Games Artist and Animator Course

Overview

The Train2Game course in Art and Animation starts by covering the basics with leading 2D and 3D graphics packages: Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk 3d Studio Max.

This knowledge is incrementally built-up alongside hands-on project work designed to simulate working in an industry environment. Train2Game Animation students will first be trained and tested in the fields of low and high polygon modelling, texture creation and application and rendering techniques.

Description

Further on in the Games Art and Animation course you will learn the skills to delve into the complexities of animation, timing, spacing, camera manipulation and key framing methodologies and the practical application of this to 3D characters and environments
So you want to become a games artist and animator?

Welcome to a growing community of creative people experimenting in one of the most exciting media sectors available today.
It may not be a straightforward path – at times it will be hard and frustrating – but it can just as often be an exhilarating and rewarding one.

Before you can start though, you need to consider what a games artist and animator is and what games art and animation means to both you and the rest of the industry. As with any creative role within the industry, the precise definition can change from one studio to another, but there are some things that everyone can agree on.

The Role of the Artist or Animator:

Whereas a designer deals in ideas and a programmer in technology, an artist or animator will deal with the look and the style of the game. This person is the one who gives shape and form to the designer’s vision, giving the programmers something to render on the screen.

It almost sounds redundant, but a game artist or animator is an artist first and foremost. They must be creative, skilled and able to show what other people can only imagine. From the concept artist who takes the designer’s initial designs and brings them to life with ink and drawing-tablet to the 3D modellers and animators who turn those sketches into walking, breathing characters, an artist is a facilitator who bridges the gap between imagination and the page or computer screen.

Game Artists and Animators are a multi-talented group -

Whilst not uncommon to see small teams of artists, it is often in teams that an artist shines. The course will not only introduce the budding artist to the disciplines of the game artist and animator, but also the myriad styles and requirements of the industry, leading to a number of distinct specialisations that work together to create a game.

Just as there are many types of artist though, so too are there many types of game and studios. Some games will require a single artist drawing upon every discipline to bring the visual style of the game alive, while others will employ dozens of specialists who work together to produce a highly-polished final game.

Whatever specialisation you might one day pursue, it is worth remembering that at every step of the way, flexibility is the most important quality that a game artist can have; whether it is experimenting with new styles or incorporating new ideas and late additions, a game artist will always have to be ready for new ideas and challenges. A video game is never set in stone until the day it arrives on the retailer shelves (and with the arrival of DLC, not always then).

The Artist and Animator course comprises of 48 lessons that will take you from the fundamentals of games artistry through to the advanced skills and techniques required to produce a wide variety of professional quality work with the preferred tools of the industry.