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Art
“GrApHiC dEsIgN iS mY pAsSiOn” - What Do 2D Artists Do on 3D Games?
Who creates the coffee shop branding, the handwritten notes, the graffiti, the t-shirt designs, the tattoos in your favourite game worlds? It's time to demystify what a 2D artist does on 3D games in this often misunderstood specialisation.
As a former graphic designer on RDR 2 and multiple GTA titles I'll be discussing this exciting but often forgotten role in game development, talking you through the history of 2D design in games, the general process and best practices behind it and why not all good graphic design is "good" graphic design.
Session Takeaway
- Demystifying the role of a 2D artist working on a 3D game world
- The history of graphic design for game worlds and its purpose
- Best practices for the production of environmental graphic design elements
- A day in the life of an environmental graphic designer for games
Cardboard, Clay, Fabric and Green Screens: Exploring Craft Mediums in Game Art
Asterism is an interactive music video game set in space, with hand-crafted art made from a variety of mediums such as clay and cardboard. Claire Morwood will share behind the scenes examples of her art process and experimentation during Asterism's development. She will talk about why she uses hand-crafted art styles, as well as showing specific examples from the game and details of the techniques and equipment that she uses. In particular, she will talk about stop-motion graphics, photography, digital editing and how to experiment with a range of art materials, providing insight and inspiration into a joyful and creative way to make unique video game art.
Session Takeaway
- Techniques for creating hand-made art
- Advice on equipment and process for digitising physical art
- Inspiration for experimenting with art styles
No Limits: Why Accessibility FOR ALL Starts with the Developers
The games industry loves to talk about accessibility—for players. But what about accessibility for the people making the games? Studios are unknowingly limiting their own talent pool by failing to remove barriers for disabled developers.
In this talk, I’ll share my journey as a blind 3D artist with 8+ years in the industry, working in and leading teams in indie and VR studios—all remotely. From adapting my workflow to overcoming industry misconceptions, I’ve learned that limitations are often perceptions, not realities. But while I’ve found ways to thrive, many talented developers are being excluded because accessibility isn’t seen as a priority in the workplace.
Through real examples, I’ll highlight how small changes—like accessible software setups, remote work flexibility, and inclusive hiring practices—can open doors for disabled game devs. I’ll also challenge the mindset that accessibility is “someone else’s job” and show how fostering an inclusive industry benefits everyone, from the studio floor to the players themselves.
This talk isn’t about making excuses—it’s about breaking barriers. If the industry truly believes in “No Limits,” it’s time to start proving it.
Session Takeaway
- By making the games industry more accessible, we naturally make games more accessible for players
- Don’t limit yourself—you’re capable of more than you think
- Accessibility FOR ALL by ALL
Painting 2D Like it’s 3D: How and When to as a Concept Artist
In this session, Ash will break down her process of painting 3D-style 2D illustrations step-by-step. She will walk through how form and depth can be acheived for different materials through the use of colour and light; how to paint it and how she developed a quicker 'short-hand' working style from it. Using examples of her own artwork, Ash will share her experience of when to and when not to illustrate concept art tasks in a professional setting, speaking on the benefits of illustration skills for a concept artist while distinguishing the differences between the two approaches.
Session Takeaway
- How to paint colour and light to describe form and material
- Understanding when illustrating is or is not required in concept art professionally
- The difference between illustration and concept art
- How developing illustration skills is beneficial to concept art
UI That Grows With You: The Art of Future-Proofing Your Game’s Interface
Game development is like trying to build a plane while flying it. Budgets disappear, roadmaps turn into treasure maps, and teams have to adapt on the fly. So why do we still design UI like everything will go exactly as planned?
This session dives into the chaos and shows how Atomic design principles can help you build a UI that's flexible, scalable, and actually works for the long haul. Because let’s be honest, a modular UI isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s how you keep your sanity.
We’ll cover:
- Why modular UI saves time and keeps teams from endless iteration loops
- Lessons experience, what works and what doesn’t
- How indie teams can future-proof UI without overspending
Using practical examples, this session will show you how to simplify the UI, keep budgets in check, and avoid those painful do-overs. By the end, you’ll have a clearer, smarter way to tackle UI design that makes life easier for your team, keeps budgets in check, and sets your game up for success.
Session Takeaway
- Build Adaptable UI: Use Atomic Design to create interfaces that easily adjust to new features and player needs
- Learn from Real-World Examples: Explore case studies highlighting successes and lessons in Atomic Design application in UI
- Future-Proof Cost-Effectively: Implement modular designs to enhance your UI without escalating costs
Understanding and Modifying the Colour Pipeline in Unreal
The pipeline of color through a game engine can be somewhat of a black box to developers. When trying to affect the final image this can result in misguided code and content changes that may resolve one issue but create two more in other scenarios.
This talk aims to demystify the colour pipeline, explaining all the stages from an authored texture to the final pixels on any display. This includes color spaces, linear rendering, tone mapping, color grading and HDR output. These topics are engine-agnostic, but we will demonstrate with Unreal Engine and show some of the ways it can be modified to provide additional tooling and artistic capabilities.
With this knowledge in hand developers can create the most vibrant content possible and have confidence in the final image quality for players on whatever their display.
Session Takeaway
- An end-to-end understanding of all stages of the colour pipeline, from asset creation to final pixel on any display
- Demystifying several terms, such as color spaces, HDR and tone-mapping. Allowing you to utilize the full color capabilities of modern displays in your games.
- Insights on how your studio can modify Unreal’s color pipeline to unlock additional capabilities and artistic techniques
