How To Become A Game Artist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a game artist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Kimberly Weast

Game artists are responsible for working on all the visual elements to put a game together, including characters, objects, textures, assets, etc. They design preliminary sketches and develop them according to a video game's general style. They then create 2D or 3D animations from these sketches under the supervision of the lead artist. Game artists earn a median sum of $48 per hour, which amounts to $101,000 per year.

Game artists manage existing products and provide assets for marketing purposes and are able to communicate well with different people even under pressure. They use traditional hand sketching in the beginning stages, and later on, they turn the sketches into 2D or 3D computer graphics. Game artists work under the supervision of the lead artist to create specific art assets within a game.

In terms of academic qualifications, game artists typically hold a bachelor's degree in graphic design, animation, fine art, or other related fields. They are expected to have some proven experience in the gaming industry and have the ability to work effectively under pressure. Some employers prefer candidates with in-depth knowledge of software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and so on.

What general advice would you give to a Game Artist?

Kimberly Weast

Fine Arts Department Chair Director of Theatre Arts Professor of Theatre, Northwestern Oklahoma State University

At this time, work on creating your work and presenting it - however you can. This is a prime opportunity to break molds that have been in place for many years. Work on building your webpage, Instagram, and improve your other social media presence. Still, practice your craft. Professionals are professionals because they practice and stay equipped.

ScoreGame ArtistUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $86,932

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 7.64%

Black or African American 4.33%

Hispanic or Latino 14.18%

Unknown 5.56%

White 67.67%

Gender

female 30.00%

male 70.00%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.2

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a game artist

Explore game artist education requirements

Most common game artist degrees

Bachelor's

78.8 %

Associate

9.3 %

Master's

5.9 %

Start to develop specific game artist skills

Skills	Percentages
Animation	15.23%
Maya	11.30%
Sketch	8.30%
UI	7.84%
Unity	6.85%

Complete relevant game artist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New game artists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a game artist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real game artist resumes.

Research game artist duties and responsibilities

Create many MEL scripts to help automate routine daily tasks and improve overall productivity.
Work include background art, character design, user-interface design and art, award art, buttons and flash FX.
Create 3d models, and texture paintings.
Conceptualize the look of different levels and stages for PC games.

Prepare your game artist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your game artist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a game artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Game Artist Resume templates

Build a professional Game Artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Game Artist resume.

Apply for game artist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a game artist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do game artists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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Game Artist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2022

Pros

I get to do what I love

Cons

It’s hard work, it feels like you will not make it and you’re jumping from job to job sometimes every now and then but the goal is to not give up, everyone is more than capable of achieving the things they put their minds too. :)

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019