GDC is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

View, browse, and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by topic and format.

For more information about conference topics and session formats, visit the GDC Showcase Conference page.

Fizzy Brushstrokes: The Art of 'Knights and Bikes'

Rex Crowle  (Creative Director, Foam Sword)

Date: Tuesday, March 16

Time: 11:15 am - 11:45 am

Track: Visual Arts

Format: Discussion Session

Vault Recording: TBD

This GDC 2018 talk will feature real-time interaction with the speaker through online chat messaging during its scheduled broadcast. Building upon lessons originally learnt from directing Tearaway (2013) & Tearaway Unfolded (2015), Rex will discuss the creation of the art style for his next game Knights And Bikes. We'll look at how the art doesn't just represent how its creator sees the game world, but also how the game characters perceive their own surroundings. So by discussing its early influences, and showing its ugly early-development stages, you'll see why this hand-painted world now looks the way it does. A game-world seen through the eyes of two tough young girls, who pedal their bikes around a rural island in the 1980s, looking for adventure, fizzing with an excess of imagination and energy.

Takeaway

Attendees will be taken through the evolution of an art-style. They'll learn about the research methods that led to its original inspiration. We'll investigate creative ways to take a-step-back from the work and give it fresh meaning, as well as the practical processes in creating the world and its characters.

Intended Audience

This talk will interest both artists and developers wanting to think holistically about what they are making. It's not a technical talk, its about the thoughts behind the work, and simple techniques to create extra meaning and interest for players (and you, while you're creating it!)