How do you document game art and animation like a pro?

1 Identify your goals and scope

Before you start creating or documenting your game art and animation, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and what are the limitations and requirements of your project. This means defining your artistic vision, your target audience, your platform, your genre, your style, your budget, your timeline, and your quality standards. Having a clear and shared understanding of these aspects will help you plan your documentation strategy and avoid scope creep and confusion.

2 Create an art bible

An art bible is a document that contains all the guidelines and rules for creating and maintaining the visual identity and consistency of your game. It covers topics such as color palette, lighting, mood, camera, composition, perspective, scale, texture, animation style, character design, environment design, UI design, and more. An art bible is a reference tool that helps you and your team stay on track and aligned with your artistic vision. It also helps you communicate your expectations and feedback to external collaborators, such as freelancers or contractors.

3 Use naming conventions and folders

One of the most basic but important aspects of documenting game art and animation is organizing your files and assets in a logical and consistent way. This means using naming conventions and folders that reflect the structure and hierarchy of your game, the type and function of your assets, the version and status of your files, and the author and date of your changes. Using naming conventions and folders will help you find, sort, filter, and update your assets easily and avoid duplication, overwrite, or loss of data.

4 Write descriptive metadata

Metadata is the information that describes the content and characteristics of your files and assets, such as name, size, format, resolution, frame rate, duration, tags, keywords, notes, comments, and more. Writing descriptive metadata will help you and your team access, manage, and use your assets more efficiently and effectively. You can write metadata manually or use tools that automate or assist the process, such as Adobe Bridge, Unity Asset Database, Unreal Asset Manager, or custom scripts.

5 Use version control and backups

Version control is the practice of tracking and managing the changes and revisions of your files and assets over time. It allows you to create, compare, restore, merge, and share different versions of your work, as well as to resolve conflicts and errors. Version control is essential for documenting game art and animation, as it helps you maintain the quality and integrity of your assets, collaborate with your team, and recover from mistakes or disasters. You can use version control tools such as Git, SVN, Perforce, or cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

6 Create a style guide

A style guide is a document that summarizes and illustrates the main elements and principles of your game art and animation, such as the art bible, the naming conventions, the metadata, the version control, and the best practices. A style guide is a communication tool that helps you and your team understand and follow the documentation standards and conventions of your project, as well as to onboard new members or partners. A style guide can be created using tools such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, or custom templates.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?