Research into Concept Art - Part 1

As I want to look into moving specialism, I thought it would be best to get a better grasp of what I am aiming for, what makes great concept art. So I began to watch some YouTube videos by concept artists giving advice, and I made notes on what I learnt throughout. I have included the notes I have taken on this blog post, I will be watching further videos and looking through portfolios on future blog posts, but these are the notes I have made on what I have learnt so far.

Video 1

Title: Become a CONCEPT ARTIST for video games - What to practice?

Creator: Trent Kaniuga

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPwtsQ-RzI&t=2s

Accessed on: 23/01/24

The beginning of the video Kaniuga describes the importance of understanding the fundamentals of drawing, this is something I definitely want to practice more, he states that the better the understanding of fundamentals the better I will be able to communicate my ideas. He explains that looking through art books is a great place to see concept art rather than just finished illustration pieces.

He mentions that a big focus with concept art is how to tell a story visually about a character by how they are designed, he mentions none of this relates to rendering quality, but that I need to be able to iterate on ideas lots, explore different thematic elements.

On iteration Kaniuga mentions the goal is to keep exploring ideas, “It’s never perfect, it’s never going to be finished”. He mentions it is important to have multiple sketchbooks, exploring different ideas across various themes, to be curious. Also to learn about what 3D artists need to create designs from concept art, try to even work with a 3D artist to create a piece together.

Researching various elements of architecture, clothing, language, religion etc will also be important in influencing my designs, whether based in real life or in other fictional worlds. It all will help me understand how stories are told visually.

It is important to understand how to render different types of materials, colour theory and lighting. It is also crucial to fill my portfolio with concept art, not illustration, employers need to be able to see how I have experimented with my ideas and landed on concept/set of concepts.

Watching this video was helpful as not only do I feel like I learnt some useful tips and advice, watching his design process on the time-lapse throughout helped me see what I already am doing well with and the areas I need to improve on.

Things I would like to improve on are;

• The fundamentals (e.g. anatomy, perspective etc)
• Material rendering
• Iterating lots of ideas
• Not getting caught up in rendering
• Researching other design influences (e.g. religion, architecture, language etc)

Video 2

Title: How to Get Better at Concept Art. Really.

Creator: Hardy Fowler

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsExS5d9dSI

Accessed on: 23/01/24

Fowler makes an interesting point which I often forget early on in the video, he explains whether watching art videos on YouTube or getting a formal art education, we only really understand what we learn with art by doing. I have felt really overwhelmed recently to just ‘start’ with learning concept art, but in reality, that’s exactly how I will understand it best, by just starting and figuring it out.

The next portion of his video goes into consistency, this is also something I really struggle with. I have a mental disorder which often gets in the way of me doing things, Fowler mentions simply setting aside maybe an hour each day to focus on my art only, no other distractions. While of course my mental well-being fluctuates, when I am well enough I really want to get more into a habit of painting or sketching often.

Equally he mentions that as important as it is to schedule in art, he mentions the importance of also setting aside time when to take a break from art, for him he mentions this is always the weekend.

The next section goes into perfection, and that there is beauty in the imperfections in art. There is no way to be perfect, I will never reach perfect. It is worth trying to keep this in mind and focus on being looser when painting, and less focused on making it look immaculate - this isn’t possible anyway!

He mentions that it is important to try to paint just for me when I can, this will take that pressure off with imperfections and allow me to experiment freely without feeling that it doesn’t look good enough.

Moving out of my comfort zone is what allows me to grow as an artist, and what allows my work to improve. If I feel stuck in the comfort zone, I can try a new technique, a new medium, a new style - anything unfamiliar to push me further.

Fowler ends the video discussing support, while artists are introverted, it is important to look for other art friends who can help give feedback and support me in my journey. It also helps in staying accountable, encouraging me to send the work to others.

This video was very different in the advice it offers to the previous, the previous definitely focused more on ‘practical’ advice and tips, but this video went over more so mental barriers that could get in the way when working on concept art and how to overcome these. I thought it was really useful and there’s a lot of points which I find useful.

Focuses I took from this video;

• Practice often, try to make a routine of doing art regularly
• Stop trying to get things perfect
• Try to show my work to other artists for feedback and support