Chapter 4: Production Constraints 101

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Production Constraints 101 (Metrics, Cameras, Ratings, Performance)

Why Constraints Are Part of the Design

Costume concept art is not only about taste and narrative; it is also an engineering negotiation. Metrics, cameras, ratings, and performance constraints become design inputs as real as fabric choice or silhouette. Whether you operate on the concepting side (exploring possibilities) or the production side (locking manufacturable truth), your pages must encode these constraints so downstream teams can build once and build right. In indie, constraints keep scope survivable; in AAA, they keep hundreds of assets coherent across platforms and years of live‑ops.

Metrics: Bodies, Garments, and World Scale

Body Metrics. Anchor your costume to studio body standards: standing height, shoulder width, head scale, hand span, and hip breadth per body type. Encode these on your orthos with proportion bars and a mini table of key lengths (e.g., cape hem at –6 cm from knee; gauntlet end at +30 mm from ulnar styloid). Create relative rules (“no element exceeds shoulder width by x%”) to survive future body‑type swaps.

Garment Metrics. Specify seam placements, panel widths, dart depths, and closure spacing with callouts. Mark collision radii around elbows, knees, hips, and weapon arcs. State maximum cape length for sprint, slit depth for lunge, and backpack depth allowed before camera occlusion. Use consistent tokens (CAPE_LEN_RUN, SLIT_DEPTH_CROUCH) so rigging and cloth sim can script checks.

World Scale. Note the studio’s meter scale and texel density targets (e.g., 512 px/m for NPC, 1024 px/m for hero) so trims, plaids, and stitch density don’t alias. Provide a swatch square at 1:1 scale on the page. When patterns repeat across variants, show their scale ladder (S/M/L) bound to camera usage.

Cameras: Where Costumes Live on Screen

Primary POV. First‑person places the camera behind hands and forearms; third‑person prioritizes full silhouette; isometric compresses detail and values. Your silhouette sheet should include one thumbnail per camera with the costume posed as typically seen (sprint, aim, idle turn).

Occlusion Management. Headgear can block reticles; pauldron height can hide UI; hanging ornaments can strobe in motion blur. Add a camera cone diagram to the ortho indicating no‑go volumes. For capes and coats, provide “state flips” (e.g., clasp at belt during sprint) and mark the logic in callouts.

Iconography. UI needs a reliable crop—shoulder‑up or bust‑up—with rank trims visible. Design a mini icon crop on your silhouette page to ensure the design remains identifiable when reduced to HUD scale.

Lighting & Post. HDR blooms and strong rim lights can kill subtle values. Include a night/fog test and a bloom test thumbnail to verify trim readability and emissive discipline (what glows, what never does).

Ratings & Cultural Compliance: Guardrails for Content

Content Ratings. Costumes influence age ratings through exposure, gore affordances, and suggestive silhouettes. Define coverage zones (torso, thigh, midriff) and write callouts for “no bare skin” or “no puncture‑friendly spikes” if applicable. Replace sharp language with readable but blunt shapes when a region is sensitive.

Cultural Respect. Encode taboos and provenance in your motif sheets. Note forbidden symbol proximities and mandatory attributions for textile inspirations. Leave a slot on each page for provenance notes and a link to cleared references. Compliance is faster when it’s visible at the art level.

Performance: Budgets You Design With

Material & Shader Budget. Fewer unique materials and simpler shaders reduce draw calls. Group costume surfaces into a minimal set (BASE_CLOTH, LEATHER_ACCENT, METAL_TRIM, EMISSIVE_PIPING). In AAA, include expected shader models and a micro‑detail scale note (“herringbone at 0.7–1.0 mm apparent width at 1 m”). In indie, prefer one versatile cloth shader plus a shared trim sheet.

LOD & Geo Complexity. Design silhouette baffles that survive LOD collapse. Mark which accessories can disappear first and where to bake detail into normals. Suggest merge points (belt+satchels to single shell at LOD2). Call out maximum triangle budgets if your studio uses them.

Cloth Sim & Physics. Every flappy element is a budget line. Limit unique simmed pieces; use interfacing (stiff edges) where “crisp” is art‑critical; bias cuts for controlled drape. Add a “Sim Philosophy” box: what is simmed, what is skinned, what is faked in shader. Indie pipelines often skin cloaks with hand‑authored secondary motion; AAA separates hero sim layers from background NPC presets.

Animation Cost. Long hems, high shoulders, and dangling straps create corrective‑shape churn. Provide mobility diagrams over run/turn/jump thumbnails and specify bone anchors for harnesses. Note weights for foley/audio (cloth rustle vs. plate clink) so SFX aligns with material truth.

Overdraw & VFX. Transparent fabrics, particle‑heavy gadgets, and emissive glows increase overdraw. Reserve transparency for localized areas and avoid layered veils in busy scenes. Note VFX handoff strips (where beams, auras, or cooldown glows attach) to centralize cost.

