Who is a 2D artist, what is this profession?

Hello! My name is Tatyana Nazhimova, I am a Senior 2D Artist in mobile game development. I have been in the industry since 2013, went from Junior to Senior, tried myself in the role of art director, participated in hiring artists, wrote test tasks and evaluated candidates. I understand what competencies companies need now, and will tell you about the profession of a 2D artist in this article.  

Who is a 2D artist in the gaming industry

  The video game industry has always looked like a dream job for most people. Everyone does what they love every day, creates something cool, works from anywhere in the world and earns a lot of money. Who wouldn't want to live like that? 🙂 Indeed, once people get into gamdev, they want to stay there and stay for a long time. The industry is not standing still and is developing rapidly. In the early days, making games seemed like some kind of magic, and the entry threshold was very high. Now there is a lot of information available, and there are tools that will help even a single person create a working build. But where it is good and pleasant, there will always be a lot of competition. Therefore, every year it becomes more difficult to get into gamdev. At the same time, schools have appeared, such as Skills Up, helping to achieve this goal. They also do not stand still, and their success depends on how well their training programs keep up with the times and the needs of the labor market. For example, our new course profession 2D artist in the gaming industry, in addition to theoretical knowledge and skills necessary in gamdev, gives students the opportunity to try themselves in real tasks of studios and take cases to their portfolio — the last two months of study in the course are devoted to this. Actually, we will talk about the profession of a 2D artist in the gaming industry — what they do, what prospects they have and what skills they must have to find a job in gamdev in 2024.  

Disciplines in 2D art and what a 2D artist does at work

    2D artist is a general definition for a number of areas in game development:

• Concept art. This direction includes the development of characters and their equipment, environments and the design of its elements, key art, the development of the overall style of the game;
• Illustration. These are plot pictures that are needed to design interfaces, for example, for offers. They are also used in marketing (game design, screenshots for the store, creatives, merch, etc.);
• Icons and interfaces. Silhouette simple icons are usually made by UI/UX designers, but if complex intricate interfaces or detailed icons are needed, then artists are contacted;
• Creating complete objects for a 2D game. With the advent of 3D, two-dimensional games have not lost their relevance, and artists create highly detailed game worlds. This also includes pixel art.

In Russian-speaking gamdev, there are so-called 2D generalists, who can do all of the above. But with the complication of the development process, more and more artists choose a narrow specialty and improve their skills in it. The market encourages such a choice and is interested in candidates who do one thing great, but can temporarily switch to related disciplines in which they have less experience. Based on the directions, there are a great many job titles for 2D artists on the market that most fully reflect the responsibilities on a particular project. The most common are: 2D artist, concept artist, UI artist, UI/UX designer, 2D environment artist, Game Artist, Marketing Artist, etc. In Skills Up School, we build the training program so that after mastering the basic skills, which no artist can do without, you can continue to improve in more specialized areas (environment design, concept art, character design).  

What skills a 2D artist should have when looking for their first job

    As I said above, an artist, first of all, needs basic skills:

• Sketching: грамотное построение, передача правдоподобных пропорций, anatomy, spatial thinking;
• Ability to convey volume;
• Stylization;
• Composition;
• Understanding of color harmony;
• Ability to depict different materials (textures and degree of transparency)
• Cleanliness of graphics: useful for creating icons and interfaces, as well as complete objects for 2D games.

  In addition to basic skills, you need to know software and tools. At work, you will share sources with colleagues, and it is important that they open correctly. The standard in the industry for 2D art is:

• Adobe software package. We draw in Photoshop — this is the foundation. Illustrator and After Effects are used less often, they will be needed for vector graphics and 2D animation;
• 3D programs: Blender, 3Ds Max, Maya and others. Yes, 2D artists also need them — they help speed up and simplify the work process. Usually they make dummy blocks, and then finish them in 2D;
• Figma came to the industry quite recently and has every chance of becoming the main tool for UI/UX artists to develop prototypes;
• AI burst into our lives in 2022, but companies are still hesitant to introduce it into work, as the legal side of using this technology has not been fully regulated. Try generating pictures is definitely worth it to get acquainted with the program, but inside companies their own tools with their own trained models are still encountered, and you will be provided with a clear workflow, where at some stage work with a neural network will be proposed.

I have listed the main tools of a 2D artist, the rest can be used optionally. All your skills, both basic and technical, will be reflected in the accumulated portfolio — this is the most important baggage that helps to attract attention and get the desired job. Portfolios are usually created on open platforms, for example, on Artstation or Behance sites. There the projects are most conveniently displayed and related information about the author.  

What else will be needed to work in gamdev

    After mastering the basic skills and programs, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with how games are made. You can listen to podcasts, lectures, ask questions in communities, be interested in development and, of course, play games — this will allow you to clearly understand why people love games, and what value you want and can bring with your expertise. Valuable experience at the beginning of a career path is considered participation in game jams. Game jams are short events where teams of a few people (usually a programmer, game designer and artist) make a small demo of the game. The main value of these events is that you will learn how to work in a team, what real tasks for an artist look like, and also show yourself in the community and make valuable connections. In addition to game jams, you can join an already working team of enthusiasts. You will get similar experience, but on a more complex project, since development is not compressed by deadlines.  

