Curriculum for Game Art

Develop the artistic and technical skills needed to bring your ideas to life. Learn how to create environments, characters, and more starting on day one through the Game Art major.

Game Art Curriculum

The Game Art major is a visual art program focused on the creation of 2-D and 3-D art and animation for real-time, interactive game media. Through project-based coursework, students hone the artistic, technical, and collaborative skills that will open the doors to a successful career as an artist in a studio environment.

Our Upside-Down Curriculum puts you in Game Art classes beginning in your first semester. That means more time to practice, more time to refine your work, and more time to impress our industry contacts.

Learning Outcomes for Game Art

First Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Third Year
Fall Semester
- ART 120 Art History: Survey of Western and Non-Western Art
- GAA XXX Program Elective
- GAA XXX Program Elective
- COR 301 Core Foundations: Connecting Place and Identity
- COR 302 Field Methods
Spring Semester
- EGD 320 Game Studio II
- GAA XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
- COR 303 Core Foundations: Connecting Past and Present
- COR 304 Digital Methods
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
- CCC 410EGD College Capstone in Game Development
- SCI XXX Natural Science w/Lab
- GAA XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
Spring Semester
- EGD 420 Game Studio III
- GAA 415 Senior Portfolio: Game Art
- GAA XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective

Game History is an integrated, cross-disciplinary hands-on history class where students actively research the evolution and history of games through the lenses of design, art, technology, business, society and culture. Working with resources from the Game History Teaching Collection, and from the perspective of their discipline as a game developer, students will play, study and research historical to contemporary games. In this way, students will discover the nexus of relationships driving game development.

Prerequisites	Game Design, Game Art, Game Production Management or Game Programming students only. Or receive permission of the Dean.
Credits	3

Introduces essential art and design topics including the elements of design, color theory, and composition. These principles are introduced through the creation of 2D digital art using industry standard software.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation or Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director
Credits	3

Learn to draw the human figure through the study of form, volume, structure and anatomy in order to clearly visualize position and proportion of anatomical landmarks. Students will use traditional drawing techniques to understand the concepts of proportion, foreshortening, lighting and composition to realistically render the human form.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation and Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

Why go to college? What does it mean to be educated? In this course you'll begin to answer these questions. We'll explore the academic expectations of higher education, college as a diverse community, and the significance of education around the world. By examining how these issues are negotiated and implemented at Champlain and elsewhere, you'll gain perspective on your own education and a deeper understanding of the ways that the college experience can be both liberating and transformative.

Prerequisites	Take Cor-102 concurrently.
Credits	3

Inquiry is about learning how to ask the right kinds of questions, and figuring out how to answer those questions through discussion and reflection. This course introduces you to the types of inquiry necessary to succeed at Champlain and beyond. You will explore the intersections of reading, writing, and thinking by focusing on a specific topic or theme. You will approach that focus through the interrogation of relevant texts and analysis that draws upon multiple analytical frameworks. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take COR-101 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course is an introduction to the foundation principles of 3D modeling and texturing for games. Students will learn to create optimized and aesthetically successful textured 3D models that work within the constraints of graphics production for real-time 3D game engines.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation, Game Design, Game Programming, Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of animation and the aesthetics of motion. Students will learn to apply these principles to create beginner level 2D and 3D animations.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation, Game Design or Creative Media students or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

What makes an argument good or bad? What counts as evidence in our post-truth world? How can you understand and assess the truth value of a claim when you're not an expert? In this course you'll learn rhetorical strategies about how to examine arguments and types of evidence in different disciplines and fields of study. To help learn these strategies, you will do close readings of texts from a variety of disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, popular culture, and social media.

Prerequisites	Take COR-104 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course introduces you to interdisciplinary inquiry using applied, project-based, and/or experiential methods. Regardless of the specific course focus, you'll have opportunities for making and doing interdisciplinary knowledge creation through a variety of approaches and activities. You will collaborate with other students, iterate on ideas, and work to develop a project. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take Cor-103 concurrently.
Credits	3

In the Creative Portfolio Tools course, students explore and develop a variety of portfolio tools to assist in a successful launch of their careers in the creative industry. These include websites, presenting portfolio, creating a personal image, business cards, cover letters and resumes, developing reels and other video based promotions, and using social media and networking. The course is modular and self paced, allowing students to work on materials specific to their area of employment, and their needs for gaining internships and/or employment.

