Industry Specialist Personal Q&A

Asking a Professional Concept Artist

I have a friend named Lorenz Hideyoshi, who is from Germany and his artwork has been featured in the Artist Expose book, he has over 650,000 views on his Deviantart and he has done work for game companies and movie companies alike.

You can find his work here:
http://www.hideyoshi-ruwwe.net/
http://hideyoshi.deviantart.com/

I have known him for a few short years and really admire his work ethic and his talent. As a budding artist who wants to improve his visual ability and close his skill gaps, I asked him a few questions, here is the following conversation:

Personal Q and A session

Ritatsu Thomas

What does it take to be a concept artist?

What do you like most about your job?

What do employers look for in a concept artist?

If you have a bit of time I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer them, thanks a lot

Ritatz

Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe

hey Ritatsu,

Sure I can answer your questions:

- I think that being a concept artist mostly means having the ability to think up and portray original designs, may it be characters, vehicles or worlds. Since the term includes the word 'concept' it is a concept artist's main goal to come up with interesting ideas that are based on real life but essentially are new things that don't exist yet. In order to bring them to life realistically and authentically, thus believable, it takes artistic, technical skills. You could say that concept artists are not artists per se but craftsmen who use their drawing and painting skills as a means to present a concept. They are not paid for expressing themselves but rather for their ability to envision objects and places that cannot yet be found in the real world. In a production pipeline, concept artists deliver the ideas/designs that will be taken to another level, for example a movie setting or characters and vehicles in a science fiction or fantasy movie/game.

- What i like most about working as a concept artist is being able to present unique, fresh designs that others bring to life in a movie or game. You basically act as a creator who essentially invents a visual representation of an object or place that didn't exist before. On some occasions you can be lucky and a 3D artist will stick to your concept art as closely as possible so it looks almost exactly like you intended. I enjoy designing urban or natural landscapes mostly because they can immerse the viewer. You invite them to explore a world that you created and portrayed.

- I think it depends on the project you're working on. With the movie and gaming industry developing fast and requiring more and more complex concepts, unique artists have an advantage I think. Artists are often hired for a very particular and distinct look that shows through in all of their work. So an art director who is looking to achieve a very specific look might hire someone who he feels represents certain design cues the best.
Versatility and flexibility is probably also very important. Being able to quickly show the essence of a concept in a clear, understandable way. So artists who can realistically draw and render are obviously seeked out more often. Lastly, this business demands fast workers who can deliver under pressure and deadlines and also deal with critique which they can transform into improved concepts. I haven't worked full time as a concept artist yet so I don't know the exact circumstances in a production pipeline where you work closely with an art director all the time.

Hope it helps!

Ritatsu Thomas

Thanks so much for your answers Lorenz,

Can I rephrase question 1, I more meant 'how do you get a job as a concept artist?' like what skills or experience, or software you need? Thanks again bro,

Great answers by the way, I think full time concept artists have less freedom to a certain extent, they usually run with the IP of the company and have less creative headroom. Although I guess it does depend on the company and what they do. I really admire your work btw, 

Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe

yo hey Ritatsu, sorry for the delay!

I think there are no requirements in terms of software. Everyone works with what they feel most comfortable with. But Photoshop seems to be the first choice for most digital artists these days. Having a basic knowledge with this program is usually expected. It doesn't hurt if you also have basic 3D skills. Everything is shifting towards digital although traditional media training shouldn't be neglected and is still very much part of a curriculum for concept artists I hear.
I got into the business without mastering in any degree and I know many others who didn't study anything but have developed into very successful artists often even surpassing the ones who took an academic route. Auto-didaction works mostly in this field because clients don't care too much about education. If your work looks good, they will hire you. With the internet and tons of tutorial resources everywhere you can easily pick up the skills yourself as long as you have ambition and dedication. For some others, working in a schooling environment seems to be a better option though.
I think in general it is important to be able to display a certain basic skillset to your hiring people. Good knowledge about anatomy, lighting, composition, color theory etc. But books and study can teach you those things. Mastering perspective in particular seems to be important when it comes to concept art. Solid drawing skills, clean design.

Hope this helps,
cheers bro!

Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe

For example, check out this guy: algenpfleger.deviantart.com
He went from stickfigures to the level he's at now within 4 years which is insane. He enrolled in a school but realized it wasn't for him so he dropped out continuing to learn by himself. He's entirely self-taught, one of the best digital artists working today.

Ritatsu Thomas

Thanks a lot Lorenz, I cannot thank you enough  very very helpful. Thanks for taking this time to respond and showing that german guy's deviant, that's very interesting stuff and helps a lot, all the best! 

Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe

alright, cheers! Glad I could help!