Analyzing vacancies

  When you are ready to break into the industry, the question of finding a job will arise. You can use hh.ru sites, Linkedin.com, find telegram chats with vacancies in gamdev, study the Career (Jobs) tab on the sites of specific gaming companies or simply type "vacancies 2D artist" in the search engine. Using the example of current vacancies, let's analyze what companies are looking for in candidates in 2024.  

Lesta Games. 2D/3D Artist

  Although the title of the position "2D/3D Artist" is a classic example of a vacancy for the position of UI Artist, the guys from Lesta Games most likely came to this name because usually UI Artist does not do illustrations, but makes concept of interfaces. In daily tasks at this position, you will need to make icons and interfaces using 3D tools, but the emphasis is on the 2D part. In the column "It will be a plus" it is visible that, perhaps, tasks for animation will also come. But since this is not a priority, we can expect that there is potential to develop in this direction.  

Playneta. 2D Artist

This vacancy in the department of marketing creatives assumes that you will not be involved in the development of the game itself, but based on its developments and style, you will promote the game in advertising. To create creatives you need to think outside the box, so if you are full of creative ideas, then this is the best way to bring them to reality.  

LST. 2D Artist

  The tasks at the position of 2D artist for this project are very close to the practical tasks of the Skills Up courses, and the required work experience in gamdev can be replaced by participating in game jams. Studying the examples of vacancies above, we see that the same profession has many different applications in game development. As for vacancies for candidates without experience (Junior) or internships, there are not many of them now, and in 2024, most likely, there will not be more. Nevertheless, I recommend not to lose heart, but to respond to vacancies with minimal requirements for work experience. Do not neglect live communication with recruiters: this way you have more chances to find out what benefit you can bring to the project and how to compensate for the lack of experience.  

Salary and what affects it

  As you can see, in the examples of vacancies given, the figures are not indicated — this happens in most cases, because it is customary to discuss salary at an interview. On the one hand, "this is how it has always been", on the other hand, it is difficult to assess the level of contribution to the project of an average candidate, the range will be too wide. The degree of usefulness of the candidate depends on how strong his portfolio is and the level of relevant experience. In addition to usefulness, the level of salary is affected by the location from where the candidate will work: the salary "according to the market" is determined by the location of the company and the employee. If you live, for example, in Kazan, and the company's office is located in Cyprus, then most likely you will be offered a salary equal to or slightly higher than the labor market in your region. Be prepared for the fact that the recruiter will ask your salary expectations during the first communication. This can confuse a beginner, because it's scary to scare off the recruiter with a high price, but you don't want to be cheap. Determine for yourself what minimum salary you are ready to work comfortably for a year or two, and proceed from it. Gradually in negotiations you will find out how much companies offer.  

Research on 2D artist salary

  In 2023, several studies were conducted on salaries in the Russian-speaking gamdev, but the results were given only by White Nights Media Group. Unfortunately, there is no clear sample of artists without work experience in the public domain, nevertheless, there is useful information on numbers. Here are some excerpts from the report:     In addition to annual surveys, there are resources where you can look at analytics on salaries in the digital sphere in different countries. For example, the Ukrainian site djinni.co shows that Junior Artist 2D/3D earns 500-700 dollars a month in the gaming industry of the country.     And getmatch.ru says that product designers in IT at the Junior level receive 50-120 thousand rubles a month in Russia. Let's make an amendment that salaries in IT are slightly higher than in gamdev, so I venture to suggest that 50-80 thousand rubles a month — it seems to be true for начинающих 2D artists.   After a successful first meeting with the recruiter, you will be asked to do a test task that is as close to work tasks as possible. This is necessary to assess how easily you will cope with future work. Important advice: read the technical task for the test carefully, ask all your questions right away, clarify the details, and only then start working. The better you understand what is required of you and what the employer expects, the greater the chance to complete the test качественно and receive an offer.  

Conclusions

  We talked to you about who a 2D artist is in game development and looked at the needs of the modern market. But do not forget that an artist is a creative profession, not just the skill to draw pictures beautifully. At all times, no matter what happens, artists who show their vision of the world and whose main language of communication is visual images will be in demand. Game development, like other entertainment industries, is constantly looking for new extraordinary and fascinating solutions, authors with burning eyes, inspired and inspiring to do something cool. An artist's path has its ups and downs, moments of frustration and extraordinary подъема сил. Similarly, in the search for a job: some doors close, while others invite us to enter. It should be admitted that this is not an easy path, and achieving success largely depends on whether we find the strength to continue to go forward, no matter what. If something does not work out, work on mistakes, ask mentors for advice, attend portfolio reviews. We have all this at Skills Up School, so if you really want to start or continue your path as an artist, join our community!