Arcane University: Furniture 2D
In concept art (specifically in Skyrim modding) there are a variety of types of claims (or categories) you may encounter and choose to concept. Not all categories can be designed and presented the same way and they are often subject to different expectations.
Note that the information you read here might not apply to projects outside of Beyond Skyrim, or even within Beyond Skyrim - a project's art lead may have their own way of doing things. Be sure to clarify what their expectations are if you are unsure. But as a whole, if you follow these guidelines, you’ll be creating good Skyrim modding concept art.
Be sure to read our main Concept Art page for an overview of the basic workflow, expectations, and technical information needed for any claim. This page is additional reading.
Furniture
Furniture can range between easy, medium and hard in difficulty depending on the asset you're designing. Furniture claims will usually ask for larger assets such as chairs, tables, beds etc. as opposed to clutter claims who will usually ask for smaller items such as cutlery, bowls, and knick-knacks.
The contents of a Furniture concept art sheet varies depending on the furniture design, but you must have:
- Your name (from the start)
- Claim name (from the start)
- Orthographic front and side view
- Perspective view (not isometric)
- Size measurement
- Notes regarding the design that can't be explained visually
- Material image references
- Optional: 360 orthographic view
- Optional: Detail shots and design alphas
- Optional: Project logo
The biggest mistake concept artists make when designing furniture is that they do not take into account the in-game restrictions. Specifically, beds, chairs and benches need to be a specific height, width and length to avoid clipping during animation.
It's your job as a concept artist to research this and make sure your blueprint is accurate.
Nifskope is a program used to view in game assets in 3D and orthographic view. Use this program to check existing vanilla furniture.
Remember to include size reference - either with actual measurements in CM or comparing it to an in game asset or the player model. If you are unsure of the size of what you're designing, ask your art lead.
Orthographic view is the blueprint for the asset and it needs to be accurate, correct and line up from all angles. Straight lines must be completely straight (hotkey Shift in Photoshop). This is a very technical drawing and the 2D artists challenge is to portray for odd angles in their orthographic design.
The purpose of the perspective view is for the Student to truly ‘’think’’ and consider how their asset works in a 3D space - and it will also be a supplemental reference for the 3D artist to check and see how the pieces fit together, as this is not always obvious from orthographic view. Perspective is a preview of how it'll look in game.
Tip: If you're having a hard time to envision what you're creating in orthographic view, try sketching it's macro shapes in perspective first. There is no rule on whether you do the perspective or the orthographic view first - but you must make sure they match.
See Also
