Dedicated artists were however involved very early in video game history, for example for box art and promotional materials.
In 1974, Maze Wars achieved rudimentary 3D graphics using wireframes, and more detailed pixel art emerged through the late 1970s.
[11] A notable early game artist was Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and Donkey Kong.
[12] Visuals were offered more complexity by technological advances in the 1980s, including the addition of broader colour pallettes.
[14] Better colour depth came with the 16 bit generation in 1989, and the arrival of the CD in the 1990s increased storage space for games.
AAA projects generally require large teams composed primarily of specialists in the different game art disciplines.
The discipline requires a diverse range of skills including tools development and programming, specialist rigging and physics, rendering, materials and VFX.
The technical artist (TA) is responsible for directing the course of development in these areas to achieve a particular visual or look.
Given its breadth, it is sometimes broken down into more specialised roles:[37] Many universities have game art courses, which offer a way to learn the profession in a formal setting.
[47] The Rookies maintains a global ranking of schools for the subject, though all games disciplines are considered a single category.
[48] Actually entering the industry is challenging even after completing a degree, due to a lack of sufficient entry level positions.
[51] This has contributed to structural issues with skills in the industry, as the focus on hiring only mid or senior positions for years has led to shortages of experienced staff.
[52] Additionally, many senior staff sought "greener pastures" in other creative industries amid the turmoil in games, and this further tightened the pool of available talent at the top end.
The profession requires a broad set of skills, and training technical artists is "a long and time-consuming process".
[62] In the United States, the comparable figure for technical artists is $205,000 per year, rising to $297,000 at the higher end.