Prepare for a career in technical art in the visual effects and video games industry. Develop your skills to meet demand for roles including technical artist, procedural content creator and technical director.
Our BA (Hons) Visual Effects Technical Art will help you become an artist skilled in the latest procedural 3D techniques, who can work alongside programmers, developers and other artists.
Using the latest procedural content creation software, you’ll learn to design and deploy solutions to problems encountered in the video games and visual effects industries.
As well as exploring the key areas of working with VFX and computer graphics, our course will keep you up to date with the latest techniques and trends. We'll also help you identify the supporting skills and knowledge that you’ll need to succeed in the creative industries.
ARU is the place to study visual effects technical art. The East of England is a hub for games companies, including Jagex, Frontier Developments and Ninja Theory.
As a Visual Effects Technical Art student at ARU, you’ll be based in our studio in the heart of Cambridge.
This allows us to work closely with employers, organising live briefs, guest lectures and work experience opportunities to give you exposure to professional studio practice, and the latest technologies and techniques.
Working as a team is crucial to games development and so you’ll take part in collaborative projects with students from computer games courses, developing your skills in teamwork and project management.
Throughout your Visual Effects Technical Art degree, our expert staff are on hand to offer support and feedback. They’ll help you create an online presence to showcase your work. All our lecturers and staff are researchers and practitioners, and their work reflects current VFX practice.
We also attend games jams including the UK’s largest student gaming festival, Brains Eden, industry talks, conferences and festivals. They’re great places to make contacts in the gaming industry.
This course is subject to planning. Some content, including modules, may be subject to change.
Course Details - Modules
Our modules are designed to develop your core knowledge and build on your existing practice.
Engaging with a wide variety of teaching and learning methods, you’ll conduct your own VFX research to find viable solutions for common problems in existing content creation pipelines. In most of your classes and seminars, you will take a hands-on approach in our PC lab, including demonstrations and discussions. This computer lab environment promotes active learning, and will help you collaborate with other students.
Our peer review culture will be key to your development. As a final-year student, you’ll have the chance to run presentations and seminars for Year 1 and 2 students, demonstrating your work, your problem-solving abilities and the journey you have taken to achieve this knowledge.
This course is subject to planning. Some content, including the modules listed below, may be subject to change.
Year 1:
Introduction to 3D Art
Introduction to Procedural Content Creation
Introduction to Realtime Procedural Content Creation
Materials and Texturing Techniques
Year 2:
Advanced Procedural Content Creation
Digital Practice for Technical Art
Realtime VFX Techniques
Year 3:
Major Project
Course Details – Assessment Method
Assessment Methods are not listed for this Course.
Course Details – Professional Bodies
Professional Bodies are not listed for this Course.
How to Apply
26 January This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application Codes
Course code:
I700
Institution code:
A60
Campus Name:
Cambridge Campus
Campus code:
Points of Entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
Year 1
Entry Requirements for Advanced Entry (Year 2 and Beyond)
Entry Requirements for Advanced Entry are not listed for this Course.
International applicants
Standard Qualification Requirements
from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).
Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course
