Wild West Wanderlust
Concept Art;
Visual Development;
Mood and Audience Research;
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Character Design for Old West
In this project, my goal was to transcend the aesthetic allure of cowboy character designs and delve into the profound experiences that players seek in old west-themed games. Moving beyond the surface, I employed marketing and branding knowledge to construct identities within my concept art, focusing on archetypal personalities that resonate with the gaming audience in this niche: American Old West.
The project represents a meticulous exploration of rebellion, wanderlust, freedom, adrenaline, and adventure, translating these emotions into a visual narrative that captures the essence of the Wild West, which is, in turn, and the Concept Artist’s opinion here, what the player seeks when they play an Old West game. Through carefully crafted visual language and motifs, each concept and character serves as a strategic tool, inviting the audience to emotionally invest in a world that goes beyond aesthetics, establishing a deep and resonant connection between the viewer and the project.
With this, I invite you to scroll down and find the first image of Visual Development for this Old American West show, made with no reference other than pre-conceived ideas I had in my mind's eye, of what the Old West could look like and what Old West is to me - this is my image of the Old West: raw, anarchy, with alcohol, tattoos and with fashion design more akin of a Jimi Hendrix show (who himself sang about freedom and rebellion, further making me believe that the initial visual development wasn’t random, no matter if the initial references I pulled would seem so, as the process itself was highly intuitive and deviating of a designer's natural introspective and deliberate mind to justify any decision) than anything.
Would this make sense? Is this historically accurate? - These were questions I didn't care at first, and with good reason. It was important, to draw beyond boundaries at first, and later research and reference.
The significance lies in transcending the superficial and establishing a profound connection between the audience and the artwork. Through this intentional approach, the project strives to become more than a collection of aesthetically pleasing images, but is instead, a living breathing organism. A facilitator between the project and the audience.
The Visual Direction
Several challenges emerged in the pursuit of this goal. Firstly, translating abstract concepts such as rebellion and wanderlust into tangible visual elements proved challenging. To overcome this, I invested time in extensive research to understand the nuanced symbols, colors, and motifs associated with the old west narrative.
Mood boards and brainstorming through sketches.
The Idea Development
Persona profiles and mind maps.
Leveraging my marketing and branding knowledge, I continuously evaluated each design's potential resonance with the target audience, refining the visual language to establish a more compelling connection. Despite these challenges, each obstacle became an opportunity for growth and refinement, driving the project towards its overarching goal of creating concept art that transcends the visual, resonating deeply with the emotional landscape of the gaming community.
Using Chat-GPT as Your Design Co-Pilot
When working on my latest project, I decided to incorporate Chat-GPT as my game designer co-pilot. It allowed me to continuously refine the creative brief, validate my design choices, and make real-time adjustments. While I felt confident in my creative freedom to enhance the project with additional elements, I also wanted to test the AI's impact on my work by addressing various questions and evaluating its relevance.
One of the toughest battles is always the dance between art and design
At its core, this project communicates through art, but with the problem of designing the barkeep character design, and going beyond mere visual appeal, I’ve tried to think of things from pure ergonomics and function standpoint.
Throwing away the work and research I’d done so far on the aesthetic pursuit of the experience to communicate the character’s job alone.
Adolf Loos came to mind with the “Ornament is Crime” thesis. What’d Loos do? He’d probably craft this outfit with comfortable and flexible materials, plenty of pockets, hooks, and plenty of other accessories.
The turning point, however, was when I decided to get out into the real world, with a sketchbook in hand, and go from coffee shop to coffee shop, with the intent of observing my subject matter. Why’d I think so hard about what makes this person’s job?
I could find live examples outside. The bandwidth of the world is way larger than your Pinterest album, Google Images directory, or AI Art data set. I decided to curate my reference myself, instead of letting technology curate it for me, and so I decided to study things directly. It turned out in a much more honest and intimate approach to the design process, and a case study in itself of work-life balance integration.
The Results:
Software used: Adobe Photoshop, ChatGPT, Miro.
The new normal is not only the showcase of visually stunning cowboy characters but successfully using them as a bridge of communication between the player and the project, delivering the core emotional experiences players seek in old west-themed games. The project's narrative essence, constructed through a carefully curated visual language, aims to establish a deeper connection than the surface.
The goal of elevating concept art to a strategic tool for emotional engagement and storytelling was accomplished. The project now stands as a testament to the fusion of marketing principles, archetypal representation, and artistic skill, redefining the potential of concept art and leaving a lasting impact on both the artist and the audience.
The adjustment of art and design and how to use both disciplines to propel the project forward was a nice bonus that I wasn’t expecting to stumble upon, but one which I’m grateful for, as they showed me the importance of field trips.
By the end of this project, we also had these deliverables:
Fully functional mini-art bible, that can compass the next concept works, whether it be environments, characters, or props, based on moods and color palettes, but most importantly the whole experience itself and what the IP represents.
Connecting visuals with the audience/player base: Someone who plays an Old West Game rarely does it for the cowboys, but for the adventure, wanderlust, freedom, and sense of rebellion, whether the concept may be, it needs to amplify the experience.
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