Concept art is a visual art form that conveys ideas through illustrations and designs that are meant to be used in films, stories, games, and other visual media. We all have a piece of media we love, a movie, game, comic book, or story we’d like to jump in and see with our own eyes, full of fantastical creatures, heroes and villains, breathtaking landscapes, and otherworldly beings. This is the magic of concept art. Every story starts as an idea, and while it can be written down, there’s nothing more magical than making it come to life with art, animations, and stunning visuals.
Concept art is like the blueprint of a story’s universe. Before the final touches are added, concept artists sketch and refine characters, props, environments, and anything else that sets the stage. This isn’t just doodling; it’s a meticulous process of planning, sketching, and revising, ensuring that every element fits perfectly into the project’s overall look and feel.
In this article, we’re going to learn more about what concept art really is, the different types of concept art, how it’s made, and how you can become a concept artist yourself. Let’s get started!
What is Concept Art?
Concept art is a form of visual art where the main purpose is to produce and convey ideas through illustrations and designs that are meant to be used in films, games, animations, comic books, or other media. This type of art is only a preliminary representation of an idea before it’s made into a final product so that the artists on the visual development team can use it as a guide to define the look, feel, and style of the character, prop, environment, element, or whole project.
Concept art is one of the most important aspects of a project, it provides it with a visual foundation as it outlines different aspects of it, like characters, environments, props, and other elements that will appear on screen. The process involves multiple stages of planning, sketching, and revisions to refine the ideas, styles, and different designs, and becomes a major collaboration tool among the production, direction, design, and art department.
Concept Art vs. Conceptual Art
While “concept art” and “conceptual art” may sound similar, they refer to distinctly different practices within the art world so don’t get confused.
“Conceptual art” is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s, focusing on the idea or concept behind the work rather than the finished product itself. It emphasizes the artist’s intellectual engagement with the ideas and concepts rather than traditional aesthetic or material concerns. Found in galleries and museums, conceptual art pieces can include installations, performances, written instructions, and more, and are often used to provoke thought or dialogue about social, political, and cultural issues.
The Role of a Concept Artist
Concept artists are visual storytellers who translate ideas from words and concepts into concrete visual representations, sketches, and illustrations. They work on characters, props, environments, clothing, and interior spaces, making sure it all fits the project’s overall look and feel.
Character Design Artists
Character designers are in charge of developing detailed designs for characters, including their appearance, clothing, accessories, and expressions, and ensuring they fit the overall style and narrative of the project.
Environment and World Design Artists
Environment designers are in charge of creating detailed illustrations of environments and settings, including landscapes, buildings, and interior spaces. They also design the overall look and feel of the world, making sure it’s consistent and believable.
Creature and Prop Design
Creature and Prop concept artists are in charge of developing designs for creatures, monsters, and other non-human entities. They also design props, vehicles, and other objects that will or might appear in the project, making sure they fit the world and story.
Concept artists as a whole are the architects of the creative industry, often bringing abstract ideas to life, creating blueprints for unknown worlds that will leave a mark in the lives of millions, and the pioneers of the creative process, often spending extra hours ensuring every piece fits in the new world they are entrusted with.
Skills and Qualifications
A concept artist needs to have a combination of artistic skills, technical knowledge, and certain professional qualifications to compete and succeed in the field of visual storytelling and the entertainment industry overall. While an amazing imagination is a quality that most concept artists have which allows them to bring their ideas to life, they also need formal education, a strong portfolio, previous experience in other projects, and good communication and collaboration skills to be able to successfully start working on a project.
Artistic Skills
Concept artists must have a strong foundation in traditional art techniques, like drawing, painting, and sketching, however, they must be able to do it digitally, creating detailed and accurate illustrations for production use.
They must have a strong grasp of the art fundamentals and principles, and be able to integrate them with their strong storytelling abilities and visual narrative skills to develop concepts and original ideas. Light and Color, Composition, Anatomy, Perspective, and Texturing and the main art fundamentals that concept artists must master, as these are crucial to bringing any concept to reality in a visually appealing and believable way.
