Live online learning

Please note that our daytime courses will be running in 2021 with options for both live online learning and face-to-face learning (when allowed by government guidelines), to allow us to accommodate for everyone's specific needs, and everyone's safety, as we apply social distancing measures in line with government guidance. For more information, please visit our live online learning page or contact our Admissions team.

MA Game Art

Learn from professionals, create your own game and achieve a masters degree.

Our MA degree packs in all the content from our popular 18 week course but takes students to the next level with a collaborative group project that will get you working like a real studio. You’ll create lifelong connections, graduate with a killer showreel and achieve a postgraduate degree that is validated by The University of Kent.

We created this degree as a response to industry demand for new creative talent. You'll create environments, assets, lighting and game FX for mobile or console development. We also teach students about the industry itself, so you have an understanding of current and emerging business models. We work with an Advisory Board of industry professionals to keep the content relevant, we partner with leading studios on each course and we have regular industry events and talks so you hear directly from successful Game Artists.

You’ll be following in the footsteps of successful Escapees - our MA game art graduates are now employed at some of the biggest studios including Rare, Rockstar and Ubisoft.

See more student work

Location: London campus or Live online
Start dates: 27 September 2021
Tuition fees:
London campus: £17,995
Live online: £15,450
Mode of study: Daytime (full-time)
Programme duration: 1 year
Entry requirements: An undergraduate honours degree with a significant component in the field of animation or related discipline.

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Download a course brochure

Online course requirements

Internet Access
Desktop or laptop meeting the Autodesk requirements for Maya (https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Maya-2020.html)
Desktop or Laptop meeting Epic requirements for Unreal Engine (https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/GettingStarted/RecommendedSpecifications/index.html)
3-button mouse (or optionally a Wacom tablet or similar)
Working computer microphone (and optionally a webcam)
Note-taking materials

Industry feedback

We pride ourselves on our industry powered training, that's why we partner with some of the world's leading studios for all our Escape Studios Postgraduate degrees. Previous partners for our Games courses included Climax Studios, Creative Assembly and Media Molecule to name a few.

Industry feedback sessions are a great opportunity for our students to receive industry standard critique form an expert in their field, this personalised feedback allows students to improve their work to guarantee it is studio ready.

Why choose this course

Hands-on tuition. For the first 18 weeks of the course you’ll be working on mastering the skills and software needed to start your own project

Studio project. You’ll then apply these skills to a group project - working like a studio to create an incredible asset that can be used as part of your showreel

Industry trained tutors. Our games tutors have worked at some of the most successful games studios including Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, EA, Rebellion and Climax Studios.

Aftercare to help you get hired. Our alumni Aftercare package will help you polish your showreel and find the right job - with access to showreel clinics, studio access for 12 months and use of tons of resources on our VLE.
You'll graduate with a globally recognised MA qualification from the University of Kent. Known as the UK’s European University, the University of Kent is ranked 23rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017

Module information

The MA Game Art is a 48 week course including 18 weeks of class‐based study time, a 12 week collaborative project and a 12 week final project.

Our MA Game Art involves 5 key modules:

Game Art ‐ Foundation / Mobile/Web Development
- Introduction to modelling for games
- Texturing for video games
- Lighting and materials for mobile
- Mobile game art
- Lighting and baking for video games
- Animation workflows
- Interactivity and 3D

Game Art ‐ Advanced / Next-generation Development
- Introduction to digital sculpting
- PBR workflows
- Game engine fundamentals
- World building
- Advanced game engine
Game Art – FX and Technical Art
- Introduction to FX in games / simulations
- Simulations / 3D / 2D fluids 2 engine
- Animation and dynamic meshes
- Advanced materials
- Cascade and particles
- Workflows for magical and natural effects
Game Collaborative Project
- Group proposal / design document
- Group game art project
Game Production Project

See full module breakdown

MA Game Art: Module Information

Assessment information

How will your work be assessed?

Formative assessment

Majority of modules contain at least one piece of practice or ‘formative’ assessment for which you receive feedback. Formative assessments are developmental and any feedback you receive for them do not count towards your overall module mark

Summative assessment breakdown

For four of your modules (Game Art – Foundation, Game Art – Advanced, Game Art – FX andTechnical Art, and Game Production Project), your assessment will be split into two parts:

60% Product - you will be required to create a product to a specified brief
40% Retrospective/Presentation – you will be required to provide critical analysis of your own work

For your Game Collaborative Project, you will be marked as follows:

20% Proposal - you will be required to produce a full pre-production design document
50% Product - you will be required to create a product as a part of a team
30% Retrospective – you will be required to provide critical analysis of your own work

Teaching and learning

Your overall workload will be divided between teaching sessions and independent learning.

