The Fundamentals of Game Art Design: What Every Designer Should Know

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game art design

Do you know that gaming industry is value at USD 257.1 billion by 2023 at global level?

Yes, the global gaming industry has climbed a great position in the business world. Thus, it is time for young minds to dive into the industry to explore a great range of career opportunities in game art design.

But, how to become an game art designer? What are the fundamentals that you should know as a game art designer?

Find the answers to these questions in this blog from us, JS Institute of Design.

Start reading now!

Fundamentals of game art design that every designer should know:

Primarily, there are certain aspects that every designer should know to create their own game graphic design. Get to know those fundamental aspects below:

Art Styles:

One of the captivating factors that turn the players stay connected to the game is art styles.

As a designer, you should be aware of the various art styles that range from realistic art versions to stylistic art versions. You should also remember that consistent art style should be maintained in visual game art and design.

Concept Art Design:

Concept is the pillar of the game that gives continuity for the players to engage and so it is important to understand the elements of concept art design.

The three major elements of concept art design are as follows:

  • Character design
  • Environment design
  • Props and Assests design

Colour Theory:

Colour that visble signs highlighting the tone and mood of the game. For example, usually fierce game conditions will have dark coulours such as red, brown, etc while subtle friendly ganes use cooler tones such as pale green, light pink, etc.

So, understand the colour theory is very important in game art design to elevate the mood of the game and gamers.

Texturing and Detailing:

Textures give surfaces in the game world their detail and are vital for realism. Effective texturing also involves optimization to ensure that games run smoothly without excessive loading times or memory usage.

Lighting:

Lighting is another important fundamentals of game art design that has a great impact on mood setting of the game. It can highlight important areas, change the time of day, or enhance drama.

Lighting can be dynamically changing with the game or can be static and precalculated. 

Animation:

Animation is the indispensable component of the game art design. Animation involves various touch zones in the game such as character animation, environemnet animation, etc which together creates the best gaming experience.

These are the essential fundamental aspects of game art design that every designer should learn. Do you want to professionally learn game art design?

Then here is the best course for you from us.

Also Read: How to Develop Your Game Art & Design Skills?

Become game art designer with game art courses at JS Institute of Design:

Holding a significant position among the top design colleges in India, JS Institute of Design offer range of design courses which include game art design courses as well. 

Here are the details of the game art and design course that we offer at our college.

Course NameBachelor’s degree in game art and design
Course DescriptionBachelor’s degree in game art design is designed to provide complete game art designing education to freshers. This course incorporates game designing knowledge right from the fundamentals to becoming an industry-ready professional.
Course LevelUndergraduate level
Duration 4 years
Eligibility Criteria The basic eligibility criteria to pursue Bachelor’s degree in Game Art & Design at JS Institute of Design are as follows:
Candidates should have completed 10+2 or higher at any recognised educational institution.
Admission ProcedureAdmission to the bachelor’s degree in art and game design at JS Institute of Design is provided by conducting a series of tests that includes a creative intelligence test, personal interview, and portfolio evaluation to assess the performance of the candidate for providing admission to the course.

What do you learn on pursuing game art design course at JS Institute of Design?

Our game art design course is designed to develop a strong foundation with clear game designer skills, thus the syllabus of UG Game Arts and Design is curated and designed by industrial gaming experts.

Here is what you learn in game design course.

Non-digital SketchingAnalytical DrawingLive-model sketchingExterior DrawingColour, Creativity and IllustrationIntroduction to InteractionsCharacter DesignEnvironment DesignGesture DrawingStoryboardingVolume PhotographyPerspective Human SciencesHistory of ArtGaming CultureGame Design & Level Design2D Computer Graphics3D ModelingCharacter DesignConcept ArtEnvironment DesignGame EngineStorytellingPrototypingClay SculptureAdvanced 3DProcedural GenerationPre-productionProject ManagementMediums & TechnologiesStoryboardingRigging / AnimationUI/UXArt direction

What is the career scope for game art design?

As already said, the gaming industry is massively developing, especially after the Covid-19. Take a look at the notable development of the gaming industry in terms of market value.

Source: The World Economic Forum

With this great leap, the gaming industry is extending a great deal of career opportunities which are as follows:

Gaming job rolesAverage annual salary in India(INR)Average annual salary abroad in Dollars(considered US)
Game Designer5,03,00074,367
Game Audio Engineer3,20,00068,210
Game Programmer4,25,00065,756
Game Artist5,50,00059,474
Game Animator3,60,00081,133
Game Tester5,00,00041,058
Game Developer5,30,000116,356
Game System Designer5,00,00072,173
Game Director9,00,000113,911

Conclusion:

On the whole, getting to know the fundamentals of game art design and acquiring proper academic knowledge will be surely enable you becoming a progressive game designer in the competitive gaming industry. Start your journey now.

FAQs:

  1. What should a game designer know?

A game designer should know elements such as colour theory, texturing, lighting, animation, etc to create exclusive game designs.

  1. What are the fundamentals of game art?
  • Colour
  • Texture
  • Lighting
  • Detailing 
  • Animation
  1. What are game design fundamentals?

The game design fundamentals include colour theory, texturing, lighting, animation, storytelling, prototyping, etc.

  1. What are the 7 game design rules?
  • Well defined gaming goals and objectives
  • Create engaging core mechanics
  • Continuous game flow development
  • Player engagement and game balancing
  • Include rewards and prizes
  • Develop animative outcome
  • Sound designing