Why I picked my Game Art course and what's it like IRL?
This was a question I asked myself when I first started looking into Game Art. Fast forward to now, and I’m continuing my journey as a first-year Game Art student at the University of Staffordshire.
But this journey wasn't nearly as clean-cut as it sounds (long post incoming!)
Looking back, I didn’t even know Game Art was a possible career path. None of my schools ever talked about the games industry as a possible option – and honestly, I really wish they had. Without doing my own research, I would’ve never known that games courses (especially Games Art) even existed!
Growing up, I was always passionate about art. I drew in all kinds of styles, from realism and stylised work to especially anime at the time. But things really shifted when I started experimenting with digital art and when I began to develop a style of my own.
That’s when I first came across Riot Games’ splash/key artworks; without realising it, their incredible artworks sparked an interest in this field for me, and I began making a lot of painted digital artworks of my own.
Fun fact: I didn’t go straight into Games Art through university - I started at college (so I will be explaining it from this point rather than university, as this is where I personally learnt what it is like IRL). I was part of the very first cohort for that course, which, honestly, felt a tad bit like fate!! I had finally found a course built around something I genuinely wanted to do. But when I first started, the course was not what I had initially expected at all.
The course had a much deeper focus on 3D digital art, which, if I'm being honest, was very intimidating at first. Loads of commands, modifiers, short-cuts... And somehow I was expected to remember all of them just to make something look remotely decent. Back then, I would've done anything to stick to 2D. In fact, I remember asking my lecturer if we could do more activities that weren't 3D. But over time, and with loads of patience with myself, I started to understand the software I was using and all the steps it takes to know how Game Art truly works.
That's when the gears turned for me, and I went from tolerating 3D to absolutely adoring it.
And the exact same can now be said moving on to where I'm studying the same course at University! Game Art can and WILL challenge you. But it's the motivation to wake up every day and tell yourself you can achieve what you want to do – you just need to allow yourself to persevere through it. I currently have to recreate a Hackamajig from DEATHLOOP, and I am terrified because it is super complicated, but I am also having a lot of fun with it!
At University of Staffordshire the Games Art course is incredibly coursework based – so no exams at all (yipeee!)! But a lot of work is required to be done out of lesson time, so you need to be capable of motivating yourself to do your own coursework independently to really do the best that you can. Thanks to my background in college, I was prepared for this, but it is something that has to be made clear when considering this course.
Another thing that must be considered, especially for those interested in Games Art but with no clue about the reality of this course, is that it isn't as simple as making a pretty model and moving on. There are industry-standard pipelines you must follow and steps that some may consider much more boring than others to create a successful piece of work. I won't go into the nitty-gritty of the entire process for this post (as it is in fact already a really long thread), but I can most certainly write up another blog eventually about the specifics of this!
So yeah! The conclusion is most certainly that Game Art can be intimidating to begin with, especially as software can feel entirely foreign but with perseverance it can become incredibly enjoyable to do (which it most certainly has for me!). And here at University of Staffordshire I'm having the greatest time with it as I am being taught and prepared for industry right from the get-go.
That'll be it for this forum. Any questions to do with Game Art as a course and how it is at University of Staffordshire? Please feel free to ask! I am always happy to help.
- Staffs Rep Vera
My husband did BA Hons 3D Game Art, and then MA Advanced 3D Game Art, and is now an Associate Lecturer teaching 3D Game Art.
My daughter is a first year doing BA Hons 3D Game Art.
Both at BNU though, not Staffs.
Interesting subject. I couldn't do it myself but they both love it.
Reply 2
My husband did BA Hons 3D Game Art, and then MA Advanced 3D Game Art, and is now an Associate Lecturer teaching 3D Game Art.
My daughter is a first year doing BA Hons 3D Game Art.
Both at BNU though, not Staffs.
Interesting subject. I couldn't do it myself but they both love it.
That's really cool! It's sweet that your daughter is basically following your husband's footsteps into the game art industry. ☺️ Wishing her the best of luck on her course!!!
