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Game Art

Futureworks

UCAS Code: I620 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

UCAS Tariff

104-120

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Illustration

Computer games graphics

**Games development is an exciting and rewarding industry. Futureworks has developed a Game Art degree which will produce graduates who have a wide skill set, making them valuable as employees of either large game developers, or smaller independent game studios – or even as talented and in-demand freelancers.**

Our experience in the industry made us realise that there was a clear need for a game art degree that merges traditional core art skills with 3D digital techniques.
We start by focusing on your existing traditional artistic abilities, covering areas such as life, still life and other observational art, including essentials such as proportion, anatomy and composition. This involves classes, projects, lectures and field trips and helps you to develop these non-digital aspects of your creative work.
At the same time, we start to bring your work into the digital arena, working with industry standard hardware and software. You will explore 3D digital art, environments, digital painting and game engines. You will also become competent in 3D modelling, learning the necessary skills including character animation, lighting and digital sculpting.

Alongside these practical skills, we will give you a thorough understanding of game design fundamentals and an appreciation of the game design process and accepted workflows. You will learn the optimal balance between technical efficiency and stunning graphics.
There is also a theory-strand that runs through the course which examines the historical, contemporary and future roles and influences of conceptual art.

By the time you reach your third year, you will be ready for the challenge of your honours project. You will work with your tutor to define a project that will make the most of the abilities you have developed, while keeping it focussed on the career and specialisms that you hope to pursue.

WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE THIS PROGRAMME?
If you’re an art student who wants to develop your traditional artistic skills while at the same time pursue your passion for games, then this is the course that is ideally suited to you.
You will gain a fantastic mix of traditional and digital art skills, while acquiring a detailed understanding of related professions and your potential role in the wider games industry.
You will benefit from the experience of our highly experienced tutor team who are all currently active within the industry. This means that they keep abreast of developments and ensure that the course content adapts every year to reflect the changing nature of industry. So you can be confident that the skills you are learning are relevant to the current games job market.

Our tutors also insist on smaller class sizes. This allows you to receive more individual time with tutors. It gives us the time and space to personalise the course around you and for us to develop suitable projects around your chosen specialisms.

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
With such a broad range of artistic abilities under your belt, it is difficult to list all the roles in this growing industry that are available. However, successful graduates from the Game Art degree will be in pole position to become 2D Artists, 3D Environment Artists, 3D Character Artists and 3D Technical Artists. With opportunities becoming widely available both in the UK and overseas, this is the course that could allow you to become part of the next generation of inspirational Game Artists.

Modules

**HE Level 4 (Year 1):**
Art Fundamentals (40 credits)
Visual Design 1 (20 credits)
Introduction to 3D Modelling for Games (40 credits)
Historical Contextual Studies (20 credits)

**HE Level 5 (Year 2):**
3D Character Art (40 credits)
3D Environment Art (40 credits)
Visual Design 2 (20 credits)
Contemporary Contextual Studies (20 credits)

**HE Level 6 (Year 3):**
Honours Project (40 credits)
Visual Design 3 (20 credits)
Game Engine Project (40 credits)
Personal and Professional Development (20 credits)

Assessment methods

We want to do everything we can to prepare you for working within the creative industries, and this is reflected in the way we teach and assess you. The course is mostly coursework based, which means your tutors will be able to give you constant, constructive feedback. Presentation techniques will give you valuable experience of how to present your thoughts and ideas successfully and enthusiastically, so you are better at selling your ideas to prospective employers.

The written work is an important part of assessment and will improve your communication skills. A combination of lectures, tutorials, peer reviews, discussions and observations will ensure that you’re industry ready. External trips will present you with a wider range of topics and the opportunity to expand your portfolio, whilst guest speakers will help you to understand the world of games, how it works and how you can make your mark on it.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Futureworks (Manchester)

Department:

School of Art and Design

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

95%
Illustration
79%
Computer games graphics

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Design studies

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
95%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
95%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
39%
IT resources
68%
Course specific equipment and facilities
84%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Computer games and animation

Teaching and learning

91%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
89%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
52%
IT resources
78%
Course specific equipment and facilities
54%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

After graduation


We don't have more detailed stats to show you in relation to this subject area at this university but read about typical employment outcomes and prospects for graduates of this subject below.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Design studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£20k

£20k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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