Sarah Clarity Studios

Chapter 1: Defining a Style / Art Bible & Constraints

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Defining a Style / Art Bible & Constraints — Stylized→Realistic Style Systems for Environment Concept Artists

Why a style system beats a pile of pretty images

An art bible is not a moodboard; it is a contract that turns taste into rules. Environments ship faster and more coherently when style choices are measurable: how round or angular shapes may be, how wide the value band runs, how edges break or blend, and how colors relate under sun, fog, and night. When these rules are stated as systems—inputs in, outputs out—both concept and production can iterate without drifting. This article lays out a practical way to define a spectrum from stylized to realistic, codify shape/value/edge/palette rules, and bind them to materials, lighting, and performance constraints.

The spectrum: choosing your place between emblem and evidence

Stylized art compresses reality into emblematic forms; realism accumulates evidence. Decide early where your project sits: emblematic, illustrative, heightened, naturalistic, or documentary. Each rung sets expectations for proportion, detail density, material response, and narrative tone. Emblematic worlds accept simplified physics and bold icons; documentary worlds demand correct construction, weathering logic, and physically plausible light. A clear stance prevents half‑measures—over‑detailed props in a graphic world, or rubbery light in a realistic one.

Shape language as the first grammar

Shape choices telegraph mood and faction long before texture loads. Round, continuous masses feel gentle and communal; triangular, leaning silhouettes feel energetic or predatory; rectilinear, orthogonal blocks feel stable or institutional. In the bible, define the base primitives and their blends for terrain, architecture, vegetation, and props. Specify how much taper, camber, and bevel your world tolerates; note whether repetition prefers symmetry, bilateral variants, or rhythmic asymmetry. Set a default noise wavelength for surfaces—broad planes in stylized work, rich micro‑breakup in realistic—and state how kit pieces scale without breaking the motif. Tie shape rules to faction and biome so a player can guess ownership from a doorway or roofline alone.

Value keys and exposure discipline

Value carries depth, mood, and readability across every rendering style. Choose a value key for the world (high‑key, mid‑key, or low‑key) and for major biomes and districts. Define the permitted dynamic range in interiors versus exteriors and under different weather states. In stylized worlds, compress midtones and exaggerate separation between figure and ground; in realistic worlds, let midtones breathe and allow localized crush only where physically motivated. Write down the hierarchy: UI > interactives > actors > navigable ground > background. Provide calibrated grayscale scenes that prove the key under noon sun, golden hour, overcast, night, fog, and storm. Lock exposure strategies early (auto vs. fixed per volume) so concept lighting and in‑engine results match.

Edge theory: where to be crisp, where to let go

Edges control focus and perceived polish. A house style can be drawn along three axes: geometric edges (the mesh), material edges (roughness/normals), and painterly edges (brush/comp). Decide which carries the emphasis. Stylized projects often prefer crisp silhouettes with generous interior softening; realistic projects accept imperfect silhouettes but demand accurate contact edges, chamfers, and occlusion. Establish an edge taxonomy: hero edge, contact edge, cast‑shadow edge, and atmospheric edge. Specify how many pixels a hero edge can bloom under common lighting, how much bevel width contact edges require at different scales, and how much atmospheric softening applies per kilometer at sea level. Include before/after examples that demonstrate the same asset at the approved edge treatment across lenses.

Palette architecture: hue roles, temperature splits, and state shifts

Color belongs to systems, not whims. Define base materials by spectral families (stone, wood, metal, soil, foliage, water) and assign hue and temperature ranges for each under direct sun and shade. Declare the world’s warm/cool split (e.g., warm light, cool shadows), then list exceptions (sodium vapor alleys, neon districts, polar dusk). Limit accent hues to a small set with specific jobs: navigation beacons, hazard codes, faction signatures. Provide LUTs or gradient maps per biome and a cross‑lighting chart that shows how palette holds under overcast, fog, and night. For stylized projects, tie saturation to narrative intensity; for realistic projects, keep saturation grounded in material albedo and push contrast through value and roughness first. Document color harmony per district so doors, awnings, signage, and flora cannot drift into visual noise.

Material doctrine: PBR ranges that match the style

Even graphic styles benefit from consistent physical hooks. Set allowable albedo, metalness, and roughness bands per material family and show “fresh/service/tired/failed” states with small, systemic shifts rather than random grunge. Stylized materials often widen roughness steps and simplify normal frequency; realistic materials narrow albedo variance and increase multiscale normal detail. Publish reference spheres in studio light and outdoor HDRIs that prove the doctrine. Tie aging rules to exposure masks (slope, aspect, flow) so wear appears where physics would put it regardless of fidelity level.

