The game truth is as follows: in the beginning was art.
The visual component of the game is the first thing that players see and evaluate before starting the first game session. Trailers and screenshots of the upcoming entertainment project that warms up interest give rise to a discussion of the level of advancedness of graphics and its relevance to modern realities. Of course, then conversations about the plot, gameplay, mechanics, bugs (if any) and other value judgments will be added. But graphics come first.
That is why it is so important to make game art at the
highest possible level. Art embodies the idea, creates an atmosphere, it is responsible for the
style and evoking specific emotions. Art should surprise, be eye-catching and
meet the demands of today’s gamers. And if you are not sure that you can create
such flawless art on your own, then outsourcing is the best thing that can
happen to you.
Table of Contents
Why Should Art
Tasks Be Outsourced to Video Game Companies?
Game art outsourcing companies are, first of all, strongholds accumulating qualified specialists within their walls. People who specialize in game art, have a solid portfolio and, moreover, are collected in one place look much more preferable than lonely freelancers who drift in the game art ocean without guides, leads and a special goal other than making quick money. This does not mean that freelancers do not perform well. It’s just that the likelihood that they will be inspired by your project and will work at full capacity is much lower than that of experts from some outsourcing company. The latter care at least not only about their earnings, but also about the image of their company.
So, we have
already noted that art outsource studios have a ready pool of experienced
professionals. In addition, they will offer you:
- Adaptability. A team of specialists will be selected specifically for your project.
- Profile. The studio will select artists who are best versed in the type of art you need.
- Speed. Having assumed obligations and signed a contract with you, art outsourcing companies will fulfill everything on time or will promptly report any delays.
- Quality. This is about the already discussed image – art outsource studios will try to do everything at the highest level so that you refer to them in the future or recommend them to your friends.
- Convenience. The studio takes care of all organizational issues, team management, technical equipment, etc., adjusting to your needs – you just follow their progress by providing adjustments, additions or updates.
- Security. All your materials are safe, because the common practice of game art outsourcing companies is to sign a non-disclosure agreement before starting work.
The advantages are obvious, but how do you make the right choice?
Why Is Choosing the Right Game Outsourcing Company So Important?
You couldn’t help but notice that there are a lot of game
art outsourcing companies. The list of their services is about the same, in any
case, 2D/3D art and animation are definitely on this list. Then how to choose a
partner who will do everything at the highest level? After all, art outsource
studios are also different. Some may be new to the market and lack experience.
Some may not have expertise in the art direction you want. Some may have
problems with management and, accordingly, timing.
How to Choose Most
Reliable Studio?
Let’s not be cunning – we have already created a checklist of key questions, the answers to which will help you decide on the choice of a reliable partner in the gaming field. Studying the portfolio, checking the company profile on independent data-driven platforms such as GoodFirms and Clutch, researching technical expertise, clarifying the look of the standard workflow – here are a few points that will light up dark spots in the appearance of the chosen studio. You can see the rest of the points in our checklist for choosing a reliable and responsible game design company.
Now let’s go directly to the list of companies that deserve your attention. You are, of course, wondering how we picked them up and whether chance run the show here. Not really.
Selection Methodology
We carefully analyzed independent resources such as GoodFirms, Clutch, DesignRush and others to find reliable art outsource studios with the best value for money that will not cost you a fortune. We checked their technical expertise and the availability of works confirming it in the portfolio, client reviews, as well as cases of cooperation with clients and public materials describing various implemented projects.
Game
Outsourcing Companies That Will Create the Perfect Art for You
Kevuru Games
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2011
Employees:
350+
Kevuru Games is a game studio that deals not only with art
and animation, but also full-fledged game development from scratch. There are
all the necessary resources and specialists for this, from artists and
programmers to testers and sound designers. At the same time, the studio is
ready to help even if you do not have a specific concept for a future game: its
staff contains experienced game designers who will offer up-to-date ideas and
mechanics.
For 10 years of work, the studio managed to work on 2D and
3D art for such companies as Lucasfilm, Epic Games, EA, GoodGame, Socialpoint,
Nanobit and others, who appreciated the team’s dedication to gaming.
In addition to the classic list of services for creating
game art and animation and game development, Kevuru Games offers:
- Cooperation with artists on the outstaffing model, which implies the official hiring of the specialists you need and full control of their work on your part.
- Testing games for PCs, mobile devices, consoles and the web in terms of functionality, compatibility, performance and compliance.
- Porting games from one platform to another or from one game engine to another while maintaining its key features.
- Enterprise gamification, which means adding game mechanics to non-game contexts of various business applications for greater customer engagement.
ZVKY
Location:
India
Established:
2009
Employees:
100+
ZVKY is an
Indian game art studio that specializes mainly in 2D and 3D art. Over the past
10 years, the company has worked on more than 350 different game projects with
publishers such as Zynga, Ubisoft and Activision.
The company
has a particularly strong portfolio of slot art and extensive experience with
art for HOPA games. So if at this stage you are only interested in good quality
art at an affordable price, then this company will be a good choice.
Room 8 Studio
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2011
Employees:
250+
Room 8
Studio is a full-cycle game studio offering all the services you need to create
a complete game. A special feature of the studio is the photorealistic art of
the AAA level – this is confirmed by the numerous photorealistic works in their
portfolio, from game assets to vehicles and characters. The team also deals
with cinematic animation videos, creates visual effects and implements porting
of games.
