Types of Digital Graphics used to create the digital image

 2D and 3D Games

2D GAMES

2D games use flat graphics known as sprites and complete absence three-dimensional geometry. They are drawn to the screen as flat images, with no perspective provided by the camera (orthographic camera).

Examples:

Cooking Mama, Angry Birds & Plant vs. Zombies

Uses and Benefits:

Quick and easy controls – Because 2D games are more appropriate for beginners, they have a larger target audience.

Simple to create – not only is it simpler to create a 2D game, but it is also much faster and cheaper. The same is true for any future game updates.

Simple instructions – 2D games are ideal for passing the time. The most popular high energy casual games are primarily 2D.

3D GAMES

Three-dimensional geometry is commonly used in 3D games, with Materials and Textures rendered on the surface of Game Objects to make them appear as solid environments, characters, and objects that comprise the game world.

Examples:

FNAF, Overcooked 2, COD Black Ops: Cold of War, Watch Dogs, GTA, The Sims, Dead Trigger, Pixel Gun 3D, Among Us

Uses and Benefits:

Realism – Hardcore gamers who spend hours playing every day tend to favor the more interactive experience provided by 3D games.

High graphic quality – some 3D HD games are true works of art in which players could perhaps spend many hours simply exploring the complexities of the world.

Versatility – 3D can be used to develop applications of different genres, with the majority of those games allowing players some opportunity of action.

The Differences between 2D and 3D Games:

Environment:

Because 2D games are flat, the environments they create are also visually flat. They don't pay much attention to the game's surroundings. 3D games have a much higher graphics appearance, with a greater emphasis on the detailed information of the environment and the game's visual effects.

Controls:

The controls in 2D games are quite easy and straightforward. Even a newbie can quickly enjoy the basics of the game. The controls for 3D games are a little more complicated. It takes some practice to get used to playing 3D games because the character can start moving in any direction.

Movement:

The movement of the character in 2D games is linear. They move in different directions within the screens, usually forward. 2D games typically have a beginning and an ending point where the character flows. While 3D games have both quantity and complexity, movement is unlimited. The character can move in any direction and is not restricted to only moving forward.

Computer Games Graphics

1. Pixel Arts

Pixel art is a type of graphic design that is entirely composed of colored pixels. This style was used in the very first video games, with shapes made from only a few pixels. As technology advanced, pixel concentration (resolution) could be expanded, allowing artists to create the character and environments out of more pixels, basically adding more detail.

Originally used in retro games when the control of the hardware used to play them didn't allow for anything beyond this somewhat basic art style. However, in recent years, many games have incorporated this style into their graphics for nostalgic purposes, helping to attract an older demographic that grew up with the original line of pixel games.

Pixel art in games can be divided into two types: isometric and non-isometric. Isometric pixel art games are used to give a 2D game a 3D feel without requiring any 3D engine work. This is accomplished by producing all of the art in such a way that it appears to be viewed from an angle, creating the illusion of a depth of field in the game world.

 

Example Game: Stardew Valley

One of the most popular pixel art games ever played is the classic Stardew Valley. The goal of this RPG (Role-Playing Game) is to build a farm and rebuild Stardew Valley. Players can develop crops, raise livestock, prepare meals, go fishing, and craft projects. The pixel style adds to the appeal of living a peaceful farm life.

Isometric Pixel Art (also known as 2.5D) attempts to simulate a 3D perspective by creating assets from a 3/4 upper point of view.

This technique quickly became a popular substitute for the more restrictive 'side-scrolling' restriction of genuine 2D pixel art.

2. Concept Art

Is a form of illustration when the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, or mood for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product.

Concept art is a form of pre-production design that abstracts characters, props, environments, and vehicles. This process to select specific design elements and plan before final renders are produced.

Concept art is not just an important part of video game production, but is also used extensively in film, television, product design and architecture with many concept artists freely able to switch industries.