Prerequisites
Credits	1

In 2D Game Art, students will explore the many ways in which 2-dimensional bitmap and vector art are used in game media and the tools and processes necessary to create this type of artwork. Topics include 2D game genres and aesthetics, sprite design and animation, storyboarding, 2D backgrounds and cut-scenes, interface design and tools, and the use of 2D artwork across a variety of platforms from mobile to consoles.

Prerequisites	Complete GAA 105 and be Game Art or Creative Media student. Or by permission of the Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

Learn to use linear perspective systems to convey the illusion of dimensional forms in space on a two dimensional surface. Gain a working knowledge of perspective concepts in order to accurately design realistic objects in space from various points of view using digital 2D drawing/painting tools.

Prerequisites	Complete GAA 125 and GAA 105 or by Permission of Game Art Program Director
Credits	3

Building on the fundamental skills developed in Introduction to 3D Modeling & Texturing, students create detailed 3D models that are optimized for use in real-time game engines. Focus will be on refining high poly to low poly baking techniques, texture creation workflow, and in-engine material and lighting techniques.

Prerequisites	Take GAA-135, grade C or higher.
Credits	3

Science holds an elevated place in society. The knowledge and meaning that science makes are seen as having a particular and special value. This course explores knowledge and meaning making in order to allow a thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, science as a way of knowing, and then engages with the methods and theories of the sciences themselves, to understand the analytical, creative, and generative possibilities of science.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

While each section of COR 202 addresses a different problem, issue, or topic, they all focus on interdisciplinary research. You will collect, analyze, and assess information from different disciplines in order to recognize patterns, contextualize arguments and synthesize ideas while collaborating on a project. Emphasis will be placed on helping you translate and apply what you learn about interdisciplinary research to other professional contexts. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In Game Studio I, students from all of the degrees of the Game Studio work together in small, multidisciplinary teams to rapidly conceptualize, plan and prototype a variety of 2D game prototypes. Students explore development for both PC and mobile technology, while learning collaborative skills in communication, agile project management techniques, and version control.

Prerequisites

All - GDES, GMRT, GPMG, GMSD, GPRO, INAR only Game Design majors, complete GMD-200 and GMD-210 with grade C or higher. Game Art majors, complete GAA-205 with grade C or higher. Game Programming majors, complete CSI-240 with grade C or higher. Game Production Management majors, complete MGT-140 with minimum grade of C. Game Sound Design majors, complete SON-120 with minimum grade of C. Interactive Narrative majors, complete INN-200 with a minimum grade of C.

Credits

To harness the power of the visual, the successful concept artist must couple a balanced composition of light, form, space, and axes of action with narrative. In this course you will learn to tell the engaging stories of your imagination by exercising the fundamentals of digital painting.

Prerequisites	Complete GAA-225.
Credits	3

3D Modeling II builds on the subjects covered in 3D Modeling I with a focus on modeling organic forms using digital sculpting software and techniques. Although the course focuses on organic forms, digital sculpting technology and related workflows are prevalent in the modeling of solid surface objects as well. We will also focus on using 3D painting, mesh topology and hi-poly to low-poly baking.

Prerequisites	Complete GAA-235 with a minimum grade of C.
Credits	3

This course focuses on the aesthetics of motion with emphasis on the principles of traditional animation. Students begin with the basics of putting 3D models in motion and work through the tools, techniques, and principles required to animate fully articulated characters using skeletal deformation and control rigs. This course emphasizes the realization of the principles of animation through group critique.

Prerequisites	Complete GAA-175 with a minimum grade of C.
Credits	3

Screen-based interactive environments, whether they take the form of games, mobile apps, informational kiosks or interactive data visualizations are aesthetic and communicative products. In Aesthetic Interactions, students learn how to design for interactive media productions in ways that support specific visual design and user experience goals.

