A Steam artwork is the picture, or the animation, that sits in a showcase on your Steam profile. Done well, it makes a profile look like a poster: your favourite character, a matching background, your name and a frame, all moving. This guide covers how it works. If you only want one, the store has 363 ready-made animated Steam artworks.
What is a Steam artwork?
Your Steam profile can show showcases: boxes in the middle of the page that you fill with your own content. The Artwork Showcase shows images you upload. Because Steam accepts animated GIFs as artwork, you can fill it with a moving design instead of a still picture. People call these designs animated Steam artworks, Steam profile artworks or Steam artwork showcases.
An animated artwork is usually made of a character (often a fan art of a game or anime figure), a background, light and particle effects, and your name. It is rendered as a loop and cut into the pieces Steam displays. Because it is built to match one of Steam's profile backgrounds, the profile looks like one picture.
The four showcase types
- Artwork showcase: the classic one. A wide main picture and a narrow side picture on your profile.
- Screenshot showcase: same size and same look as the artwork showcase, uploaded as a screenshot. The files are identical, only the upload place is different.
- Featured showcase: a single wide picture shown as the featured artwork of the profile.
- Workshop showcase: five tall tiles side by side, uploaded as Workshop items. The picture runs across them.
Every artwork in the store is made for one of these and tells you which on its card. You can see how it would look on your own profile with the free profile preview tool.
Sizes
| Showcase | Files | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork / Screenshot | 2 GIFs: Mid + Tall | 506 px and 100 px wide |
| Featured | 1 GIF | 630 px wide |
| Workshop | 5 GIFs | five tiles, 150 px wide, 500 / 800 / 1024 px tall |
More detail, with how the pieces line up, is in the Steam artwork sizes guide. Animated files are kept under Steam's file size limit.
How to get one
Ready-made
Pick one of the ready-made animated artworks, type your name, choose a frame and a Steam background if you want another one, check the live preview and buy. The files arrive in your library right away, rendered for you in minutes, with an upload guide.
Custom
If you want your own character, the custom Steam artwork packages (Basic, Standard, Premium) are made by hand from your reference. Delivery takes 7 days, or 2 days with express.
How to put it on your profile
The short version: upload the GIF files to your Steam account as artwork, then choose the Artwork Showcase on your profile and pick them. The detailed steps, with the upload page and the settings, are in How to upload an animated Steam artwork. Every purchase also includes the guide as a file.
What it costs and how to pay less
Ready-made artworks start at $39.99 for a common one. They get cheaper in several ways, all listed on the discounts page:
- Older collections cost 1% less for every year since they were made.
- A different artwork is 20% off every week, and Steam's big sales are store-wide sales here too.
- Students with a .edu e-mail get 50% off their first order.
- Creators with 10,000+ followers get one free Premium artwork.
- The code WELCOME10 gives new members 10% off.
Questions
What is Steam artwork?
Steam artwork is the picture or animation you show in the Artwork Showcase (or Screenshot, Featured or Workshop showcase) of your Steam profile. Animated Steam artworks are GIFs made from a character, a background and effects, cut into the pieces Steam shows on your profile.
How do I get an animated Steam artwork?
Buy a ready-made artwork from DryreL's store (hundreds of designs, personalised with your name, frame and background in a live preview) or commission a custom one. You download the GIF files with a step-by-step upload guide and add them to your Steam profile.
What size is a Steam artwork?
The Artwork and Screenshot showcases use a 506 px wide main picture and a 100 px wide side picture. The Featured showcase is one 630 px wide picture, and the Workshop showcase is five tiles of 150 px width in the height of your tile (500, 800 or 1024 px).
How much does a Steam artwork cost?
Ready-made animated artworks start at about 40 euros, older collections are cheaper (1% per year), students get 50% off their first order and there are weekly deals. A custom artwork made just for you is priced by package.
Is an animated Steam artwork allowed on Steam?
Yes. Animated GIFs can be uploaded as artwork and shown on your profile showcases like any other artwork. Keep to Steam's content rules for what you upload.
Can I change the name, background or frame?
On DryreL's ready-made artworks, yes: pick your own name and font, a Steam background, a frame style and colour and particle effects in the live preview before you buy.