From pen to player: How video game art is created

From the iconic rectangles of Pong to the rich and colourful iterations of Hyrule, we explore every stage of how video game art is created.

The visual fidelity of video games has come a long way in the last 50 years. You only need to look at the games released on the original PlayStation next to those on the PlayStation 5 to see this in action. 

The advancements in technology and gaming hardware now mean that video game artists and developers can choose between photo-realism, hyper-stylised or even nostalgic art styles that hark back to 16-bit and PS1/2 era graphics. 

At dBs Institute, our BA (Hons) Game Art students are exposed to the fundamentals that give a game its visual identity. Through the exploration and mastery of concept, character and environment art, each student discovers and hones their unique style while also understanding how to interpret and deliver the ideas of others. 

How they learn mirrors the inner workings of a game studio. Through collaboration, understanding the development pipelines that go into game creation and building their proficiency with industry-standard software, our students can accurately experience game development before heading out into the real world. 

Learn more about BA (Hons) Game Art at dBs Institute

But what are those pipelines? How do you go from a basic visual idea to creating a playable game with a strong and unified aesthetic? It’s those questions and many others that we will be addressing throughout this feature. 

Where appropriate, we will highlight how the process differs based on the size of the game and/or studio. However, for the majority of the feature, we will be talking about how video game art is created based on a medium-large scale studio. 

Contents

1. Our BA (Hons) Game Art degree
2. What is video game art?
3. How game art is made: The pipeline
4. What tools and software do game artists use
5. Pre-production: How to create concept art for a video game
6. Production: How art assets for a video game are made
7. Post-production: Refining video game art assets before launch
8. How to start making your own art for video games

1. Our BA (Hons) Game Art degree

Before we wade into the world of video game art, we wanted to go into a little more detail about our BA (Hons) Game Art degree; a qualification that will provide you with everything you need to progress into the industry as a game artist. 

Available to study at both our Bristol and Manchester campuses, this degree is all about teaching you in an environment that you can expect in the games industry. 

Every aspect of this feature forms part of the learning on the degree, so if you want to fast-track your skills as a game artist then be sure to check out the course page. See how current second year student, Sooty Batchelor has used their studies on the degree to create an original game. 

If you’re unsure if the BA (Hons) Game Art degree is the right course for you, check out our other Game Development courses.

2. What is video game art?

Broadly speaking, video game art applies to all the visual aspects of a game. However, in a game studio setting, video game art refers to several roles that all work together to create a finished product. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

• Concept artist - A concept artist creates the initial ideas and look of a project. Their work will be based on the rough outline and aesthetic determined by the team and presented for review and approval before production begins.

• Character / Environment / Weapon artist - There are other permutations of this role and variations based on whether it’s a 2D or 3D game, but for most medium to large-scale projects, there will be different artists creating different elements within the game. An indie studio may only have one artist guiding a project’s visual aesthetic and may use freelance artists to help create the assets needed.

• UI designer - Short for user interface, a UI designer will be responsible for the creation of things like the HUD, minimap and status bars on-screen during play. They will also design the look of the menus and inventory screens. 

• Texturing artist - Texture specialists will add the ‘finishing touches’ to the art assets made for the game. Ensuring the look of the environments, characters, props etc. matches the aesthetic and setting of the game world is crucial for player immersion.

• Animator - Bringing art assets to life requires an animator. This will include rigging; the process of creating a skeleton or ‘rig’ for a character, enemy or NPC and designing how they move within the game. 

• Technical artist - Bridging the gap between artists and programmers, technical artists ensure that every created asset works seamlessly and efficiently with the respective game engine.

Keen to get a more personal insight into working as a game artist? Our career spotlight brings together three professionals working as technical, environment and UI artists, to talk about what it’s like to work as a games artist. 

3. How game art is made: The pipeline

As we mentioned earlier, our BA (Hons) Game Art students are taught to create projects using the same development pipeline as a professional game studio. While not consistent across all studios and projects, the game development pipeline will follow this structure: 

• Planning
• Pre-production 
• Production 
• Testing 
• Pre-launch 
• Launch
• Post-launch

While the pipeline covers all aspects of the game’s development, for example, gameplay and systems design, audio and programming, we will focus on how each stage applies specifically to the art but will highlight when collaboration with other departments is needed. 

Before we do that, let’s explore the tools and software that game artists will employ to bring the visuals to life. 

4. What tools and software do game artists use

First of all, you can’t overstate the importance of pen and paper. This is an invaluable tool in any game artist’s arsenal, and will often, but not exclusively, be used in the conception stages of game development. 

Referencing is invaluable to artists as they recreate the look and movements of bodies, fabrics, environments, etc. While it’s hard to categorise the reference points as specific tools, the ability to use them to create natural and realistic recreations. 

While personal preference and budget will have a minor impact, the software used by video game artists is the same across the board. That being said, different specialisms within game art will require alternative software. 

That’s a very quick overview of the software that video game artists use. We go into much greater detail about all of those options in our feature, ‘The top 5 softwares used by game artists’.

You may also have noticed that Blender is frequently mentioned. Not only is it a highly versatile software, it’s free to use which makes it a fantastic tool for beginners and smaller-scale projects that may not have the budget for the more expensive alternatives. 

While we’re on the subject of free software, there’s a lot out there for game development. Unity and Unreal Engine are both free to use, GIMP and Photopea are free alternatives to Photoshop, so make sure to check those out too. Our feature on the best free tools for building your own video game is a great resource if you need more information.

