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How To Make Art For Video Games

Andrey Petravchuk

Ex Technical Director at RetroStyle Games |

Without visual artists the game would simply remain an idea in designers’ and developers’ minds. The number of games in the modern world is inexorably increasing. But do all these video games bring pleasure to the players and captivate the gameplay?

It takes time to create video game art. It necessitates a deep understanding of the subject at hand, substantial study, multiple versions of the same item, and a great deal of iteration. It takes a lot of effort to create good art for games. You can’t do it without the artists’ talent and the support of the team behind the video game development.

Magic Arena 3D Game Characters Art Wizard Magician Sorcerer

How to Create Different Types of Video Game Art?

Creating video game art includes character creation, character development, landscapes, and various fascinating details that make a video game special, as well as many other important things that you need to know. Concept artists work on three types of themes: character concept art, and prop idea art, and they know how to draw environmental concept art.

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Many game styles will have to be drafted before you discover the correct fit. Actually, a concept artist can accomplish it all, and all of these concepts must work together to produce an engaging video game experience.

Character Concept Art

As the name implies, this is the stage at which you create your characters’ appearance, style, and traits. The first step is to investigate and gather inspiration for your persona. At this stage, mood boards will help you: boards with sketches, notes and other ideas that will later be realized in a successful and special character. After gathering the necessary information, you will go to the next step, which is to aesthetically create your character. To achieve the desired look and feel, you will need to experiment with different colors, clothing, positions, face traits, body forms, and so on.

Prop Concept Art

This is an important aspect of storytelling. They help to improve the world and establish the atmosphere by complementing the character. Props in video games can refer to a variety of different objects. Weapons, cars, planes, and other vehicles that interact with the player help the character achieve goals or tasks.

The other type is static props, which include containers, barrels, chairs, and so on. Depending on the genre of the video game, the features of the props will change. So, for example, for a game with a pirate entourage, treasure chests are indispensable. And to make the game about pets attractive, it is important to add props that will enable the player to take care of their four-legged pets.

Environment Concept Art

This is where you build the universe in which your characters will reside. From enchanted mountains to mysterious forests, medieval castles, and dragons, you’ll need to imagine and create a universe. This is accomplished through the use of color, contrast, and textures, as well as keeping balance, proportions, and theme combinations in mind. Artists move to this stage of work when the art director approves the main project. It is important to understand the main idea of the game and its history so that the environment is atmospheric and matches the mood of the game.

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How to Hire an Artist

A job in video game art may be perfect for you if you are creative, artistic, and have a passion for the video game industry. Acquiring a video game art qualification is one of the best ways to get started and increase your chances of landing a job.

The most difficult aspect of hiring a game artist is to find the ideal person who matches all of your requirements: to be competent but also committed, to complete the work on schedule, and to fully comprehend your vision. Everyone wants a game artist who produces exceptional work, therefore we understand how tough it may be to locate a game artist for hire who can fulfill all of your needs.

Spend Wisely

You must establish a budget to determine whether you can work with a more experienced game artist or one with less experience in the area. There are numerous game artists for hire on the market who are eagerly awaiting your employment offer. As you are aware, folks with greater expertise command a higher fee. However, this does not preclude a new game artist from doing an excellent job for you.

On the contrary, the fact that he is just starting out motivates him to build a professional client portfolio and perform an outstanding job on your project.

A Detailed List of the Required Materials

Before you begin working with a game artist, it is best for all sides to compile a detailed list of the game assets required for your project. The game artist will need to view a list of game elements, as well as a prototype of the game; whether it’s paper or digital, it doesn’t really matter, but it will help him better grasp your requirements.

If you provide him with a list of essential assets, he will have a clear knowledge of the game’s vision. The amount of art required to make something seem attractive and work properly, as well as the time required to produce it, are sometimes underestimated. As a result, it is best to start by making a list of your requirements and establishing these aspects. The first conversation is unquestionably crucial.

If you provide a list of assets and a project description, and the game artist responds with a quote without asking you any questions about your project, that’s a red sign. You should be able to tell right away if the individual you’re speaking with understands your project’s vision and is capable of comprehending not only what has to be done to finish it, but also the full game design and development process.

The Most Important Skills for a Game Artist for Hire

The game artist must be proficient in the use of 2D art tools, particularly Photoshop, as well as 3D art tools. You can recruit a game artist without an art degree if he is a talented artist with a strong work portfolio. According to whether your game is 2D or 3D, the artist must be able to model, develop a concept, animate the character, and render him with the attributes you desire.

The main task of the concept art is used to visualize ideas so that modelers, animators, and developers teams may bring them to life. Your game artist should be able to develop anything with an emphasis on quality, originality, integration, and ease of use.

Game Outsourcing Studios or Freelance Artist

Maximum quality in a short time. This is how you can describe the work of an outsourcing game studio with a well-chosen team of artists and an art director. The results of the work of such a team are always much better than the work of one freelance artist. This simplifies not only the final result of the project, but also guarantees the absence of difficulties and other bureaucratic delays.

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How to Outsource Art For Video Games

We, at RetroStyle Games, provide a wide variety of services for mobile, casual, social, and console games, including game art direction, 2D concept art, game 3D modeling and animation, complicated asset production, Unity integration, and level design. 

Here is a complete list of services that we provide as an outsourcing art studio:

  • Character concept art
  • Game backgrounds and concept art
  • 3D modeling
  • 2D and 3D game icon design
  • 2D/3D game sprites
  • Animation and VFX
  • Game interface and UX
  • Game logo design

To see all the examples, visit our services section and learn more about the opportunities that our talented artists have, using their creativity and extensive experience. You can also learn about how to create a cool game icon for app store & google play on our blog.

