Character illustration styles creation is one of the most engaging aspects of game development, mainly by whether a worthy title can be appraised or a very mediocre one lauded. 3D character models distinguish Gacha products, whereas visual novels attract with 2D scenery and musical accompaniment. RPG lovers wait for the particularly gorgeous animations of water talents to load before the cut-scene begins, revealing the world of magic and sorcery.
Character design art styles depend on the fund limits and production terms. How to create your Bayonetta, Emily Hartwood, or Bigby Wolf with saving a distinctive vision and storytelling? About character art styles and more in today's article.
What Are Character Art Styles?
A couple of people recognize the substantial role of designers in the play-world. Their work never ceases with drawing and sketching in the game art studio. Each piece of clothing represents a part of the cosmos in which the action takes place, ranging from small hair garters for Aloy to the most exquisite dress for Sylvanas Windrunner. Character drawing styles can vary from truthfully realistic to Sci-Fi and fantasy concepts. Sometimes characters are created by the community, refining the design and popularizing it at events like ComicCon or DiceCon.
Popular Character Illustration Styles
A master's hand may transform classics into works of beauty. Different art styles for characters can be combined to form a single canvas or utterly disrupt the thematic harmony. As a result, before you start the alchemy of styles, you should comprehend the fundamentals.
Cartoon Style
Cuphead action frames in social media look quite funny when a streamer had a fault during gaming. Why is that work so astonishing? Cuz the artists make the good with following features:
- bold lines;
- dynamic poses;
- exaggerated sound effects;
- Squash & stretch;
- extreme facial expressions;
- over-the-top movements;
- stylized proportions;
- expressive idle animations.
Japanese and Chinese titles are another piece of the moon. Anime style is a bit simpler to adhere to than "Disney" style. If you put Pirate Warrior 4 and Disney Dreamworld Village side by side, a non-designer would have no idea of the disparity.
Realistic Style
Cinematics in AAA projects are close to genuine delight. This is particularly pertinent for the Remedy studio, which recently wowed the gaming audience with Alan Wake 2. Also in AAA there are design rules, which the following examples can reveal:
- Life in textures. The Sinking City and its second part, which is in active development, the physics of water, its animation and the fragments of Cthulhu in the sky of the coastal city are drawn and animated so well that they can be dreamed of at night.
- 3D depends on 2D. Jormungandr in God of War 4 is gorgeous, and Mimir is a truly talking tree. By correctly combining planes, you get a masterpiece.
- Space area. The labyrinth in Control is the game's highlight and an illustration of how to complete an extremely challenging task.
However, even before golden apples, incorporating interesting films to develop the plot was part of the MMO RPG canon. For example, in ArcheAge, the introduction described a ship's trip towards the plot.
Exaggerated & Stylized Designs
Semi-realism art styles for characters are versatile and may be tailored to the genre and artistic concept of the project. There’s the way you can determine it.
- anime: clear contours, minimum anatomical elaboration, simplified shadows;
- western comics: dynamic sketches, strong lines, expressive poses;
- fantasy: complex forms, chiaroscuro, balance between sketch and painterly.
Consider using anime or comic book aesthetics if cinematography and dynamics are major. A fantasy style with intricate textures and materials is desirable if the project is based on a detailed universe and lore.
Flat & Minimalist Styles
Design techniques use the basics of geometric forms, such as circles, squares, and triangles, to define the character shade. It is cooled in Japanese titles, where sharp noise mainly means a bad guy. Also, it could be dealt with in the next steps.
- Flat colors. Minimal gradients or shading keep designs crisp and modern.
- Clean line-up. Simple, uniform lines without excessive details ensure clarity.
- Modular construction. Elements can be easily swapped or adjusted, making characters and assets adaptable.
- Snappy animation. Fast, exaggerated motion common in preview videos.
Modern design with simple geometrical elements focuses on bettering readability and clarity while offering noteworthy aesthetic value. Examples of the best such works can be recalled at E3 2021 or TGA 2023.
Chibi Style
Developers of any level of experience calculate the payback of sales. This can be done on two levels: external and internal. The first one means a marketing campaign selling specialized merch like cute toys or a poster.
The internal level represents characters in different art styles (battle pass) with rewards for entry, event events, and simply gift options from developers. In general, players of mobile games and gacha goods expect this level of variation.
Pixel Art Style
Pixel games gave rise to the modern gaming industry in all of its glory. Starting with Zelda and the adventures of a happy plumber, followed by Nintendo titans Pokemon, and culminating in wonders with a tribute in the form of an action slasher Hotline Miami or a generated rogue-like RPG shooter Isaac.
Typically, they are utilized by indie producers on a tight budget or enthusiasts inspired by the birth of gaming. Pixels can be found in modern games such as Quasimorph (a roguelike shooter), Dwarf Fortress (city building with an RPG element), and Noita.
Cel-Shading & Comic Book Styles
With the publication of Alan Wake 2, the "grandfathers" of the gaming community, who were still shooting ducks on the original Sega and Dendy, remembered the stunning comic book animation that had gained traction in the 2000s. Thanks to the rise of Marvel and DC, the gaming industry began to emulate their trends, occasionally returning toward its roots. As a result, artists have to recognize the distinction between a "comic book" and the style and game inspired by the root material.
Cel-shading uses outlines and flat colors to match classic animation and comic book genres. It thus adds a touch of nostalgia and makes modern digital creations somewhat sentimental. Character art styles in this case will be more pastel and pencil-like.