5. Pre-production: How to create concept art for a video game

The pre-production phase of any video game is where the team develops the game’s core. This will be informed by the director(s) of the project, who will be driving the vision of the game. The game designers will also play a key role here in crafting a rough framework based on that vision for the overall experience of the game, which will in turn inform the art team’s initial sketches. 

Concept art is where the visual style of a game truly begins. Using a visual brief, which includes notes on the setting, gameplay mechanics and inspiration from other media, the concept artist will create a series of different art prototypes. These will often include:

• Large-scale environments that evoke mood and atmosphere
• Character designs (face, body, clothing)
• Weapons, vehicles, props

These concepts will be presented to the wider team for review and discussion. There will be iterations of this process as the team refine the visual aesthetic, colour palette, etc. before a final decision is made. It’s at this point that we move into the production phase of the pipeline.

6. Production: How art assets for a video game are made

With the visual aesthetic now agreed upon, it’s time for the art team to create the tangible assets informed by the concept art. The assets will also be informed by the game designers - the people responsible for shaping the game world/levels. 

Using the software that we touched on earlier, the various members of the art team will begin creating: 

• The environments - This is a massive undertaking, forming a large portion of the game world. This can include buildings (interior and exterior), natural elements (e.g. plant life and terrain), points of interest, combat areas, etc.
  
  
• The characters - This will involve the creation of playable characters, NPCs and enemies. Character artists will create the models and design their facial and body features and clothing. The animators will create the skeletal rigs for the characters so they can create their moveset.
  
  
• The props - Every game has props. These could be weapons, vehicles, treasure, tools, artefacts, etc. It’s common to see artists specialising in weapon and vehicle asset creation, but other prop-creation will often be done by artists across the team.
  
  
• The user interface (UI) - The UI artists will work with UX designers to create the visuals for any interactive, non-gameplay elements from menus and inventory screens, to heads-up display (HUD) assets like maps, health bars and equipment. The UX designers will create a wireframe which illustrates how a player navigates the menu, inventory, etc. The UI artists then take that wireframe and create the required art assets. 
  
  

7. Post-production: Refining video game art assets before launch

Once all the art assets, gameplay mechanics, levels and programming have been completed, the development pipeline moves into post-production. This is the final phase before a game is released publicly. 

Game artists have to be mindful of the efficiency of their assets within the wider context of the game. Those minimum requirements specs you see on Steam are there for a reason. If a game is going for photorealism, things like real-time physics on clothing, hair and environments can require huge amounts of memory. 

While the limitations of the system(s) the team is developing for will have been considered, it’s not until these assets are implemented and tested with the rest of the game that the true impact of the art assets is seen. 

The art team will go through multiple iterations of their assets based on feedback around the design as well as their efficiency within the game itself. It’s common in a studio of moderate size to have a technical artist on the team who will act as the bridge between the art and programming departments. Their knowledge of both disciplines allows them to effectively communicate the desires of both teams.

In modern gaming, the post-production process doesn’t stop when the game is released. New bugs will be found that need to be fixed, pop-in textures or missing art assets will need to be resolved, etc. These changes are made through the release of patches, which are downloadable updates to a game. Some games, especially in the indie space, will receive years of updates as the developer continues to make improvements. 

For live service, free-to-play and mobile games, the production process is a little different. A game like ‘Fortnite’ or ‘Candy Crush’ releases seasons of content. This could be new maps, new features or a limited experience to tie in with a holiday. In this regard, each new release will in some ways see the team repeat the development process. Liliana Pita, UI artist at King gives a great window into the process. 

8. How to start making your own art for video games

The hardest part about making your own video game art is getting started. In a recent masterclass with Louise Andrew, Head of Art at d3t, she highlighted some key areas for becoming a great game artist: 

• Try a bit of everything, e.g. 2D, 3D, character, prop, environment, different art styles
• Focus on what excites you
• Practice and use online tutorials to pick up new techniques
• Find artists who inspire you
• Reach out and ask questions
• Ask for feedback through portfolio sites like ArtStation or DMing artists on social media
• Be able to take feedback

While all those points are incredibly important, the first two - try a bit of everything and focus on what excites you - are really crucial for when you begin. You’ll likely already have games whose art style you love, so use that as a foundation. The important part is to start small and progress at a pace that is realistic. Nothing kills creativity like not knowing how a piece of software really works or missing a key technique. 

If becoming a game artist is something that you’re already incredibly passionate about and you want to expedite your development, you can explore what options are available within education. 

At dBs Institute, we offer both an Access to HE: Games Development diploma (1 year) and a BA (Hons) Game Art degree (3 years) at our Bristol and Manchester campuses. The diploma is available to any learners over 19 years of age and is designed to equip you with an understanding of every aspect of game development processes. Upon completion, you’ll have both the experience and qualifications necessary to progress to the undergraduate level. 

The BA (Hons) Game Art degree is where you have the chance to truly explore all aspects of video game art creation. Using the same software that is used in the games industry, you will build an impressive skill set, while also honing in on your own style and exploring that through a range of practical projects and assessments. 

Above all else, have fun with it!

FIND OUT MORE
A beginner's guide to game development
'I’ve learnt so much' - Game Art students reflect on their first year at dBs
All you need to know about our Access to HE Games Development diploma