CONCEPT ART PROCESS 101
by Adam Nichols
Understanding the concept art pipeline and process can streamline your professional working relationship whether you are an aspiring Concept artist or Client seeking one. While most Art directors and Production companies who are experienced with this process, they can fast determine whether you've been around the block a few times or if its your first concept gig.
In the following article I will outline the process I undertake on a daily basis, as well as give an inside look into the life and sometimes multi-tiered roles that can fall under the role of a Concept Artist.
Before explaining the concept creation process its worth also describing the evolutionary nature of a concept artists role over the course of a given project. What you do at the start of a project is very different to what you will be doing by the end.
PROJECT PHASES 101
Pitch Process
Projects don't just grow in cabbage patches, there are a few ways a project gets off the ground but most start with an initial Pitch before they get the green light to start full or initial production.There are 2 main types; projects which start as original IP, often directly overseen by creative directors or creators. Then there is the existing franchises or established IP which are owned by either developers or publishers where studios negotiate (and sometimes compete) to develop into movies/games or other media. The main connection between these avenues is generating financial backing to produce a final product. Like any business deal you need to provide proof of product before publishers or financial backers will invest their time and money.
Pitches can range from a short high level document supported by a handful of rough concept pieces to fully playable demos (in the case of video games) basically whatever the developer can produce in the short time they have, which can be as little as a week.
The concept work produced for this stage usually covers the basics; the main character/s, any key locations or environments and sometimes mock ups of Logos and UI designs. The main goal of this initial burst of concept work is to encompass the visual style (whats often referred to as Visual Development); to summarize what it will look like and show how it is unique and different to what already exists. You job is to sell the product by reassuring the financier that your product is unique and the next best thing.
Pre-Production Art
Once a project gets the initial green light and enters pre-production the role of the Concept Designer becomes extremely important in developing the artistic direction. Working closely with both designers and Art/Creative Directors to take that initial pitch idea and develop it into an achievable product. This is the time to push new technology, experiment new styles or approaches, test or implement new pipelines and basically lock down the development schedule, pipeline and process for the entire production period. After this stage its best to have these types of things set in stone for project stability and to ensure milestones are hit.While shorter deadlines result in a much shorter pre-production, with the right amount of planning by production staff there should always be enough time for pre-production planning and experimentation.
Production Artwork
Production phase is when a project is signed, milestones and deliverables are set and the length of the project is usually planned out. This is generally the stage where most people are brought onto a team, which unless you're a Visual Development artist or Art Director type will include most concept artists too.By this point the style is usually set, style guides will be developed already by the Art Directors and in the case of video games, the design is usually also being narrowed down too.
Depending on the skill-set of the individual some of your roles during production may include; character and creature design, environment and structure design, prop and weapon design, vehicle or robot design and effects and ui design. Most of these tasks are broken down with specific briefs by the art director or design requirements for game-play (in the case of video games.)
Working freelance tends to result in more written description then in-house briefs tend to include as there are always the obvious hardships of working remotely as a freelancer. Having said that this can also have drawbacks if the briefs are too thin, resulting in more revision. Its best to ensure you have enough info before starting a design.
