Programmer art

Programmer Art refers to temporary graphics added by the software developer to test functionality. When creating the artwork speed is a priority and aesthetics are secondary, if they are given any consideration at all. In fact, programmer art might be intentionally bad. This draws attention to the fact that the artwork is only a placeholder and should not go into the final product. This practice might also speed its replacement. However, there have been cases where production of the "real" art assets has been delayed, and then due to budget limitations cut completely, resulting in unpolished programmer art being shipped with the final distribution of a game.

Examples include stick figure sprites and fuchsia textures.

Programmer Art may also refer to the art created by an independent or hobbyist developer, where a single person is responsible for all aspects of software/game development. As the creator in this case is typically a developer rather than an artist, the resulting art is functional rather than aesthetic.