Chapter 1: Genre Logic & Reference Scaffolds

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Genre Logic & Reference Scaffolds — Genre Toolkits for Character Concept Artists

Why Genre Logic Matters

Genre is not a costume rack; it’s a logic system that governs silhouette, materials, motifs, interaction loops, and camera context. When a project says “Fantasy” or “Cyberpunk,” it quietly specifies how characters source tools, signal status, solve problems, and occupy space. Reference scaffolds turn that implicit logic into explicit, reusable structure so both concepting and production artists can design quickly without guesswork. The goal is a toolkit: a compact set of principles, exemplars, and guardrails that lets you generate infinite variety while preserving coherence.

Building a Reference Scaffold (Works for Any Genre)

Start with a three‑tier scaffold:

  1. World Forces (Macro): Tech level, magic/science model, economy, religion/ideology, climate/biomes, and conflict vectors. These define believable constraints on materials and silhouette logic.
  2. Cultural Vectors (Meso): Factions, class systems, professions, rites, and taboos. These determine ornament, emblem systems, palette rails, and trim levels.
  3. Personal Stories (Micro): Role, skill, status, and recent history (injury, travel, scarcity). These drive wear, kit loadouts, and focal accents. Use this scaffold to assemble references in layers: museum plates for materials, ethnographic costume for construction logic, industrial catalogs for fasteners and trims, cinematography frames for camera/lighting, and shipped games/films for benchmark readability. Organize boards by function first, then flavor: e.g., “Belts—load‑bearing” precedes “Elven filigree belts.”

Cross‑Genre Style Dials (Shape, Edge, Value, Palette)

Regardless of setting, you can keep the cast coherent by tuning four dials:

  • Shape: How graphic vs anatomical are your megashapes? Where do you exaggerate proportion for role clarity?
  • Edge: Are silhouettes clean and iconic, or fractal and bristling? What bevel denominators fit your material logic?
  • Value: Are values grouped into two–three bands for readability, or are they naturalistic with subtle gradients? Where are the high‑contrast zones authorized (usually head/hands/insignia)?
  • Palette: What is the hue bandwidth per faction? Which temperatures signify status, tech, or magic? What emissive etiquette is allowed? Write these as numeric rails (ratios, bevel sizes, roughness ranges, HSV bounds) so production can reproduce the look.

Fantasy (High/Low) — Mythic Utility

Logic: Pre‑industrial to early‑industrial materials with metaphysical overlays (runic enchantment, divine blessing, alchemical dyes). Craft logic favors stitched, laced, riveted construction and forged metals; status is signaled through ornament density, dye rarity, and creature‑adjacent trims (scales, feathers, bone). Silhouette & Edge: Large heroic arcs, capes and skirts as mass multipliers, with localized hard edges on forged plates and weapon spines. Avoid micro‑gear clutter unless it serves a specific craft role (e.g., potion harness for an alchemist). Value & Palette: Group values to read under torchlight and overcast; concentrate contrast at face and heraldry. Palettes split by faction: nature‑aligned → earthy triads with saturated accents; arcane → jewel tones with metallic neutrals. Reference Scaffold: Historical armors (mail, brigandine, plate), open‑seam patterning from ethnographic garments, medieval guild tools, illuminated manuscripts for ornament grammar, and zoological references for creature materials. Include smithing/leatherwork processes to anchor wear patterns. Production Notes: Define cape simulation budgets, chainmail rendering strategy (tileable vs modeled), and emissive rules for runes (nit caps, hue lanes). Provide trim sheets for straps, bindings, and rivet lines.

Sci‑Fi — Hard (Plausible Industrial) vs Soft (Speculative Aesthetic)

Logic (Hard): Realistic aerospace/industrial constraints: pressure seals, radiation shielding, standardized fasteners, mass/power budgets. Logic (Soft): Narrative‑first plausibility: sleek monoforms, bio‑tech blends, expressive UI skins. Silhouette & Edge: Hard‑sci‑fi favors modular panels, readable access points, and consistent chamfer denominators; soft‑sci‑fi permits continuous hulls and morphic joints. Keep silhouettes legible from distant camera with distinct mass breaks at joints and equipment bays. Value & Palette: Hard‑sci‑fi uses value zoning by function (life support, mobility, tools) and hazard bands; soft‑sci‑fi allows smoother gradients and glow‑forward accents. Palettes track standards (NASA, ISO hazard hues) for hard; pastel neons and monochrome palettes appear in soft. Reference Scaffold: For hard—NASA/ESA suits, industrial catalogs, aircraft maintenance manuals, MIL‑STD symbology. For soft—automotive concept art, biomimetic structures, high‑fashion tech fabrics. Collect UI overlays, optical coatings, and additive manufacturing textures. Production Notes: Lock ORM packing and alloy roughness rails; define decal systems for warnings and IDs; specify anisotropy directions for brushed metals. Establish emissive etiquette and bloom thresholds to avoid UI collision.