Lighting canon: sources, falloff, and volumetrics

Lighting style is half the look. Decide the shape and count of primary sources, how soft shadows run at common distances, and how volumetrics are used. Stylized projects may prefer visible light cones, simplified bounce, and controlled rim for characters; realistic projects may pursue plausible sun/sky models, accurate color temperatures, and restrained god‑rays. Provide a small kit of light prefabs with photometric notes or approximations (color temp, intensity, IES hint) and show them in a canonical test scene. Lock the fog equation (height fog vs. exponential) and the haze color per biome; publish example nights with approved contrast and specular management so rain and neon don’t blow out the value key.

Scale, tiling, and repetition limits

Codify the module sizes for brick, board, panel, curb, stair, railing, tree, and rock. Document maximum tile frequency before breakup is required and acceptable stochastic methods (per‑instance hue/roughness, world‑space macro tint, decal cadence, trim rules). Include pass/fail examples at three distances to stop debates later. For stylized work, state when patterning is allowed to be graphic (e.g., painted shingles) and when it must remain quasi‑natural; for realistic work, forbid graphic repeats in diegetic materials but allow rhythm in designed assemblies.

Brushwork and photobash policy

Painterly projects need explicit brush and texture rules. Define brush shapes, edge softness, and allowable texture overlays; show how to suggest foliage, water, cloud, and crowd without photo noise. When photobash is permitted, limit sources to those that match perspective and lighting; require repaint passes to unify edge and value language. Ban photographic text or face fragments in environments unless explicitly diegetic. Provide layered PSD templates with paper texture, vignette, line, and paint folders so juniors can adopt the house look quickly.

Composition cues: what every frame must do

Every approved concept should prove three reads: route clarity, focal hierarchy, and style compliance. Ask whether the composition uses the style’s shape language, keeps the defined value key, and respects palette roles. Require a grayscale pass and a color‑script pass per key location. Provide crop and bleed rules for in‑engine billboards, loading screens, and marketing so compositions survive format shifts.

Constraints as enablers: performance, kit count, and LOD

A style system is how you ship at scale. Set budget targets for draw calls, unique materials, and mesh variants per kit. Define the smallest viable kit for a district and how many swaps are allowed to prevent repetition. Specify LOD breakpoints and how style is preserved at distance: which edges remain crisp, which normals flatten, which decals persist. Lock particle density and post volumes per biome so rain, snow, and dust don’t break the value key or palette.

Cross‑team contracts: style + design + audio + VFX

Write joint rules where aesthetics meet gameplay. Navigation colors must not conflict with hazard codes; stealth shadow thresholds must be met by lighting presets; audio reverb volumes must reflect the edge and material doctrine; VFX brightness and hue must respect palette roles. Include a single “style compliance” checklist QA can run that spans art, design, audio, and VFX.

Deliverables: what the art bible must contain on day one

A one‑page style statement that names the spectrum position and cites three north‑star references. A shape grammar sheet per biome and faction. Value key charts for common times and weathers. Edge taxonomy with examples. Palette pages with swatches, LUTs, and harmony notes. Material doctrine with PBR bands and aging states. Lighting kits and canonical test scenes. Scale/tiling module sheet. Brush and photobash policy. Composition checklist. Performance targets and LOD rules. A living glossary that pins terms so “graphic” or “naturalistic” means the same thing to everyone.

Maintaining the bible as a living system

Styles drift unless guarded. Assign ownership, track version numbers, and review key images against the bible weekly. When the story demands an exception—neon in a naturalistic town, hyper‑gloss paint in a matte world—document the exception and its scope. Capture discoveries from production back into the bible: if a new shader trick solves rain speculars without breaking value, write it up and show before/after. Close the loop so concept and engine converge rather than diverge over time.

Case vignette: shifting from naturalistic to heightened for a boss arena

The project runs naturalistic mid‑key with cool shadows. For a late‑game arena, the bible allows a temporary shift to heightened: broader value range, saturated accents in a constrained hue family, sharper hero edges, and stronger rim light on characters. Materials keep their PBR bands but widen roughness separation for drama. Navigation beacons swap to a permitted event color. After the arena, the world returns to baseline. The bible logs this as an “event state” with a checklist so all teams execute consistently.

Final checklist

Does the bible tell a stranger how shapes, values, edges, and colors behave without you in the room? Can a concept prove compliance in grayscale and color before detailing? Do materials and lights have numeric bands, not vibes? Do repetition and LOD rules prevent late rework? Do cross‑team codes avoid conflict? If yes, you have a style system—portable, testable, and sturdy enough to carry a world from sketch to shipped.