Games Art with Integrated Foundation Year
Games Art is the specialist practice of creating the visual assets that make interactive entertainment worlds feel vivid, coherent, and believable. Everything you see in a video game, from the contours of a character's face to the texture of a cobblestone street or the glow of an alien sky, is the work of games artists who understand both the aesthetic principles of visual design and the technical constraints of real-time rendering in game engines. The discipline requires fluency in drawing and three-dimensional modelling, a strong sense of colour, form, and composition, and detailed knowledge of the production pipelines through which assets are created and integrated into finished games.
At Ravensbourne University London, this four-year full-time programme begins with an integrated foundation year that introduces you to the fundamental principles and tools of games art before you progress into the main degree. This extended starting point gives you time to explore the discipline, to build your artistic confidence and technical skills, and to develop the portfolio foundation that the main programme requires. Over the four years you will develop skills in concept art and character design, environment modelling, texturing and materials, rigging, and the specific workflows used in professional games production.
Industry-standard software and pipeline tools are central to the curriculum, ensuring that what you learn is directly applicable to professional practice.
Ravensbourne's London location and its strong industry connections mean the programme benefits from proximity to the UK games and creative technology sector. Portfolio development is emphasised throughout, and you will graduate with a body of work that demonstrates your professional readiness.
Graduates pursue careers as concept artists, character artists, environment artists, texture artists, and technical artists in games studios, VFX companies, animation studios, and virtual production facilities. Some continue to postgraduate study in games art or interactive media design.