So, you want to be a Concept Designer; Where do you start?

The crux of concept design

Concept art is typically viewed as a means to convey ideas visually for purposes of
film, game, animation, illustration, and other forms of media, prior to it’s finalisation
on it’s respective platform.
Concept art is required at all stages of productions- but in big budget film can start
work up to six months prior to filming. This ideation stage may have the concept
artist working from a screenplay, or existing text, which they’ll analyse and work
from. At this stage they may work with specialist researchers who help source and
provide relevant information. In a team, concept artists may also work in the art
department with draughtsmen, painters etc, to produce a body of work ready for the
Production Designer.
The job requires several rounds of ‘feedback, iteration and elimination’ between the
concept artist and the production designers so to ultimately narrow down and refine
these ideas into a ‘singular, coherent vision’. Once approved there, they are
discussed with the producer, director and visual effects co-ordinator.

Fig. 1
A concept artist may be needed to do fast sketching, quick idea generation,
storyboards and light/colour studies to help visualise ideas and fix problems, on the
premise. At another extreme, they also should have the aptitude to create polished
illustrative work- potentially with the intention of advertising/promoting upcoming
work.
For both extremes, you should use your communicative skills and enthusiasm to
work with the team and studio as a whole. However, in certain contexts, concept art
may not even require a ‘concept artist’. As something that’s so intrinsically tangled
up with other fields, you may find matte painters, graphic designers, and texture
artists working on concept art as well. That being said, the role is highly specialised,
and combined with the freelance basis makes their role incredibly competitive.
Historically and Culturally
Though only recently considered a paid occupation of sorts, concept design has
been very much present throughout a range of media during it’s production, across
the years of cinema, and even before that- when theatre required plans for costume
and stage design (see below Adolphe’s design for ‘Tristan and Isolde’, 1896). The
question is, what do we think of, when we think of ‘concept art’?
If the definition/role of ‘concept design’ is the transcription and creation of ideas,
through visual means, then concept art historical could arguably have links back to
illustration, or- by some- impressionism (with the imitation of traditional mediums,
and the ‘momentary and transient effects’ of both sunlight, and the changing,
abstract nature of ideas/what you see and think as the author, to be put down
quickly). Arguably with how Impressionism also includes in the image the potential
for abstract/concept thought as projected on the painter him/herself (the subjectivity
of our perception of light, and individual consciousness).

Fig. 2
In regards to its partnership with visual mediums such as film, animation or game
even, however, the term itself was thought (though not confirmed) to be coined in the
1930’s by Disney- with Swedish-American illustrator Gustaf Tenggren who made
concept art for a range of films such as ‘The Old Mill’ (1937), Snow White (1937),
Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia (1941).

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 - ‘Adolphia Appia: Tristan and Isolde (1896) Act II’

Concept art can vary globally by existing historic styles. An example would be
concept art produced for Japanese sub category of art/pop culture; anime- an
industry that’s intrinsically intertwined with its hand drawn counterpart; manga. This
distinctive form of storytelling is an inevitable part of Japan’s identity, with its unusual
aesthetics and narrative. The origins of which is traced by some to the 12-13th
century with Choju-Giga; ‘Scrolls of Frolicking Animals’, though modern manga as
we recognise it today is said to emerge during US’s occupation of Japan (1945-
1952).

Fig. 5
With animation taking its first prominent stand in Japanese culture, with ‘Toei’
(Japan’s first production company that produced purely work of entertainment)
established in 1948, the western style of ‘Walt Disney’ influenced the work heavily.
Come Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’, however, Japanese’s animation began to
make a name for itself globally. The shift to TV in the 1960’s particularly influenced
its style, with ‘Toei’s’ first major TV shows being adaptations from Yokoyama’s ‘Sally
the Witch’ and the ‘Kid with his Giant Robot’ manga comics.
Introduce film/tv concept art that has links to manga aesthetics- and we see distinct
differences between western concept visuals and Japanese concept visuals. Note
Hiromasa Ogura’s watercolour studies for ‘Ghost in the Shell’’ and Takashi
Watabe’s drawings for ‘Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocent’ at the House of Illustration’s
exhibition; Anime Architecture: Background of Japan (2017) below:

