There are many ways to make conceptual art…
The points to take into consideration for our Army Men concept artists:
- At first the Army Men must look like real soldiers, realizing later during the that they are actually miniature.
- Any childish item, like a teddy bear, should look fierce and terrifying. A serious threat, although it may seem harmless at first for the player to take it lightly.
- They should look like real little toys, plastic soldiers. There are details impossible to achieve on a certain scale, which make the plastic soldier 3D models look small.
Conceptual art is an artistic and simplified sketch in which the conceptualization or idea is more important than the drawn/conceptualized art. Ideas prevail over their formal or sensitive aspects so that the artistic aspect of the concept takes a back seat, favoring the speed of production time of the idea, also reducing the mental process of understanding the idea.
By dispensing with the complex creation of the final product before it is approved, so much time is not wasted on visual pieces that could not be approved. Therefore these sketches accelerate the idea production process. Regardless of the technique, material or form used to represent it is not something strict.
Before reaching the final choice of an idea, there may be several previously rejected conceptual pieces, and even this process can go through several steps, such as a very simple concept, which then evolves into a more complete and complex one (which is still a conceptual piece). After a concept art is approved, the chosen idea moves on to the actual production of the final product.
Classic Concept Art from 3DO
Characters from pencil to CGI
In the case of a video game, sketches are always the step prior to designing the 3D CGI character. In this case, we can see how the drawing evolves into 3D modeling, or how the 3D modeling evolves into the drawing? Both cases represent a back-and-forth of creative feedback.
Our Pencil Character & Vehicles Concept Art
This Army Men expanded universe project, which we call “Toyverse,” requires the same steps and methodologies to achieve similar results, which resemble the old Army Men in both design and visual identity. So here are some examples…
Concept Art, from basic pencil lines to the complex tridimensional idea: In this case a Mad Max or Vigilante 8 modified Die-cast battlecar.
… and a Super Soldier in full combat armor.
From Sketch to Complete Concept Art
The process of creating an illustration does not end with the first stroke. Every visual piece goes through different stages of transformation, maturation, and refinement. What begins as a set of loose lines on paper can evolve into a complex digital scene with depth, color, textures, and three-dimensional elements.
Below, we explore step by step how a simple idea becomes a finished work of art.
The Creation of a Forgotten Jungle
The process of this piece begins with the carnivorous plant, first conceived as a basic sketch with guiding lines. The initial strokes, just a skeleton of geometric shapes, captured the essence of its silhouette: the twisted stem, the oversized mouth, and the sharp teeth. Little by little, the drawing was refined until it gained volume, detail in the leaves, and a posture that conveys tension and aggressiveness. This creature became the central axis of the composition.
From Sketch to Complete Artwork: The Creative Journey of a Digital Illustration
With the base defined, the work progressed to the construction of the narrative environment: a dense jungle crossed by a river or spring flowing through the center of the scene. The vegetation grew in complexity: scattered flowers, trees with exposed roots, and an ancient temple made of massive stone blocks, hidden among the undergrowth. This drawing stage served to establish the visual structure of the piece, defining the relationship between the elements and the balance of the composition.
Slide from one image to another to compare
Slide from one image to another to compare
The next step was digital painting, where the setting gained life and atmosphere. Through layers of color, a humid, dark, and greenish environment was created, typical of a dense and oppressive jungle. The contrast between filtered light and deep shadows added depth and drama, enveloping the carnivorous plant and the temple in a mysterious ambience.
The piece evolved even further with the incorporation of a 3D model of the Spitfire of Flight Lieutenant Ruggels. Far from standing out as an external object, it was integrated into the visual narrative.
- The fuselage was damaged by bullet holes, evidence of its violent fall.
- Moss and vegetation had grown over its surface, symbols of the relentless passage of time.
- The dents and metallic wear reinforced the idea of a war relic abandoned in the jungle.
In the post-production phase, plants in the foreground and overlapping vegetation were added to the 3D model, softening its outline so that it blended with the pictorial style of the illustration. Adjustments of color, texture, and line ensured that all the elements coexisted within a unified aesthetic.
