Bioware has posted a new article which looks into the artistic style of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which they describe as “stylized realism”.

Art style is often considered one of the most important aspects of a gameplay experience. Done well, it tells a story all by itself, and evokes the mood that immerses you into the character and the environment. Since the announcement of Star Wars: The Old Republic, there has been a great deal of interest regarding the game’s visual style. We’d like to share some more behind-the-scenes information with you and show how our Art Team came to develop what we have come to call “stylized realism”.

The overarching goal of the art for Star Wars: The Old Republic is to bring concept art paintings to life in 3D. This goal has led the artists to forego the use of photographs for surface textures in favor of hand-painting every asset. The concept art also drove the game art to match its heroic and idealized proportions of the characters and environments. Part of remaining true to the classic big screen vision of Star Wars™ is not only to look like it, but also to ensure that the art feels like it on the small screen. There is a fine line to follow in being true to the realistic expectations that we inherit from the movies while making style choices that will play well on the computer screen. This distillation of the Star Wars vision through a painters eye and a fan’s heart forms the core of the visual direction of the game.

Read more here.