Cyberpunk — Density with Purpose

Logic: Near‑future urban techno‑economies, body augmentation markets, corporate feudalism, and street‑level bricolage. Materials mix consumer plastics, carbon composites, LEDs, and weathered urban grit. Silhouette & Edge: Layered silhouette with asymmetrical kit—jackets, straps, devices—anchored by a clean megashape so the read survives signage noise. Edges alternate between graphic (corporate shells) and ragged (street mods). Value & Palette: City nights push low‑mid key with selective neon highlights. Use color to signal allegiance: corp = clean cools; street = warm improvised accents; netrunners = synthetic cyans/magentas. Limit emissive hue count; designate “quiet zones” on torso to avoid moiré under motion blur. Reference Scaffold: Techwear, motorcycle gear, industrial connectors, maker‑culture builds, surveillance hardware, and urban patina libraries (rust, stickers, grime). Collect contemporary street photography for wear logic and social signaling. Production Notes: Decal workflows for stickers/graffiti; trim sheets for zips, webbing, and edge binding; shader toggles for wet streets/rain. Document battery indicators and port glyphs so VFX/UI hooks align.

Historical — Authentic Construction, Cinematic Clarity

Logic: Period‑accurate materials, seam logic, fasteners, and patternmaking within a chosen date and region. Departures from accuracy should be deliberate and documented. Silhouette & Edge: Respect period silhouettes (e.g., 16th‑century doublet bulk, 19th‑century military tunics) while staging edges to read in modern cameras. Avoid anachronistic seam placements or closures. Value & Palette: Natural dyes and period pigments impose narrower hue ranges and faster fading. Group values by garment layer (shift → outerwear) for readability. Reference Scaffold: Museum databases, extant garments, archaeological finds, treatises (e.g., Alcega’s tailoring), and military uniform plates. Record stitch types, grain direction, and material availability by region. Production Notes: Provide pattern logic callouts for 3D construction, document weathering consistent with regional climate, and set palette rails based on dye technology of the era. Include lawful insignia and rank systems.

Horror — Threat Perception and Vulnerability Index

Logic: Horror manipulates the viewer’s threat model through silhouette ambiguity, uncanny materials, and violation of bodily norms. Gear is either inadequate (victims) or ritualistic (antagonists). Silhouette & Edge: Exploit lost‑and‑found edges, unnatural joint lengths, and asymmetry. For victims, keep silhouettes fragile and breathable; for creatures, inject dissonant edge families (soft tissue interrupted by sharp chitin). Value & Palette: High control of local contrast—reserve spikes near the face/teeth/claws; compress elsewhere to let darkness breathe. Palettes lean cold desaturation with surgical accents (iodine reds, antiseptic greens). Reference Scaffold: Forensic pathology, surgical tools, entomology, fungal growths, religious paraphernalia, and survival gear. Study cinematography of darkness (Practical FX, bounce cards, rim logic) to place highlights sparingly. Production Notes: Define gore/shock boundaries for ratings; set roughness/spec rules for wet vs dry surfaces; create decal kits for drips/splatters with distance falloff so gameplay readability remains.

Post‑Apocalyptic — Scarcity Engineering

Logic: Material scarcity, salvage culture, modular repair. Function rules aesthetics: fasteners are mismatched; textiles are re‑cut; armor is improvised. The economy is calories, water, and ammunition. Silhouette & Edge: Layered, bulk added at protection zones (forearms, shins, chest), but maintain a clean base silhouette so upgrades remain readable. Edges turn from soft to jagged where scrap armor or rebar inserts appear. Value & Palette: Sun‑blasted mid‑low key with dusty highlights. Palette pulls from oxidized metals, denim, tarps, faded plastics—one accent color per character to avoid rainbow kitsch. Reference Scaffold: Utility workwear, agricultural gear, vehicle salvage, camping surplus, and field repairs. Gather knot systems, binding methods, and improvised harnesses. Map regional salvage (desert vs coastal vs urban). Production Notes: Trim sheets for straps/patches, decal kits for hazard tape and serials, procedural dirt layering tied to biome. Define upgrade tiers that add silhouette mass predictably for LOD and animation.