The final result is a piece that tells a story without words: the confrontation between man’s destructive force and the resilience of nature. What began as simple sketch lines transformed into a cinematic and conceptual scene, where time, the jungle, and the remnants of the past interact in a visual balance full of mystery.
Full Color 3DO Character Concept Art
Some full-color pieces from a variety of Army Men games. Concept art and some images are character concepts, others are simply promotional images.
Army Men Strike Concept Art
Army Men Air Attack 1 & 2 Concept Art
Some of the ideas that want to be tested in helicopter games are interesting. They probably all would have been achieved in Air Attack 3, maybe?
Making Concept Art a reality
Remember those great Concept Art pieces? Well, we started making them a reality (sort of).
There are some ideas in Concept Art pieces that never became reality (or, in fact, most of them never did). So here we’ll show you the process of how we make them a reality, one way or another.
Storyboards
The Army Men franchise used a lot of storyboarding for the CGI animations of the games’ cut scenes, but also for the in-game animations of Sarge’s Heroes 1 and 2 for the Nintendo 64 (made with the game engine).
To put it simply, storyboards, at least in this case, look like comic book adaptations of movies, but with instructions and guidelines for animation. For example, where a character is at the beginning of a shot, and where they are at the end. They are a series of graphic instructions that serve as a rough draft or basis for later animation. Keep in mind that different teams did different jobs, so those who drew the storyboards (drawn by hand) were somewhat like scriptwriters for the animation department.
Army Men Air Tactics Storyboards
The entire storyboard for the CGI animated images of Army Men: Air Tactics. Scanned and inserted into digital text files.
Army Men (1998) storyboards
Storyboards made for the original Army Men game, but used later in World War for PS1 or simple not used.
How do we interpret these Storyboards?
In the case of finding Conceptual Art of the original Army Men games, before the Heroes saga, we would need more information as it is in black and white, which would not allow us to interpret what colors each one is. The following is an example:
Others ways of making Storyboards & Concepts
Example of photo montage
Both Army Men Revolution and our animations will take place in environments based on real places. Therefore, here is a simple example of a Storyboard made with photographs:
Example of montage with image editing or Photoshop
The following is a conceptual representation of how the Heroes would function, for Sarge’s Heroes, in its early stages of development.
The heroes were supposed to have a more prominent role, functioning as companions during battles, following the protagonist’s movements but contributing their weapon skills (e.g., Scorch with his flamethrower, Riff with his bazooka).
It was even considered to be a kind of turn-based game, like some RPGs of the time.
This style of concept art is made up of CGI renders, Photoshop, etc., to ensure maximum fidelity to the idea of how the video game should look.
The stoves that are activated to burn the enemy or the magnifying glasses, for practically the same thing.
These examples could even showcase different UI designs, and as in this case, graphically illustrate some of the desired special mechanics that hardly ever made it into the final product. But dreaming is cheap!
How they wanted the PS2 game to look? Sarge’s Heroes 2
Edited images composites of CGI 3D models, scenarios in a HD definition (maybe the map editor or 3D editing program too) and a lot of added effects.
Army Men: Sarge’s War Artwork
How to make a depressing, dark, and gritty Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes? Immerse everything in realistic war environments, like those of World War II Europe: everything destroyed, ruined, and with noisy, dirty, and stained textures.
More than Storyboards and Character Concepts
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, right at the dawn of digital design, due to a shift in generational change, processing speed, and lower computer power, hand-drawn artwork was the fastest way to conceptualize practically everything.
And in fact, some hand-drawn artworks, later digitized and painted on the computer, ended up included in games, such as Sarge’s Hero designs in the bios of the first game of the same name.
In short, from character, vehicle and object design, to dynamic concepts for animation, graphic representations of the story’s narrative, the design of the games’ menu graphic interfaces, to the design of the playable scenarios… concept art (at least in those days) was the backbone of the graphic/visual design of the Army Men adventures, the words and ideas represented visually, which previously began being printed on paper.
Curiosities and Trivia:
