Geek Books: Game Art Book Recommendations

Next Generation has recently posted a list of "50 Books for Everyone In the Game Industry", (link via Wonderland, where all good links come from!) put together by game designer and author Ernest Adams.  The task of putting together such a list in the first place is in no way an easy one, and Adams explains the limitations of his list in the introduction.  He purposely left out any tech specific books, so my personal interest in finding good books on creating game art isn't covered there. It is an interesting list, and I will certainly spend some time looking into a few of the titles he recommends.  I would also be interested in seeing a list like this put together that suggests more non-industry books (there are a few included in his list) as a way to broaden the scope of thinking for people inside the industry.  The one example that jumps out at me is the book A Pattern Language, by Christopher Alexander.  Adams says about this book "Will Wright says that this book was part of the inspiration for The Sims."  That sentence alone is enough to get me interested in reading this title, and  so I think it would be fabulous to also see a list of other books like this, ones outside the gaming mainstream, that have been inspirational to leaders in the industry.

I have had it in the back of my mind to write up a review of a few good game related books I have been reading lately.  In the spirit of supplementing the areas of Adams list that were necessarily brief I will throw a few more titles out for those of you who share my interest in learning more about the art creation aspect of games.  I don't have Adams' professional experience to offer - my perspective is that of the rank amateur eager to find the right book to learn something useful on my own.  Computer books are expensive, and there is nothing more disappointing that plunking down $30 - $50 on a title that doesn't really deliver on the promises made on the cover.  This is especially the case when buying books online, when the only real information you have is what other people have to say about the book.  Hopefully you will find something useful here.

First on my list is a title that Adams includes: Creating the Art of the Game, by Matthew Omernick, 2004.  This book is a simple introduction to the processes of producing game art.  This is not a book that contains software specific tutorials; although there are a few brief descriptions of how certain tasks are done in Photoshop, Maya and 3D Studio Max.  It is a book for beginners, and provides a helpful introduction to the basic functions of the elements used in art creation, with chapters on textures, modeling, lighting and effects.  It is a well designed book, with helpful illustrations and an engaging text.  I highly recommend this one!

As a companion to the above title, you might also be interested in finding a copy of Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games by Morris and Hartas, 2003.  This is a pretty fluffy book, so don't expect to learn anything deep or meaningful from reading this one.  Instead it is a large format picture book with a wide range of game art offered in full color.  I have found it useful to look at the variety of images from a wide range of games, especially since I haven't seen many of these games from playing them myself.  I picked this up cheaply online, but you may also be able to find a copy of this in your local library.

The next great title is:  Game Art: Creation, Direction, and Careers, by Riccard Linde, 2005.  This is a perfect follow up to Omernick's book, as it takes all of the topics in his book to greater detail, and throws in a useful look at the specifics of careers available for game artists. If you read Creating the Art of the Game and find you want to know more, this book is the next step.

There are two books on creating textures that I have found very helpful: the first is 3D Game Textures by Luke Ahearn that I discussed in detail in THIS earlier post.  The second book is The Dark Side of Game Texturing by David Franson.  This book offers more of the same helpful sort of step-by-step Photoshop tutorials of Ahearn's book, but with an emphasis on the types of textures used in FPS and action games.  These two books cover pretty similar ground, so you may not feel the need to buy both of them (in which case I would recommend Ahearn's book, which is much
more comprehensive) but I was happy to have more tutorials and the different perspective that Franson's book offers.

I recently found the book Action Anatomy by Takashi Iijima, 2004.  It is full of useful visual information on the human figure, and is an excellent reference for character design.  It was put together specifically for game design, animation and digital artists, and is a reference book that I am sure I will use again and again.

The last two books I will mention are waiting in the wings - I have them on hand but I haven't had a chance to read through them yet.  They both look very promising, and offer another level of information for the would-be game artist. Both of these titles are designed for digital artists in general, rather than specifically for game artists.  I will let you know more about these once I get a chance to dig into them.

• [Digital] Texturing & Painting by Owen Demers, 2002. The first half of the book covers art theory and how it applies to games, with the second half dealing with the technical applications.
• [Digital] Lighting & Rendering by Jeremy Birn, 2000. This book looks to offer a solid introduction to the function of light in 3D art. 

I am interested to hear what you think of this book list, and would also love to hear about any more of these kinds of books that you would recommend.  All the title links will take you to Amazon.com where you can find more detailed information on the books and can read the customer reviews.  You may also be able to get used versions of books for a lot less than the cover prices from Amazon or one of the many other used book websites online.