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GDC Core Concepts is where game development expertise meets real-world impact, running from Wednesday to Friday. Curated by GDC’s Advisory Board—an esteemed group of industry veterans and innovators—these sessions and roundtables are designed to offer expert, relevant, and timely insights that will empower you to stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry.

You’ll explore six key pillars of game development: Audio, Business & Marketing, Design, Production & Team Leadership, Programming, and Visual Arts, plus critical conversations on Advocacy. Whether you're after tried-and-true techniques, cutting-edge innovations, or insights into new creative approaches, Core Concepts delivers invaluable takeaways that you can immediately apply to your projects.

Visual Arts Track

Days: Wednesday-Friday
Pass Access: All Access, Core

At the Core Concepts Visual Arts track, you'll explore the craft of creating compelling game visuals. From concept art and character design to VFX and environmental storytelling, this track covers everything you need to bring stunning visuals to life in any game world. Join top artists, animators, and technical experts as they share their techniques, tools, and creative processes for crafting unforgettable visuals.

This is where art meets technology, and imagination becomes reality—come sharpen your skills and push the boundaries of game art.

Who Attends

If you're a 2D artist, 3D modeler, animator, or technical artist, the Visual Arts track offers essential insights for artists at every level. Focused on lighting, textures, character creation, or environmental design? You'll find invaluable approaches from industry leaders who are shaping the future of game visuals. 

Visual Arts Sessions

Discover new techniques to create visually stunning and technically optimized art for games. These sessions cover character modeling, environmental design, lighting, and visual effects, providing practical advice and creative inspiration to help you enhance your skills and bring your artistic vision to life. 

Visual Arts Roundtables

Collaborate with fellow artists and visual arts experts in focused roundtable discussions. Share experiences, tackle challenges, and explore the latest trends in visual arts, from texturing pipelines to animation workflows. These peer-to-peer discussions are your chance to dive into the topics that matter most to game artists. 

2024 Session Highlights

Creating Fully Upgradeable Fictional Weapons

Airam Hernandez (Senior Weapon Artist, Rocksteady Studios)

'Minecraft Legends': Creating a Unique Animation Style True to 'Minecraft'

Eric Luhta (Principal Animator, Blackbird Interactive)

The Devil is in the Details: Explore the Environmental Graphic Design at Naughty Dog Inc

Hailey Del Rio (Senior Graphic Designer, Naughty Dog Inc)

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Connecting the Global Game Development Community