Animation vs. Game Art: Two Different Degrees

Animation and game art both involve 3D software, digital sculpting and a lot of drawing, and games use animation. That is why they are often confused. As degree programs they have different centers of gravity: animation centers on motion and performance, game art on the creation of assets and worlds that run inside a game. This guide explains the difference and how to read the labels.

What a game art degree centers on

Game art programs describe their content in terms of assets and environments. Staffordshire University London's BA (Hons) Games Art says the course covers environment and character creation plus props, vehicle and weapon design, with core skills in 3D modelling, digital sculpting, texturing and observational drawing. In years two and three students choose a specialism: Character Art or Environment Art. The page lists real-time environment work and tools such as ZBrush, Substance and Unreal Engine for the environment pathway.

Academy of Art University's Game Art BFA says it gives a well-rounded overview of professional game art tools and fundamentals, teaches traditional and digital techniques, and lets students specialize in modeling or concepting environments, characters, or both. It is a 120-unit degree that includes sophomore and senior portfolio units.

In both cases the product is something that has to function inside a game: a model, a material, an environment. Movement of characters is only part of the story.

What an animation degree centers on

CalArts describes its BFA in Character Animation as a four-year program in which the first year covers life drawing, color and design, storytelling and character animation, and later years add dialogue, sound and music, advanced coursework and a short film each year. The focus is on performance and filmmaking, in both traditional and CG animation.

DePaul's Animation BFA shows how the lines blur. It is an animation degree, and it has a Game Art concentration, described as requiring a solid foundation in animation and including modeling, rigging and digital sculpting, plus work with programmers and game designers on game projects. It also has concentrations in 3D Animation, Cinema, Motion Graphics, Storyboarding and Character Design, and Visual Effects Animation. A student in the Game Art concentration of an animation degree is therefore in an officially named pathway; a student in a Games Art BA is in a dedicated game art degree. Those are different structures even if the course lists look similar.

Overlap and difference

Treat this as a tendency. The Academy of Art page, for example, names only Maya in a course title and otherwise refers to digital tools in general terms, so engine content is something to check, not assume.

Reading the degree label

• Dedicated Game Art degree: the degree title names it, as in the Staffordshire and Academy of Art examples.
• Concentration in an animation degree: DePaul's Game Art concentration.
• Game design or game development degrees: these are often different again, focused on design, programming or production. They are separate from art programs and from animation.
• A single game module in an animation degree: relevant coursework only.

Check the specialization pages to see how a program is tagged on this site, and keep animation, VFX and game art distinct when you compare.

Admissions and tools

Both kinds of program ask for portfolio review. Staffordshire says every applicant is assessed through a portfolio review and links to guidance on what to include. CalArts lists an application with a portfolio, artist statement and video materials. Requirements are set by each school and change by year.

Software is specific to each curriculum. Staffordshire names the Autodesk suite, ZBrush, Substance Suite, Houdini, SpeedTree and Unreal Engine across its pathways; Academy of Art names Maya in a course. See equipment and software and the software costs guide for how to budget.

Careers: use caution

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics groups animators and effects artists under one occupation and says some work on animated movies or video games and others on visual effects for film and TV. It also says employers prefer a good portfolio and strong technical skills. It does not say what a particular degree leads to. Staffordshire states that its course is accredited by TIGA as delivering skills relevant to the games industry; that is a statement by the university about accreditation of its own program and does not promise a job.

How to decide

• Pick animation if you want to focus on movement, acting and storytelling in film or on a character performance inside games.
• Pick game art if you want to build the characters, props and environments that appear in a game.
• Pick an animation degree with a game art concentration if you want an animation foundation first and have not yet decided.

For comparison with another neighbouring field, see animation vs. VFX, and for the broader framework, how to choose an animation degree. Confirm curricula and entry requirements on each official program page.