Inside Illustration: Gaming

Are you an illustrator looking to get into gaming? The AOI (Association of Illustrators) have published their latest edition of Inside Illustration with a specific focus on how to get into illustration for gaming. There is a mixture of free and member-only resources available.

Illustrators can access the following resources: a comprehensive How To Get Into Illustration for Gaming resource booklet, an informative podcast, a four part Creative Course on gaming illustration, an in-depth article, interview and a folio of members' work. 

Let's break that down a bit more:

The Podcast discusses the importance of visuals for games, the significance of originality, the necessity for patience for long term projects, networking for artists in gaming, the impact of AI on the industry and lots more. Guests are Catherine Unger, art director and 2D illustrator who has worked on a number of award-winning games, including Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, South of the Circle and Tangle Tower, and Adam Vian, Creative Director, designer, writer and artist at indie game studio SFB Games, whose latest game is Crow Country.

The Interview is with Caspian Whistler, founder of A Profound Waste of Time magazine is interviewed. They discuss how videogames are a genuine creative craft which were not being served by a publication taking that aspect seriously, and how the magazine’s highly illustrated articles are an act of re-interpretation of games. 

The AOI members Folio explores a whole range of approaches that can be used in gaming illustration, and a range of images from AOI Folios are collected to offer a selection of illustrations from members. These capture figures, products, live drawing, pixel art and more, from flat-colour to collage. And in this piece members describe why the visuals make their favourite game.

Image by Susan Yung