Concept Art is one of the essentials in game development even though a lot of people don’t know what it is and why it’s so important. We’re going to show you what a Concept Artist is and what he does on a day to day basis.
What is Concept Art?
Concept Art is the process of iterating and creating art for things like characters, creatures, environments, props, vehicles and so much more. It’s an important tool to communicate and visualize an idea upfront so both the team and the customer can get onto the same page. It helps to answer any open questions and apply quick changes to the design without losing too much time during the production phase. While it’s possible to make changes in 3D as well, it takes a lot more time and effort to do so. A finished Concept Art often includes orthographic shots (front, back & side view) of the design so that 3D Artists can start modeling & sculpting according to it.
What does a Concept Artist do?
A Concept Artist’s job is to bring ideas and visions to life throughout the artwork they create. Each artist has their own style and specialty which can reach from photorealistic characters to stylized props and creatures.
As a Concept Artist who is working in the Game Industry, you have to:
- Draw different kinds of concepts (Weapons, props, vehicles, characters,…)
- Create multiple iterations of the design
- Paint thumbnails to figure out interesting & unique silhouettes
- Research historical, game related or genre specific topics
- Work closely together with Art Directors & Game Designers
- …
Artists like this either work for huge companies where they help throughout all the production phases or go the freelancer approach so they only lend a hand in pre-production before moving on to the next project down the line.
What kind of skills do I need as a Concept Artist?
As a Concept Artist you should have a whole bunch of skills beside a general interest in arts and games:
- Strong drawing and painting skills
- Great knowledge of anatomy, perspective, materials,…
- Attention to detail
- Technical drawing & understanding of Visual Language
- Great Communication Skills
- Good Time Management Skills
- …
While being a great artist and having a passion for gaming is going to help you along the way, there is much more to it than it seems. As a Concept Artist you need to have a thick skin in order to survive in this competitive field. You might have to redraw a design dozens if not a hundred times until it’s finished and in some cases it might not even make the cut for the game, no matter how good it was or how much effort you’ve put into it.
Being able to distance yourself from your work is very important so you can make the most out of feedback & criticism coming from your team. You only know if something works or not if you’ve tried it. So even if an idea gets dismissed it’s a step into the right direction because then both you and the rest of the team know that this is not the direction you want to go.
How do I get a job as a Concept Artist?
As an artist you don’t necessarily need a degree of some kind to get into the industry. It’s totally fine for you to be self taught as long as you possess the necessary skills and have a stunning portfolio to represent your work accordingly.
To make sure your portfolio is meeting the industry standard you should:
- Include interactive projects & games you’ve worked on
- Put in some pieces that show your design workflow (Thumbnails, Iterations,..)
- Show the recruiter your thought & design process
- Build your portfolio around the company you’re applying to
- Make sure your portfolio works and is easy to access
- Polish your work & make it look professional
- …
Depending on what kind of position you’re applying to, you either need to create a specialized portfolio where your focus lies on only one topic (e.g. character, environment, props,…) or you might have to show off a wide variety of skills. Keep in mind that studios also have different kinds of styles. ‘From Software’ are probably looking for an artist that can draw dark & realistic characters while ‘Blizzard’ would look for someone that works well with their very colorful & stylized design.
What kind of programs should a Concept Artist look into?
While Concept Artists are mostly in charge of drawing, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have some technical knowledge as well:
- 2D DCC Tools (Photoshop, Illustrator,…)
- 3D DCC Tools ( Autodesk Maya, ZBrush,…)
- Project Management Software (Trello, Nuclino,…)
- Writing Software (Scrivener, Evernote,…)
- …
I bet some of you are wondering why we’ve included 3D software for a 2D job but there is a very good reason why. In Concept Art you work from deadline to deadline which means you have to put out work rather quickly. So programs like Maya, ZBrush etc. can help you block out your idea quickly and paint over it later on.
How much money does a Concept Artist make?
Those numbers can vary greatly depending on the company, genre, style, experience, skills etc. but according to Zippia a Concept Artist makes between $56k – $130k and the average income is around $85k per year.
If you want to get into concept art yourself, you should start with the core fundamentals of art which you can find here:
7 Art Fundamentals Every Digital Artist Should Master
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