Back to Europe: typically, there is few courses that separate concept design from the
rest of the creative process, as its own self-contained occupation. Often, it’s so
intrinsically linked in with everything else, it can help to have an understanding of the
other roles/occupations you’ll be working with. Additionally, there’s no typical career
route to be taken to become a ‘concept artist’. Some make their way through the
illustration route, while others the visual effects or animation; that allows a means to
concept art through storyboarding.
While there is no common route for someone to work as a concept artist; it helps to
study practises that similarly focus on draughting skills, conceptualisation, and
graphic design as a means of developing these skills.
Marc Holmes; a Canadian artist, and author of ‘Designing Creatures and Characters:
How to Build an Artist’s Portfolio for Video Games, Film, Animation and More’
(2016), draws from his 20-year experience within the game industry living and
working in Montreal, as a concept artist and art director. He states “it’s a highly
skilled field”. “You have to be a superior artist to do the job. There aren’t really many
entry level positions. And for every hundred people on AAA game, there might be
one concept artist”. This is argued less ‘bad news’, and more ‘good news’, as he
states “if you’re serious, if you never give up, and you put in the work – (and you
have the good fortune of enough time and money) – you’ll make it! You just have to
last longer and work harder than everyone else who gives up along the way”.

Holmes states that the job “ISN’T that competitive. (In a weird way), as there are
very few people who are ABLE to be a concept artist for an AAA project”.
That being said, there’s recurring themes of what sort of skills you’d need/help:
- Hard work and skill
- Equipment and a continuous understanding of computers/appropriate
software)
- Contacts
- Flexibility
 ➢ Finding a compromise, even if you’re doing work you’re not enjoying.
➢ Working long hours closer to deadlines to help finalise the work.
- Sharing Work
“I find that, within a professional setting, it [taking direction from people]
introduces challenges, that-that I’m still learning to navigate. I’m still- I still
struggle with erm…being able to really, kind of push aside that desire as an
artist to kind of have control over everything. Keep everything- kind of- the
way I want it to be. Really learning to be flexible and compromises is
something everyday I feel like, there’s new opportunities for me to refine that”-
Ashley Swindowski.
- Time
- Working with a team:
An understanding of do-ability; “I’ve really come to understand how important
it is, for a concept artist to understand the technical aspects of the ideas
they’re pitching. Whether or whether not those things are doable within the
engine that the studio is- ah- working with”- Ashley Swidowski
“…But I feel like- I now approach things very aware of… you know- certain
limitations or just challenges that… maybe we can make work, but won’t look
right all the time”

Fig. 6 - ‘Adolphia Appia: Tristan and Isolde (1896) Act II’

