Game Art (BFA)
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program in Game Art addresses an area of specialization with 2-D and 3-D graphics for real-time systems such as games and simulations.
In the Game Art program, you’ll express your creativity and prepare for a productive career. The program develops fine artists with a strong core foundation who use contemporary technology. You’ll be prepared to become an effective, creative partner—whether co-founding your own indie development studio or working on a large AAA title.
Successful practice engaging gaming, virtual/XR and real-time technologies requires a deep foundation in traditional methods and approaches in the visual arts. Drawing on the longstanding history of UArts in both applied and fine arts, the Game Art program is uniquely positioned to accomplish this goal. Game development is a cross-disciplinary field, and our approach uses a collaborative, interdisciplinary framework to develop skilled, virtual 3-D artists who can create compelling, complex digital worlds, from concept through realization. Nowhere but UArts will you find such a diversity of disciplines combined with the support of a small creative community.
UArts’ commitment to this rapidly emerging field is undeniable. In 2019, we opened a 5,600-square-foot Center for Immersive Media dedicated to motion-capture and immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality. Game Art Program Director Erik Van Horn taught one of the world’s first Artmaking in VR courses here. Learn more about the Center for Immersive Media.
UArts alumni have gone on to work on titles like the God of War series (Sony) and the World of Warcraft series (Blizzard). Recently, Danielle Vuono BFA ’19 was nominated for best student game at the Independent Games Festival 2019, where well-known games such as Night in the Woods and Celeste have been recognized. She went on to win the prestigious WomenIn Scholarship from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
The game industry is the biggest entertainment industry in the world today, employing more artists than any other industry. Games-as-entertainment is just the tip of the iceberg. A mastery of real-time graphics and game engine technology is the most in-demand skill set for designers in any field and applies to industries ranging from entertainment to medical visualization, scientific modeling, educational applications and more. Professional careers include 3-D generalist, environment artist, character artist, gameplay animator, game designer, level designer, UI artist, UX designer and VFX artist.
Philadelphia is the place to study game design, as it’s hailed as the best place in the U.S. for startup businesses, is home to AAA Studios and has an active indie game development scene. UArts’ Game Art program is active in the local game development community, and our students work hand in hand with industry professionals in game jams and other industry events. With campus located on the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, you’ll be at the center of the local scene.
Erik Van Horn is an artist, animator and writer, and director of the UArts Game Art program.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in the game and animation industries. Career highlights include digital art director for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast (a division of Hasbro) and senior training specialist at Disney Animation Studios. Feature credits include Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, Princess and the Frog and Tangled.
When he’s not teaching, Erik is a freelance digital artist as well as a fine art painter with a long list of past exhibitions including more than 20 solo shows and work in over 100 private collections.
Explore student demo reels from the Game Art (BFA) program. As a Game Art student, you'll develop meaningful 3-D virtual objects, characters and worlds across a wide range of aesthetic styles. You'll utilize 3-D-game development tools and systems, and collaborate with your peers to imagine and express creative, innovative and visually engaging virtual worlds and characters.
The 2020 Game Art Senior Thesis Exhibit features five individual projects in game design and visual development. Each represents a year-long research project into world-building, narrative structures of interactive experience, and a visual design optimized for the technical specifications of the target platform and user experience.
This fall, UArts’ Game Art program and the International Game Developers Association will co-host a talk with the director and a screening of Shannon Sun-Higginson’s documentary, GTFO. Sparked by a public display of sexual harassment in 2012, GTFO pries open the video game world to explore a $20 billion industry that is riddled with discrimination and misogyny. In recent years, the diversification of the gaming community has led to a massive clash of values, with women bearing the brunt of the consequences every day through acts of harassment ranging from name-calling to cyber-vandalism and death threats. Featuring interviews with video game developers, journalists and academics, GTFO paints a complex picture of the video game industry, while revealing the systemic and human motivations behind acts of harassment.
Shannon Sun-Higginson is a documentary producer and director whose credits include GTFO (which premiered at SXSW), No Reservations on the Travel Channel, Parts Unknown on CNN and The Contenders on PBS. Her latest feature documentary is titled The Witman Project; it covers a 1998 murder case in rural Central Pennsylvania, and will be distributed by Magnolia Films and air on Discovery Channel in 2020. She currently works as a producer and director for All Ages Productions in Philadelphia.
The screening and talk will be held Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in Caplan Recital Hall in Terra Hall, 211 S. Broad St. The event is free and open to to the public.
This year, UArts was the proud host of the Philadelphia chapter of the 2019 Global Game Jam! Artists of a variety of disciplines from all over the Philly area came together to collaboratively make games in just 48 hours. Students were given the opportunity to work alongside professionals for a full weekend! Projects ranged from full-fledged video games to handmade board games. Check out what they had to say about it!
I am so excited to attend my first GDC, the Independent Games Festival awards ceremony, make more connections and learn more.
My name is Danielle Vuono and I am a Game Art major at the University of the Arts. I began college at Maryland Institute College of Art for animation, then transferred to Alberta College of Art and Design in Canada for illustration. Finally, I decided to return to my roots in Philadelphia and transfer to The University of the Arts. Originally I attended for illustration, but after a semester I changed my major to Game Art to fulfill my need to create a more interactive and personal experience with my art. Before attending the University of the Arts, I interned at 15lb Pink Productions creating special effects for a National Film Board of Canada short film called Skin for Skin.
