3D render vs. drawing

[JohnnyGigo]

So I've been a long time fan of adult visual novels,eroges and games, and as every person to ever play an adult game an idea crossed my mind, "Hey, maybe I should make my own game? Brilliant".

I had ideas in my mind for a long time, always thinking about what I liked and what I disliked about certain games and wanting to correct or include some aspects from my experiences into my own game.

I wanted to be a one man team, just doing something for myself and the people who might enjoy it if they came across it someday, draw my own art and write my own code. So a few months ago i bought my first graphic tablet, a cute Wacom for a 100$, I did have some maybe a little above average drawing skills prior to buying the tablet so adjusting to it and creating some sort of art was not so tedious but still it is still not on some high level that i would be proud to show it to the public.(Well maybe, considering what kind of art i saw people including in their games just so they can start that Patreon).

So I was wondering about your guys opinion on people starting their games, should I stick to improving my drawing skills and dish out a decent art game in months or even a couple of years or just go for the quick solution which a lot of people do and download Daz3D, stick a few models(Which can also be great since I enjoy A LOT of 3D rendered games) and focus on my story, what do you guys think is a smarter move for a complete developer amateur?

Thanks for your time.

 

[DarthSeduction]

So... I probably prefer 2D art, not because I have a problem with 3D but because 2D just has so much more room to play. That said, 2D when done by most developers, has a huge weakness. Sprites. People use Sprites as a crutch, and their game's suffer for it. Games should be a visual medium and things like body language, posing, and framing of a scene can add so much more to a story that text can't. So, if you go the 2D route, I'd love to see you do as much as you can to draw your character's interacting with their environment. Leaning on a counter, sitting on a couch etc. And frame those shots accordingly.

This however is a lot more work. You have to draw your rooms from more angles, you have to get used to the proportions of objects and draw the characters correctly to fit, etc. What bugs the hell out of me though, is when an artist does this, commits to drawing characters in environment, and then uses sprites in conversation. Summertime Saga does this. Your character's will be seated in a lawn chair or something, but then when they talk, instead of allowing their art to speak for itself they'll pop a closeup of the face. Don't get me wrong there's a time for closeups, but those time are about intimacy or framing a character as larger than others.

So, really, what I'd suggest is no matter what you do you look into comic books and movies for some advice on properly framing scenes and doing things to make each moment tell the story visually. This will only enhance your writing.

 

[Ataios]

I like games with both variants, so can't say that one is strictly better than the other. I also think that creating 3D art is not as easy as described in the post above.

One think I can tell from experience though, when it comes to 2D pictures: Before you decide to go for the 2D version and draw pictures on paper, make sure, your pictures look as good on the screen as they do on paper. I was often disappointed, when scanning a picture that looked awsome on paper but awful on screen.

 

[SpikeGames]

Eh...
Here are some points:
1. Drawing - very complex art, you need to spend a lot of time to learn the basics. I mean... imagine how much time you need to draw an entire scene, with backgrounds\shadows\different characters etcetc.
2. 3D - it gives you basics. You can easily create backgrounds, characters but the main problem - you need to understand how the light works.
In a nutshell,
3D vs. drawing = 50|50, but 3D faster and easier to learn then drawing.

 

[jmyj]

I prefer traditional drawing

 

[Zippity]

So I've been a long time fan of adult visual novels,eroges and games, and as every person to ever play an adult game an idea crossed my mind, "Hey, maybe I should make my own game? Brilliant".

I had ideas in my mind for a long time, always thinking about what I liked and what I disliked about certain games and wanting to correct or include some aspects from my experiences into my own game.

I wanted to be a one man team, just doing something for myself and the people who might enjoy it if they came across it someday, draw my own art and write my own code. So a few months ago i bought my first graphic tablet, a cute Wacom for a 100$, I did have some maybe a little above average drawing skills prior to buying the tablet so adjusting to it and creating some sort of art was not so tedious but still it is still not on some high level that i would be proud to show it to the public.(Well maybe, considering what kind of art i saw people including in their games just so they can start that Patreon).

So I was wondering about your guys opinion on people starting their games, should I stick to improving my drawing skills and dish out a decent art game in months or even a couple of years or just go for the quick solution which a lot of people do and download Daz3D, stick a few models(Which can also be great since I enjoy A LOT of 3D rendered games) and focus on my story, what do you guys think is a smarter move for a complete developer amateur?

Thanks for your time.

I love it when developers use their own art in their VN/Games... First off, it's unique to your style and unique compared to everything else out there usually... The only qualms I personally have, is consistency... If you plan to make an Erotic VN/Game try to be consistent with the artwork in that product... That does not mean don't experiment and grow as an artist... But if half the VN/Game is done in one style and the other half in a different style, it will most likely harm the overall product more then help it...

Once suggestion, if you're unsure about making an entire product yourself, hire yourself out as an artist on other peoples projects... One, you only need to worry about the art and not all the other aspects of development... Two, you get to practice your art, and see what types of artwork developers are looking for... In that way, you get to grow as an artist and eventually you can always make a product yourself where you are then in control of everything, having all that experience under belt from which to become better and better... Especially if you want to get into this market now, rather then taking years before even breaking into the business, if that is what your interested in...

Zip