Technical Skills
Becoming a concept artist doesn’t only involve artistic skills and creativity; technical skills and training in multiple software programs are also needed. Digital art software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Corel Painter; 3D modeling software like Blender, ZBrush, Maya, and Cinema 4D; and motion graphics software like After Effects are some of the most frequently used in the industry.
While not everyone’s favorite, these programs are the industry standards. Mastery over the ones you directly work with, coupled with basic knowledge of all of them, can significantly enhance your resume, versatility, and employability. This breadth of knowledge allows you to collaborate and integrate much better than someone who only knows how to work with one software.
Education and Training
While a degree in fine arts, graphic design, or a related field is very beneficial, it is not always necessary to become a concept artist. Some specialized courses and short-term careers focused on concept art, digital illustration, and game design can provide targeted skills required in the industry and a more guided formation than a visual arts degree.
Online courses and tutorials on platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Skillshare also provide immense value, especially the ones taught by industry experts and professional artists, additionally, Artstation Learning and CG Masters Academy are amazing platforms to get specialized training from recognized video game industry professionals.
A Strong Portfolio
One key part of becoming a concept artist is building a strong, comprehensive, and diverse portfolio that showcases your skills, experience, and style. A portfolio is a collection of your best work, strategically organized so it demonstrates your abilities to potential clients and employers.
A good portfolio should include pieces that highlight your artistic skills as well as your ability to work on different types of concept art, like character design, prop art, and environmental art. It should have personal pieces, projects, and commissions you’re allowed to share that help demonstrate your work experience. If possible, it should also have study cases, where your thought process, planning, and discarded pieces behind a small project are shown so that employers and clients know about your workflow and problem-solving abilities.
You can build and showcase your portfolio on multiple platforms. Online portfolios on websites like ArtStation and Behance are popular among artists as they allow you to reach a global audience and connect with industry professionals directly. You can also create a personal website to have a more customized and professional presentation of your work. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter can also be useful for sharing your art, building an audience, and engaging with your community.
Work Experience and Networking
Gaining practical work experience is essential for a concept artist. Internships, freelance projects, and collab work can provide valuable hands-on experience and help you build a professional network. Networking is crucial in every industry, and it is even more important as a creative.
Attending industry events, participating in online forums, and connecting with other artists and professionals can open doors to many new opportunities and collaborations. Membership in organizations like the Society of Illustrators or the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists can provide networking opportunities. You can also attend conventions, expos, and events like Comic-Con, SIGGRAPH, and GDC which are great for making connections.
Project Management and Collaboration
Project management and collaboration skills are essential for concept artists, especially when working on large projects with multiple team members. Being able to have a clear understanding of your roles, tasks, and deadlines, and coordinate with other artists, designers, and stakeholders is crucial for the successful completion of projects. Project management tools like Trello, Asana, or Jira can make organizing and tracking tasks more efficient, ensuring that everyone stays on the same page.
Being able to take part in regular meetings, and updates, and knowing how to properly communicate helps prevent misunderstandings and keep the project moving smoothly. Being receptive to feedback and willing to make adjustments based on team input is extremely important as well.
The Concept Art Process
Concept art is not a single piece or a few sketches put together, but a whole process that involves several stages of research, development, and refining.
1. Brainstorming and Reference Gathering
The process starts with understanding the project’s requirements, story, and vision. This initial part of the process involves working with directors, writers, producers, and designers to establish the visual tone and gather ideas.
Researching extensively and gathering materials for reference and inspiration is a must, this includes real-world references of environments, objects, and people, and can extend to different historical periods, cultural contexts, artifacts, and other media that help concept artists create accurate and detailed designs.
2. Sketching and Thumbnailing
Concept artists work on initial ideas that came from the initial part of the process, which are quickly sketched out to explore different concepts, variations, and possibilities. In the case of character and prop art, sketches would be enough, but for background and environment art, thumbnails are needed.
These rough sketches and thumbnails are crucial for visual brainstorming and exploring even more ideas rapidly, creating variations that help in finding the best design direction before moving forward.
3. Iteration and Refinement
Once a concept is chosen, even more detailed sketches are created from it. These sketches focus on refining the design, adding details, and improving the accuracy of its elements. These refined sketches are then presented to the team for feedback, where the art director, producers, designers, and other leads evaluate and collaborate to align the concept even more to the project’s vision.
