MA Advanced 3D Game Art (Online)
- Study Mode: Full Time
- Location: Distance Learning
- Duration: One Year
- Start Date: September 2025
You can also study this course:
If you have an undergraduate degree, some industry experience or a genuine love for 3D Game Art, you could take your career to the next level, with this flexible and advanced online course. Upon graduation you’ll have a high-standard showreel to help you join this ever-growing industry.
“The UK has the largest video games sector in Europe with a reputation for attracting and developing world-class talent. Ukie estimates that games companies directly employ 16,140 Full-Time Equivalents, split between 13,840 in games development and 2,300 in games publishing. Including retail, indirect and spillover employment, the games-related workforce is estimated to exceed 47,000 FTE roles. (Source: ."
Our course is designed to fit your busy lifestyle. With flexible study schedules, you can balance work or personal commitments while advancing your skills in 3D game art, supported every step of the way.
At BNU, our Advanced 3D Game Art course is designed around current industry practices, ensuring you master cutting-edge techniques in character modelling, environment design, and real-time rendering. This training also focuses on specialised game art skills such as character rigging, environment lighting, and performance optimisation, preparing you for the creative and technical demands of the games industry.
You’ll get access to the latest game development software and industry-standard tools. You’ll learn in hands-on sessions with advanced 3D modelling, texturing, and animation applications, ensuring you’re fully equipped for the real-world challenges of digital game art.
You’ll be taught by seasoned industry professionals, who provide personalised mentoring alongside tailored career guidance. From one-to-one sessions and hands-on workshops to networking events that connect you with key industry players, you will receive the insights and tools you need to help refine your creative vision and confidently enter the games industry. This comprehensive approach not only hones your technical skills but also builds professional connections and practical know-how, ensuring you’re well-prepared for a career as a digital game artist.
Engage in practical projects that mirror real game production. Create assets, design interactive environments, and optimise models for real-time engines, you’ll graduate having built a robust portfolio that showcases your creativity and technical expertise.
What facilities can I use?
You’ll have access to our virtualised computer system which will provide you with all the necessary hardware power to complete the course no matter where you are based. Our licences can also be accessed and used on your own machines by using our Bucks Anywhere service.
Software you can access includes:
- Maya
- ZBrush
- Nuke
- Mari
- Substance Suite
- Marvellous Designer
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Cinema 4D
- Redshift Renderer
- Shotgun
- Houdini
- Houdini Engine
- Unreal Engine
- Megascans Asset library
- Advanced Skeleton
- Ziva
This video was our first experiment with our new Xsens motion capture suits. With the help of dancers from BNU’s BA Dance and Performance course, we motion captured a routine on the concourse running though the university and replaced one of the dancers with a version of the Lonely Robot and comped this back into the footage. We also have state of the art Faceware kits for face motion capture.
What will I study?
On this degree you will cover abroad range of topics, from researching into the field of game art, looking at both historical and contemporary practice to generating ideas derived from your findings, we will help you grow your skillset.
After your initial research, you’ll create a small original sample game art of your own derived from your research work which will help to establish and personalise the overall direction of your studies and practice. You’ll then look in depth at character creation and game environments which make up the bulk of the artwork of a 3D game.
This degree is aimed at learners who have already mastered animation tools to a good extent, and are looking to focus their efforts on creating professional standard work that is highly creative and expressive.
Preproducing and producing a completed game art project comprises the rest of the course. This will cover areas such as:
- modelling
- rigging
- animation
- texturing
- lighting
- game engines
The preproduction phase will help you to explore technical and artistic challenges and prepare to enter the production phase in which you will create your final major project. This may be a continuation of some of your early ideas or something new and may be done individually or in a group.
How will I be taught and assessed?
You will be given access to synchronous sessions each week with a lecturer who will be online throughout over the full 10 weeks of the modules except for the final production project. During these synchronous sessions, you will have the opportunity to ask questions to the lecturers and get real time responses and feedback. Normally these will begin with a group seminar and then break into 1:1 sessions where you will have the opportunity to discuss your individual progress. Sometimes these seminars will be used for presentations and review, in a manner that mimics the dailies process in industry.
In addition to this there will be video based lecture content focused on the demonstration of essential skills and clarification and expansion of key concepts and techniques. This will be facilitated via the online learning platform, where you will be able to access a set of recorded lectures which will be an average of 10 minutes in length. These will be delivered as appropriate to each individual module.
You will be able to submit your work for asynchronous formative review which will be delivered as a video commentary on your work.
Each week you will be set a task related to the weekly content or be working towards your own project objective as agreed with the lecturers. You will be able to complete your work using the hardware at the university and will also be able to access the Bucks Anywhere service, which provides remote access, from any location, to a catalogue of University software applications for learners using personal or BNU devices. You will also be able to remotely access our VDI, which is a powerful computer that will give you access to all the software relevant to the course. This will enable you to work as and when suits you.
You will also be expected to join a closed online group where you will be able to discuss the work and ask questions throughout the week. It is expected that both lecturers and learners will contribute and answer questions. This will also be a place for you to post work for peer discussion and review.
You will create detailed and complex projects which you will then present for assessment. During the presentation you will be expected to discuss and critically evaluate your output and production processes. You will be expected to make interim presentations for formative feedback and to ensure work is proceeding on track. You will be expected to keep a formal learning journal of your progress as a source of notes for the final presentation. This will contain not only your progress but also your research and concept work.
What are the course entry requirements?
Graduate entrants to the programme will normally hold an Honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject.
The University also welcomes applicants who have significant industry experience and no formal qualifications. Applicants with a suitable portfolio can be offered places based on artistic ability and experience.
Modules
This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.
What are the tuition fees
Home
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Home, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £8,810 per year *
International
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Overseas/International, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £8,810 per year *
Following the Government’s announcement of 4 November 2024, we will be increasing our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 per year from the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Our part-time fees for UK undergraduate students will increase to £7,145 per annum. Please visit , on the Government’s website, for more information about the changes.
Tuition fees for Home undergraduate students (including with foundation year) may increase in subsequent years for both new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by the Government.  
Tuition fees for both new and continuing international students may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year.  
Tuition fees for postgraduate courses and CPD may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year. This increase will apply to both new and continuing students.  
We understand, and really appreciate, the significant financial commitment our students make when they choose to study at BNU. We take our responsibilities to our students very seriously, and are ambitious for each to reach their full potential and succeed in their chosen career. Our fees help us to continue providing our students with a high-quality education, and to invest in the services and facilities which create an excellent student experience at BNU.
The following factors will be considered by the University when we set the annual fees: measures of inflation such as the retail price indices; projected increases in University costs; and any changes in the level of funding for teaching received from the Government.
What are my career prospects?
This course helps you grow and develop your skillset and create an industry-standard showreel. Get to know where your interests and talent lies, ready for the career you desire.
Graduates from BNU’s animation courses have gone on to work in all six of the major VFX houses in the UK, as well as a number of major games houses and smaller companies. We have had winners and runners up in the Grads In Games Competition, which have then led to jobs. Our learners have worked on major films, games and TV productions, including Avengers Endgame.
Our MA Advanced 3D Games Art course will help prepare you for a range of career possibilities, such as:
- 3D Artist
- Character Artist
- Animator
- Environment Artist
- Technical Animator
Course leader
