Game Art Foundation Degree

Get ready to delve into the exciting world of video games with our Game Art Foundation Degree. You will explore prop creation, game environment creation, modular assets, high polygon sculpture and character art as you learn to create assets in a variety of workflows and styles. Work alongside peers to create games to ensure your projects reflect industry practice.

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About the course

Explore current game art practice and technological advances ensuring you stay up to date with current industry techniques. You will learn how to critically analyse artwork and apply this knowledge to your own game art creations. To reflect industry practice we promote the use of agile workflows and industry events such as Game Jams and Game Societies.

As you progress through this course you will work across a wide range of projects, developing the workflows required to create game-ready assets. You will create environments and props and will sculpt realistic game characters. Additionally, you’ll learn how to implement these assets into a game engine, bringing your creations to life.

We emphasise employability so your studies will be tailored to meet industry standards and adopt industry workflows. You will use professional software and tools to create game art and will render high-quality images for use within your professional portfolio.

This course is validated by Luminate Education Group

Working with

100%

of student satisfaction that staff are good at explaining things

94.7%

of student satisfaction that ‘My course has provided me with opportunities to bring information and ideas together from different topics’ on NSS 2019

Fee

£7,950 full-time (per academic year), £3,975 part-time (per academic year)

Location

University Centre Leeds

Start Date

September 2023

Duration

2 years full-time | 4 years part-time

Course Code

UCAS Course Code: I710 Institution code: L21

Study Mode

Full-time | Part-time

What you learn

Modules may include

Year 1 (Level 4)

Digital Sculpting (20 credits) – Using digital sculpting software to create highly detailed and multimillion polygonal assets for use within games.

Introduction to 3D (20 credits) – You will be introduced to 3D modelling software, skills, techniques and pipelines.

Principles of Gameplay (20 credits) – You will explore and analyse existing games to understand the core functionalities and gameplay properties that are used to create engaging and immersive experiences.

Professional Development (20 credits) – Learn about the academic requirements of University whilst contextualising this research for games.

Project 1 (20 credits) – Working together as a team to create, develop and produce a game, game level or experience. Collaborating with students from other courses and specialisms.

Visual Design (20 credits) – Explore and understand the techniques used to create artwork within the Games industry.

Year 2 (Level 5)

Advanced 3D (30 credits) – Using advanced techniques to create 3D artwork, you will explore and create environments to be used in games.

Art for Emerging Technologies (20 credits) – You will research then develop artwork for upcoming technologies such as VR, AR, 3D Printing.

Character Art (30 credits) – You will learn how to create and develop characters for next-gen games.

Employability Skills (20 credits) – You will develop the softer skills to prepare you for a job in the industry, learning how to pitch and present yourselves in a professional manner.

Project 2 (20 credits) – Working together as a team to create, develop and produce a game, game level or experience. Collaborating with students from other courses and specialisms.

Benefits/ skills you will develop

You will be given the opportunity to work across a wide range of projects, developing skills in game art. By developing the workflows required to create game ready assets, you will create environments and props and sculpt realistic looking game characters. You will develop skills in implementing these assets into a game engine, preparing them to showcase your skills by rendering out high-quality images for use within your professional portfolio.

You will develop the following skills:

Innovative and creative thinking preparing you for the ever-evolving games art industry.
Critical understanding of game art and the creation of 3D models.
Self-discipline and independence as learners and industry practitioners.
Academic skills including critical thinking, academic writing and time management.

Benefits include the following:

Taught by professionals with industry experience.
Opportunities for networking with our industry connections.
The opportunity to work collaboratively on ideas and projects.

You will also be developed as a creative individual, learning to appreciate and apply the artistic, technical and narrative techniques that form the core of contemporary games development. Finally, you will become well-versed in the real world of computer games, learning how the past, present and future of computer games are vital to your career and personal development.

Assessment

Entry requirements

A typical offer is likely to consist of:

A Levels: 2xD grades

BTEC Level 3 Diploma or Extended Diploma: MP, MPP grade

Access to HE Diploma: Overall pass with 60 credits, with 24 credits to be at a Merit grade

T Levels: Acceptable in a relevant subject.

IELTS: IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any component.

International qualifications: International qualifications will be assessed against these criteria.

Mature applicants: University Centre Leeds welcomes applications from mature* applicants who may not have met the academic criteria, but who can demonstrate a wealth of experience in their chosen field. Candidates in this category and otherwise are likely to be interviewed to assess their suitability for the course and may be asked to provide a portfolio of evidence to support their application.*21 years and over at the start of the course.

RPL claims: The course structure actively supports claims for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

What’s next

Programme Specification

Course Handbook

Leeds City College Regulations