A game artist’s responsibilities vary depending on which aspect of game production he or she works on and what medium or aspect of game art he or she specializes in. A game pre-production artist, for example, will typically create concept art for various locations, characters, and items in the game world. A production artist, on the other hand, usually creates art assets for use within the game that are directly visible to game players. The assets that are created, on the other hand, are frequently created a number of different artists, with each game artist typically only creating a portion of the work.
A game artist is someone who works in the video game industry and creates various works of art while developing games. Depending on the nature of the work that such an artist does, the actual work that he or she does can vary quite a bit. A game artist usually works on the game’s pre-production or production, but he or she may also create marketing artwork that isn’t used in the game.
A game artist who specializes in concept art typically creates pre-production artwork for a game. Typically, the artist will use a variety of mediums to create images that represent locations, characters, props, and anything else that will be visible visually within the game. Writers and lead designers may have a rough idea of how a character or location might look, but a concept artist will turn those ideas into visual representations. As ideas are rejected or refined toward a final product, this can often entail a significant amount of revision.
The production artwork is usually created a group of artists who specialize in various aspects of game art. One game artist might specialize in modeling, for example, and use three-dimensional computer graphics software to create polygons and various shapes to create characters, environments, props, weapons, creatures, and everything else in the game. These models will then have textures applied to them, usually another game artist who specializes in creating realistic-looking surfaces that match the game’s aesthetic.
Another game artist could then work on animating the various models that have been created, such as making characters walk and developing an animation sequence for how a gun fires a bullet and dispels a spent cartridge. Other artists will then add lighting and special effects such as glowing lights, sparks, and large explosions; a game’s visual aspects are frequently created a team of artists. Artists and sound engineers are also responsible for the game’s music and sound effects. Finally, a game’s packaging or merchandising images are usually created an artist, though they can also include concept art or graphics from the game.