We’ve all heard the phrase “In the beginning was the Word”. But the game truth puts the emphasis a little differently – 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 fueling interest in the upcoming entertainment project give rise to a discussion of the level of graphics and its compliance with 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.
According to Newzoo, in 2022, the number of players in the world exceeded 3 billion people with a total value of the global gaming industry over $300 billion. People are ready to part with money if you offer them a high-quality interesting product that stands out and catches the eye.
That is why it is so important to make game art at the highest possible level. Art that’s what:
- embodies the idea;
- creates an atmosphere;
- shapes the style;
- evokes specific emotions, etc.
Art should surprise, attract attention, and meet the needs of modern gamers. And if you are not sure that you can create such flawless art on your own, then art outsourcing services are the best thing that can happen to you.
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 doesn’t mean that freelancers don’t 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 art outsourcing studio. In a highly competitive environment, image and reputation sometimes play a decisive role.
So, we’ve 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. By accepting obligations and concluding a contract with you, art outsourcing companies will complete everything on time or 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 game art outsource company 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 out there. 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, and 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.
Dive Deeper:
✔ How to Choose a Reliable Game Design Company? [Checklist] – Practical Tips!
In short, here are the main points to pay attention to:
| Portfolio in specific expertise | Self-respecting art outsourcing studios should have a multi-category portfolio with works of different art styles and convenient, intuitive navigation. |
| Released projects | In addition to individual artworks in the portfolio, it is important to see the results of work in released projects to understand the big picture and product performance. |
| Customer reviews | Feedback from people who have used the company’s services can give good insights about the quality and speed of work, as well as how expectations meet reality. |
| Guarantees at every stage | A game development outsourcing studio should give a clear picture of what it guarantees to accomplish at each stage and what resources should be allocated for this. |
| Process arrangement | Good and reliable outsourcing companies always have well-established and transparent work processes, every step of which is visible and understandable to the client. |
| Team structure | The company must clearly articulate the composition of the team allocated to the project with information about the competencies of people and their level of English. |
| Values and principles | A list of a company’s values and core principles can give a good idea of how it approaches work and treats both customers and its employees. |
| Corporate social responsibility | Modern conscious 3D art outsourcing companies adhere to the CSR policy and can clearly communicate their position, activities, and implemented CSR projects. |
Now let’s go directly to the list of companies that deserve your attention. Of course, you are 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;
- works confirming this expertise;
- client reviews;
- case studies with collaboration breakdown;
- trird-party materials describing various implemented projects.
Game Outsourcing Companies That Will Create the Perfect Art for You
Kevuru Games
Kevuru Games is a game art outsourcing company 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 art outsourcing studio delivered 100+ projects and managed to work on 2D game art outsourcing and 3D game art outsourcing studio for such companies as Lucasfilm, Epic Games, EA, GoodGame, Socialpoint, Nanobit, and others, who appreciated the team’s dedication to gaming. At the same time, the share of repeated and extended cases of cooperation exceeds 70%. The Kevuru Games team covers full-cycle game development and offers the following expertise:
| 2D Art | Kevuru Artists have skills and successful projects in the portfolio, where they created props, immersive and authentic environments, characters and concepts. |
| 3D Art | Artists create props, stunning environments, characters and concepts, weapons, vehicles. |
| Animation and VFX | Game Artists work with all types of animation. They can customize animated assets according to any project requirements. Game portfolio of animated design production services proves commitment to quality at reasonable prices and clients rest assured for the results! The innovative 2D animation tools help to set in motion various objects and deliver impressive results to all clients. 3D animation studio provides motion graphics services to make the object lifelike. |
| Game Development | Kevuru Games commitment to delivering top-notch visual effects has earned a reputation in the industry. Impressive portfolio spans various platforms and genres, showcasing skills and opportunities to push the boundaries of what’s visually possible. Skills the team offers: ART PRODUCTION Concept art and 2D; 3D/AAA; UI/UX. ENGINEERING Full-Cycle game development (PC/Mobile/Consoles); Co-development; Quality Assurance; Porting; Technical Direction; Game Design. ANIMATION 2D Animation; 3D Animation; VFX/SFX |
ZVKY
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 game art outsource 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
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 AAA-level art – this is confirmed by the numerous photorealistic works in their portfolio, from game assets to vehicles and characters. The team also ranks with professional video game film art outsourcing companies: they deal with cinematics, background scenes, and game trailers for PC/console games, and UA videos for mobile 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
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, and UI/UX design. Notable clients of the studio include Disney, Ubisoft, and Blizzard Entertainment.
N-iX Game & VR studio
N-iX Game & VR studio is one of the oldest game companies in Ukraine, specializing in the creation of full-cycle games, VR solutions, as well as outsourcing 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 includes the majority of top-level specialists, which allows them to perform tasks of varying complexity. The art outsourcing studio also has an in-house OptiTrack motion capture system that helps to create top class animations.
Melior Games
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 area. It is also one of the few art outsourcing studios that are blockchain-oriented and ready to provide blockchain development services.
Stepico Games
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
Pingle Studio is a Ukrainian game art studio that deals with 2D and 3D art and animation, concept and character creation, , as well as full-cycle development and co-development. 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
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 4 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
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.
The company doesn’t stand still and constantly strives to develop in new areas. 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 major new enterprise gamification department, which is already actively functioning and gaining clients.
Whatever art you need, Kevuru Games will make it. A portfolio with versatile art 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.
