Why Is It Important To Find Game Assets Online
The creation of games is a complicated process. You'll need the initial game design, coding, and eventually to make everything happen: game assets. For independent game developers, it's even harder to make everything come together, let alone all the side parts of game assets which include 3D models, 2D art, GUI, animation, and BGM. This is where you need outside help. There are websites that gather free game assets for you to explore and help you create the best game.
Top Free Sites for 3D Models
Let's start with free game assets of 3D models. It's already difficult to paint, let alone build complex 3D models for buildings, ships (even spaceships), bridges, and cars that frequently appear in 3D games. To facilitate the work, you can design your main characters or important objects by yourself and then find less noticeable models from the internet for free. Here are some sites to search for various cool models, along with their pros and cons for you to choose from.
Fab
Fab is the brand new marketplace, successor to the former predominant Sketchfab, Unreal Engine Marketplace, ArtStation Marketplace, and Quixel.com as a unified website. With these comprehensive resources, Fab has the potential to become the leading destination for game asset needs. It's definitely worth exploring if you're on the lookout for top-notch game assets.
Pros
- Multi-engine, multi-platform support of game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity) and digital content creation tools (Blender, Maya).
- Wide variety of assets and asset types (3D models, 2D assets, environments, audio).
- Marked license types and corresponding prices.
Cons
- Most assets are priced, with only a few free ones. Professional licensed assets are expensive (far more expensive than the old paid tier).
- No comment or discussion section available beneath each asset, making it hard to choose from.
- Still updating and in the process of transferring from old marketplaces.
Meshy
Meshy boasts a vibrant community where creators share an impressive array of 3D models. Subscribers enjoy the perk of downloading these models for free, fostering a hub of innovation and creativity. Additionally, Meshy offers robust AI-driven tools that empower users to craft their own unique 3D assets. This makes it an ideal platform for anyone seeking customized 3D game resources.
Pros
- 100% free 3D models in the community, created using the site and shared by users.
- Able to preview 3D models directly on the site from all angles and sizes instead of fixed preview pictures.
- Models can be downloaded in all formats to facilitate application in all game engines or digital content creation tools.
Cons
- AI-generated models lack accuracy in detail and sometimes need further modification before use.
- Limited asset library due to relatively new community.
TurboSquid
TurboSquid is where high-quality and extensive models form a library of professional 3D models. It's not limited to gaming but also various 3D model usages.
Pros
- Provides high-quality, professional-grade models that are both beautiful and modified to detail.
- Extensive library of over 1 million 3D models.
- Detailed model specifications and documentation, easy to find the ones that fit your needs.
Cons
- Very limited free models. Most models are more expensive for their fineness than other sites.
- Some models require significant optimization for game engines and have strict licensing terms.
CGTrader
CGTrader is an organized community where 3D artists share their designs.
Pros
- Has a review and commenting section that allows users and 3D artists to form a dynamic community.
- Models are well-organized and labeled, which makes finding specific models easier.
- Specialized game-ready section and support for VR/AR content, at the ready for gaming or XR grounds.
Cons
- Although provided with discounts from time to time, most models are paid (with a reasonable price than most sites).
- Quality of models can be inconsistent due to community-based creators.
- Preview renders sometimes don't match actual quality.
Unity Assets Store
Unity Assets Store is Unity's own assets store. It's made only for the Unity game engine and is usually the first choice for Unity game developers for its facility and game-specialized models.
Pros
- Direct integration with the game engine Unity, with one-click importation of models to Unity projects. Has native support to Unity's workflow.
- Quality assured with asset quality guidelines, regular maintenance, and updates of official models.
- Originally game-centered models, optimized for game development.
Cons
- You can only use this site if your game development is on Unity. It doesn't match any other game engines.
- Generally higher pricing than other sites, only a few are free.
Top Free Sites for 2D Game Assets
Other than 3D models that give such a headache, free 2D assets can be easier to choose yet tricky. While browsing 2D game assets, you should mainly focus on the art style and its aesthetic to find the fitted ones. Here are some recommended websites where you can discover free game assets of 2D from all art styles and artists.
Itch.io
Itch.io is an indie games and assets site for game developers to share their work and it forms the largest indie game community.
Pros
- Indie-friendly environment, which helps asset makers earn their share without too much taken by the platform; and developers can often choose how much they want to pay.
- Active community where you can directly communicate with the developer of assets, and it has a strong feedback culture.
- Assets normally sell in bundles of the same collection, mostly free or at a lower price than elsewhere.
Cons
- No quality checks and only a few preview pictures. Community has limited technical standards.
- Platform only provides a basic search function, and the assets aren't clearly organized, still need patience to look for what you want.
OpenGameArt
On OpenGameArt, all types of game assets are shared entirely free. It also has a large game development community that can send out requests or active feedback.
Pros
- Open-source philosophy, 100% game assets free to download; also clearly licensed.
- Active community feedback and forum where you can find requests, challenges, suggestions, and even collaborative projects.
- Various types of game assets, including mainly 2D art and texture, also pixel art, music and sound effects, 3D models, etc. Basically, every type of asset you need for game dev.
Cons
- No quality check, so inconsistent asset quality. Basic assets are predominant.
- It's an old website, so there are technical limitations such as only one preview picture, basic search function, and basic organization system. Few assets are modern-styled too.