Low Poly & Vector-Based Styles
In terms of style, mobile gamedev competes directly with consoles and PCs. Instead of dragging around a lump of metal, simply download the game to your favorite Android or iOS device and play it whenever and wherever you choose. Cross-platforming has enabled the porting of even greater titles to mobile devices.
Solo Leveling and Genshin, two gacha-titans from recent years, demonstrate the sophistication of motion animation, cinematic, and customization. One example of reversal action is Onmyoji, which brilliantly captures the elegance of the Japanese atmosphere and tasteful animation.
Fantasy & Sci-Fi Character Art Styles
Kingdom Come: Deliverance, The Elder Scrolls, Monster Hunter Universe, The Witcher, and a slew of other titles helped set up the unbreakable universe of role-playing games. It could cover fantasy, science, real-time history, futuristic, and additional areas.
To discuss design in this environment, 3D will undoubtedly dominate. The 2D style is used for static views and places that do not require particular development, such as a low stone fence beside the road, a wall in a tavern, a painting in a stable boy's drawer, and so on. Character art styles are likewise considered while rendering without a manual sketch.
How to Choose the Right Art Style for Characters
The author's flurry of thoughts and sketches during the initial stages of production is akin to a printing house amid a crisis: a lot of papers, no purpose. To save time, refer to the table below, which includes the key design features for each type as well as a common industry example.
| Art style | Definition | Example |
| 1. Pixel | To achieve clarity, use bold outlines and distinct color palettes. Expressiveness is achieved with few details.
|
Undertale, Stardew Valley, The Isaac. |
| 2. Fantasy | Several elements and attributes depend on the brainstorm. The foundation comprises jewelry, armor, weaponry, magic animation and metamorphosis, interactions with the game world, and the technological process.
|
Baldur’s Gate III, Lost n Random. |
| 3. Comic book | The deliberate use of bold lines and shading, exaggerated heroic traits of the protagonists, slow-motion in speech moments, and a slightly funny tone to the narrative.
|
The Wolf Among Us, Forgive Me Father. |
| 4. Western | Rough drawing, landscape detailing, development of the bar location and the sheriff's office, special attention to bullet animation.
|
Red Dead Redemption II, Gunslinger: Call of Juarez. |
| 5. Postapocalipsis. | Concentrate on form language and color rather than face expressions. Fans already appreciate small features like bodily decay, yellow teeth, and parasite infestations at the concept art level.
|
Dying Light, Left 4 Dead 2. |
| 6. Space Sci-Fi | The physics of objects are paramount to the product's success. There is a strong emphasis on mechanisms, the creation of the space shuttle, the universe itself, and anomalies.
|
Dead Space, Prey (2017), SOMA. |
| 7. Lovecraft-based | Intricate details, lifelike emotions, nuanced expressions, and Lovecraft-based monsters.
|
Call of Cthulhu, The Sinking City, Alone in the Dark (2024). |
Character art styles in Asian themes are typically cloyingly tender, with large eyes, smooth skin, and long hair. Male characters wear kimonos or loose hakama, while female ones are more preferable to see with loose hair and belted kimonos and hakama. For example, Ishin and Yuriko Tsujioka from Yakuza Universe.
Mixing and Matching Art Styles
The alchemy of novice design yields the fruits of late Picasso: intriguing, yet nowhere fully apparent. To mix correctly, you need to know the balance of concepts:
- Pixel Art — Modern FX;
- 3D Models — Hand-Painted Textures;
- Cel-Shading — 3D Animation;
- Realistic Anatomy — Exaggerated Stylization.
The same approach to game visuals, whether in cel-shaded 3D, pixel art with depth, or painting realism, keeps them young and ageless.
Creating a Cohesive Character Design
The color palette will be the basis of player perception for low-budget indie projects. In this case, the psychology of color will also play a role. At the same time, the desire to learn the lore will increase, the excitement of the game will appear, and the character will be more recognizable. How to achieve this using different character art styles? Follow these tips:
- Assign signature mono-colors to each character.
- Use contrast to highlight design features (armor, eyes, manicure, magic, etc.).
- Work on textures so the metal does not look like fabric or organic materials.
- Match the character palettes with the aesthetics of the world.
A clearly defined silhouette allows characters to be recognized immediately, even at first glimpse or in motion. Few people instantly identify Jormungandr, but show a frame from Ragnarok and we're off.
This approach is revealed in the new 2023 Bramble: The Mountain King in a somewhat distinct way: character graphics remain in mind solely for bosses and places.
The Future of Character Illustration Styles
According to Shoko Oya, a level designer at Kojima Productions, his director routinely comments: "People who, when their ideas are rejected, don't get discouraged, rather, instead come up with their revisions, open the door to new concepts for the game industry."
The genius of modern game design believes that technology like Mudjorney can assist speed up inner processes, though it cannot replace real artists. The latter are fueled by two reasons that AI does not have: a desire to express themselves/their style, and experience that has matured towards a master's vision. Whereas, characters in different art styles will be produced in much more scales.
Character Art Styles: How to Make a Deal with Ego?
No matter how spectacular and ambitious your brainstorming is, its implementation depends on the team's commitment to collaborate, use game art outsourcing if needed, and tell the world a remarkable story. A pretty image can sell quickly, and other than just a picture with a soul, it will be treasured.
