Concept artists: roles in creative industries

A concept artist plays a crucial role in the entertainment and creative industries.Some key aspects of a concept artist’s role are listed below:

Visualizing Ideas:

Concept artists are responsible for visualizing the creative ideas and concepts presented in a project. Whether it’s for a video game, film, animation, or any other visual medium, the concept artist brings abstract ideas to life through visual representation.

My interest in becoming a concept artist derives from seeing Mary Blair’s work a long time ago.

Her gorgeous works completely pique my interest, and she has also influenced my artistic style.

Through her works, my understanding of concept art becomes clearer. Beyond characters, concept designers contribute to the design of environments, landscapes, and entire worlds. They create concept art that helps establish the visual identity of a setting, ensuring that it complements the overall vision of the project.

Color Keys and Mood Setting

Another artist that I adore very much is Aurelien Predal.He is a French concept artist and illustrator. Aurelien’s work often involves character design, environment concept art, and color keys for animated features. I knew about him from Revolting Rhythms and Room on the Broom.

From his works, I know that concept artists could also use their understanding of color theory and visual aesthetics to set the mood and tone of a project. They make decisions about color palettes, lighting, and atmosphere to evoke specific emotions and reactions from the audience.

Prop Design

In addition to the overall visuals of a feature film,concept artists also design various objects, props, and items that populate the project’s world. This includes everything. So, looking for references and observing life is essential.

Conclusion

Concept artists always need to collaborate with various departments or people, including art, design, animation, and production. Their work serves as a visual guide for the entire team, ensuring that everyone is aligned with the project’s artistic direction.Therefore, becoming a good concept artist should have:

1. Strong Drawing and Painting Skills

Attend life drawing class more often; go out and do more sketches; train myself by taking online classes.

2. Creativity and Imagination

Collect fragmentary thoughts everyday.

3. Understanding of Narrative

Since concept artists mostly work in the storytelling medium, An understanding of narrative and the ability to convey storytelling elements through visual design are important.