This results in multiple revisions made based on the feedback received and involves a lot of back-and-forth communication to ensure the final design meets the project’s requirements. Once the concept is decided, the refinement process starts, where artists add final color and texture to the refined sketches to bring the concept to life. This step also includes exploring different color schemes, materials, and textures to find the best fit for the project.
Types of Concept Art
Concept art offers different paths, each focusing on different aspects of visual development. Let’s learn about the main types of concept art, explain their purposes, and see some examples of each:
1. Character Design
Character design involves creating the appearance, personality, style, and overall visual appearance of the characters in a project. Every piece of media has a story behind it, and the characters on it play the most important part, which is why defining their physical appearance, clothing accessories, poses, and expressions accurately can make a big impact on the project’s development. This is how usually the character design process goes:
- Artists start with multiple quick sketches to explore various shapes, sizes, and styles. These rough drawings help brainstorm different ideas and directions for the concept.
- Once the main idea is established, creating simple silhouettes to focus on the character’s overall shape and readability helps emphasize the form and visual impact without the distraction of details.
- Once the silhouette is established, artists add finer details like facial features, clothing textures, and accessories. This step enhances the sketches with specific elements that define the character or object.
- Then comes the process of experimenting with different color schemes and materials. Artists explore various color palettes and textures to find the most effective combinations that convey the character’s and project’s mood and style.
- Finally, drawing the characters in various poses to explore movement and personality helps visualize how the character will look and behave in different scenarios, adding life and dynamism to the concept.
Here are some popular character design examples from popular media:
2. Environment Design
Environment design focuses on creating the different settings where the story takes place; this involves both interiors, exteriors, landscapes, cityscapes, and other locations. Using tools like Adobe Photoshop, Maya, and Substance Painter, environment designers create a detailed and believable picture of the world the project takes place.
Environment designers have a unique set of skills compared to character and prop designers. They need a deep understanding of composition, perspective, the laws of physics, and architecture to create environments that are not only visually compelling but also structurally sound and contextually appropriate. This is usually how the enviroment design process goes:
- Everything starts with the conceptualization, this initial phase involves brainstorming and sketching out rough ideas for the environment. Designers consider the story, mood, and atmosphere they want, making quick thumbnails and sketches to explore different concepts.
- Once the concept is decided, environment designers create basic shapes and layouts to establish the scale and composition of the environment. This step often involves creating simple 3D models or rough drawings to visualize the space and ensure the design works well from different perspectives.
- Then they proceed to add finer details to the environment, including architectural elements, natural features, and props. This stage involves refining the design with textures, lighting, and small details that make the setting feel realistic and immersive, it can be done by painting over a 3D model or by directly working on it.
- Then comes the experimenting process, where different color schemes and lighting setups are applied to enhance the mood and atmosphere. Using tools like Substance Painter and Photoshop to add realistic textures to the environment.
- Finally, finishing touches such as weather effects, wear and tear, and other small details that bring the environment to life are added. This final step ensures that the environment feels lived-in and authentic.
Here are some popular enviroment design examples from popular media:
3. Creature Design
Creature design involves creating unique beings for stories, games, and films. This work combines knowledge of biology, anatomy, and fantasy to develop creatures that look realistic and visually appealing. Creature designers use digital painting with tools like ZBrush, and Blender to bring their ideas to life with great detail.
Creature designers need to understand anatomy well, knowing how different animals are built and move so they can creatively mix features from various species while ensuring the creature looks functional and believable in its environment, this requires an extensive knowledge of anatomy and a passion for biology as well as a vivid imagination. This is usually how the creature design process goes:
- The process begins with thorough research. Designers study real-world animals, their habitats, and behaviors to gather inspiration so that they can start sketching rough ideas and exploring different shapes, sizes, and features.
- Creating strong silhouettes is crucial for making the creature recognizable and distinctive. Designers focus on the overall shape and form, ensuring that the creature stands out and has a distinctive outline.
- Once the basic form is established, designers add finer details such as scales, fur, feathers, and other textures. They refine the creature’s anatomy, ensuring that muscles, bones, and other structures are proportionate and accurate.
