concept and production art, visual development, UI design, and art leading at mobile game companies and studios such as Jam City, Kiwi, Ogmento, Kung Fu Factory, Mega Rock, Rising High Studio, etc. Some of the mobile game titles he worked on include Jam City’s top 20 grossing games, "Cookie Jam", Mega Rock’s Top 10 free games, "A Bike Race of Ninja Temple", Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob Moves In", and Konami’s "Slot Revolution".
Aside from having worked in the mobile game industry, he has been an illustrator for a storybook, founder, creative director, and designer of his own plush toy brand (Panda Yeah), creative director and artist for his own unregistered mobile game company(Orange Fun Games), visual arts teacher and tutor at various places. Although he currently works as an art lead, his passion for creating and teaching visual arts will continue to take center stage in his art journey!
Aside from having worked in the mobile game industry, he has been an illustrator for a storybook, founder, creative director, and designer of his own plush toy brand (Panda Yeah), creative director and artist for his own unregistered mobile game company(Orange Fun Games), visual arts teacher and tutor at various places. Although he currently works as an art lead, his passion for creating and teaching visual arts will continue to take center stage in his art journey!
Instructor's Gallery
PRICING SCHEDULE
Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education, these finance options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.
3x Payments
$233
2x Payments
$349.50
Full payment
$699
Winter TERM REGISTRATION
Now Open
Oct 09, 2024 -
Jan 27, 2025
COURSE BEGINS on Jan 19, 2025
What makes this learning experience unique?
PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK
Receive personalized feedback on all assignments from the industry’s top professionals.
LIFETIME ACCESS
Enjoy lifetime access to the spectrum of course content, including lectures, live Q&As, and feedback sessions.
CERTIFICATION
Show off your Certification of Completion when you turn in 80% of course assignments.
FLEXIBLE LEARNING
Learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace with flexible, online course scheduling.
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