Anyone know good tactics to creating a solid graphic design for a game?

Hello artists! I am a programmer looking to make some game thumbnails for petville.
I am certified in Photoshop and work well with Illustrator as well.
Anyone know specific steps to creating a solid graphic thumbnail?
Thanks in advance.

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pose your rig and any background details in roblox studio, save it as an obj, open it in blender and render it with fitting lighting, after that, you can open up photoshop and edit all the stuff you need. This is what I did personally at least.

  • Search for references. Look for games that have a style that you like and try to change it so it fits your needs. I’m not telling you to copy someone’s thumbnail, but taking inspiration.
  • Make some sketches on paper. Hand drawing is ussually easier and faster while you can make thousands of them.
  • Take the main idea of your game, try to make a graphic representation of that idea and play with it until you get what you want.

I use all those methods in my everyday work.

When you have completed your game, look for shots that you might love to see on your favourite game.

Does it match with your game’s theme?
Does it give off “Petville” Vibes?
It is your original? Can it be branded to your game?

So… How do we answer these questions?

GFX, hand drawn , vector, 3D… There’s many styles out there. Choose one to implement as your game design. How about GFX as an example? Next, choose a color palette… Example, Orange and blue?

After deciding these, you will find yourself the basic package of a classic Thumbnail idea and logo.
Looking at other similar games will also help you.

Believe it or not, top notch games can never get the recognition they deserve if the audience doesn’t check it out. The thumbnail and logo are the one of the important things to do that.

Good Luck on your game!