4 answers
Brandon
Student
Epsom, New Hampshire
1
Question
Asked
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What is the most important class, outside of my major, I should take if I want to get into video game art? #Spring25?
I will be a college freshman in the fall going into Game Art and Interactive Design
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4 answers
Jamie Clark
Visual Effects Artist
33
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Jamie’s Answer
So "video game art" is a fairly broad brush.
On the art side of video games you have the following:
Environment Art - People make models of an environment (buildings, plants, lamps etc.)
There are studios that have environment broken out into weapon artists as well.. but mostly environment will handle weapons.
Character Art - People make models of characters
Concept Art - People draw images of "concepts" that the other artists who make the stuff in 3d will follow and build in 3d.
Seems like "Game Art" as a major might cover those things?
On the art side of video games you have the following:
Environment Art - People make models of an environment (buildings, plants, lamps etc.)
There are studios that have environment broken out into weapon artists as well.. but mostly environment will handle weapons.
Character Art - People make models of characters
Concept Art - People draw images of "concepts" that the other artists who make the stuff in 3d will follow and build in 3d.
Seems like "Game Art" as a major might cover those things?
Wyatt s Miles
Animator
30
Answers
Dayton, ID
Updated
Wyatt s’s Answer
Hey Brandon,
That's a pretty personal question, Bro. I think the answer all depends upon what elements in the video games you are the most drawn to. As Hwee has so well Illustrated above here, there are a lot of Elements and different ways to train and things to learn that all go into the making of great games. Maybe you could find ways to connect with people who work in the industry, doing the sorts of things that you are interested in doing and see if you can find some very part-time jobs working (apprenticing) while you're in school. I did that and it was super helpful to me. With the way things are these days, this is more possible than it's ever been before.
Sincerely,
Wyatt
That's a pretty personal question, Bro. I think the answer all depends upon what elements in the video games you are the most drawn to. As Hwee has so well Illustrated above here, there are a lot of Elements and different ways to train and things to learn that all go into the making of great games. Maybe you could find ways to connect with people who work in the industry, doing the sorts of things that you are interested in doing and see if you can find some very part-time jobs working (apprenticing) while you're in school. I did that and it was super helpful to me. With the way things are these days, this is more possible than it's ever been before.
Sincerely,
Wyatt
Patrizio Spadoni
Senior UI Artist at Zynga NaturalMotion
3
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Patrizio’s Answer
Hey, don't underestimate the power of Graphic Design and Color Theory!
Mark Terrano
Game Designer
9
Answers
Spokane Valley, Washington
Updated
Mark’s Answer
Learn more technical aspects of the art and tools pipeline - you want to be as self-sufficient in getting your art into games as possible. You want to be able to create art and concepts, be able to present them to decisionmakers, and be as self sufficient as possible for seeing your art in the game. The industry is struggling with a transition right now and the more self sufficient you can be with your art the more opportunities you will have to be a 'best fit' as a multitalented person at any size studio or publisher. Knowing how your art moves through the pipeline (through compression, animation process, format conversions, etc) will also improve your initial designs by making sure your art stays closest to how you created it.
If your major doesn't include programming - take more programming - it is essential for designers and artists; not just for being able to make indie projects but understanding how to think about problems like a software engineer and communicate cross functionally.
User Interface is a related area that is often in demand and combines graphic art and technology in an essential way for the game experience.
Animation basics if they aren't included in your program are extremely helpful - knowing how your art will deform and change as it moves is useful in refining your artistic designs for game use, toys, etc. Animation is the study of life and emotion through movement so being able to bring that to scenes, characters, and props is an extremely useful skill.
If your major doesn't include programming - take more programming - it is essential for designers and artists; not just for being able to make indie projects but understanding how to think about problems like a software engineer and communicate cross functionally.
User Interface is a related area that is often in demand and combines graphic art and technology in an essential way for the game experience.
Animation basics if they aren't included in your program are extremely helpful - knowing how your art will deform and change as it moves is useful in refining your artistic designs for game use, toys, etc. Animation is the study of life and emotion through movement so being able to bring that to scenes, characters, and props is an extremely useful skill.