Game art doesn't just appear from thin air, and game artists use different software to bring art alive. 2D and 3D art both have dedicated software developed around them.
During this lesson, we will go through the software used in the game industry. Some of them are industry standards and cost, but free open-source software is catching up and brings serious competition for the likes of Adobe and Autodesk.
On top of the software, game artists commonly use drawing tablets or displays to ease the workflow. Drawing with a mouse is time-consuming and the quality may not be as high it could be.
Most of the AAA game companies use well-established software that has been proven to meet all needs of the professional game artists. Below some of them are introduced.
Autodesk has developed professional-level tools for 3D artists. Autodesk has been the industry standard for years, and both are powerful tools. But the price is rather expensive to be paid every year.
If you want professional-level tools for art, Illustrator and Photoshop have got you covered. Both offer free trials, but their full versions are very expensive. These are fantastic tools to use if you have access to them.
For the 3D digital sculpting and painting the ZBrush has been the one setting the bar. ZBrush includes a versatile set of highly developed tools so its price is high, but there are different license options.
Substance Painter is meant for digital painting and adding materials for 3D models. Substance Painter is owned by Adobe nowadays and has a yearly subscription.
Many game artist starts with the free to use tools that are usually made by the other artists. Below are some of the most known open-source software to try. There are multiple tutorials on YouTube if you are interested in trying them out.
Blender is a free and open-source 3D graphics software toolset, that supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing, and 2D animation pipeline. It is used by beginners and industry experts alike.
Inkscape is a good substitute for Adobe's Illustrator for the vector-based graphics. It takes some time to get used to but is a great option for designing the UI-buttons and logos.
Krita is a free and open-source painting program made mostly for professional use. It was made by artists, for artists. The main goal of Krita is to offer affordable tools easily for artists around the world. Krita can be used for concept art, texture and matte painting, illustrations, and comics.
A voxel is a pixel in 3D, a small cube to put it simply. With voxels, you can create 3D models without any prior knowledge of 3D modeling.
MagicaVoxel is free to use for any sort of project. The exports work in Unity and many other game engines that support 3D game development. The program is easy to learn and use.
MagicaVoxel is free to use for any sort of project. The exports work in Unity and many other game engines that support 3D game development. The program is easy to learn and use.
As you can see, you don't need to have the latest and priciest art software, and many indie developers' games are made possible due to open-source software. However, the big AAA game companies still prefer the industry standards, so given the chance, you should check them out if you are interested in game art.
Check out the video below to see how you can use free software tools to create a game.