Game Art Trends to Watch

The video games industry is constantly evolving, making it extremely important for game artists to stay current on the game art trends. Below are some key industry trends that game artists should keep an eye on.

elena maciulaityte vertex school

Game Art Program Artwork by Elena Maciulaityte

1. Real-Time Ray Tracing

  • Impact: With the emergence of powerful GPUs and advanced game engines like Unreal Engine 5, real-time ray tracing is becoming more accessible. This technology allows for highly realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows, enabling game artists to create visually stunning environments that were previously difficult to achieve.

2. Photogrammetry and 3D Scanning

  • Impact: Photogrammetry and 3D scanning are increasingly being used to create hyper-realistic textures and models. This technique involves capturing real-world objects and environments and turning them into detailed 3D assets, significantly speeding up the creation process while enhancing realism.

3. Stylized Art Revival

  • Impact: While realism continues to be popular, there’s a growing trend towards stylized art in games. This trend emphasizes unique visual styles, often drawing inspiration from animation, graphic novels, and classic art. Game artists with a strong sense of style and creativity are in demand as more studios explore distinctive art directions.
tabea soiron Game Art Industry Trends

Game Art Program Artwork by Tabea Soiron

4. Cross-Platform and Mobile Game Development

  • Impact: As gaming expands across multiple platforms, including mobile and cloud gaming, game artists must adapt their skills to create assets that work well on a variety of devices. Optimizing art for different screen sizes and performance capabilities is becoming increasingly important.

5. Procedural Content Generation (PCG)

  • Impact: The integration of procedural generation tools, such as Unreal Engine’s PCG framework and Blender’s Geometry Nodes, is becoming increasingly popular. These tools empower artists to algorithmically create intricate environments, landscapes, and even entire levels, significantly reducing manual effort. By leveraging these advanced systems, artists can generate dynamic, large-scale game worlds with greater efficiency and flexibility, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in game design.

6. Extended Reality (XR) 

  • Impact: XR, encompassing both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), is revolutionizing the way game artists create immersive and interactive experiences. Crafting assets for XR environments requires a fresh approach to art creation, with a strong emphasis on realism, spatial awareness, and optimization for 3D spaces within XR headsets. This emerging technology opens up new opportunities for artists to push the boundaries of their creativity and deliver truly engaging experiences in both virtual and augmented worlds.

7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Art Creation

  • Impact: AI tools are beginning to assist game artists in tasks like texture creation, animation, and even concept art generation. While AI won’t replace artists, it can enhance creativity and speed up the production process by handling repetitive tasks or generating initial ideas.

8. Collaborative and Remote Workflows

  • Impact: The shift towards remote work and global collaboration has led to the adoption of cloud-based tools and platforms that allow artists to work together seamlessly from anywhere in the world. Tools like Unity’s Collaborate, Quixel’s online library, and cloud-based storage solutions are becoming integral to the game development process.

9. Diversity in Character Design

  • Impact: There is a growing emphasis on diversity and representation in games. Game artists are being called upon to create characters and environments that reflect a broader range of cultures, backgrounds, and identities, making games more inclusive and appealing to a wider audience.
Brian Selman Character Design

Game Art Program Artwork by Brian Selman

10. Sustainable Game Development

  • Impact: Environmental awareness is influencing game development, including art creation. There is a trend towards using more energy-efficient processes, optimizing asset creation to reduce computational load, and considering the environmental impact of large-scale game productions.

11. Integration of Blockchain and NFTs

  • Impact: The rise of blockchain technology and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) is influencing how digital art is created, owned, and traded. Game artists might see new opportunities in creating assets that can be sold as NFTs, offering a new revenue stream and ownership model for digital art in games.

These trends are shaping the future of game art, offering new opportunities and challenges for artists in the industry. Staying updated and adapting to these changes will be crucial for success in the evolving landscape of game art and development.

Learn more about the 9-Month Game Art Program

Recommended next read: Landing a Job at an AAA Studio with One Portfolio Piece