When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

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Bishima
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When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

#1 Post by Bishima »

Hello Lemmasoft! And happy holidays!

Basically what the subject says- I'm wondering where in a project it is best to start considering the GUI. I should add that I will most likely commission mine since that could change things.

I see some creators with complex or beautiful GUI will do it first, maybe to make sure the game works / looks right, or to get it out of the way!

However, when commissioning a GUI, I feel like maybe you need a few more assets in order to get the look right? For example, should I do the sprites first to make sure the GUI complements them, or should I wait and design the sprites to complement the GUI? (I have the line art, but no color, since I was curious if I should change the style based on the rest of the game). Same for the backgrounds (still trying to decide between filtered or unfiltered, or what filters I want). So would you say I haven't considered the look of the game well enough to open a GUI commission? Or should I think of the GUI as the base around which the rest of the design will be built?

Sorry... I feel like I worded that more confusingly than it needed to be.
I am very new to GUI commissions, so I want to make sure I do not waste any talented artist's time.

I am really thinking about the main menu too when I ask this, since many games will use a fancy CG or sprites on the main menu, so maybe those assets need to be secured before requesting a design for one...

(May as well add other things I'm curious about is if artist says they will not code the GUI, is it hard to code / implement on one's own? Or should I specifically look for a GUI coder? What even is the difference? If not coded will it at least come "sliced?")

I will appreciate any help or advice in this regard!

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Re: When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

#2 Post by puppetbomb »

I would say that you should've spent more time figuring out the art direction before you commissioned any art at all. But since you already have lineart, you can use that as a point of reference in your document (unless you decide to commission new ones).

Ideally, you would first make a document with art/screenshots of what stylistic direction you want to take your game with examples of one or two artists/movies/games and establish a clear direction for art. Then mock up the general layout of all the screens you need, designate screen resolution, position/size of sprites/UI, and have a list of every asset you need for the entire game.

For UI layouts, find out what you want to call the most attention to and tone down everything else. If you want a main menu with a focus on an illustration, keep the UI understated with few (if any) effects. If you want flashy/obvious UI, then designate more room for it in a high-visibility location on screen. If you have something specific in mind, give the UI artist a sketch of a layout or find an example of UI from another game that's closest to what you're looking for.

My understanding is that UI artists create production-ready assets (meaning files can be dropped into the game as soon as you have them on hand) and are not involved in coding at all. That's a programmer's job.

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Re: When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

#3 Post by Bishima »

puppetbomb wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:59 pm I would say that you should've spent more time figuring out the art direction before you commissioned any art at all. But since you already have lineart, you can use that as a point of reference in your document (unless you decide to commission new ones).

Ideally, you would first make a document with art/screenshots of what stylistic direction you want to take your game with examples of one or two artists/movies/games and establish a clear direction for art. Then mock up the general layout of all the screens you need, designate screen resolution, position/size of sprites/UI, and have a list of every asset you need for the entire game.

For UI layouts, find out what you want to call the most attention to and tone down everything else. If you want a main menu with a focus on an illustration, keep the UI understated with few (if any) effects. If you want flashy/obvious UI, then designate more room for it in a high-visibility location on screen. If you have something specific in mind, give the UI artist a sketch of a layout or find an example of UI from another game that's closest to what you're looking for.

My understanding is that UI artists create production-ready assets (meaning files can be dropped into the game as soon as you have them on hand) and are not involved in coding at all. That's a programmer's job.
(This is late but) Thanks for your response! I am pretty much doing all the art myself, so none of it is commissioned. Only the GUI might be.

Otherwise I am still not really sure about production flow, but these were some useful tips about how to go about a commission if/when I do begin to look for one.

And you may be right but there are some (maybe about half of the posts I saw) GUI artist who say they include coding, so I was curious what that meant and how it works.

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Re: When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

#4 Post by puppetbomb »

(Ok I think I kinda understand what you're asking, so I hope I'm not completely off the mark this time.)

This is how I usually work if there's preexisting art assets. Before that, two things: 1) I'll be using sprites as an example, but the general principles will be the same for UI and 2) this is my personal workflow so it's possible that the artist you commission will do things differently.

This is a first iteration. It's super rough, so the colors and concepts are more of a general idea and how everything will sit on screen in relation to each other. All large-scale changes are done at this stage. They key is to pin down what you want before moving into the final production stage.

Image

After the sketches are approved, I overlay the roughs with existing assets so I can adjust the colors to fit. I don't show the client this stage because 90% of the time as it's ugly as sin (left). The colors are adjusted quite a bit in the final version to fit the background (right), but the overall color scheme of the characters are still based off of the initial sketch:

Image Image

Between the rough and final stages, it's all about tightening up the design, lines, and colors. It's up to you and the artist to discuss at which point you want to touch base. For a project on a budget or a deadline, I would check in for lines + flats, then render a single character for approval before applying it to the rest of the sprites.

I assume UI artists offer programming services because misaligned graphics and inaccurately timed animation is actually quite a common problem (which is why Technical Artist positions exist in larger companies).

Honestly, the best way to find answers to your questions is to reach out and ask the artist. Every person will have a different preferences for workflow and communication, so be transparent about your expectations and get your questions answered before hiring anyone.

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Re: When to start coding / commissioning a GUI?

#5 Post by Mellanthe »

On top of Puppetbomb’s already great advice, I would add my two cents of - generally I see people commissioning GUIs after all of the art is done at least. The production flow with writing and coding vs the GUI is flexible though.

GUIs sit on top of all of the art and is the first thing people see, so it has to match yet be distinct from two other layers of art - the bg and sprites. If you had commissioned a light themed GUI near the beginning and the sprites and BG end up being dark and grimy, you definitely will have a visuals consistency problem.

Most developers also have out of game design assets (i.e websites and kickstaters assets) which you would usually want to match your GUI themes/colours to be consistent as well. So getting everything all at once near the end of the art process is a good habit but not a rule.

Also I know some GUI artists offer coding for their GUI because there made be additional functions of their GUI that are unique such as fading out the rest of the screen in the exit menu or even animated GUIs. Others may just offer it because not everyone is a coder and have difficulty coding GUIs into games.

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