High School

A bachelor's degree is a requirement for video game art directors. A variety of high school courses will give you both a taste of college-level offerings and an idea of the skills necessary for video game art directors on the job. These courses include art, drawing, art history, graphic and digital design, illustration, and computer science. Other useful courses that you should take in high school include business, math, technical drawing, and social science.

Postsecondary Training

Video game art directors often have degrees in art, design, game design, or related fields. A growing number of schools offer courses or degrees in game design and other gaming areas. A good source of schools can be found at the Game Career Guide Web site, https://www.gamecareerguide.com.

It is essential for video game art directors to have a thorough understanding of how computer animation and layout programs work. In smaller companies, the art director may be responsible for doing some of this work; in larger companies, staff artists, under the direction of the art director, may use these programs. In either case, the director must be familiar with imaging software and how to use it to best create the intended visual effect.

In addition to course work at the college level, many universities and professional art and design schools offer graduates or students in their final year a variety of workshop projects or internships. These opportunities provide students with the chance to work on real games, develop their personal styles, and add to their work experience.

Other Education or Training

The International Game Developers Association offers webinars for new members on a variety of game-related topics, as well as workshops at industry events. The IEEE Computer Society, Women in Games International, and other associations at the national, state, and local levels also provide continuing education opportunities.

Certification or Licensing

There are no certification or licensing requirements for video game art directors.

Art directors usually obtain years of experience working in lower level jobs (assistant art director, game designer, etc.) before becoming qualified to supervise projects.

The work of an art director requires creativity, imagination, curiosity, and a sense of adventure. Video game art directors must be able to work with all sorts of specialized computer software as well as communicate their ideas to other directors, producers, designers, and clients.

The ability to work well with different people and situations is a must for video game art directors. They must always be up to date on new techniques, trends, and attitudes. Deadlines are a constant part of the work, so an ability to handle stress and pressure well is key.

The visual aspects of a computer or video game can be the very things that make it sell. For this reason, accuracy and attention to detail are important parts of the art director's job. When the visuals are innovative and clean, the public either clamors for it or pays no notice. But when a project's visuals are done poorly or sloppily, people will notice, even if they have had no artistic training, and the game will not sell.

Other requirements for video game art directors include time-management and organization skills.