The ability to convey story and emotion through imagery is vital for developing the look of a film or game. Good design is guided by a cohesive style that reinforces the storytelling and mood. In this lecture and demonstration, art director Gil Rimmer guides you through the creation of a visual development piece; from the first stages of idea generation and reference gathering, to rough staging, blocking and composition to set the stage for the big picture. The process focuses on the readability of shapes, storytelling and stylizing the individual elements in the image to enhance the mood, developing the environment, character and props to come together in a clear visual style that supports the main story idea. Gil then concludes with his unique rendering techniques, while enhancing the lighting and visual effects to bring the piece to a polished finish.