Post Production Responsibilities
Not many people realize but some concept artist responsibilities go further then just creating character, environment or prop designs. Once the Production starts to ramp down many concept artists fill double or multiple roles in various fields including; storyboards, texture painting, matte painting, environment dome asset creation, modeling, user interface design and implementation, particle and effect design and implementation and even lighting. While not all concept artists have the freedom to specialize in only concept creation there are a lots of roles which the concept artist skill-set can effectively fill in. For those people trying to get into this line of work it is a good thing to be willing to also fill one of these additional roles.CONCEPT PROCESS 101
There is a slight difference between working freelance or working in-house but generally I try to keep to the same process when designing concept artwork. To ensure a client or studio gets the most out of you always ensure there is visibility regarding your process as some artists and art directors work differently. If you communicate how you work you can avoid the associated mishaps and uncertainty regarding revisions of the work and ensure your time estimates remain accurate and approved on time. This is your best way to ensure your clients come back to you next time.The Brief
Before starting any artwork its best to understand as much about the requirements of the task at hand. Some important things you will always need to ask for any job are; how long do you have, what is the style or related art reference materials, what are the dates/times for reviewing work, what are the rights of the images they're requesting (one time or all rights), are they purchasing the original artwork, what will be the payment type (one time, up front advance, salary etc), are they covering expenses for materials and overheads, and perhaps one of the most important; what happens if the project gets canned. Following that there is only one thing which most artists often forget and that is regarding crediting rights; will the publication be printed with a credit-line, copyright or signature. If you forget to negotiate any of these points before commencing work it may be impossible to renegotiate them later and possibly ruin a artist-client relationship.Research
Once you're sure all the fine details are discussed its best to plan the next review of initial work and start researching your subject matter a little more. Unless you're already a specialist in a designated genre or topic its best to do your research and become a shorthand expert. I often collect similar or related reference materials such as reference images online, watch dvds/movies, study related or associated art books or magazines. Before starting any new image or project I always compile these reference images into style sheets; pages full of dozens of inspiring images related to the artwork or project. It is worth running these past your client or art director to ensure you're still on the right track before going ahead.For future reference its always good to save any particularly inspiring reference images to a resource file on a portable hard drive so you can refer to it regularly and add to it slowly over the years. This can save a lot of time searching for old images online.
Ideation
One obvious difference between novices and professionals is the ideation phase. Most novice concept artists skip too far into any single idea and invest too quickly in a sketch before trying as many different ideas as they can think of. I often find my best idea is never my first, but the sweet spot is usually around idea no 3. I aim at between 4-6 ideas depending on what the subject matter is but I find the first idea is the most generic idea and has been done before, but by idea 6 you are rehashing ideas or running low on time. Try and keep your sketches loose and quick. Remember that the client will need to see these so make sure they're not too loose as it can potentially scare away clients. Remember that presentation is everything and the first bite is with the eye, make sure it still looks presentable in and of itself.Review
When running your ideas past a client or art director your best bet is to put your best idea in the middle. Using scale can be a little too obvious that you favor one design but the eye does tend to gravitate towards the middle in any composition of sketches. Having said this make sure when you review your ideas with them that they like what you've got and are happy with the direction its heading as the last thing you want is to get to producing the final artwork only to find they are unhappy with the initial concept. Reworking a final design is a lot harder then producing a few more sketches if they're required.If working freelance make sure to make it clear that any additional sketches or rework will be charged for at the standard agreed rate.
Production Artwork
Once you and the art director are both on the same page, this is when you can let it rip and pull out all the stops. Make sure you spend enough time planning and composing your shot because like I mentioned earlier; rework can be very, very painful and time consuming. If you have discussed your idea thoroughly enough by now it will be quite an enjoyable phase in the whole process. Ironically most people just jump here because its the best part but remember the other parts are equally important.Revision Passes
Make sure you run your final artwork past your client or art director regularly enough that you don't steer off course. Its best to lay out your final composition and then get approval to finish it before getting too far ahead of yourself. The revision process will otherwise become a long and laborious process which could also potentially effect your client relationship if not handled efficiently. If you skip into the final image before discussing and planning your thumbnails and sketches you will also spend most of your time applying these changes in direction to your final artwork.Approval and Hand-off
Eventually all concept gets approved and handed to the client. If you're working freelance you will wrap up your commitments to the contract but for those working in-house there is one additional step which is very rewarding. You get to help guide and give feedback as your design comes to life.Asset Creation and Follow Up
With any concept artwork it doesn't just disappear once you're finished with it. It is asset tracked and passed on to another artist to bring to life in either 3d or real life. Working in a studio means you can watch and help give feedback on your designs as someone else breathes life into them and adds hopefully a bit of their own flair into the mix. I personally get quite a kick from this on a daily basis and it helps inspire me to design even better concept artwork.Well that's about it in a nutshell. I'm certain every concept designer has a different method or process but this is what Ive experienced in my time working in the field. Hopefully more concept artists will share their methods but as of yet I'm yet to really find much online on this topic.
If you have any feedback or suggestions regarding these tutorials please feel free to drop me a line.
