Chapter 2: Deliverable Types

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Deliverable Types for Prop Concept Artists — Silhouettes, Orthos, Exploded, Callouts, Paintovers, Skins

Prop concept art is communication under production pressure. The deliverables you choose—and how clearly you package them—determine whether teams can act without guessing. This article explains the core deliverable types used across indie and AAA pipelines, what problems each one solves, and how they fit into collaboration and review. It treats both sides of the discipline equally: the concepting side that explores and proposes, and the production side that specifies and maintains.

Silhouettes: testing identity and distance reads

Silhouette sheets exist to decide who the prop is before you decide what the prop looks like up close. They solve the distance‑read problem and prevent expensive detail on the wrong shape. In practice, you design large and mid‑scale massing with clear negative space, then validate the read at target game distances. A good silhouette sheet includes multiple scale contexts so the team can sense comparative size. For interaction props, include one or two high‑contrast internal shapes that foreshadow affordances without locking details too early. In AAA pipelines, silhouette passes are often batched for an entire kit so an art director can approve a grammar of cuts, chamfers, and radii. In indie pipelines, silhouettes may be embedded into quick paintovers on greybox screenshots to accelerate sign‑off. The outcome of a silhouette sheet is a decision about form identity; until that decision is made, later deliverables only create rework.

Orthos and turnarounds: locking proportion and build intent

Orthographic views convert an approved idea into a buildable contract. They lock proportion, relative scale, and contact geometry so modeling can begin with confidence. Front, side, top, and a rear view are standard, with an isometric or perspective key if necessary to clarify trickier intersections. Use a consistent unit grid and a known world scale so level artists can predict fit and designers can verify reach and clearance. Keep lines clean and prioritize readability over style; don’t bury edge intent in painterly noise. If the prop contains moving parts, include alt orthos for each major state so hinges, guide rails, and clearances are explicit. In AAA settings, turnarounds often include dimension ticks, datum references, and mesh group hints for LOD boundaries. In indie settings, a crisp ortho with a short caption can replace heavy documentation, especially if the same person will model. The definition of done for orthos is simple: a modeler can produce a correct blockout without follow‑up questions.

Exploded views: explaining assembly and maintenance

Exploded views solve the comprehension gap between exterior shell and internal logic. They reveal part relationships, fasteners, and serviceable elements so modeling, rigging, and VFX understand hierarchy and access. Space parts along believable axes rather than scattering them randomly; show the order in which they assemble so animation can choreograph teardown and repair beats. Use simple leader lines or part balloons keyed to a legend that lists part names and intended materials. If the prop will be skinned into multiple themes, note which parts are stable chassis and which are decorative overlays. For physics or gameplay props, mark mass‑bearing components and any sacrificial elements that should break first. Exploded views are where you prevent later guesswork and ensure that micro‑details align with plausible manufacture and service.

Callouts: the language for cross‑discipline handoff

Callouts are the thread that ties drawings to production reality. They label materials, finishes, decals, tolerances, and interaction logic in plain language that each partner discipline can parse. Good callouts are short, specific, and scoped. A material callout specifies not only “brushed aluminum” but also anisotropy direction, roughness range, and where wear concentrates. An interaction callout marks hinge axes, detent positions, and safe‑fail behavior. A VFX callout indicates emission origins, heat zones, and venting direction. An audio callout lists contact materials and events, such as latch click, gasket hiss, or ratchet ticks. A tech art callout might define mask packing, vertex color conventions, and trim usage expectations. In AAA, callouts often include text‑bearing graphics in editable layers with font guidance and localization notes so nothing ships as baked, uneditable raster. In indie, callouts may be terse to save time, but should still name parts consistently so source files and model groups match the sheet.

Paintovers: last‑mile correction and engine truthing

Paintovers are the fastest way to align the idealized concept with reality under game lighting, camera, and clutter. They solve the “it looked fine in the concept but fails in engine” problem. Take in‑engine screenshots at gameplay distance and perform targeted adjustments: enlarge an interaction zone, simplify a noisy panel, reserve a value band, or move a decal out of a hot AO pocket. Paintovers also drive late decisions on VFX, grime, and edge wear in context. For characters interacting with props, paintover hand placement and motion arcs so animation can tweak poses and environment art can adjust clearances. In AAA, paintovers are routine at each gate—first playable, lighting lock, and polish—often captured in review tools with side‑by‑side diffs. In indie, a single well‑aimed paintover can avert a day of guesswork by the person who is both modeling and integrating.

