Pep Talks For The Beginner Concept Artist

 In the previous post we looked at the process of gathering references and applying them in design work with our coral-based architectural example. In this post we're going to be continuing on with that project, now looking at the idea of tonal referencing.  Tone and Referencing in Concept Art Alongside working out the physical designs of things/characters in the game world, the role of a concept artist can also entail exploring and providing indications of tone - the mood/feeling of a location or sequence in a game. Just as with design work, tonal exploration benefits from the reality-based foundation that referencing provides. Our surroundings convey plenty of tone in real life - just think about how cloudy, rainy weather make us feel compared to a clear blue sky - and it's important that we use that to our advantage in the form of reference. Introducing the Exercise Following on from my coral citadel design work that we looked at in the previous post, the next step was to b...

 In this post we're going to outline and demonstrate a helpful research process for beginners, from the formation of an idea and gathering of reference to its use during initial design work. For this research process we'll be implementing a mindset that many creatives utilise, so before we get into our own example we should expand on this and look at examples of it in existing media. 'Nothing is original anymore' - and that's completely fine 'Nothing is truly original anymore'. How many times have you heard that one before? It's a phrase that gets thrown around quite a bit, and arguably, there is some truth to it. No new idea is completely without its sources of inspiration, after all it's impossible not to be in some way influenced by the things we see and experience in life. You can therefore make the argument that no new idea is entirely original. And that's ok.  The best way to deal with this is to embrace it. Though you may not be able to cr...

  Now that that we've covered a baseline understanding of what concept art is, these next posts are going to cover the topic of research/referencing. We're doing this at an early stage because despite its importance in the concept art process, research is a step that is both neglected by beginners, and advocated by professionals.  Why is research important? From speaking to concept artists on games from studios such as Playground Games, SloClap and Ember Lab, it has been made clear to me that as a concept artist you should always aim to ground your designs in some form of reality, with very few exceptions to this rule. This is because even fantasy worlds should make sense, at least within the confines of their own rulesets if not those of our own world. The best way to ensure this, according to these professionals, is to always start by conducting research, to establish for yourself a foundation in reality from which to develop your more fantastical ideas. The world is a vast ...

  With this first post, we're starting with the very basics - what actually is concept art? There's quite a bit of confusion about this out there, so hopefully in this post I'll be able to clarify some things for any readers that think they might be interested in taking up concept art, but aren't exactly certain of what that really entails. My goal for today is to provide the core information that I wish I had on day 1 of my concept art journey. Defining Concept Art As part of my research over the past year I have been studying the work of professional concept artists in the games industry, and reaching out in order to get their perspectives on the role's functions and processes. Based on what I have learned, I would define Concept Art as  a tool for the visual communication of ideas . Let's break this definition down a little bit. The reason I use the word 'tool' is because concept art is exactly that. Rather than being a finished product in itself (as ...

   Introduction The world of concept art is a daunting one, and one that can prove very difficult to break into - or even know where to start. My name is Laurie and this summer I'll be graduating in MA Games Design, with my specialism being concept art. This term, I will be moving away from my Near Eastern concept project (which you can check out over on my other blog at https://lauriegamedesign.blogspot.com/). I will instead be starting this new blog to create a platform through which aspiring concept artists like myself can hopefully learn a thing or two about the big, bad world of concept art in the games industry. My aim is to disseminate to other beginners the knowledge that I have acquired throughout my MA course, in a clear and digestible way.  Why? I came into this course completely fresh - I had just finished a degree in Ancient History and really had no actual understanding of concept art, other than knowing I had an interest in trying it. Given where I started,...