- Then, artists experiment with different color schemes and textures to define the creature’s appearance, always considering whether the creature’s colors will help it blend into or stand out from its environment.
- Using software like ZBrush and Blender, designers create a 3D model of the creature, working on more details from all angles. To ensure the creature can move realistically, the model undergoes a riggin process, which helps with animating the creature and placing it in various poses to showcase its potential movement and behavior.
- The final step involves rendering high-quality images of the creature in different poses and lighting conditions, which are later presented to the clients or directors to ensure they meet the project’s needs.
Here are some popular creature design examples from popular media:
Prop and Vehicle Design
Prop and vehicle design involves creating detailed, functional objects and means of transportation for stories, games, and films. Prop and vehicle designers need a solid understanding of how objects and vehicles work in the real world. They must know about mechanics, engineering, and materials to create real-looking and functional items.
A Prop Concept artist isn’t only in charge of designing a character accessory or a prop, but making sure it belongs in the world around it, that it fits the character’s personality, that is useful, accurate, and proportionate to the character’s environment and media. Here are some popular prop and vehicle design examples from popular media:
Career Development for Concept Artists
Concept artists can work as freelancers on films, animated features, and game production, and have a lot of different options and opportunities when it comes to work and career development, ranging from entry-level positions to full-time roles and lead positions in the entertainment industry.
- Aspiring concept artists often start as junior artists or freelancers, gaining experience while focusing on building their portfolios. In these initial roles, they are tasked with creating basic sketches, developing initial concepts under supervision, and assisting other artists.
- Many beginners will start as freelancers, taking on small projects that help them earn some money while gaining experience and building their portfolios as well. Since freelance work involves working directly with clients, some artists might find it challenging since it requires self-discipline and good communication skills.
- As they advance, they can take full concept artist roles, taking on more responsibilities and working on more complex projects. The next step would be becoming a senior concept artist, who is in charge of multiple artists’ teams and oversees major projects.
- Lead Concept Artist and Art Director are the next positions in line, each involving new responsibilities and requiring great communication, management, and organizational skills besides strong artistic abilities and extensive work experience.
The average salary for concept artists can vary widely based on factors such as experience, location, industry, and the size of the company. Entry-level concept artists typically earn between $40,000 and $60,000 per year. With several years of experience, mid-level concept artists can expect to earn between $60,000 and $80,000 annually. Senior concept artists and lead concept artists often earn salaries in the range of $80,000 to $100,000 or more, depending on their expertise and the complexity of the projects they work on. Art Directors and other advanced roles can command salaries upwards of $100,000, reflecting their significant responsibilities and leadership within the creative team.
Concept Art FAQ
What is concept art?
Concept art is a form of illustration used to visualize and develop ideas for films, video games, animations, and other media before they are put into production. It helps set the tone, style, and overall look of a project.
What skills are essential for a concept artist?
Essential skills include strong drawing and sketching abilities, proficiency in digital painting software (like Adobe Photoshop), knowledge of 3D modeling tools (such as Blender or ZBrush), creativity, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively.
What software do concept artists use?
Commonly used software includes Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter for digital painting, Blender, ZBrush, Maya for 3D modeling, and After Effects for motion graphics.
How does concept art differ from illustration?
While both involve creating visual images, concept art focuses on exploring and developing ideas for a project’s early stages, serving as a guide for the production team. Illustration, on the other hand, often focuses on creating final images for publication or display.
What are the different types of concept art?
The main types of concept art include character design, environment design, creature design, and prop and vehicle design. Each type focuses on a specific aspect of the project’s visual development.
What is the average salary of a concept artist?
Entry-level concept artists typically earn between $40,000 and $60,000 per year. Mid-level artists can earn between $60,000 and $80,000, while senior and lead concept artists can earn $80,000 to $100,000 or more annually.
Can concept artists work freelance?
Yes, many concept artists work as freelancers, taking on various projects for different clients.
How important is a portfolio for a concept artist?
A strong portfolio is crucial for a concept artist as it showcases their skills, creativity, and versatility. It should include a variety of projects, demonstrating your ability to develop different types of concept art.