And haha it's most certainly not for everyone. I could for example never do programming but I have friends who looove it so I can definitely relate in a way. 🙂
It's difficult sometimes, because a lot of students get into game art because it sounds cool, they love games and drawing and they've seen pretty concept art or marketing art, but the reality can often look pretty different. As you say here, 3D is a tough learning curve and Game Art alongside other games courses often value a balance in creative and technical skills. You don't necessarily have to be the most talented traditional artist, or know the most about the modern tech - the key is having balance of both, having a lot of persistence, and having the right mindset to learn and improve.
Some things I suggest to people considering a games course at University, or who are currently students on a games course that go a little outside of the typical "You should do what you're passionate about" (which of course is super important too):
•
Where possible, try to speak to people that work in games, and ideally someone who currently works in the kind of role you would like to do/ in an adjacent role. You can do this by attending talks and enagging with the speakers afterwards, reaching out to people on Linkedin or Artstation, talking to your course alumni, and going to conferences and/or festivals.
•
Consider what your career path might look like after university
•
Have backup plans for if that ideal path doesn't work out
•
Know what skills/software/qualifications etc you need to have/be familiar with for both your option A and backup plans. Look at entry level roles and their typical requirements. How close are you to being able to meet them now? What do you still need to learn/improve? Are you going to learn that on your course, or do you need to learn that independently?
•
Stay familiar with the industry and attempt to keep up to date with industry news, so you're less surprised when you graduate. gamesindustry.biz is a great place to start. I can also recommend survey data like GDC's State of the Games Industry survey (for a global look) or ukie's Games Industry Census (for a focus on the UK, although the most recent is from 2022 - data was recently collected for 2025 so we should have a new one soon.)
Specifically for Game Art - lots of universities don't do a great job of teaching workplace skills, and focus more on building solid portfolios for their grads. So there will always be more to learn. We've got some gaps in how games education works at the moment and it's because a lot of games educators don't necessarily have studio experience. I'm hoping all of this is something we can work to improve collectively. But while this is still the case, being proactive about all these things is super, super important.
Best of luck to you @StaffsRep Vera and any others excited about studying games at uni.
Reply 4
It's difficult sometimes, because a lot of students get into game art because it sounds cool, they love games and drawing and they've seen pretty concept art or marketing art, but the reality can often look pretty different. As you say here, 3D is a tough learning curve and Game Art alongside other games courses often value a balance in creative and technical skills. You don't necessarily have to be the most talented traditional artist, or know the most about the modern tech - the key is having balance of both, having a lot of persistence, and having the right mindset to learn and improve.
Some things I suggest to people considering a games course at University, or who are currently students on a games course that go a little outside of the typical "You should do what you're passionate about" (which of course is super important too):
•
Where possible, try to speak to people that work in games, and ideally someone who currently works in the kind of role you would like to do/ in an adjacent role. You can do this by attending talks and enagging with the speakers afterwards, reaching out to people on Linkedin or Artstation, talking to your course alumni, and going to conferences and/or festivals.
•
Consider what your career path might look like after university
•
Have backup plans for if that ideal path doesn't work out
•
Know what skills/software/qualifications etc you need to have/be familiar with for both your option A and backup plans. Look at entry level roles and their typical requirements. How close are you to being able to meet them now? What do you still need to learn/improve? Are you going to learn that on your course, or do you need to learn that independently?
•
Stay familiar with the industry and attempt to keep up to date with industry news, so you're less surprised when you graduate. gamesindustry.biz is a great place to start. I can also recommend survey data like GDC's State of the Games Industry survey (for a global look) or ukie's Games Industry Census (for a focus on the UK, although the most recent is from 2022 - data was recently collected for 2025 so we should have a new one soon.)
Specifically for Game Art - lots of universities don't do a great job of teaching workplace skills, and focus more on building solid portfolios for their grads. So there will always be more to learn. We've got some gaps in how games education works at the moment and it's because a lot of games educators don't necessarily have studio experience. I'm hoping all of this is something we can work to improve collectively. But while this is still the case, being proactive about all these things is super, super important.
Best of luck to you @StaffsRep Vera and any others excited about studying games at uni.
Thank you so much for your insight @aspalax !!! This is incredibly helpful not just for me but plenty of other game art students or students looking into studying game art.
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