Skins and variants: repeatable identity at scale

Skin and variant guides make one prop feel like many while preserving performance and readability. They specify what can change—color bands, decals, limited silhouette add‑ons—and what must remain stable—core massing, interaction zones, and anchor radii. A good guide includes a neutral base, two or three tonal variations, a faction or brand set, and at least one hero theme that demonstrates how far style can stretch without breaking function. For shader‑driven pipelines, document mask IDs, channel packing, and material parameters with example sliders. For decal systems, provide vector artwork and placement rules, including occlusion and edge‑bleed safety. Consider accessibility and color‑blind safety when using status colors; combine chroma with shape language or emissive patterns so meaning survives. In AAA, skin systems often tie into monetization or live‑ops constraints and therefore demand stricter rules and naming. In indie, skins may be handcrafted per prop; even then, a simple grammar will prevent visual drift across the project.

Roles across indie and AAA: same goals, different cadence

Both indie and AAA pipelines need the same deliverables, but the cadence and depth change. Indie teams benefit from compact, multi‑purpose sheets that advance exploration and specification simultaneously. A single page can carry a small silhouette set, an ortho trio, and the first round of callouts. The same artist may sketch, model, and paintover, so communication is tight and decisions are informal but fast. AAA teams separate ideation, specification, and validation to scale across many hands, including external vendors. Here, silhouette packets, ortho packs, exploded assemblies, and skin guides are versioned, reviewed, and distributed through a production system. The concept artist’s job is not to produce more art for its own sake, but to produce the right artifacts in the right order so dozens of people can act without waiting.

Collaboration map: who needs what and when

Design needs silhouettes early to test verbs and silhouettes again after paintovers to confirm that the object reads quickly during play. Environment art needs orthos with anchor dimensions and ground contact conventions so props snap cleanly to surfaces and kits tile without surprises. Modeling needs orthos first and exploded views second, with clear part naming and mesh grouping that mirror callout labels. Animation needs state diagrams and motion arcs derived from orthos and exploded views so doors clear, latches travel plausibly, and hands land on believable grips. VFX needs emission points, venting paths, destruction seams, and timing beats painted over engine captures. Audio needs material lists and interaction event markers so foley and UI cues can be mapped to real actions. Tech art needs trim usage plans, mask packing schemes, texel density targets, and LOD intentions. UI and localization need editable text graphics with character limits and fallback fonts. QA needs the definition of done attached to each prop so test cases for readability, interaction, and performance are unambiguous.

Packaging and hygiene: files, naming, and versioning

Deliverables succeed or fail on their metadata. Use consistent file names that encode project, kit, prop, state, and version so search and automation can work. Keep live PSDs layered with logical groups—silhouette, ortho, exploded, paintover—and flatten only what must be frozen for vendor packs. Embed legends and small captions directly on sheets so screenshots survive file detachment. Where possible, mirror concept part names inside the modeling scene hierarchy and in texture set names so callouts, meshes, and materials always agree. In AAA, version control and ticket IDs tie deliverables to review gates; in indie, a simple changelog inside the sheet can prevent confusion months later. The goal is traceability, not bureaucracy.

From brief to bundle: a practical sequence

A practical sequence starts with silhouettes to secure identity, then orthos to lock build, then exploded views to reveal assembly, then callouts to instruct partners, then initial paintovers to align with engine truth, and finally a skin guide when multiplicity is required. At each step, ask whether the next team can act without you in the room. If the answer is no, the deliverable is incomplete. Keep loops short by validating early in engine when possible; a ten‑minute greybox test can save a week of rework. Measure progress by decisions made, not by the number of images produced.

Quality bars and common failure modes

Common failures include silhouettes that rely on micro‑detail, orthos that drift in proportion between views, exploded views that float parts without expressing assembly order, callouts that romanticize materials instead of quantifying ranges, paintovers that fight the lighting model instead of collaborating with it, and skins that break interaction hierarchy or drown a prop in noise. The cure is to return to intent: what question does this sheet answer for which partner, and can they act on it now? A deliverable is strong when it removes ambiguity at the lowest possible cost.

Career perspective: mastering the kit

A prop concept artist becomes invaluable when they can tailor deliverable weight to project scale. In indie, that means lean, readable bundles that move the whole pipeline forward in days. In AAA, it means rigorous, scalable artifacts that hundreds of assets can follow without drift. In both, the value lies in sequencing decisions and keeping the promises of readability, interaction, and story under real constraints. When your deliverables make other people’s work easier and faster, your influence grows—and your props become the quiet heroes of the world.