Stylized vs Realistic Art Careers
Choosing a direction for your portfolio
Also known as: Stylized vs realistic game art · Stylized art career · Realistic art career · Hand painted vs PBR career · Which style to learn game art
Definition
Stylized and realistic are the two broad directions in game art, and studios hire for both. Stylized art relies on shape, color, simplified forms and hand-painted or simple textures, and is common in mobile, MMO, online and indie games. Realistic art uses physically based materials, scans and detailed anatomy, and is common in AAA and cinematic projects. Skills transfer between them, since both depend on strong fundamentals in form, value, color and composition.
In production
Pick the style you enjoy and can make look great, and build the portfolio in it, since passion shows in the work. Look at the games that interest you and at the studios that make them, and aim at their quality. Having a stylized or hand-painted piece together with a realistic PBR one can show range, but a focused portfolio is stronger. Stylized pipelines are a good start, as they teach fundamentals without the heavy cost of realism.
