A 2D artist is a specialist who uses computer graphics to create art, drawing characters, objects, weapons, environments, and other images. This is a creative profession that requires an art education, knowledge of illustration software and possession of special tools like a graphics tablet.
2D-artists can work in advertising agencies, freelance draw cartoons, comics, illustrations for books, cooperate with game-dev companies and mobile application development studios.
Profession 2D-artist: what knowledge and skills are needed
The work of a 2D artist is based on the knowledge of the academic fundamentals of drawing, painting and composition, on the ability to work with light and shadow, and on the right choice of colors.
Artist from A to Z knows the anatomy of people and animals, can portray them in motion and in different poses. 2D-Artist knows how to draw by hand and on a tablet, analyzes other people’s work, develops observation and trains creative thinking.
A 2D Artist should be able to draw in one or more of the following graphics programs: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW.
Is 2D Artist a sought-after profession or not? These days, the demand for artists is quite high, especially in the gaming industry. The scale and speed of game development, the quality of art and the amount of unique visual content is growing exponentially. That’s why you can find the job openings on the job sites as Junior 2D Artist, who will have to create simple props (objects, icons), as well as Senior 2D Artist and creative artists, whose main task will be to draw the characters and locations for advertising campaigns.
Also, if the level of English allows, nobody forbids to enter the international labor market and find a remote job in a foreign company. This is beneficial not only financially, but also to add to the portfolio of a game artist.
Game Artist: the specifics of work
Beginner gamemakers mistakenly believe that gamemode will be an ideal platform for their creativity. This is partly true, but many people forget that they will have to create art in the style of the project, not in their own. It will have to adjust their ideas to the existing requirements, so that the game will produce the predicted effect.
As a rule, large projects already have their own pipelines (algorithms for creating illustrations), which the art department uses. On the one hand, this greatly simplifies the work and communication, but on the other hand, it steals the feeling of creativity.
An artist in the game industry: specializations and main tasks
In large companies, “game artist” is not the final name of the position at all. Conceptmers, illustrators, character designers and other creative guys work on creating art here.
A concept artist is a specialist who searches for and visualizes the idea of future art “in broad strokes,” that is, he prepares the design of a character/location without detailed drawing. He finds relevant examples of visual material from games, movies and cartoons, photos, pictures, and uses them as references. Concept art is about finding the best form and variation, not about pure finished work. Creating such a drawing is the initial stage of producing art, which is then passed on to other artists for finalization. That’s why concept art can look like a rough sketch, and that’s okay.
Illustrators are involved in rendering static images – loading screens, cover art, promotional material. These can range from character posters for sale on the game’s website to virtual postcards for the community.
A UX/UI artist handles the drawing of the game’s interface. Every new pop-up, settings menu, skill progress bar, and in-game store sale message is the work of a UI artist. UI artists know how the buttons should look so that they do not interfere with the gameplay, but remain visible, what emotions the window colors evoke, what visual style of controls corresponds to the setting. A UX/UI artist, understanding the logic of player behavior and needs, uses this knowledge to improve the gameplay experience.
The environment artist is involved in creating backdrops for computer and mobile games. Natural landscapes, urban locations, entourage, buildings, and objects placed in them are all created by the hands of the environment artist. These specialists have an in-depth knowledge of architecture and are masterful with perspective and lighting.
Character artists create game characters – realistic humans and animals, cyborgs and robots, mutants, and all kinds of creatures that can be involved in the game. The strengths of character artists – irrepressible imagination, knowledge of human plastic anatomy and the ability to convey the character through artistic techniques.