Indie vs AAA: Different Shapes of the Same Problem

Indie. Constrain systems: one trim sheet for a faction, two palette lanes, and minimal sim. Deliverables compress: a single page can host silhouette proof, ortho, and breakdown with a compact risk ledger. Prioritize reuse and speed to final.

AAA. External vendors, multiple platforms, and licensers require deeper documentation: per‑LOD notes, shader parameter ranges, cloth profiles, and compliance checkboxes. Expect more gates—performance review, ratings/legal review, marketing review—and plan time for each.

Deliverables That Encode Constraints

Silhouette Sheet. Include distance thumbnails and a HUD‑crop. Mark occlusion risks and role telegraphy.

Turnarounds (Orthos). Add measurement bars, seam/closure logic, camera no‑go cones, cape/hem limits, and anchor points. Include body‑type variants if the costume travels across rigs.

Material & Mobility Breakdown. List material tokens, shader expectations, GSM proxies, micro‑pattern scales, and deform vs. rigid zones. Provide a “state map” for sprint, aim, crouch (what locks down, what opens).

Callout Layer. Capture performance and compliance decisions: draw‑call targets, emissive policy, transparency limits, rating‑sensitive coverage zones, and cultural provenance notes.

Variant Pack. Define allowed swaps (palette, trims, accessories) and identity anchors that never change. Mark which variant pieces can be non‑sim, non‑emissive for performance.

Collaboration Map: Who Owns What Constraint

  • Game Design: Role telegraphy vs. mechanic truth; approves no‑false‑promise silhouettes.
  • Tech Art: Shader/material budget, draw calls, LOD merge policy; signs off on trim/ID strategy.
  • Rigging/Tech Anim: Deformation lines, anchor points, corrective shape risks; cape/hem tolerances.
  • Cloth Sim: Profiles, constraints, and the sim/skinned/faked split; validates “Sim Philosophy.”
  • Animation: Motion arcs, strap clearance, weight portrayal; needs mobility diagrams.
  • Materials/Lookdev: Reflectance targets, micro‑detail scale, wear maps; ensures “too plastic/too matte” loops end.
  • Lighting/VFX: Emissive discipline, rim read, overdraw control; approves glow/FX attach points.
  • UI/UX: Icon crops, color‑blind safety, rank trims; confirms HUD harmony.
  • Audio: Foley cues based on material truth; asks for soft/hard zones.
  • QA/Performance: Stress scenes, pattern strobe, occlusion; uses your risk ledger to build test plans.
  • Ratings/Legal/Cultural: Coverage, weapon affordances, motif clearance; checks your compliance box.
  • Production/Outsource: Estimation, file hygiene, versioning; consumes your manifest and naming.
  • Marketing/Licensing: Print‑safe palettes, figure stand stability, trailer shots; relies on silhouette integrity.

Checklists You Can Paste Into Your Page

Performance Quick Check

  • ≤ 4 unique materials on base
  • Emissive trims limited; color temps listed
  • Transparency localized; no stacked veils
  • LOD2 merge points identified; accessory culling order listed
  • Simmed layers ≤ 2 (hero) / ≤ 1 (NPC)

Camera & Readability Quick Check

  • HUD crop verified
  • Distance thumbnails pass 50‑pixel test
  • Night/fog/bloom thumbnails included
  • Headgear/pauldron clear reticle/UI

Ratings & Cultural Quick Check

  • Coverage zones annotated
  • Spike/edge language compliant
  • Provenance and taboo list present

Tests That Save Schedules

  • 50/50/5 Test: 50 px distant read, 50% zoom mid‑range, 5‑second glance.
  • Grayscale Collapse: Remove hue; confirm form/value hierarchy.
  • Motion Thumbnail: Lines for cape/strap behavior over run/turn/jump.
  • Map Camouflage: Drop costume over worst‑case map palettes to test visibility.

Definition of Done (Constraint‑Aware)

A costume is “constraint‑done” when: (1) silhouette passes distance and HUD tests; (2) orthos encode seam/closure logic and camera no‑go zones; (3) material breakdown lists shader tokens, GSM proxies, and micro‑scale; (4) callouts document performance, ratings, and cultural decisions; (5) variant pack locks identity anchors and cost‑aware swaps; and (6) the collaboration map shows owners for each open risk with review dates.

Troubleshooting Patterns

  • UI Occlusion: Lower or bevel pauldrons; cut headgear brim; move emblems away from HUD crop.
  • Pattern Strobe: Enlarge plaid; rotate weave; prefer twill over check for motion zones.
  • Overdraw Spikes: Replace gauze with opaque insert; remove nested veils; reduce emissive halo size.
  • Sim Churn: Add interfacing; shorten hems; convert tassels to animated cards.
  • Rating Surprise Late: Add modesty under‑layer; round spikes; remove gore‑implying elements.

Final Note for Concepting and Production

Treat constraints as creative rails. When you show how the costume reads, moves, and performs before it’s built, every team moves faster. Build your pages so that constraints are visible, testable, and signed. Do this in indie to ship at all; do it in AAA to ship at scale—and in both to ship with your intent intact.