Games artists and animators generate the images by using both 2D and 3D graphics. They take the vision from the Games Designer and bring it to life through computer-generated animation. The course will start with the fundamentals of game artistry through to advance skills and techniques using the latest graphics packages.
The course has been created by the games industry for the games industry. It gives the student a blend of technical teaching and learning infrastructure that is relevant.
The course is a mixture of home-based learning and the use of a remote intranet system that allows you to interact with lectures, course tutors and fellow students. You will need a basic computing knowledge, creativity and imagination, but most importantly you need a passion and commitment towards video games design.
From the start you will be using specialist software to gain experience in traditional animation techniques and 3D computer animation. The course is designed to enable you to build up your theory learning along side the practical part of creating animations. At the end of the course you will have created fully working examples that will enable you to showcase your skills to new employers.
Games Artist/Animator Salary and Conditions
- Starting salary of £18,000-£25,000, with a typical salary at senior level with several years of experience of between £35,000 up to £70,000 (salary depends on company type, size and location of employer).
- Some companies offer bonuses or a profit-sharing scheme.
- Working hours are usually flexible, with many animators starting later than 9am. However, working hours are generally long and animators often work a 40-hour week or more.
- In order to try to meet games completion deadlines, games animation teams may need to work a 60 to 80-hour week, including work over the weekends.
- The role is typically office, studio or production house based, although there are some freelancers working from home.
- Animators tend to work in a team environment. In order to meet the complex nature of contemporary games, the size of teams can reach almost 200 individuals. It is not uncommon for groups and individual team members to be located remotely, both in the UK and other parts of the world.
*(Source – Prospects.ac.uk)