The company partnered with major publishers such as Remedy, Ubisoft, Gameloft and others to deliver high-quality artwork. This studio would be an excellent choice if you are planning a large-scale game with realistic graphics. if you want simpler art, for example, for casual games, it is better to pay attention to other game art outsourcing companies.
Starloop Studios
Location:
Spain
Established:
2011
Employees:
150+
Starloop
Studios is a Spanish game development and art company. It offers flexible terms
of hiring game developers and artists in accordance with different
collaboration models, develops games from scratch and ports them to different
platforms.
A special
feature of the company is AR/VR development. Game art services are classic
here: 2D and 3D art and animation, concept art, UI/UX design. Notable clients
of the studio include Disney, Ubisoft and Blizzard Entertainment.
N-iX Game & VR studio
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2002
Employees:
200+
N-iX Game
& VR studio is one of the oldest game companies in Ukraine, specializing in
the creation of full-cycle games, VR solutions and outsourcing of 2D and 3D
game art and animation. The team is engaged in both simple art for mobile games
and photorealistic art for advanced 3D games.
The studio’s clients are Wargaming, Paradox Interactive, Trese Brothers and others. The team consists of a majority of senior-level specialists, which allows them to perform tasks of varying complexity. The studio also has an in-house OptiTrack motion capture system that helps to create top class animations.
Melior Games
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2010
Employees:
30+
Melior Games is a Ukrainian game art outsourcing company that specializes in 2D art. Their portfolio includes many stylized and realistic 2D works. Over the years, the company has delivered more than 120 projects in 2D and 3D art, animation and game development for mobile devices and PC.
The team
has a separate department dealing with the creation of art for slot and card
games and has good experience in this direction. It is also one of the few
companies that are blockchain-oriented and ready to provide blockchain
development services.
Stepico Games
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2014
Employees:
100+
Stepico Games is a Ukrainian art outsource studio that is engaged in the creation of game art, game programming on the Unity engine, as well as the creation of AR/VR-based applications. The company’s clients include Rovio, NBC Universal and Section.
The team has completed over 25 successful projects. Among the features of its expertise is blockchain game development – their portfolio contains a similar project in the form of a mobile blockchain-supported RPG game. The team has positive customer reviews and a large enough team to implement projects of various sizes.
Pingle Studio
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2007
Employees:
100+
Pingle Studio is a Ukrainian game art studio that deals with 2D and 3D art and animation, concept and character creation. But its main feature is porting games using Unity and Unreal Engine. It has a lot of experience in this area, including porting to PS4, PS5 and Xbox One, so be sure to pay attention to this studio if you want your game to be released on more than one platform.
The team has worked with clients such as Qualcomm, SquareEnix and 505 Games, providing co-development, porting, creating art and animation, and game testing services.
Whimsy Games
Location:
Ukraine
Established:
2018
Employees:
30+
Whimsy
Games is a small but inspired and professional Ukrainian team of developers and
artists specializing mainly in the development of mobile games and the creation
of art for them. They already have a fairly large portfolio of projects related
to 2D art, so if you are interested in this area, then it makes sense to pay
attention to this studio.
The team is
very customer-oriented and attentive to the wishes of their customers. Due to
this, over 3 years of work, they managed to successfully deliver more than 150
projects for 70+ clients. In addition to 2D art, the studio also offers the services
of 3D artists and animators.
Pixune
Location:
Poland
Established:
2018
Employees:
30+
Despite its small size and relatively small age, the Polish company Pixune has already established itself as a real pro in the field of game art and especially animation. Animation is a special pride of the studio – it has a number of awards for its animated works.
The team offers professional services in the areas of character creation and 3D animation. The number of characters created by the studio has exceeded 2000. In addition, it is engaged in 2D and 3D game art. Here you will find more than affordable prices without sacrificing quality and a very inspired team that is very attentive to every project, no matter the size.
How Kevuru Games
Will Help You Achieve the Best Results
As you can
see, most of the companies offer roughly the same set of services, but almost
each has its own feature, a strength that you should pay attention to if you
are looking for a specific service.
Some are particularly good, fast and skilled at 2D art, while others are more focused on photorealistic 3D art and animation. Some companies have never dealt with slots and HOPA games, while the portfolio of others is replete with art representing these genres. Explore the profiles of game art outsourcing companies and choose the partner that suits you best in terms of the expertise you need.
In this regard, Kevuru Games is a versatile choice. There was a time when the company focused on 2D art, but now, for almost 10 years of work, strong teams have been formed here for each direction of art. Concept artists work with Epic Games on skins for Fortnite, 3D artists create characters for Star Wars by Lucasfilm, and 2D artists support EA in HOPA projects, taking part not only in creating locations and objects, but even in writing scripts.
The company does not stand still and constantly strives to develop in new directions. This is how outstaffing directions appeared, which are preferable for some clients in terms of hiring artists, as well as game testing and porting services and a new large section of enterprise gamification, which is already actively functioning and gaining clients.
Whatever art you need, Kevuru Games will make it. A portfolio in all art directions is at your service to confirm these words. Professional artists will not only implement your idea, but will also provide optimization recommendations that will help your project stand out in the saturated gaming market.