Whimsical — Coherence Through Play Rules

Logic: Playful logic with simplified construction and exaggerated narrative motifs. Materials are “truthy” rather than realistic: frosting‑like cloth, gummy plastics, friendly metals. Physics bends toward comedic timing. Silhouette & Edge: Big megashapes, minimal interior seam noise, rounded edges with occasional crisp accents on candy‑like hard surfaces. Motion arcs are clear; props scale to joke timing. Value & Palette: Mid‑high key with narrow value steps; contrast clustered at expression and key props. Palettes favor harmonies with one pop accent. Reference Scaffold: Children’s book illustration, toy design, theme‑park fabrication, stop‑motion maquettes. Capture manufacturing logic of toys (matte vs glossy sections, mold lines) to cue “play.” Production Notes: Keep bevel sizes large to avoid shimmer; clamp specular to friendly highlights; restrict emissive use; standardize squash‑and‑stretch ranges for rigs.

Mixed‑Genre Projects — Braiding Logics

Many games braid genres (e.g., Historical + Fantasy, Sci‑Fi + Horror). The trick is to assign each pillar to a domain: construction logic from pillar A, palette/lighting from pillar B, and motif/ornament from pillar C. State the hierarchies so teams don’t mix everything everywhere. Example: “Historical construction (seams, fasteners), Fantasy motifs (runes, creatures), Horror lighting (lost edges, wet specular only in focal zones).”

Research Ethics and Avoiding Trope Traps

Use primary sources where possible, credit living cultures accurately, and avoid “exoticism” shortcuts. When referencing marginalized groups, consult sensitivity readers and steer ornament toward function and story specificity rather than generic clichés. Build why into every motif—what does it do, who made it, how is it maintained—so designs transcend surface tropes.

From Concepting to Production: Making the Toolkit Real

Concepting Side: Lead with lineup tests under target camera and LUT. Offer two extremes and a median per genre pillar so directors can set fenceposts. Provide callouts for construction logic, palette rails, and edge families. Avoid over‑texturing paintovers; keep materials clear for PBR handoff. Production Side: Convert rails into numeric specs: bevel denominators, roughness bands, texel density targets, emissive caps. Build trim sheets and decal libraries aligned to each genre’s fasteners, stitches, panel edges, and signage. Add distance audits to every final sheet and run deformation tests on exaggerated silhouettes.

Common Failure Modes and Fixes

  • Genre Salad: Random mash‑ups with no hierarchy. Fix: Assign domain ownership per pillar (construction, palette, motif, lighting) and stick to it.
  • Museum‑Perfect but Gameplay‑Weak: Over‑accurate detail that kills read. Fix: Group values, simplify edges on non‑focal zones, and enlarge emblem language.
  • Neon Everywhere (Cyberpunk/Whimsical): Emissive noise drowns forms. Fix: Cap emissive hues and brightness; cluster glows near the focal triangle.
  • Greeble Creep (Sci‑Fi/Post‑Apoc): Micro‑detail blankets the silhouette. Fix: Remove 30–40% micro frequency; move interest to interior planes and key props.
  • Palette Drift: Factions lose identity across biomes. Fix: Establish HSV rails per biome overlay; maintain faction temperatures.

Practice Drills

  • Pick one base body and generate five genre variants using the same L/M/S silhouette plan; only change construction logic, edge families, and palette rails.
  • Build a function‑first reference board for “fasteners” across genres (toggles, ties, rivets, snaps, mag‑locks); design three belts that would plausibly exist in Fantasy, Hard Sci‑Fi, and Post‑Apoc.
  • Do a distance audit at 128 px and 512 px for a cyberpunk jacket with decals; remove any decal that doesn’t survive the audit.

Final Thought

Genres are engines for decision‑making, not cages. With a solid reference scaffold and clear style dials—shape, edge, value, and palette—you can explore deeply within Fantasy, Sci‑Fi, Cyberpunk, Historical, Horror, Post‑Apoc, and Whimsical without losing cohesion or production velocity. Treat each toolkit as a living spec: test in camera, codify what works, and keep the rails tight enough that every new character looks born of the same world.