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Game Art

Entry requirements


We welcome A Levels in a wide range of subjects, especially in those relevant to the course for which you apply.

We may consider a standalone AS in a relevant subject, if it is taken along with other A Levels and if an A Level has not been taken in the same subject. However, you will not be disadvantaged if you do not have a standalone AS subject as we will not ordinarily use them in our offers.

60 credits (with a minimum of 45 credits achieved at level 3) in a relevant subject.

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

Acceptable when combined with other qualifications

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points

T Level

P-M

P (Pass) grade must be C or above, not D or E

UCAS Tariff

104-120

A typical offer is between 104 and 120 UCAS points, primarily from Level 3 equivalent qualifications, such as A levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma, or current, relevant experience. Grade 4 (or C) or above in GCSE English Language, or equivalent, is a minimum language requirement for all applicants. Due to the creative nature of our courses, you will be considered on your own individual merit and potential to succeed on your chosen course. Please contact the Applicant Services team for advice if you are predicted UCAS points below this range, or if you have questions about the qualifications or experience you have.

a minimum of 40 UCAS tariff points, when combined with a minimum of 64 UCAS tariff points from the Supporting Qualifications

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Computer games

Gain the creative and technical skills to succeed as a digital artist.

On this Game Art degree, study fundamental game art principles alongside traditional art practice, building your expertise to contribute to a major game development project in your second and third year.

You'll be studying at the No. 1 university for game design in England according to the Princeton Review, 2023, and graduate as a confident, industry-ready game artist. You'll be equipped to join one of the fastest growing sectors of the games industry where skills are in high demand.

You will:
Develop expertise in character, concept and environment art, gaining industry skills in 3D modelling, UV mapping, baking, composition and shading
Work in one of the largest and best-equipped dedicated game-making spaces of any university in the UK
Study in a studio environment with access to industry standard hardware and software
Master a range of industry-standard tools used to produce game art including ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter and Marmoset
Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams, keeping the Intellectual Property (IP) of games you produce
Network with industry through our guest speaker programme and end of year Games Expo.

Modules

You'll study the principles of game art in the context of traditional art practice, combining subjects like life drawing and composition with digital 2D and 3D modelling. We'll also build your expertise in concept, character and environment art, agile project management, and game development pipelines and processes.

Focused on industry practices, much of your learning will come from working in game development teams – devising and developing real games using real-world practices.

Year one
During the first year of your Game Art degree, you'll build the basic skills demanded by the industry, and learn about game artists' major roles and techniques. Working with industry-standard software, methods and processes, you'll develop your drawing skills, better understand anatomy, and apply these abilities to 3D modelling and related elements.

You'll learn traditional and digital art skills – both 2D and 3D – alongside concept, environment and character art to build digital worlds and characters.

Modules:
Concept Art 1
Character Art 1
Environment Art 1
Concept Art 2
Character Art 2
Environment Art 2

Year two
You'll grow your confidence in game art and your skills in using professional digital tools. You'll provide art assets to a collaborative project with game students of different disciplines, giving you valuable experience in an industry-style development pipeline.

An additional specialist practice project lets you hone your skills in a particular area of game art and create high quality work for your portfolio.

Modules
World Building: Pre-production
Developing Concept Art Vocabularies
Developing Character Art Vocabularies
Developing Environment Art Vocabularies
Art Research Practice
World Building: Production
Portfolio Development

Year three
With specialism, independence and professional practice at the front and centre of this year, you'll join a multi-skilled team on a game development project. Working in a studio, you'll contribute art assets using industry-standard methods and pipelines.

You'll also create distinctive and polished work for your growing portfolio by working on specialist game art. We'll then help you commercialise this work and prepare you for the transition to professional life.

Modules
Future Skills
Professional Portfolio
Technical Art Practice
Future of Games
Major Collaboration

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

Assessment methods

Continuous assessment with no formal examinations.
Visual, verbal and written assignments.
A portfolio of personal and group project work is developed over the course of the degree to boost your employability.

The Uni


Course location:

Penryn Campus

Department:

The Games Academy

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

85%
Computer games

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Computer games and animation

Teaching and learning

92%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
91%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

89%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
66%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
74%
Male students
26%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Computer games and animation

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

100%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
26%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

This is a relatively new subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Gaming is a growing industry, and if it continues to grow we should see the rather high unemployment rate coming down over the next few years. Much the most common jobs for graduates who do get work after six months are in programming roles - but as things stand, be aware that jobs in the field are very competitive and personal contacts - either through family, friends or via specialist employment agencies - are a crucial way into the industry so be prepared to talk as well as code!

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Computer games and animation

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£16k

£16k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth
Computer Games Design
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Nearby University
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Game Arts and Design
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-120
Lower entry requirements
Falmouth University | Falmouth
Game Art with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 80-120
Same University
Falmouth University | Falmouth
Game Development: Programming
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here