Also called: 3D Environment Artist
Creates the 3D worlds of games: forests, cities, castles, and space stations.
An environment artist models rocks and ruins, paints textures, and arranges them into a beautiful scene that still runs fast on a console.
Game industry pay estimates (no single BLS category); big studios pay more but layoffs have been frequent since 2023.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Game art degree or self-taught with a portfolio.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Game Art, Computer Animation.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). Tracks special effects artists and animators.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI asset and texture generators make props and scenery fast, cutting junior art jobs; art direction remains human.
Classes: Art, Geometry, Digital art, Photography.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1014.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.