Games would be nothing without the incredible art that goes into the worlds, characters and icons you see on your screens, and every year the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), iam8bit, and fortyseven communications celebrate that fact with the Game Maker’s Sketchbook. It’s a selection of some of the best work of the past year from the games you love.
“The artistic skill and creativity on display in this year’s Game Maker’s Sketchbook entries were truly inspiring,” said Meggan Scavio, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
“We’re deeply grateful to our jurors for their time and thoughtful evaluation of such an outstanding body of work. Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists! We’re honored to present their artwork both online and in person at this year’s Summer Game Fest Play Days.”
The images are selected by a jury panel made up of people from the worlds of game, animation, movies and fine art.
You can see a full list of the entries below, and you can purchase prints of your favorites until July 7 from the iam8bit store. All the proceeds from your purchases will go to the AIAS Foundation.
Character Art Category
- Concept Art
- Game – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Artist(s) – Per Gullarp (Principal Concept Artist)
- Developer – MachineGames
- Publisher – Bethesda Softworks
- Hero Design
- Game – Marvel Rivals
- Artist(s) – Dino, Yuzhen Zhang, Peilin Zhong
- Developer – NetEase Games
- Publisher – NetEase Games
- Michelle – Character Sheet
- Game – Sorry We’re Closed
- Artist(s) – C. Bedford
- Developer – à la mode games
- Publisher – Akupara Games
Curiosities
- The Craftsman’s Heart puppet theatre set
- Game – The Midnight Walk
- Artist(s) – Klaus Lyngeled, Olov Redmalm, Victor Becker
- Developer – MoonHood
- Publisher – Fast Travel Games
- Merch
- Game – Bang Bang Barrage
- Artist(s) – zhudaoyu
- Developer – Monkey Bread
- Publisher – Spiral Up Games
- Personality Test Shareables
- Game – Black Mirror: Thronglets
- Artist(s) – Beverly Chen, Ena Kim, Hannah Nicklin
- Developer – Night School Studio
- Publisher – Netflix
Environment Art
- The Great Gold Dome
- Game – Riven
- Artist(s) – Jeremiah Castro, Lance VerMeer
- Developer – Cyan Worlds, Inc.
- Publisher – Cyan Worlds, Inc.
- Sailing
- Game – IKUMA The Frozen Compass
- Artist(s) – Matthias Oberprieler
- Developer – Mooneye Studios
- Publisher – Mooneye Studios
- Scene Concept Design
- Game – Marvel Rivals
- Artist(s) – Dino, Kaidi Lv, Xufeng Xie, Pengxian Wang
- Developer – NetEase Games
- Publisher – NetEase Games
Iconography
- Ability Icons
- Game – Eighth Era
- Artist(s) – Evgeny Kobylkin
- Developer – Perfect Day Games
- Publisher – Nice Gang
- Codex Icons
- Game – Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)
- Artist(s) – Tara Miller, Laurent Gaumer
- Developer – Unreliable Narrators
- Publisher – Unreliable Narrators
- Gui Design
- Game – Marvel Rivals
- Artist(s) – Dino, Tian Zhang, Ciyin Weng, Jingji Xie
- Developer – NetEase Games
- Publisher – NetEase Games
Impact
- Maxine – PvP Arena Mode
- Game – Eighth Era
- Artist(s) – Emanuele Pavarotti
- Developer – Perfect Day Games
- Publisher – Nice Gang
- Key Art
- Game – One Move Away
- Artist(s) – Remi Gourrierec, Michel Donzé, Alex Flynn
- Developer – Ramage Games
- Publisher – Playstack
- “Dinner” Key Art
- Game – Goodbye Universe
- Artist(s) – Daniel Beaulieu
- Developer – Nice Dream
- Publisher – Skybound Games
Storyboard
- Reveal trailer storyboard
- Game – The Midnight Walk
- Artist(s) – Olov Redmalm
- Developer – MoonHood
- Publisher – Fast Travel Games
- Chapter 2 visual script storyboard
- Game – The Midnight Walk
- Artist(s) – Olov Redmalm
- Developer – MoonHood
- Publisher – Fast Travel Games
- THE HEX – Beatboards
- Game – Warframe: 1999
- Artist(s) – Production Company: THE LINE, Director: Venla Linna, Producer: Tom Kay, Beatboards: Julien Perron
- Developer – Digital Extremes
- Publisher – Digital Extremes
Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She’s been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to going time blind and staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.