During your course, you’ll be able to develop your knowledge and skills in a number of ways. Some of this will be closely directed/supervised by your tutors, at other times you’ll be free to organise your own study with guidance. All your scheduled studio time, except for some information sessions and presentations, will be in groups of around 30.

For many of your projects, you’ll be working in smaller teams, collaborating to meet a shared brief. This should give you ample opportunity to get the support and assistance that you need. The craft modules will usually have a higher contact time, as this is where you will be learning the knowledge and skills associated with your particular subject, directed and informed by your tutors’ expertise and experience. These will normally involve a large part of each day in the studio with your tutor and studio assistant, following demonstrations and working on set exercises to help you develop your craft.

The project modules will have a lower contact time, with your tutors taking on the roles of supervisors or studio leads. You’ll still meet with them regularly (usually every working day) to get feedback and help you stay on the right path, but these modules are much more about you managing the learning experience to meet your objectives. The majority of the projects will be team-based, and you’ll have the opportunity to take on different roles in a number of teams during your studies. Again, you’ll be expected to work in the studios for a significant part of each day, and attendance will be recorded, but outside those times you’ll be free to organise your work as a team to best suit your project requirements.

Each module has its own area on the OLE where you will find all the information about the module and the resources that are provided to support your learning. Some of this information will be dedicated to the module, other elements may be shared across different modules and some may be external assets that can help with your further study. There may be links to videos, online journals and e-books, and you should take advantage of these to enhance your development and take it beyond the studio experience. Tutors may highlight some of these during their sessions, so make sure you listen out and follow up on their advice!

Overall workload

The academic year consists of three terms: Autumn, Spring and Summer. Students on a typical 3 year degree attend classes during the Autumn and Spring term, for a total of 30 weeks, and will normally not attend during the Summer term, unless they have to re-attempt assessments.

Per week, your overall workload will be approximately 40 hours. Each week, you will spend 15 hours in Workshops and Practicals and 20-25 hours on self-study learning and working on your projects. More information can be found in our Learning and Teaching Strategy.

Software

Entry requirements

An undergraduate honours degree in Art and Design, Architecture, Computing or Engineering-related subjects.

Applicants without a degree who have significant industry experience in game art or related creative subjects will be considered.

Suitable applicants will be asked to submit a creative portfolio.

English Language requirements

If your first language is not English you may need to complete an English language test, such as a Pearson English language test (PTE Academic) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, to demonstrate you have the language skills needed to complete your degree. All our courses are taught in English.

Qualification	Score required
IELTS	6.5 IELTS (with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading and Writing and 5.5 in Speaking and Listening)
PTE	62 including 60 in each subtest
Cambridge English: Advanced & Proficiency	176 (with a minimum of 169 in Reading and Writing and 162 in Speaking and Listening)
Internet-based TOEFL	90 Overall including at least 22 in Reading, 21 in Writing, 21 in Listening and 23 in Speaking

How to apply

To apply, please complete the online application form. Our Admissions team will get in touch to arrange an interview (online or face-to-face).

If you have any questions about your application or our entry requirements, you can:

Call our Admissions Advisors on +44 (0)203 441 1303
Email us at admissions@escapestudios.com
Reach us on LiveChat Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Following your application, you will need to agree to our terms and conditions before your place on the course can be secured.

Where will this get me?

On completion of the course you will graduate with a postgraduate qualification validated by the University of Kent. Degree validation means that our academic partner judges your degree to be of an appropriate quality and standard to lead to an award from their institution. Having this masters level qualification along with a killer showreel, industry standard skills and knowledge of how the industry operates will help you break into the games world and make an impact.

Roles you could apply for include:

Games Artist
Environment Artist
Lighting Artist for Games
Level Artist

Visit our careers hub for more info

Fees and funding

Are you an EU student, looking to study in the UK? Take a look at our information for EU students.

Fees

London campus: £17,995

Live online: £15,450

Includes:

Escapee AfterCare and career support, including help and advice on your CV, showreel and job applications.
Free Autodesk Software upon registration to the Autodesk Education Community - full details included with course welcome information.
18 weeks of classroom study followed by 12 weeks of remotely directed learning and a 15 week remotely directed final project.

Our postgraduate fees are payable at the beginning of each academic year, or at each stage of your programme.

Please note, we review our fees every year.

Funding for UK students

For the latest information and advice on student funding please contact our Admissions Team on admissions@escapestudios.com or call +44 (0)203 441 1303.

For students to be eligible for funding from Student Finance England, they must be studying on an eligible course at a provider registered with the Office for Students (OfS). Escape Studios (part of Pearson College London) is registered with the Office for Students and our Master’s programmes are eligible for funding.

