Game Art Roles
The main jobs in a game art team
Also known as: Game art jobs · Environment artist role · Character artist role · Technical artist role · VFX artist role · Types of game artists
Definition
Game art teams are made up of specialists. Concept artists define the look and design, environment artists build the worlds and levels, character artists model and texture characters and creatures, prop and hard-surface artists create weapons, vehicles and objects, technical artists build shaders, tools and pipelines, VFX artists create effects, animators bring things to life, and lighting artists set the mood of scenes. Smaller studios may hire generalists who cover several roles, and large ones have many people in each role.
In production
Choose a role by what you enjoy doing every day, and learn its tools and fundamentals deeply, while understanding the neighboring roles, because a team works in a chain. Look at job listings to see what is asked, and build portfolio pieces that match them. The roles overlap: an environment artist who knows shaders and lighting, or a character artist who understands rigging, is very valuable.
Learn Game Art Roles in
Tools that use Game Art Roles
See also
Technical Artist
Bridge between art and engineering
Concept Art
Visual design before 3D production
Character Pipeline (Sculpt to Engine)
The stages a game character goes through
Hero Assets and Background Assets
Spending detail where the player looks
Particle System
Spawns and animates many small elements
Junior, Mid and Senior Artist Levels
What studios expect at each stage