Game Studies - Packaging Design

 To start the design I needed to measure out and create a box net. The measurements were carefully considered, taking into account the measurements of the game board when folded into four sections. The storage of game components such as dice and tokens was also taken into consideration. The guides were drawn on a separate layer, using the guide and hard brush tools.



I had a composition in mind for the illustrations on the cover of the box. Splitting the illustration up in my head I was able to give myself manageable tasks. The illustration of Luke was produced first, on a separate layer. Using the soft round brush on a low opacity with shape dynamics allowed me to sketch out the pose of the character.

Using the pose sketch as a guide I began to add detail to the sketch on a new layer. Using a soft round brush with shape dynamics makes the process seem much like a pencil and paper sketch. At this part of the process some care is taken to attain the correct proportions for the character.

 Once the detail guide sketch was complete it was easy to complete a detailed sketch illustration on a new layer over the top of this, using the detail sketch as a guide. I am fairly happy with the way that the sketch turned out.

 Employing a similar method of building up sketch detail in separate layers I then completed the rest of the illustration.

 Block colour was added on separate layers underneath the sketch layers. At this point I also added a hexagon pattern, which I believe brings the packaging design in line with the game board design.

 As it is a Star Wars board game, of course there should be stars. I achieved this by using a round brush preset with the scattering option checked. It was then just a matter of brushing across the box net, creating the star effect that you see here.

 Once all of the elements were in place I brought in the logo design that I had created. I went through many iterations of this logo design before finally deciding on this one. Duplicating the layer and flipping them into position on the box net seemed to complete the package design. It is worth noting that any typography should be rasterized before sending for print, the print company may not have the specific or custom typography that you have used.

 Upon second inspection I decided that the design was more appealing with only the sketched illustration displayed. This was achieved by inverting the black line work that I had created, turning off the block colour layers. This decision was reached by the team as a whole.




In conclusion I believe that the design is very strong and similar to that which could be seen in a store. I would have liked to have completed a full colour concept for the illustrations on the packaging but time constraints forbid it.