4 October 2026 · 5 min read
How to Write a Game Art Brief for Outsourcing
A good brief is the cheapest way to get better art. It saves revision rounds, keeps the estimate accurate and lets the artist spend time on quality instead of guessing.
The 8 parts of a strong art brief
1. Context
One paragraph about the game: genre, platform, camera and audience. A prop for a top-down mobile puzzle game is built very differently from one for a third-person PC game.
2. The asset list
Name every asset, its purpose and its priority. If there are variations (colors, levels, damage states), list them explicitly, as they change the estimate.
3. References
Two kinds: style references (how it should feel) and content references (what it is). Add short notes on what to take from each image; "like this, but chunkier" is far more useful than an image alone.
4. Style guide
Even a single page helps: shape language, palette, level of detail, outline or not, how materials are painted. Include screenshots of your game.
5. Technical specs
- Target engine and version (Unity, Unreal…)
- Poly budget per asset and texture resolution
- Texturing method: hand-painted, stylized PBR or realistic PBR
- Rig and animation requirements, if any
6. Deliverables and formats
FBX, GLB, PSD, PNG? Naming conventions, pivot placement, scale and folder structure. Say it once in the brief and you will never fix it by hand.
7. Timeline and checkpoints
Final deadline plus approval points (blockout or sketch, mid-way, final), and who on your side approves.
8. Budget range
Sharing a range is not a weakness. It lets the studio propose the right level of detail instead of quoting blindly.
Get the template
We turned this list into a fill-in-the-blanks game art brief template. Send it to us filled in and you will get a scope, timeline and quote within one business day.
