Advanced Diploma

Game Art and Animation - CIP Code 11.0803

Drive the development process and bring games to life.

Game artists build the environments, create the characters and craft the vehicles for the games that you love to play. They can specialise in modelling, texturing, animation and level design. Game art development is a dynamic medium to showcase your creative ability.

You'll work with other artists, designers and programmers to design and create your own unique entertainment experience using cutting-edge game technology. This program has been developed in response to industry needs and runs for two years, full time.

Course Content

Stage One

Students develop their skills in 3D modelling, texturing, UVW unwrapping, rigging, animation, lighting, using cameras, rendering and compositing. Students will concept, model and animate characters, design game levels, create high-detail creatures, build realistic environments and craft a short animated movie.

Stage Two

Year two of the course covers all aspects of game content creation currently employed in game development, as well as new emerging technologies. Students will further their 3D skills before working on individual specialisations in creating art assets for game development. All facets of 3D games modelling and animation are covered, including character creation, level design, environment modelling, game design, concept art, animation and custom texturing.

Students graduate at the end of Year 2 with an extensive showreel of 3D modelling, animation and a complete game level. The showreel forms the basis of an industry standard portfolio that they can take to prospective employers or demonstrate to development studios at our end of year industry day.

Major Game Project

In second year of this course game art students will work together with game design and game programming students in development teams to design and produce a playable game. This project closely mirrors the real-world production cycle in an industry development studio, covering the entire process from pitching the game idea, through writing game design documents, evaluating technical requirements, managing workload, meeting deadlines, delivering commercial quality artwork and animation, bug-fixing, QA testing and market analysis of the game.

Subjects

Subjects you will study

Stage One

3D Art Pipeline
Health and Safety in the Office
Principles of Animation
Modelling and Texturing
Character Pipeline
Character Animation
Digital Lighting and Compositing
Storyboards
Production Planning
Production

Stage Two

Game Art Pipeline
Game Environments
Game Characters
Game User Interface (GUI)
Proof of Concept
Sustainability
Major Production
Online Professional Portfolio

Subjects You Will Study | Game Art and Animation

Software

Software You Will USe

Students utilize industry standard software and resources such as:

Maya — 3D Modelling, rigging, animating, lighting and rendering
ZBrush — High-detail sculpting and texturing
Adobe Photoshop — Concept art and texture maps
Unreal Engine and Unity engine — Game development
Substance Suite — High detail materials and texturing
Marmoset Toolbag — Look development, light and render pipelines

Careers

Your Career Opportunities

3D Animator
Environment Modeler
Texture Artist
UI Design
Level Designer
Technical Artist
Character Animator
Rigger
2D Artist

Graduates can be found working in some of the worlds leading games studios, independent games studios and also creating their own digital content through the AIE incubator.

Other graduates are working in serious games/simulations for Defence and simulations for major mining companies.

Pre-requisites

Portfolio Requirements

The portfolio should demonstrate the aptitude to visually communicate. Provide 5-15 examples with at least one drawing from life (still, gesture, environment, etc.). Past portfolios have included oil paintings, gesture drawings, still lifes, poster designs, short animations, sculptures, concept art, character and level designs, and many more.

Provide examples of your art that you are proud of. We will ask you about your creative process from concept to presentation during the portfolio review. We will accept either digital (e-mail/DropBox/Flash Drive/etc.) or physical copies. Please contact us directly with questions.

Learning Objectives

Students Will:

Demonstrate entry-level proficiency using industry standard software and resources such as: Maya, ZBrush, Photoshop, Mudbox and Unity to design, create and import art assets into game engines. (Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Demonstrate appropriate project management skills for entry into the interactive game industry as a game artist. (Collaboration, Communication, Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Use analytical thinking skills to design, develop and troubleshoot. (Communication, Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Demonstrate how game art addresses both visual aesthetics and engine/game context functionality. (Communication, Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Analyze and interpret user requirements to design and develop appropriate solutions. (Communication, Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Interpret information received from a variety of sources; including reference manuals, the Internet, computerized help systems and colleagues. (Collaboration, Communication, Performance, Problem Solving)
Identify own skills and abilities and develop strategies for effectively using them in group settings. (Communication, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Initiate and participate in projects requiring teams of diverse individuals (Collaboration, Communication, Performance, Problem Solving, Responsibility)
Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing and through a visual medium. (Communication, Performance, Responsibility)
Prepare an employment portfolio including a resume, cover letter, letters of reference and show reel/work samples and pitch a concept. (Collaboration, Communication, Performance, Responsibility)

Fees

Our Fees

PROGRAM	TOTAL TUITION FEE Cohort Commencing 2023
Advanced Diploma of Professional Game Development - Game Art & Animation	$49,200

For more information on our tuition fees please visit our FEES page

Payment Plans

AIE appreciates that for many students payment of fees in full prior to the commencement of study can be difficult. For this reason, students may be offered the option of paying fees via a payment plan, which allows for students to pay their fees via installments. Please contact an AIE Campus for more information about Payment Plans.