A game artist is responsible for all of the aspects of game development that calls for visual art. Game artists are often noted in role-playing games, collectible card games, and computer and video games.

Computer and video games

Adrian Carmack, working on Doom, creating a clay model for the Baron of Hell.

In modern computer and video games, game artists create 2D art used as textures or 3D models and animations.

They often design the look of the character through concept art and render them to be integrated into the game. They are also responsible for designing scenery, props, and any other visual effects in the game, like FMVs.

The abilities of early computers were so limited that having specialized personnel for art was unnecessary. Up until about the early 1990s, almost all art for video games were created by the game programmers. Most early video game art was simply created in code by specifying pixel colors and coordinates.

In recent times, dedicated video game artists make up a large part of many game development teams.

See also: game programmer, game designer, game producer