Visit www.officeforstudents.org.uk for more information.

Future Finance student loans

Future Finance is a private lender which offers student loans of between £2,000 - £40,000 to cover tuition fees and living costs, subject to credit checks and approval.

About Future Finance loans

Loans are offered to UK, EU and international students with a UK domiciled address
Loans are available to students studying our Escape postgraduate degrees
Repayment of the loan begins during the course but the rate will be reduced during term time and for up to 3 months after graduation.
Interest rates will be determined on an applicant by applicant basis

How to apply

Students can submit an application online up to six months prior to course start. You can get started by submitting an application via the Future Finance website to see if you're eligible.

Escape Studios will be required to verify your attendance on the course before any funding is released; this will be completed after you have attended registration at Escape Studios.

Any loan funds requested for tuition will be released directly to Escape Studios and will be applied towards your tuition and loans for living costs will be paid directly to you.

Further details of eligibility requirements, interest rates and other key terms of the loan are available by visiting the Future Finance website www.futurefinance.com.

Payment plans

We offer a range of payment plan options for all courses, including up to five instalments following the initial deposit. Depending on the length of the course, we ask that the initial deposit be paid when registering for the course, and the final payment prior to the end date of the course.

Following the deposit, your chosen payment plan will break down your remaining instalments equally. Please speak to a member of our Admissions team on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or admissions@escapestudios.com to determine the dates of those payments.

Contact our Finance team to discuss your options on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or finance@escapestudios.com.

Scholarships

We want to make sure that talented students with creative potential can succeed on our degrees, that's why we offer a range of scholarships. We are offering an £8,000 scholarship to one applicant per discipline for each of the Autumn 2021 cohorts of our postgraduate courses, which will significantly reduce your tuition fee.

All students who apply for a postgraduate degree and submit a creative portfolio by the announced deadline will automatically be considered for the scholarship. The winner will be selected by our tutors.

Find more information about the scholarships and how to apply here.

Our 3D Animation, Game Art and VFX postgraduate programmes are also eligible for a BAFTA UK Scholarship Programme. Find out more here.

Get in Touch

We can help with any problems or questions you have with course fees and funding. Speak to one of our Applicant Advisors via phone or email today! Call us on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or email admissions@escapestudios.com.

Next steps

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Taster courses

Try before you buy and get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us.

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Meet us

For a one-to-one chat or a personal tour of our industry-like studios, contact our Admissions team.

Get in touch

Meet our tutors

Simon is a Digital Artist with over 20 years of experience working in video games and computer graphics.

He joined the team at Escape Studios in 2008, now Head of Games, he leads the Games Art courses. After graduating from a Fine Art background, Simon joined Bits Studios and later moved on to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for 10 years, designing and creating environments, characters and leading teams at a senior level.

He worked in senior lead roles on nine published titles including Total NBA ’97, This is Football, Getaway, Black Monday, Kinetic, Kinetic Combat and Sony Playstation Home. During his career, he has also created bespoke courses for corporate clients in the video games and TV sectors such as Rare, Big Big Studios and the BBC.

Industry partners

Industry partners and advisors influence everything we do, from the curriculum we teach and how it's delivered to our webinars and events.

We work alongside an impressive list of VFX, Games and Animation studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, Blue Zoo, MPC, Jellyfish Pictures, PlayStation London Studio and Creative Assembly and many more across all our courses at Escape Studios.

With exclusive professional feedback, intensive software training and much more, our industry-led courses give you up-to-the-minute, inspirational knowledge and experience, tailored to the work you’re passionate about. Our Escape Studios Alumni (Escapees) can be found working at a variety of studios including Pixar, MPC, Industrial Light & Magic, DNEG, Rockstar Games and Electric Theatre Collective.

Find out more about our industry partners

Why Escape Studios?

Learn industry-relevant techniques from the experts, in a studio-like environment.

Industry-experienced tutors. Our tutors have worked at studios including DNEG, Walt Disney Animation, EA, Rebellion and Framestore and their credits include Captain America, Black Mirror and Bond: Spectre. They speak at international conferences, like B’Ars (Spain) and VIEW Conference (Italy), write for industry-recognised blog Befores&Afters, and are authorised trainers for software like Unreal Engine, Autodesk or Houdini.
State-of-the-art facilities. Our central London campus is surrounded by world-leading studios and fully equipped with high-end hardware and the latest software.
Industry partners. Our studio partners, including DNEG, Framestore and PlayStation London Studio, help design and develop our courses to make sure that what we teach is relevant to the current industry practices. You’ll also have access to events and webinars ran by our Student Experience team with industry speakers.