Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Builders Discuss Topic 5: Presentation and Aesthetics

Tags: #Builders Discuss 
  • January 10, 2017

    Lol, forgive me, if I do not have the best answer here. But, to be honest, I am still trying to sort my own shit out with regard to my preferred aesthetic.  I am curious to see what I do as I build more and while I think I have a "mark" to my builds, they all look very different from each other. I started off with pretty standard formatting with headings and little icons, but with the Outsider, I go for more somber, grey tones and abandon traditional headings, choosing instead to use quotes and poetry to dovetail into sections. And with my Arch-Atronach, I am going for a cheesy, retro almost Oblivionesque vibe with heavy color saturation. I'm also on a border kick right now, whereas my first two builds didn't feature image borders at all.  Who knows what I'll do later. I can't predict it with any certainty. Right now, I'm having a great time just messing around with PowerPoint and paint.net. 

    Regardless of my own aesthetic, however, what I really try to do across the board, and what I encourage fellow builders to do,  is attempt to match the art and aesthetic of the build to the character of the build being presented. Everything from image selection to color scheme to font to borders. For me, a lot of thought goes into that process, so much so that I've abandoned entire art concepts for builds, some to the point of near-completion, and have started all over again because I wasn't satisfied.  For me, this is the most important. I can forgive a lot, because, let's all be frank, we don't all have the same aesthetic.  This is great, because if everybody's builds looked exactly the same, it would be shit boring in CB, now wouldn't it? :D That being said, a build's art and aesthetic needs to make sense with regard to the build that is being presented. It's like having a build based on a Redguard dualist and then bam, you put a picture of a Bosmer archer up there. Or you're trying to do a very zen build, like how Vargr's Rito'rishaj'iit was and then slap my Exterminator arts on it, and not just the Dwemer pictures. That's not what I mean. I mean the lettering, the colors, the types of images. His build would look terrible with that look. Likewise, put the steamlined look on the Exterminator and you lose the symbolic meaning behind the play with shapes and geometry that is the essence of Dwemer aesthetic.

    Those are my thoughts on the matter.

    I have a question though. We are in our second month of these topics already and we have a slew of topics on our list to cover, but I forgot that Writer's Discuss often had topics based on suggestions. Is there a topic you all would like to see covered in this series?  

     

  • January 11, 2017

    You bring up a good point Liss about making the presentation fit the character of the build.  This is something that I aspire to in my builds, more so of late as i experiment with powerpoint.  But I try to pick images that fit the feel of my build and a font that suits the character.  At the same time i tend toward a spartan aesthic and try to keep things simple and clean.  First because of technical limitation and second because I simply don't have the skill of other presenters like yourself and Noodles, whose builds are dynamic without feeling busy or overdone.  (If that makes sense)  I think some builders fall short of that balance and end up with builds that look like image dumps, or they start off great but then end with a wall of text.  If i'm honest I think i've been guilty of both in some of my older builds.

    I would also like to second Lissette's suggestion.  The major point of this series is to help builders share strategies and methods so that we all can improve the quality of our work.  So if there is a topic you would like to discuss please let us know.

  • Member
    January 11, 2017

    I do not have the best answer either, the presentation is important, yes,  some are better at it than others, examples include Lissette, and Noodles, there are others but I want to keep this short, I personally am crap at it, now am I at a disadvantage because of that? no of course not, spelling and grammar are also important, but what I don't like is loads of unnecessary pictures that just bog down the build and spoil it somewhat, this is clearly not the case with the two aforementioned but is with others, its all down to personal taste with both builder and reader.

  • Member
    January 12, 2017
    Formatting is why I don't have at least seven builds on this site rather than zero. I quit every time for fear of having something I worked hard on get the axe because of a lack of stock photos or the right font color. You guys are intimidating, and I have negative talent when it comes to making things look pretty.
  • Member
    January 13, 2017
    Mercurias, you should have a look at Henson's builds.
  • January 13, 2017

    Mercurias said: Formatting is why I don't have at least seven builds on this site rather than zero. I quit every time for fear of having something I worked hard on get the axe because of a lack of stock photos or the right font color. You guys are intimidating, and I have negative talent when it comes to making things look pretty.

    Mercurias, don't worry about the ax, we put it into storage.  If your still nervous about presenting you could always post it first in the Workshop to get some feedback on your build before publishing it in Skyrim CB.

  • Member
    January 14, 2017

    I feel a bit guilty contributing to these as I am definitely not what anyone would call a builder. The majority of the things I have built are no longer even memories, which is partly why I have never been that vocal in this discussion series. However this one aspect, presentation, resonates in me and has since it was posted.

    I joined after a few months of lurking. In late 2012 I went on holiday and for the life of me I can't remember where it was I went. Prague, think. Hell, I forget. No, it was Prague. Yet I do remember coming home and logging onto theskyrimblog.com to re-read Paul England's Swordthane. I had bookmarked that and No snake's Demonhunter and it was those two which led to my arrival on the site. Indeed, my first post was to say thank you in Paul E's build.

    That little anecdote serves the purpose of providing the road to my point. His style imprinted on me and by and large informed my own up and coming approach to building: Text, picture, text, picture, the end. At that time more and more builders were incorporating images like perkspreads and icons next to skills, but it wasn't exactly mainstream. Taking a look now at The Swordthane and The Demonhunter you would all probably agree that to dismiss these builds as being not aesthetically pleasing does them a huge disservice. They are legendary builds not for the way the builders present images but the way they use the images contained to bring the spirit of their work to life.

    To me that was massive back then. What little digital art skills I have were only learned in the last twelve months. These builders didn't have the incredible Photoshopping talents of Mason yet still carved their place in the competitive world of CB by virtue of the content and spirit their builds possessed. One didn't need to be an artist to be a builder back then, all that was required was passion and good friends to bounce ideas off. Even Paul E's most recent builds don't conform to any particular standard other than Paul's own style yet the builds he produced, and hopefully will do again, are all so well received.

    As I developed I adopted the practice of using skill icons next to chosen perks, and weapon/armour pictures next to the equipment sections, but one thing I never did was feel a desire to incorporate perkspreads. I am confident I could do it now, back then I couldn't, but I still cannot get over my distaste of them. The most perfect way of ruining a picture is to slap a perkspread on them. I wish I could say that distaste was born out of a thought process, but likely it is the result of pride and my failure to learn what was an increasingly fashionable trend at the time. Whatever the reason, that feeling has never left me. Perkspreads do not excite me.

    That is not to say I don't appreciate them, mind, but for me sometimes words say more than a thousand pictures. If the pictures are used to enhance the words and can tell the same story without the need for text, then both major aspects of the build are singing the same song. That is the snake-charming skill of the best builders.