Game art of a nighttime city street

Game Art Major

Apply To This Program

APPLY NOW

What does it take for an artist to succeed in the gaming industry? How can you develop the artistic and technical skills needed to create the 2-D and 3-D environments, characters, and animations seen in the games millions of people play every day?

Success as a game artist begins with a passion for creating art. If you're looking for an artistic career that will allow you to thrive in an increasingly digital media-based world, Champlain's Game Art major is your perfect next step. We can help you develop your creative expression while teaching you proficiency with digital game art tools.

Why Study Game Art at Champlain College?

Through our Upside-Down Curriculum, you will start Game Art courses-like Introduction to 3-D Modeling & Texturing and Introduction to Animation for Games-in your first year. These early foundations in both traditional and digital art techniques allow you more time to refine your work and gain experience through practice. In your junior and senior years, you will create independent high-quality work in a variety of Game Art electives, and work with a team of other Game Studio students during Senior Capstone to create fully-functioning games.

Our degree in Game Art was one of the first in the country and remains among the top game development programs in the world. While the field of game art represents an exploding industry that is expanding every day, there's a catch: Everybody wants to get in. Opportunities in the field are available to graduates with professional quality portfolios. Our Game Art major provides students with the education and skills needed to create a professional portfolio, so a student's success is ultimately up to them.

The Game Studio Experience at Champlain College is a unique feature that gives you hands-on experience in your field, working with peers from our other game majors to complete game projects from start to finish. This parallel to real-world professional studio work is what makes Champlain game programmers stand out from the crowd; you'll have firsthand experience working with other departments to bring a project to completion.

Learn More on Our Game Studio Website

 


JUST THE FACTS

THE BEST


The 2021 Fiske Guide to Colleges selected Champlain as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.

THE MOST


Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" by U.S. News & World Report (for the seventh consecutive year!) in its "America's Best Colleges" 2022 rankings.

#1


Burlington, Vermont, our hometown, is ranked the #1 Best College Town by Travel + Leisure magazine.

WHAT SETS US APART

The Game Studio Experience at Champlain College

The unique Game Studio Experience at Champlain College gives you start-to-finish game-building experience in a professional environment. You'll collaborate with your peers in each of our game majors to create playable games in a studio that parallels the processes of the industry. By the end of your four years, you'll be ready to work in a professional studio.

Students demonstrate and play video games at the Champlain Game Studio Senior Show

Annual Game Studio Senior Show

You will have the opportunity to present the game you create with your Game Studio team—as well as your own demo reel—to recruiters from all over the United States and Canada. Recruiters often come to the Senior Show to scout new talent, from companies like:

Insomniac Activision/Vicarious Visions
Behaviour Hidden Monster Games
Otherside Entertainment Sony Bend
Trivium Interactive Ubisoft
Velan

Champlain students attending the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco

Game Developers Conference

Champlain College sends a cohort to the world's largest game developers conference each year in San Francisco. Game Studio faculty, students, alumni, and the Game Studio Career Coach attend the conference for professional development and networking. The Career Coach facilitates exclusive networking meetings for Champlain students with top recruiters from companies such as Ubisoft, ArenaNet, Crystal Dynamics, Survios, Insomniac, Rockstar, and Sony.

GO ALL IN

Student works on a project in Champlain's Emergent Media Center

Internships

Since you're diving into the tools and techniques of game art in your very first semester, you'll already be prepared for career-relevant internships by your second year.

A student explores the Jean Talon Market in Montreal.

Study Abroad

Champlain's campus in Montreal, Canada, provides Game Art students with an exciting opportunity to live abroad in a vibrant, culturally rich city that appreciates the arts.

CREATE YOUR FUTURE IN GAME ART

Break Into the Competitive Game Industry

Although the game industry is exciting and attractive, this major is not for the faint of heart. Our rigorous curriculum covers a lot of ground in order to help you reach your full potential as a game artist. It begins with a foundation in traditional media and visual art, and then moves into 2-D and 3-D graphics and animation. It is easier for a student who is well-based in traditional visual art to learn the technical skills needed to bring their ideas to the screen, but we welcome any student whose admissions portfolio is accepted.

If you are serious about crafting game art, collaborating with other creative developers, and living a life doing what you love, this major will give you the tools, skills, and professional experience you need to make your dream a reality.

By graduation, you'll be prepared to...

Synthesize trends, theories, and movements in the development of new ideas.

Take full responsibility for your creative work and its reception before a global audience.

Visually conceptualize, in a clear and concise way, the artistic direction for a game or specific game assets using traditional rendering methods or digitally facilitated rendering methods.

Solve problems utilizing resources to find the best solutions to development challenges.

Explore all learning outcomes.

Recent grads are in positions such as:

  • Insomniac Games // Character Artist // Burbank, CA
  • PlayStudios // Real-Time VFX Artist // Burlingame, CA
  • Raven Software // Junior Environment Artist // Middletown, WI
  • Sony Bend // Associate Technical Artist // Bend, OR
  • Trivium Interactive // Graphic Artist // Boston, MA
  • Ubisoft // 3D/2D Artist // Montreal, QC
  • Vicarious Visions // Junior Artist // Albany, NY
  • Wayfair // 3D Viz Artist // Boston, MA
  • Velan Studios // Environment Artist // Troy, NY


Sign Up To Get Stickers + Helpful Info

Student working on a laptop covered in Champlain stickers

Ready to be inspired? Fill out the form and sign up to receive helpful information about Champlain College—plus, we'll send you a full sheet of high quality stickers designed by one of our recent Graphic Design & Visual Communication graduates.

Nice to meet you!

Thanks for getting in touch—stickers and information will be on their way shortly. Please reach out anytime if you have any questions about Champlain; you can call or text us at 802.625.0201 or email us at admission@champlain.edu.

In the meantime, check out our list of majors, schedule your visit or event, and enjoy The View, for the latest news and updates from the College!

Latest Game Studio News from The View