Kenney
Kenney is also a website that provides entirely free assets for indie game developers, who has a consistent art style and according tools to make similar assets by yourself.
Pros
- 100% free for over 40,000 assets, all can be of commercial use, provided thanks to donations.
- It has a consistent art style that allows developers to use these assets entirely for a whole game.
- Packed with starter kits as design tools that are easy to use, for developers to make assets of the same style, personal for their own game.
Cons
- Only provides assets of the same style, lack of variety.
- Simple quality of blocks and doodles, designed for simpler games.
- Games can look similar if developers choose to use only Kenney's assets, as they are of the same art style.
CraftPix
CraftPix is a site specialized in various 2D game art assets including icons, sprites, tilesets, GUI. It's traditional yet trustworthy.
Pros
- Diverse 2D art assets of every type you need to develop 2D games, from icons to GUI designs, characters, or backgrounds, etc.
- Assets organized and updated by web owners, quality can be assured.
- All assets can be for commercial use, free or paid.
Cons
- Mixed with free and paid assets, paid assets are also available with premium.
- Not enough community content, limited comments, as they are all developed by the website's team.
Top Free Sites for Animation
If you are developing a game, only equipping yourself with assets of 3D models or 2D assets doesn't suffice. You'll need to make the characters or objects move, and this requires animation. Already so difficult building models and creating art, now you even need to make them move naturally? Calm down, don't panic. Animation can also be found in free game assets in some specialized websites. Here are a few that might help.
Mixamo
Mixamo is a powerful tool part of Adobe, providing high-quality 3D characters, automatic character rigging, and animation assets supported by motion capture.
Pros
- It's an entirely free tool to use, and the license is very open for commercial or non-commercial use.
- User-friendly, especially for those who never tried 3D animation to get a hold. The website made the operation as simple as possible.
- Automatic character rigging makes it no longer necessary to craft by hand, and it can be easily applied to characters.
Cons
- The animations cannot be adjusted; there's no further customization function for personal use.
- There's a humanoid rigging focus, where animal-like characters or vehicles can't be adapted.
- The automatic rigging can have inconsistencies and cause problems for some models.
Meshy
Meshy is also a easy-to-use tool that can create 3D animation for characters. It directly turns your imagination into a model and then makes it move.
Pros
- Generation of the character and the following animation on the same page, it provides a procedure easy to master for beginners.
- It has an inbuilt 3D animation library that can be adapted to humanoids and also animals (dog-like animals for now).
- Automatic character rigging with a basic tutorial.
Cons
- It has only a few limited animations; more actions need later updates.
- It's not available for 3D models other than the ones directly generated from the site to add animation.
Rive
Rive is a tool made for creating interactive 2D and 3D complex animations with state machine features, high design freedom but can be hard to get a grip.
Pros
- Free to have access to all functions and animations, only paid for collaboration feature.
- Excels at interactive animations, ideal for games that value user input.
- It creates smaller files at a faster speed than other tools alike but is also fully functional and interactive.
Cons
- This tool has a learning curve that requires time and patience due to its complex functions. Beginners can have a hard time learning the tool.
Top Free Sites for Sound & Music
Last but not least, when you've finally got the images and animations covered, there's still a blank in your game: background music and sound effects. Sound stimulations matter a lot to a complete game, and should you not have the tools or ability to create music and effects by yourself, free assets are here for you to select.
Freesound
Freesound is an entirely free website of mostly sound effects and also music uploaded by user community to share and use.
Pros
- User-contribution community, which makes the sound library extensive to almost every sound effect you need.
- 100% free to use and most sounds have commercial use license.
Cons
- Not organized enough because of community base; the file types are varied.
- Quality can be inconsistent, therefore needs evaluation before use.
Indie Game Music
Indie Game Music is a simple website created for game developers to find music specially designed for indie games.
Pros
- High-quality music soundtracks that are well-examined by website owners.
- Able to communicate directly with composers and artists to customize and tailor the wanted soundtrack effect.
Cons
- Most soundtracks are paid to use and download. Some music doesn't have preview tracks.
- Only focuses on music tracks; there's no sound effects on this site, therefore it has only limited functions.
Free Music Archive
Free Music Archive provides free access to open licensed and original music by independent artists around the world. It encourages collaboration between artists and users from all domains.
Pros
- Completely free and original music soundtracks and of great extensivity.
- High-quality music, uploaded by musicians and artists but double-checked by website owners.
Cons
- Less community interaction than other sites, as you cannot contact the artists.
- This site has variable licensing terms according to each artist, and this can cause problems while using the assets.
NewGrounds
NewGrounds is a platform of games, animations, films, audio, and artwork for independent creators to share their work and communicate with an active community.
Pros
- Community-based archive, allowing users and creators to discuss freely and to share their work.
- The site has both music and sound effects, along with also podcasts and radios.
Cons
- Audio isn't its main focus, as there are also films, flash games, and art shared on this website.
- It has limited search function, so resources can be hard to find.
Conclusion
Being an independent game developer is hard, but it might not be as hard as you think. Models, artworks, audio, and animations... These can all be at your disposition if you know where to find them. Let these websites help you to find loads of interesting resources to use in your game in order to relieve you from the burdens!
