About the course

There are over 2250 active games companies in the UK, with over 95 in the Manchester area alone*. Our Games Art degree was designed after consultation with industry experts from a number of these companies and aims to prepare you for a career creating interactive worlds and charismatic characters for the games industry.

Taking an intensely practical approach that is designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry, we’ll work to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in traditional and handheld game art.

We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.

*Ukie, June 2018, UK Games Map - http://ukie.org.uk/research/ accessed on 22 August 2019

Start Date/s

08/09/2025

Entry Requirements

104 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics. You'll be required to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of appropriate work.

Modules

Year 1 Art Fundamentals Digital Sculpting Level Design Fundamentals of 3D Year 2 Environment Art Advanced Digital Sculpting Advanced Environment Art Technical Art Year 3 Hard Surface Modelling Major Project Group Portfolio Project

Assessment

We use a variety of teaching and learning methods to help you achieve your potential, including lectures, demonstrations, practical lab sessions, critique sessions (peer and assessed), reflective learning through journals and logs for various activities, as well as online sessions and support. In terms of formal assessment, you can expect written examinations and reports, assignments, projects, case study analyses, in-class tests, demonstrations, presentations, and others. These contribute to your final module mark and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. We also use other forms of assessment to help you learn, especially critique sessions. These provide you with feedback and inform your development, though these do not count towards your final module mark.

Careers & Progression

BA (Hons) Games Art graduates could secure employment in a variety of careers including game art design, art direction, video production, visual effects, level design and modelling, and arts management. Alternative career options Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include: Film Advertising Marketing Web design Broadcast media Teaching Digital media