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The Best Way to Start a Game Art Career

It is not an easy journey to become a 3D modeling artist. It requires as much work and patience as it does fun and creative flexibility. The steps you must take are complex: developing your creative skills in conventional art, mastering specialist software, creating a portfolio, networking with industry professionals, establishing a presence on social media, and working on tasks both individually and together.

If you want to learn how to develop your skills, what resources will help you with this, and what it takes to successfully land a job in the game development industry, read this material that we have created for beginners who want to conquer the world of the game industry but do not know where to start. If you show enough perseverance and perseverance to move forward, at the finish line you will have excellent career growth and a salary that meets your highest expectations.

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Game Art for Indie Game Developers

Indie game production studios are becoming more frequent these days, and many of them are succeeding. That being said, what happens when that one individual isn’t an artist but a developer? Lets see some examples of the options available to indie game developers for creating or acquiring art for their video games.

Big cubed pixels that look like they are from the past are becoming increasingly frequent and for good reason. Pixel art is simple to make, at least in comparison to other art forms. That being said, you can produce a large amount of pixel art in a relatively short period of time. The disadvantage of pixel art is that if you don’t like the visual, your game’s appeal is severely limited. Due to its simplicity, pixel art has become unnecessarily popular in the gaming world. There are many similar-looking games that make it difficult to attract new players.

This type of graphic is becoming more popular since it can accommodate numerous resolutions with a single art element. Because files are stored as a collection of vectors, the image retains its sharpness no matter how large or small it is scaled. When it comes to supporting numerous resolutions, this can be a tremendous help, especially with mobile devices. Developing using vector graphics is akin to working with construction in many respects. To create increasingly complex objects, you simply layer forms on top of other shapes. Working with vector graphics is more challenging than pixel art, but not insurmountably so.

If you’re willing to spend twice as much time on your game, including creating 3D art, then this path is for you. Creating 3D models is as difficult as programming.

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The Best Way to Get Noticed as a Indie Game Developer

When your game idea is fully formed and you have even managed to complete the process of creating it, it’s time to think about how you can become noticed among hundreds of other games. You must ensure that players are aware of it and excited about it. This list is for indie developers who have never considered public relations or are unsure how to use it effectively for their games.

Getting ready for an announcement might take some time, and you should plan ahead of time. Prepare screenshots, a trailer, and gameplay demonstrations.

Platforms to market a game. If you’re on a tight budget, consider which method will be the most productive in reaching your target audience. Think about who you created this game for and what kind of emotion or knowledge it should bring to potential players. This will determine whether you should choose the popular TikTok or the well-known Twitch.

Early access games can be fairly complex. It may be worthwhile to wait and finalize all the features of the game before presenting it to the gaming world in its entirety. Because continuous modifications to the new product will need to be re-publicized, the promotion process will be complicated.

Elves Characters Mobile Game Art

Common Terms for Video Game Graphics

If you are just a beginner game artist or developer, you should become familiar with common and important terms. These terms will help you quickly get to work and start your successful path.

  • 1

    Blending

    Blending is the process of merging two or more items by adding them pixel by pixel.

  • 2

    Lighting

    There are numerous approaches for simulating a real-life 3D item on a 2D display using realistic graphics effects. Instead of flat or cartoonish settings, lighting is used to produce realistic-looking sceneries with deeper depth.

  • 3

    AAA

    AAA (Triple-A) video games are made and published by mid-size or major publishers and cannot be categorized as “indie.”

  • 4

    Sprites

    Visual elements are frequently utilized as 2D game objects. Sprites are commonly used as textures in 3D.

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What is Needed for Game Art?

Character design, architecture and landscapes, lighting, modeling, special effects, texturing, and animation are all areas of specialization for game artists.

To create high-quality game art, the artist must have a lot of experience, and a lot of knowledge not only in art but also in the possession of appropriate tools. If you or your project needs detailed video game art, our artists can help you with this, and you will be 100% satisfied with the result.

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Afterword

In this article, you got acquainted with the main theories and concepts regarding the creation of art for modern games. To create high-quality art for video games, you need to have not only basic knowledge but also a rich imagination, as well as, for better work, a team of experienced professionals. This is a multifaceted and multi-stage process that requires serious preparation. And we wish you the best of luck on this journey if you decide to be brave enough to conquer the world of game creation.

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You need the right tools and knowledge of modern art styles and game design to make good 2D art. 2D game artists make visuals and assets for games, and they are very important. It can be hard and expensive to start a 2D game art team, so it’s better to work with a partner who specializes in 2D game art. That partner could be a 2d game art outsourcing studio!

  1. Research the different types of game art and decide which type you want to learn to make
  2. Get familiar with the software used to create game art
  3. Practice drawing and sketching to gain an understanding of shape, form, and color
  4. Learn how to use the chosen software to create game art
  5. Experiment with different techniques to create game art
  6. Utilize tutorials and other resources to help you learn how to make game art
  7. Ask for feedback on your game art from other game developers and artists
  8. Refine and improve your game art based on feedback
  9. Publish your game art and share it with the world
  1. Find out the game concept and the vision for the character
  2. Search for different ways to envision a character
  3. Put together a reference board
  4. Make drafts
  5. Improve the drafts
  6. Draw a selection of character variations to present to the client
  7. Discuss the art and make alterations if necessary
  8. Convert the concept art into a full 2D or 3D art the game needs

Our isometric video game sprites creation pipeline consists of four stages: concept, 3D, 2D overpaint, and unique render technique. Each stage is designed to streamline the process and ensure that your game art is of the highest quality. Plus, our render technique is up to 80% faster than our competitors, so you can spend less time creating art and more time optimizing your isometric game.

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