Concept Art 101

I love to draw. Drawing is the most fundamental aspects of visual communication. Human have use drawing for thousands of year to communicate complex ideas. The digital revolution: In the last two decades, computer graphics and 3d software programs are getting more sophisticated at a rapid pace. This allow more artists to get their ideas out onto the computer screens with little drawing skills requirement. More and  more  artists can't draw before computer has made it unnecessary. This may come back to bite.  Future of Ai integration: The next digital leap will be Ai integration into the softwares. Procedural modeling, intelligent modeling, texturing, animations, and what not. The golden age of the 3d pipeline is coming to an end. Some tasks will be obsolete and Ai will take over those mundane functions. In order to further cut cost, studios will consolidate and bundle more complex visual fx tasks into one artist ‘s responsibility. Which mean talented and expe...

Feeling like you're not doing enough? Is anxiety creeping up on you? Feeling overwhelmed by the amount of progress needed to become competitive in the market? Whenever you get anxiety attack, it important to remind yourself the race is a marathon, not a sprint. Take a breather or a break to gather your thoughts. Do something else and then come back to it. Grass is greener on the other side Believe or not, everyone has a bit of anxiety no matter who. The professionals at the top are worry that they might lose their jobs or not be relevant in the long run. Instead of enjoying the moment, they keep looking over their shoulders. The mid career artists are worry they aren’t good enough like the top players and they aren’t happy either. The younger artists are feeling the pressure from the huge gap from where they are and where they need to be. They may feel like they are missing out on the coolest projects. It's all in your head That feeling is only mental and it’...

The Underdog Honest truth is, life isn’t fair kids. It isn’t a level playing field. You may be born in a different country like in Russia or Brazil that doesn’t have a large entertainment industry. Or your parents may not be rich to provide you with private art lessons. Or maybe you just found out about the industry and already started late in the game. There are countless reasons why you are at disadvantage situation than the other players.  The Privilege  I understand what that is like. I’ve been there and I had to compete with kids with rich parents who pay for art lessons as early as age 13 and will pay for their private college tuition. The other kids may have brothers or sisters that went to art schools that show them the ropes. The other kids may have parents who are art professionals that trained them since they are a child.   So how do you compete with these kids that seems to have all the advantages and luck?  Should you even bother with t...

To go or not to go So you recently discovered design industry and wondering if going to a formal school is necessary. Or you've know about the industry a while now and you're about to enter college and nothing else interest you except art and design, but wondering if self-education is sufficient to break into the industry. Where do you want to land The answer depends on where you want to work. If you want to work as product designer or transportation designer, then yes. You should go to college because product design or transportation design involved a lot more understanding of the trades beyond just drawing. Drawing skills alone is not enough to break into those fields. On the other hand, if you want to work in the entertainment industry like film and video games, probably not, as long as your work is competitive. Those jobs are broken down into a efficient pipeline which breaks up into very specific specializations. So either you know someone that can you in and ge...

Let ‘s talk about art styles. This is not about personal style but mainstream marketable styles that already have a demand. As a new artist coming up  and trying to land work, you need to understand what is already in demand. In this post, I will cover two main styles that have a large market demand.   One is a photoreal style and the second is an illustrative style.   Photo-real Style: There are many nuances within each categories. But in general, a photoreal style is concept design represented in a photorealist way where the objective to convey the concept in a realistic style like a photograph. Typically, the style will echo the final product. For example, in film, photoreal concept art is today standard because the final product is a film that is shot in camera and in real locations. Photoreal concept art is use to establish the lighting, colors, mood and narrative of the scene in which will be passed down the vfx pipeline for further refinement. In vide...

A full time job is not for everyone. But it is worth taking on one or two if you want to experience how a large company works. The days of working 20-30 years for one company, let alone 5 years are in the past. The financial crisis impact has rippled through the world and it’s results has left many people wary of the future. But one thing for sure what the 2008 crisis taught us is that job security doesn’t exist, even for those who have devoted their entire life to single company. We saw those people lost their jobs, their retirements, and worst, their dignity. The only job security you can bank on is your skills and network. So if you’re thinking to give full-time job a spin, below is a list of plus and minus that come with a steady 9-5.  Advantages: 1. A sense of stability comes with s full time job. You get a piece of mind from a consistently monthly paycheck. 2. Benefits and perks, health insurance, 401k plans and bonuses are inclusive with the job package....

There are a lot of benefits that comes along with freelancing as well as a lot of pitfalls. Let’s start with the good stuff: 1.You are your own boss.  Freelancing allows you to make your own schedule, take on the projects you like and with people     you like to work with.  2.You have better control of your tax with tax deduction benefits.  3.Depending on the clients, you can probably work remotely at the comfort from your home office. 4.You help reduce carbon footprint by not having to drive to work. 5.The hourly rate is a lot higher than a full time hourly rate. Essentially your hours have a higher market value.  6.You get to customize and setup your own hardware and software and so you can have the most current bells and whistles. 7.Increase productivity with less distraction from the typical office chatter of a full-time job. 8.Though tight deadlines are often part of the freelance equation, you don’t have someone ...

Some professionals will tell you to only show your best work and only a few strong pieces in your art portfolio. Others will say it is important to show not just the polished pieces, but the process from A to Z. Then lately, with all the social media outlets like Instagram and Art Station, some even would argue that recruiters look at how you “improved” over the years and supposely that shows dedication and commitment.  So who the hell is right or wrong? Aren’t these tips conflicting? And which path should you take? Confused?? You bet! I really feel bad for the new artist trying to catch a break and coming up now. It must be truly confusing and perhaps frustrating. So what is the answer then? Ok, …ready?  The answer is that, they are all correct and wrong at the same time. What you should take away from all the advices is one simple truth. Ready!?? There is ’NOT ONE WAY TO LAND A JOB’. In fact, there are many ways. It involved skills and luck. If you have the skills, ...

The over saturation of the concept art industry is an ongoing topic that among artists love to discuss about.  It is true, there are more concept artists that are in the industry now than 5 years ago.  More are trying to get their foot in the industry or even more are just learning about it.  The problem with the discussion is the context.  Most people will talk about the industry in terms of the video game and film industries.  Further, the artists you hear about on social media are the same one you hear about. But the content creation industry is bigger than just video game and film. There are other avenues that concept design can be applied to such as animations, theme parks, concert venues, exhibits, product and mobility designs. There are thousands of artists filling in those positions and you will never hear from them. The main reasons you only hear from the artists that work in films and video games is that those industries actually do a great ...

As a newbie getting your feet wet into the concept art is never before easier with so much information and resources out on the web. But at the same time, it can be overwhelming, anxiety triggering, and damn right confusing with all the information circulating on the net.  What can you do you might ask. I think it is best to stay away or cut down on all the social media like Facebook, Instagram and art forums.  It’s a huge distraction and will give you a reason to procrastinate. You may think you are simply “collecting inspirations" from other artists.  In the end, you will just waste a bunch of time collecting things that you will not ever use anyway. There is a bubble happening with concept art, where a lot of the contents look the same nowadays. You can’t tell who’s work is who. There are a few artists’ work that really stand out, and a lot of younger artists like to copy their styles. But when a professional look at your work, they will know right away you ...

I know it's been while I've posted anything here. I am less active on blogger and more on Instagram. If anyone is interesting in finding more resource and free assets, follow me @Kitbashfun. Also, I have a store on Art Station where you can buy textures and assets that will help your work look professional. They are industry cheat sheet and I use them all the time to speed up my work. Find it here .