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Y13 ! Games Art Degree Qs

Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:

- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster

- Escape Studios
(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 1

Original post by luvr4nia
Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:
- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster
- Escape Studios

Hello @luvr4nia

Usually different universities have different names for similar courses. The best thing to do is look over the course content for each course to see the differences. Going to open days is also a great way to find out more information.

Kingston has a Game Development BSc (Hons) - Undergraduate degree course - Kingston University London course that might interest you. We are 2nd in London for Animation and Game Design. And no.1 in London and top 5 in the UK for Graphic Design.

Kingston is a very creative university with lots of great connections. For example, Kingston is a PlayStation licensed developer, and you will be able to create games for the PlayStation 5. Students go on to work for great creative agencies like Netflix, Sony, Google and Mojang.

The facilities are also great I would really recommend visiting us to see for yourself on an open day. Our next open day is this Saturday, however we will have many more throughout the year, keep an eye out on the website.

I hope this helps :smile:
-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Reply 2

No, concept art is not the same as a games art degree. Concept art is the artwork that is created before the 3D or full game production assets are made - so it can be character or environment designs or images of what a level could look like for example. The 3D artists then interpret the concept art into 3D form for the game... this is a simplification; a lot of concept art is now done in 3D, and also a lot of concept art happens during development - for example paint overs of 3D scenes to come up with more interesting prop layout or better lighting, and then the 3D artists get to follow those guidance images. If you have strong traditional art skills then you might want to look at concept art as a possible career (although you'll need to learn a fair bit of 3D these days too). If your skills are more on the 3D side and drawing isn't your best skill, then perhaps consider a games art degree instead.

Not all concept art degrees teach 3D, and a lot of games art degrees don't teach the art skills required to create good concept art. You might want to look at the University of Hertfordshire for both subjects (we have a 3D Games Art Degree and a Concept Art degree). We've won more Rookies awards than any other UK university (and if you don't know what a Rookies award is, look that up, they are incredibly important). Our games grads work in over 200 developers worldwide, we have graduates at Nintendo, Sony, Bandai, Namco, Epic, Electronic Arts, CD Projekt Red, Playground Games, Frontier, etc the chances are that most of the games you've ever played have had some of our grads in the credits.

You can watch a showreel of all four of our degrees here: https://vimeo.com/916632441

Have a look at the work of the graduates of the courses you have mentioned - a couple of them are good courses. Then do a Linkedin search to find graduates from those degrees and see if they are working at game developers... that will tell you a lot about whether the course is any good or not. Find out whether the staff on those courses have worked in the games or animation industry. Make sure you've done a lot of research before you make your decision. Good luck!
Original post by luvr4nia
Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:
- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster
- Escape Studios

Hi there,

Thanks for your message, it's great to hear you're interested in studying at Royal Holloway.

Our BA in Video Game Art and Design will give you the tools to create cutting-edge high-fidelity work for the elite level of gaming and at the same time develop your abilities as a digital artist to create smaller bespoke personal Indie game products. As the gaming industry develops a fantastic rate, there is a growing need for new artists, designers, writers, coders, marketing teams, animators and more. The opportunities are infinite and whatever aspects of videogames interest you, you’ll find your place at Royal Holloway. You can find out more about this course and the entry requirements here: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/media-arts/video-games-art-and-design/.

You can find out more about our Department of Media Arts at one of our Open Days. Our next event is on Saturday 5 October. Find out more and book your place here: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/student-life/visit-royal-holloway/open-days/.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Royal Holloway, University of London Official Rep
Hiya! I saw you in another similar thread and will thread my answer from that thread here, too.

Quote from other thread


I would recommend looking at:
Unreal Academic Accreditation: https://www.artstation.com/schools?country_names=United%20Kingdom
Rookies top ranked universities: https://www.therookies.co/schools/search?certification=&certified=&country=United+Kingdom&delivery=&dicipline=&page=1&program=&ranking=&search=&sort=
Screenskills Accreditation: https://www.screenskills.com/select-courses/?q=&industries=Games&types=&regions=&subjects=&pageIndex=1

These are all pretty good indicators of good universities. The course I did- BA Game Art at De Montfort - appears on 2/3 of these. (not on Rookies but we had a finalist in 2023!) I really enjoyed my time at DMU as a now-grad in industry - but would thoroughly recommend you check out all the universities you see appear across these lists in more detail, because there's some great options out there.

Reply 5

Original post by luvr4nia
Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:
- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster
- Escape Studios

Hi @luvr4nia I hope you're well. I'm a Graphic Design student at Norwich Uni Arts. Universities often provide very similar courses but under different names. Course information on their websites or requesting prospectuses is a great way to be able to sit down, and read through what each university course has to offer. Norwich University of Arts offers a Games Art and Design course as well as a Games Development course which you can read about via those links. Alternatively, we can send you a prospectus for free here: Norwich Uni Arts prospectus.

Happy to answer any questions that you may have, good luck in uni hunting!
Charlotte, Student Ambassador.

Reply 6

Original post by luvr4nia
Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:
- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster
- Escape Studios

Hi @luvr4nia

Great to hear you are thinking about Roehampton for your studies!

We offer:

Games Art- This course will advance you as a visual artist with a focus on illustration, imaging and modelling for games and other interactive, animated environments.

Games Design- This course will advance you as a designer with a focus on graphic, spatial and narrative project work.

Computer Games Programming- This course focuses on the technical aspects of games development: software development, engine development, graphics programming, and simulation.


On all these courses, you will be learning in interactive classes, working closely with your lecturers and fellow students. If you'd like to find out more and speak to our lecturers, visit us at an upcoming open day on 16 November 2024, 9am 3pm.

Katie- Roehampton Rep

Reply 7

Original post by luvr4nia
Very confused with all the different choices of courses, is concept art the same as a games art degree ? Also which universities are the best in England for such degrees - I've got these considered so far:
- University of Arts London
- Staffordshire University
- Coventry University
- University of Roehampton
- Royal Holloway
- University of Westminster
- Escape Studios

Hello @luvr4nia !!

I'm Jodie, a third year Games Art student here at University of Staffordshire and I wanted to jump in and help with your question!

Here at Staffs, the games art is separate to concept art, they both have their respective courses. Most universities tend to mosh the two together, however we keep them apart. The game art course at Staffs is heavy on the 3D modelling, sculpting, texturing and presentation of work within software such as unreal engine. The concept art course is more focused on the actual creation of concepts so you'd be working on a of areas such as digital and traditional art. Depending on what you wish to focus on more, I recommend going with that course! :smile:

Hope this helped clear up any confusion and if you have any more questions please feel free to reach out, I'm more than happy to try help

All the best and good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Jodie - Games Artist and Student Content Creator

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