You’ll notice that the role of an LA is a more focused position than that of an Environment Artist. Your attention as an LA is on the big picture, and working from a much broader perspective, constantly keeping the whole environment in mind. Because the role is more specialized, you have a team to help support you, who all contribute to the vision set out for your level, and ultimately its success as a great gameplay experience. For example, you may have a Lighter to handle the mood, and create contrast through lighting, and an asset team of Modelers and Texture Artists to support your levels specific needs or visual themes with meshes and materials. Whereas an Environment Artist is typically tasked with all of these job families throughout the duration of the project.

Visual Harmony

I think visual harmony comes from a clear and well communicated set of pillars and visual themes. Something that each member of the team can get behind and use as a guide to ensure a coherent look is achieved throughout the world. All elements of which should complement or contrast one another in such a way that exemplifies the look or feel a director is trying to pinpoint. This can be initially set out by identifying key tenets or principles to use as guides for the team. Such as color palettes for mood or factions, and forms or shape language for their architecture, objects, and garb.

I think the process becomes more complex if the title’s goal is realism. Even though you can lean on real life references for things such as time period, styles of architecture, objects and their function or role in that society. Ultimately you have to absolutely nail that look and feel of that time period if the general public has any recollection of how it should look. If the time period is not well known, like that of Far Cry Primal. Then you are able to take more creative liberties.

I believe that in order to keep the level visually interesting, you have to set the stage for the player to have moments of awe, which are full of emotional appeal or charged with excitement. Working with a great team to create a fantastic reveal focused around a narrative beat that trails off into a stunning background vista. Package that with context and function, to tell a story of how that space came to be. Then you are hitting a lot of the keys to keeping a space interesting to a player. But you may only have a few of these moments throughout any particular level. Other non-essential / non-golden path areas also deserve love and attention, and while you work on those, you are constantly keeping in mind all of those principles I’ve mentioned already, they just carry less wow factor, but still hit on all the key pillars set out by the Art Director. An LA’s goal at the end of the day is to have a consistent level of ‘pretty’ across the board.