Prerequisites	COMPLETE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: IXD-100, GMD-200, GAA-205, or VCD-206.
Credits	3

Culture impacts everything we do, experience, and learn, but what is culture? Where does it come from, how does it form, and why does it have such a wide and deep impact on people's lives? This course explores culture as a system of meaning and meaning-making in order to allow for a more thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, cultural texts and media using different methodological approaches.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In this course, you will go in depth about a theoretical perspective that asks you to interrogate systems of power and power relationships. You will learn about the history of that perspective, including how it too was shaped by multiple contexts and compares with other viewpoints. You will use that perspective to analyze a specific topic, collection of texts, or cultural phenomena. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

This course is a survey of Western and Non-Western art, architecture, and other forms of visual expression. Students will examine and critically engage with artifacts, and will consider the formal, conceptual, spiritual, social, political, economic, and cultural influences in the development of art.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Where we are shapes how we understand ourselves and each other. In this course, we will dig into the relationship between place and identity. We will learn how to think spatially, recognizing how one's identity is situated within and constructed through movement through different spaces--be they natural and built environments, rural and urban, or actual and virtual. COR 301 will help us understand the complex meanings of identity in a world defined by movement and change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Field methods are a collection of practices used in the sciences, arts, and humanities to understand phenomena in situ or as it is happening in a specific time and place. In this course, we will apply one or more field methods to research a topic, theme, or question that varies by section. We will learn practices associated with research in the field including but not limited to participant observation, data collection, and experimentation in order to navigate an uncontrolled environment. We will also examine the power dynamics between the researcher, informant, and subject matter to help us understand how, if not practiced ethically, field methods can create or reinforce biases rather than helping us learn with and make sense of the world around us. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

In Game Studio II, students from all of the degrees of the Game Studio work together in large, multidisciplinary teams to rapidly conceptualize, pitch, plan and develop a 3D game. Students utilize the latest in game technology, while perfecting their collaborative, communication skills, and agile project management techniques.

Prerequisites	GDES.BS, GART.BS, GPRO.BS, GPMG.BS, GMSD.BS, GMBP.BS only. EGD-220, minimum grade of C. Game Design Students: EGD-300, minimum grade of C Game Art Students: EGD-235, minimum grade of C Game Programming: GPR-250, minimum grade of C Game Sound Design: SON-300, minimum grade of C Game Business & Publishing: GBP-200, minimum grade of C
Credits	3

By learning from the past, we can make sense of the present and prepare for the future. In this course, we will learn how the 21st century has been and continues to be shaped by past social practices, ethical frameworks, power relations, and discourses. COR 303 is a course about how we know what we know about the past, and the ways different narratives about the past shape the present. Making connections between past and present will help us better understand how to live and make decisions in a globalized world defined by constant change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Digital methods are widely used forms of inquiry that employ technological tools to interrogate research questions important to the humanities and sciences (including the social sciences). Some examples include digital archiving, data mining, and story mapping. In this course, we will use one or more digital methods or tools to research a topic, theme or question that varies by section, with the express purpose of critiquing and reflecting on its application. This includes an examination of the values, flaws, and impacts of the methods or tools we are using, paying particular attention to their ethical implications and power dynamics. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

The college capstone in Game Development is an opportunity for students in the Game Studio to pursue a self-directed experience in a collaborative Game Development environment that intentionally integrates their liberal learning in the Core curriculum with their degree learning. Students spend the semester working in teams conceptualizing and building a proof of concept that they may choose to pitch to a faculty panel for selection for production in the second semester.

Prerequisites	GDES, GMRT, GPRO, GMSD, GPMG, GMBP, and INAR only. All must complete COR 301, COR 302, COR 303, COR 304. EGD 320, C or better.
Credits	5

In EGD 420, Game Studio III, seniors successful in pitching their games during the college capstone in the Fall semester continue into full production. Forming large production teams, games are taken to the perfect polished state of gold master, ready for publication. Academic emphasis for the class is focused on working successfully in a professional studio environment, preparing for entrance into the job market, and taking personal craft to the next level.

Prerequisites	CCC-410EGD with a minimum grade of C or better. GDES, GMRT, GMSD, GPMG, GPRO, GMBP, and INAR only.
Credits	5

The culmination of your art degree is your portfolio. As a game artist this includes a demo-reel, portfolio website, print materials and some final preparations for transitioning into the job market. In Senior Portfolio you will finalize your portfolio work and compile your visual portfolio into a dynamic and marketable combination of materials. To successfully complete the course you are required to have an approved body of work.

Prerequisites	90 credits completed, Game Art students only.
Credits	3

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Curriculum for Game Art

Game Art Curriculum