3. Texture Art

Texture is a term that is commonly used in detailed discussions about video games in the age of 3D computer graphics. Textures are graphical skins that are applied to 3D models to give them the appearance of surface features.

Bump mapping and normal mapping are texturing techniques that use two-dimensional picture data to alter the lighting patterns applied to objects by 3D rendering methods, giving them the appearance of a surface texture that is not existent in the 3D model.

4. Print Media Art

Is important to games, this is because most people are attracted by colorful art designs for games. Video games require artwork not mostly during the Pre-Production and Production phases of development, but also for merchandising raw material.

Example is in a form of packaging, guidebooks, billboards or posters, game icons, title designs and disc logos.

Artistic Styles

In video games, four major artistic styles are used. Artistic Styles define the overall aesthetic of a video game, including protagonists, surroundings, interface design, and so on. The abstract art style was undoubtedly the first to be used in video game development. Early trophies, such as Pong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders, used basic geometric shapes to create their protagonists and environments, which were neither realistic nor exaggerated. This art style is still used today, and it is commonly seen in games released on portable devices and in independent release date.

1. Photorealism

Photorealism is a style of art in a game or any other type of art in which the artists strive to create a scene that is so realistic and characterized that it could be mistaken for a real photograph. Rather than just the artist's formation. The graphics in Photorealism are designed to look as realistic as possible, as the term suggests.

It may not mean much in an artistic independent game, but the more realistic the graphics, the easier it is to submerge the player in the game's world. Each new technology generation, GPU, and game engine brings us one step closer to our main objective.

Objects and surfaces are relatively easy to recreate successfully, but organic matter (human skin/muscle systems) is more difficult. Technological advancements such as digital scanners, faster and more powerful deliver engines, motion capture, graphics cards, and so on are continuing to change in such a way that producing photorealistic results will become easier.

2. Cel-Shading

Cel shading, cell shading, or toon shading is a non-photorealistic visualization quality that includes 3-D graphic design show up flat by using less blending color instead of just a shade gradient or tints and hues. It employs a limited color palette to create block colors, frequently emulating the appearance of a comic book, manga, or cartoon show that many gamers enjoy it.

Typically, the highlight and shadow values are 'painted' directly onto the object/character. To render a textured object using Cel-Shading in real-time, the computer would use an algorithm-based formula that reads the scene's depth, perspective, and lighting. It was first used in animation before being recreated as a digital graphic game style. Cell shading in games can be very beneficial, as the colors appear bright and distinct.

Many cel shaded games use this art style for the same reasons that cartoon art does; for many developers, it is the 3D equivalent of watching true cartoon graphics.

Because of that same close relationship to cartoon style art, many cartoons and comics that are adjusted into games are provided this artistic style to help keep the game having to look as true to the original media on which it is based.

3. Abstraction

Abstract is not just a term for cartoony or cel-shading; it, like other abstract forms of art, does not represent any valued reality but instead creates an image using random shapes and colors to fulfil the requirement. Usually through the relationship between forms and colors rather than recognizable imagery. Many videos game appearance is made up of random shapes and colors, such as Geometry Dash, which heavily emphasizes geometric lines and colors to specify objects.

4. Exaggeration

Exaggerated graphics have their foundations in real-world aesthetic appeal, physics, and design, but they are then modified to expand the graphical style into unrealistic territory. Exaggeration is a popular cheerful artistic expression being used in a variety of games. The art style focuses on using extremely over-the-top graphics.

The most likely place to see the use of exaggerated graphics is on the Nintendo Wii, which has a huge collection of games with a lot of party-based games that are really exaggerated in terms of visual and gaming experience just seeming unknown and not meant to be taken very seriously at all.

Characters in video games with exaggerated graphics will be instantly recognizable, but may have overly impressionistic features such as muscles, hair, and facial features.

This art style is mostly used in fantasy titles where realism isn't a requirement, but the developers still want to keep a certain element of realism in the game, so they don't ever go for an all-out cartoon art style. Features prominently in titles with exaggerated action where the exaggerated highlights help display this theme.