Just 50 years ago, a person who made video games was simply called a "game developer"—and they did everything, from coding to visuals. But as the game industry evolved, more and more specialized roles emerged. These roles are often confused with one another, and sometimes they aren't even recognized as separate professions. Let’s take a closer look at who a level artist is, and why they’re not the same as a level designer or other roles within the art department.

Level art is a crucial part of game development that involves the visual design of game environments. A level artist is responsible for crafting complete scenes, filling them with life and storytelling.

A level is not just a collection of objects in a scene. It's an environment where characters exist and with which the player interacts. The job of a level artist is to ensure that the visual side of the level aligns with the game's world, story, and gameplay.

Level artists are often confused with level designers. This happens because the word “design” is commonly associated with visual or artistic problem-solving. In reality, “design” means “to plan” or “to structure,” and it primarily deals with functionality and ergonomics. That’s why level artists and level designers focus on different aspects of development. While their roles are closely connected, they have key distinctions.

A level designer is responsible for the gameplay mechanics of a level — how the player will navigate through it. A level artist, on the other hand, handles the visual presentation — what the player will see in the level.

Here’s an example of what a level designer’s portfolio might look like compared to that of a level artist.

A level designer creates the layout of a level from a gameplay perspective—placing paths, obstacles, points of interest, and so on. This layout is built with key game design elements in mind, such as timing and metrics. The level artist then embeds this layout into a visual context, working with shape, lighting, and color, and tells a story through the environment.

Metrics are a crucial part of a level artist’s work. When replacing the blockout with final assets, it's important that the character fits within the level’s dimensions—passing through doorways and being properly concealed behind cover.

It’s not uncommon for a single specialist to take on both roles—level designer and level artist—developing a level from blockout to final visuals. However, in modern projects, the process of creating a game level is most often divided between two departments: game design and art.

First, the level designer creates a blockout (also known as a greybox), where they define the level’s spatial composition, scale, player routes, and points of interest. The blockout is built using simple primitives with either neutral monochrome shading or color coding to indicate important gameplay elements.

The goal of a blockout is to create a functional and comfortable environment for the player. It allows the team to test core game mechanics, object interactions, and level difficulty. This is a critical stage in development—skipping it can lead to wasted time and resources, and might force the studio to backtrack later in production.

Once the blockout is approved by the game design team, it’s handed over to the art department for visual development. Artists begin by gathering references for the upcoming location in order to establish the visual style and atmosphere of the level. This is followed by the production of 3D assets.

In the art department, the environment is shaped not only by the level artist but also by the environment artist. These two roles are often confused or not clearly separated within a project—but they do have distinct responsibilities.

To put it simply: level art is about the big picture, while environment art is about the details.

While a level artist is responsible for the visual composition of an entire level, the environment artist focuses on its individual components. Environment artists create the 3D models that populate the level—architecture, landscapes, roads, cliffs, vegetation. Sometimes they also create standalone scene objects, although this task is more commonly handled by a separate specialist known as a props artist.

The level artist, on the other hand, is focused on the overall visual composition of entire levels and gameplay spaces, taking into account the structure and gameplay goals defined by the level designer. They place the environment and prop assets—created by environment and props artists—into the level. Their goal is to ensure that everything looks consistent, visually compelling, color-balanced, and does not interfere with gameplay. Level artists bring the scene together into a cohesive whole.

Level art is not an isolated task. Level artists work closely with other departments throughout development. Level designers define the spatial layout, and it’s up to the level artists to bring that space to life visually. Game development is an iterative process, and there are times when gameplay changes are introduced after much of the art has already been completed.

Level artists, in collaboration with level designers, help make levels more intuitive and player-friendly. They add visual cues, guide the player using lighting, and adjust object placement to make the intended gameplay path clearer.

Level art is the process of creating the visual side of game levels. It combines artistic skill, technical knowledge, and an understanding of gameplay.

What knowledge and skills should a level artist have? They need a strong grasp of composition, color theory, light and shadow, as well as a well-developed visual library. Proficiency in game engines and 3D software is also essential.

Level artists are responsible for making the game world feel cohesive and immersive, ensuring that every element in a level is in the right place and supports the overall concept of the game. Their work is closely connected to that of other specialists—level designers, game designers, and 3D artists—which makes level art a vital part of the complex process of game development.