What do you study on a Game Art degree?

An Overview of our Game Art Degree

The Game Art undergraduate degree provides you with a range of skills from games in VFX and Animation to Prop, Modular and Environment Design. All of these are individual skills that equate to a profession so being able to learn these allows you to find what you may want to go into in the future. 

My three years spent at Escape Studios have given me a chance to grow as an artist and enhance my knowledge of the industry. For example, we are taught by industry-experienced tutors that give us feedback on our work. We also get to use all the latest tools, technology and software in our personal and group projects. 

To give you an idea of what to expect on a Game Art degree, here is a rundown of my favourite modules... 

Advanced Video Game Art - Final Fantasy VII Remake - Seventh Heaven Bar 

During my second year, I worked on a module that required me to create a diorama, which is a replica of a 3D scene. For my Diorama, I decided to replicate an environment from the Seventh Heaven bar in Final Fantasy VII Remake. 

This was one of the most exciting projects I have worked on, as it was a diorama that consisted of lots of props and I enjoyed relating my assignment to one of my favourite games!

Industry Studio Project - Demon's Souls London (Hay's Galleria Prison) 

Another of my favourite modules was the Industry Studio Project. This module was my first big group project that went on for over twelve weeks. The module required me to create an environment for the dark fantasy game ‘Demon’s souls’, which was released exclusively for the PlayStation 5. 

For this project, I offered to be Art Director to help build my confidence and try out my leadership skills. The project was fun yet challenging due to the experience of creating medieval patterns and buildings. However, it was a success and it was satisfying to see the project grow and improve week after week until it had become an environment suitable for a dark fantasy. 

Advanced Specialism - Fallen Priestess 

In my third year, I completed a professional practice module. This project gave me the freedom to decide what I wanted to work in and focus on what profession I wanted to get into in the future. I had always known that a Prop Artist was something that I had always wanted to become, so I based my project on creating a unique robot prop. 

As an artist inspired by the Final Fantasy Franchise, I had gone with a combination of genres and storytelling that would make the prop more believable and lifelike. I mixed Sci-Fi, fantasy, and historical Chinese designs to make the asset more unique. 

What I enjoyed most about this project was being able to create this prop as if I were creating a character. I was able to showcase the skills I had learned in this one prop, such as hard surface modelling, organic modelling (fabric) and character art. 

However, the biggest challenge was making the prop a game-ready asset, with a decent amount of polygons and at least a maximum of four materials. On this prop, I had to use a variety of software, such as Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, Marvelous Designer, and Unreal Engine.