Character Art Submission Guide

All finished projects are required to be published on the itch.io platform and submitted to the Search For A Star 3D Character Art Challenge 2018 by 28th January 2018 at 11:59 PM GMT

 You must join the SFAS Character Art page to take part : https://itch.io/jam/search-for-a-star-3d-character-art-challenge-2018

 We advise that you set up a draft of your project page ahead of the deadline. To create your art project page, go to your itch.io Dashboard and select the ‘Upload New Project’ option.

 Complete the submission form, in line with itch.io’s Quality Guidelines 

• Set Title to the name of your asset pack
  
  • This should be a name or description for your character, rather than a general project title or description of the project.
  • A good title does not need to include any reference to Search For A Star, Rising Star or your own name.

• Set Classification to ‘game assets’.
• Set Kind of project to ‘Downloadable’.
• For Release State, choose an option that best describes your project, even if ‘prototype’ or ‘in development’.
• Set pricing to ‘Disable all payments’ - You can change this once all projects have been marked by the judges, if you wish. 

• Upload your project files as a zip file, exported from UE4 (Package project > Zip)

  
  

  • Your project file should contain your final project model, either posed or unposed.
• Upload a separate project PDF containing your intro, pre-production work, summation and any additional production documentation.  

• Include the following on your project page:
  • A cover image
  • Your four posed key screens as the screenshots
  • Sketchfab render(s) of your character model (either as embedded or linked)
  • (optional) Video content of your model. 

• The ‘Description’ text box should contain a copy of your written intro & final written summation from your documentation, as well as your embeds/links to the Sketchfab renders. It may contain further documentation if you choose.  

• When your project is complete, set ‘Visibility & Access Settings’ to ‘Public’.
  • To prevent your project showing up in public listings, choose the option for ‘Unlisted in search & browse’.

To submit your project, return to the Search For A Star 2018 page and press the ‘Submit your jam’ button

 Select your finished project, fill in your name and challenge tier details and press ‘Submit’.

 If you have any issues with the submission process or want to clarify anything, let me know either at dan@gradsingames.com or ask on the Grads In Games Discord : https://discord.gg/7ppfTnT

Please note that there is no ‘fail’ or ‘disqualification’ criteria. Do what you can & submit what you are able to. Even unfinished pieces and works in progress can be valuable.

Based on the assessment criteria, I've written out a full guide to improving your scores in this important first section.

You don't have to cover everything here, but if you manage to then you're operating at a higher level than the majority of students that apply for games industry jobs. 

PROTIP You can come back to add detail to any section later on. Ideas don't always work in the same linear way that documentation demands.

Written intro

Explain who (or what) you're creating and why you've chosen to do so. What's their backstory? What appeals to you about creating a character like this. Talk about the style and tone of your character and the theme and setting of the world they live in. Mention the four poses that you intend to present your character in. Write some detail on any direct inspiration or influence that led to your decisions.

Influences

This is your visual intro - use it to illustrate your decision making process in the written intro

Include short annotations/captions on images explaining relevance / why this is an influence on you

It doesn't necessarily have to be direct link to final concept, but should be broadly linkable to the overall theme/style

e.g. You have a fascination with the neon-tinged, rain-soaked worlds of dystopian sci-fi, & have written that you want to create a character that represents these themes. Your visual influences might be entirely based on your own personal and favourite interpretations, such as :

• The book cover of the first edition of Neuromancer
• Keanu Reeves in both The Matrix & Johnny Mnemonic
• Panoramic stills from Ghost In The Shell & Akira 
• A still from the opening scenes of Blade Runner
• Screens of character models in Deus Ex

*Written intro & visual influences don't have to be separate sections*

Mood board(s)

This is where you begin refining your influences into a visual guide. Bring in as much as you can to show the styles, feelings, visual cues, themes, colours etc. you want to associate with when creating your character. Use the board to help the viewer understand the creative direction you're taking, bringing in the key influences that you want to develop further.

Group linked sections for clarity & annotate where appropriate; what links the items in a group? Use clear choices that are relatable to your intro and influences Colours, shapes, layout and composition matter - create a visual journey that goes beyond an ideas scrapbook.

References

Usable key art studies, relevant to your theme/setting that can be incorporated into your concept development. e.g.

• Style and aesthetic studies
• Anatomical studies
• Texture and material studies
• Clothing and fabric studies
• Structure and composition study
• Existing concept studies
• Existing game asset studies

Concept design & development

This is a development of the work done in the referencing and mood board sections, bringing an idea for a full character to life, further refining the elements of what you have into a working concept design. This can be an original concept piece that you create yourself, or developed from an existing concept in your referencing if preferred.

Mix in elements from your referencing and boards to show how your character comes together, showing your own personal influence in its creation. If working from an existing concept, try to show how it relates to your research and how your own contributions tie it all together.

The actual presentation of the concept is up to you, and at least in part dictated by the style you've chosen to work in. You don't need to create a super-detailed matte painting if your creative vision & intent can be clearly seen from an arrangement of cutout photo references or a series of sketches.

What's the story behind your character? This is where narrative comes in heavily as well; who is this? what are they doing? why are they doing it? What's the significance of the poses? Show that this is a person, with a life that can exist beyond just being char_asset_08b_final_final.png

• This narrative should tie into your written intro.

Composition exploration

Layout sketch(es) for your poses, working from your concept. Include composition thoughts/notes including:

• Weight balance
• Visual balance
• Colour balance
• Camera positions, focal points & framing

At this point, it should be possible for someone to go through all of the above and, without ever seeing your 3D character, have a pretty accurate visual idea of what your final piece is intended to look and feel like.

Initial blockout of your model

This is your initial 3D rough model. It only needs to be a simple blockout to show the basic arrangement and will act as a base for the start of your production phase.

Textures & Materials
It is presumed that you will be creating your own textures and materials for your model. In your documentation, show maps/meshes/etc. for anything you've created. If you've used any tool defaults/presets instead, please include general notes covering any used.

We'd presumed that you'd be sourcing and creating your own materials anyway so hadn't specified it as a condition in the brief. In retrospect, this may have been an incorrect assumption, particularly for those in Rising Star who may not have even looked at PBR in any detail yet. As the briefs are live and this could be a significant change for some people, it's unfair to make it a definitive rule and we'll allow use of preset materials if they're needed.

For those final year & Masters students doing Search For A Star, I'd still strongly recommend sourcing & creating your own. 

2. Last call for Stage 1 submissions. If you want to get feedback from our team of games professionals on a piece of your portfolio work, you need to submit it through your Stage 1 submission form by Thursday night, as I'll be processing the last of them from 9am on Friday morning.

As ever, good luck with everything & if you have any questions, need any help or something resent, let me know either through email, Discord, your project forums, Twitter or wherever else you can find me & I'll do my best to get it sorted for you.

Thanks!