 - These challenges of concept art can differ from platform to platform. ___”it
can be challenging when you really want to push a certain aesthetic, or a
certain… piece of costuming, and there some sort of tech limitation that
probably doesn’t exist for film”.
I.e. ‘Readability’ in terms of audience participation in live-time gaming etc.
- A passion and drive for constant learning. “I always try, even when it’s a
situation where I disagree with the direction… where I don’t feel…. Or I feel
like there’s a better solution, I will do my best to find a compromise, and find
something valuable in that piece, that I can contribute. And have some..-some
pride in, as I put it out”…. “To really give it your all, you have to find something
in it that you find valuable”.
So- you’ve honed your skills, built on your experience, teamworking skills and built
an effective portfolio... What now?
Getting in. Who do you go for? And who do you know?
Though arguably games from smaller, independent companies offer greater odds for
getting into the industry, the work entailed can vary a lot depending on who you’re
working with, the contract you’ve decided upon, and the culture there you must work
with. It helps sharing a culture of thought, and passion for the kind of work that game
company is producing.
Ashley Swidowski explains how her own attraction to ‘Naughty Dog’ pushed her to
work towards employment there:
“I was very adamant about ‘Naughty Dog’ probably to a fault; I applied at a lot of
other studios and took a lot of other jobs, while I was beelining for this studio”. She
needed 3 separate opportunities, a lot of practise and networking to help her get the
job. It’s important to understand the road of concept art and employment can be a
bumpy one.
Studios go down. “Looking back, there were definitely warning signs, so again, like-
you learn those things as you go. I feel like- you have to kind of make those
mistakes, and run into those road blocks, but I guess the big piece of knowledge that
came out of that was… always work out that you get paid on time. Never [laughs]-
never just expect someone’s going to do the right thing. ”
“To anyone starting out- If you really, really want it, keep pushing, you know- it’s- it’s
a rough road, and rejection just part of it”
That being said- if you’re passionate about the work- and if you work hard to get
yourself where you need to be- concept art is always needed for any production of
work. These skills are transferable and can help in other ways to get you where you
want to be.
 Harvard Referencing
Websites
‘Academy of Art University’, (2016), ‘Concept Art Talk’, [Online]. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rncXyHaZZA [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
‘Bobby Chiu’, (2017), ‘Working in Games with Concept Artist Ashely
Swidowski’, [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VGAeuRVizI
[Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Cicone, Anna (n.d.) ‘Eddie Del Rio on the Realities of Being a Concept Artist’
[Online]. Available at: http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/3657/eddie-del-rio-on-
the-realities-of-being-a-concept-artist [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
‘Creative Skillset’, (2018), ‘Concept Artist’, [Online]. Available at:
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3072_concept_artist [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Hildy, Franklin J.; Jain, Parul; Luebering, J.E.; Sinha, Surabhi (2009), ‘Theatre
Design; Architecture; History’, [Online], Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/art/theatre-design/History [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Holmes, Marc (2017), ‘Are there real jobs in the concept art industry?’, [Online].
Available at: https://www.quora.com/Are-there-real-jobs-in-the-concept-art-industry
[Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Pantelić, Ksenija (2016), ‘The Conceptual Nature of Impressionist Art’, [Online].
Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/impressionist-art/ [Accessed Date:
05/05/2018]
Vergara, Varnieda (2016), ‘An Introduction to Anime and its Relationship to
Manga’, [Online]. Available at: https://bookriot.com/2016/03/02/introduction-anime-
relationship-manga/ [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Yegulalp, Serdar (2017), ‘A Brief History of Anime’, [Online]. Available at:
https://www.thoughtco.com/brief-history-of-anime-144979 [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
‘Widewalls’, (2016), A Short History of Japanese Manga’, [Online]. Available at:
https://www.widewalls.ch/japanese-manga-comics-history/ [Accessed Date:
05/05/2018]

Books
Lilly, Eliott (2015), ‘The Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video Games: An
Insider’s Guide for Beginners’. Lost Angeles, California: Design Studio Press

Exhibitions
‘Anime Architecture: Background of Japan’, (2017), [Exhibition], London, House
of Illustration. 26 May- 10 Sept 2017.
Illustrations
Fig. 1 Swidowski, Ashley (n.d.), ‘Nathan Drake Costume Exploration’, [Online].
Available at:https://aswidowski.artstation.com/ [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Fig. 2 Tenggren, Gustaf (1937) ‘Concept drawing for Snow White, 1937’, [Online].
Available at: https://shrineodreams.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/teng_snow1.jpg
[Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Fig. 3 Tenggren, Gustaf (n.d.), ‘Tenggren study for “The Old Mill”’, [Online].
Available at: https://shrineodreams.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/teng_mill.jpg
[Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Fig. 4
Appia, Adolphia (1896), ‘A Revolution in Stage Design: Drawings and
Productions of Adolphe’, [Online]. Available at:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/273523377344564499/ [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
And
Appia, Adolphia (1896), ‘Adolphia Appia: Triatan and Isolde’, [Online]. Available
at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/273523377344564499/ [Accessed Date:
05/05/2018]
Fig. 5
Ogura, Hiromasa (1995), ‘Background Illustration for Ghost in the Shell’,
[Online]. Available at: https://www.houseofillustration.org.uk/whats-on/current-future-
events/anime-architecture-backgrounds-of-japan [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
And
Watabe, Takashi (2004), ‘Concept Design for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocent
(2004), pencil on paper’, [Online]. Available at:
https://www.dezeen.com/2017/08/01/anime-architecture-exhibition-house-of-
illustration-ghost-in-the-shell-drawings/ [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]
Fig. 6 Swidowski, Ashley (n.d.), ‘Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End- Nadine Ross’
[Online Image]. Available at:
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/uncharted/images/b/b5/Frank-tzeng-u4-nadine-
ingame-5.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160518090505 [Accessed Date: 05/05/2018]