Once I changed my major to Game Art, I heard about a community called Philly Game Mechanics. Philly Game Mechanics is a community full of game developers, writers, artist, musicians, etc. who all share a love for games and making them. I attended game jams and events and made a bunch of friends and connections which led me to my current job with Gossamer Games. I think it is safe to say meeting my boss Tom Sharpe was one of the most important moments of my young adult life and my career as a game artist. I got an interview with Tom and almost immediately started working on Sole. It has been a little over a year now that I have been working for Gossamer Games and my life has changed dramatically. I never thought I would be a part of such an amazing team of people and be nominated for best student game at the Independent Games Festival 2019 where well-known games such as Night in the Woods and Celeste have been recognized.
Since working at Gossamer Games, I have gotten to attend MAGFest two times, showcased on the IMAX screen at the Franklin Institute, and will be attending PAX East in Boston this March as well as the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. I have learned an enormous amount through all these events and now have a community to turn to for support with my own art endeavors including my 360 3D-animated film for my senior thesis. I could not be more thankful. I am so excited to attend my first GDC, the Independent Games Festival awards ceremony, make more connections and learn more.
There needs to be a change in the dynamics of gaming. Something has to be different; I thrive to be that change and the difference.
I hope to bring my artistic, lore-driven style to the table and be a part of why people love games.
John Bezark is a West Philly based creative technologist, video artist and interactive designer. He works primarily in MAX/MSP/Jitter, node.js and webGL to build creative systems that are powered by technology. However, with a background in Theatre Directing, he also believes in making immersive and interactive experiences that are deeply rooted in storytelling and audience agency. He’s fascinated by complex systems, board games and history, and, on the whole, is looking forward to the future.
Chris Baldys is a musician and programmer based out of West Philadelphia. He plays guitar in the Post-Punk band “Rabbits To Riches” and performs solo music under the name “little stray” in addition to working with John Bezark on information sculptures. He’s excited to be playing with the immense amount of data and reference that surrounds us, that is, and shapes, the real. Emergent meaning; incomprehensible sources; Unprecedented scale. Communication is a splendid and horrifying affair.
Click the images below to read more.
BFA '15
About the Curriculum
The Game Art program utilizes a collaborative, interdisciplinary framework to create skillful virtual 3-D artists who can create compelling, complex digital worlds from concept through realization. Our approach balances the development of the artist’s creative voice with in-depth, systematic, progressive technical instruction. You’ll be exposed to broad historical contexts in order to develop rich aesthetics that push the boundaries of imagination. By emphasizing the artistic components of immersive media creation, we are able to re-think and re-frame the visualization of game worlds and experiences. You’ll be prepared to be effective, creative partners, whether serving as part of a small indie-game development team or working on a large AAA title.
Students who complete the Game Art program will demonstrate ability to
- utilize 3-D-game development tools and systems to produce technically competent works of art;
- imagine and express creative, innovative, visually engaging virtual worlds and characters;
- participate and collaborate successfully as effective members of creative development teams; and
- develop meaningful 3-D virtual objects, characters and worlds across a wide range of aesthetic styles while they adapt to rapid changes in industry.
Sample Curriculum
Duration: 4 years full time
Credits: 120 credits
Major requirements: 63 credits
Discipline history: 12 credits
Critical Studies: 30 credits
Free electives: 15 credits
First Year
Fall semester: 16.5 credits
Image/Time (3c)
Computer Art Studio (3c)
Drawing: Objects & Space or Object/Environment (3c)
Art History Survey I or II (3c)
Writing I Placement (3c)
Free elective (your choice) (1.5c)
Spring semester: 16.5 credits
Intro to Interface Design (3c)
Drawing: Objects & Space, Object/Environment, Video Production, Body as Form or Found & Fabricated (choose one) (3c)
Color (3c)
Thinking Through Science (3c)
Writing II Placement (3c)
Free elective (your choice) (1.5c)
Second Year
Fall semester: 15 credits
Sound Design (3c)
Programming for Creatives (3c)
Intro to 3-D Animation (3c)
History of Games (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Spring semester: 15 credits
Intro to 2-D Computer Animation, Illustration I: Pictorial Foundation or Figure Anatomy (choose one) (3c)
Virtual Environments (3c)
Advanced 3-D Computer Modeling & Lighting (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Free elective (your choice) (3c)
Third Year
Fall semester: 15 credits
Advanced 3-D Animation (3c)
Game Concepts I (3c)
Virtual Environments II (3c)
Free elective (your choice) (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Spring semester: 15 credits
Professional Practices (3c)
Game Concepts II (3c)
Discipline history (your choice) (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Fourth Year
Fall semester: 15 credits
Digital Studio (1.5c) or Design Internship (3c)
Senior Studio I (3c)
Discipline history (your choice) (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Free elective (your choice, based on choice above) (3–4.5c)
Spring semester: 12 credits
Senior Studio II (3c)
3-D Simulation & Effects or Special Effects Composition (choose one) (3c)
Critical Studies (your choice) (3c)
Free elective (your choice) (3c)
Free elective credits can be used to
- take additional classes in your primary area of interest;
- pursue or explore other creative interests in the arts; or
- minor in one of the 23 programs that are open to all undergraduate students.
Critical Studies is where creative practice and critical reflection intersect. These courses provide common ground for all UArts students and offer unique forums for exchanging ideas through different critical perspectives and approaches. A broad range of interdisciplinary courses will develop and deepen your critical thinking skills, communication and research toolkits, and understanding of the history and criticism of creativity.
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