Art field guide
Game Art
Study shipped game art through visual archives and production breakdowns. Specialist forums, recorded talks, and game jams offer practical ways to learn technical art and finish work.
The .artdeck file opens in ArtDeck for iPhone, iPad,
and Mac, with its link cards, previews, and layout intact. You can
edit it like any other board. Every source is also listed below.
Public resource list
Every link in the board.
Open any source without leaving the list. External links open in a new tab.
Visual reference and archives
- Creative Uncut , opens in a new tab
A large browsable library of official game artwork organized by title.
creativeuncut.com - Game Maker's Sketchbook , opens in a new tab
An annual showcase of sketches and production artwork from game makers.
gamemakerssketchbook.com - ArtStation Magazine: Art Blast Archive , opens in a new tab
Studio-published collections showing the artists and artwork behind shipped games.
magazine.artstation.com - noclip , opens in a new tab
A navigable museum of extracted game levels for studying environments, lighting, composition, and spatial design.
noclip.website - Video Game History Foundation Digital Archive , opens in a new tab
Digitized magazines, development material, press collections, recordings, and other primary sources.
archive.gamehistory.org - Game UI Database , opens in a new tab
A searchable collection of game-interface screenshots, with filters for screen type, genre, and visual style.
gameuidatabase.com
Production and technical art
- Riot Games: Game Dev Resources , opens in a new tab
Lessons from Riot developers on game art, animation, UI, and VFX.
riotgames.com - Experience Points , opens in a new tab
Environment-art breakdowns and interviews with practising artists.
exp-points.com - 80 Level: Articles and Tutorials , opens in a new tab
Artist interviews and workflow breakdowns across 2D, 3D, and real-time production.
80.lv - GDC Vault: Visual Arts , opens in a new tab
Conference sessions focused on visual arts, pipelines, production decisions, and shipped-game case studies.
gdcvault.com - Game Art Tricks , opens in a new tab
Detailed investigations into rendering tricks and visual techniques used in games.
simonschreibt.de - The Level Design Book , opens in a new tab
A free, engine-agnostic book about building, testing, and communicating 3D level design.
book.leveldesignbook.com - Real Time VFX , opens in a new tab
A specialist forum for critiques, breakdowns, and technical questions about real-time effects.
realtimevfx.com
Video libraries
- GDC YouTube , opens in a new tab
Free GDC recordings, including sessions on art, animation, design, and production.
youtube.com - Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games , opens in a new tab
Clear, concise lessons on game production and design from the director of Kirby and Super Smash Bros.
youtube.com - FZDSCHOOL , opens in a new tab
Long-form concept-design demonstrations and industry guidance for games and film.
youtube.com - New Frame Plus , opens in a new tab
Professional analysis of video-game animation, with close readings of movement, acting, and combat.
youtube.com - ACM SIGGRAPH Videos , opens in a new tab
Conference recordings on computer graphics research, rendering, and digital art.
youtube.com
Practice through making
- itch.io Game Jams , opens in a new tab
A directory of game jams for practising scope, art direction, collaboration, and finishing work.
itch.io
Use the arranged version
Take the whole collection into ArtDeck.
Rearrange the cards and add your own references. Keep the board open beside the app where you work.