Turn an idea into a strong concept

Lucas Staniec uses a brainstorming technique to flesh out a loose idea for a concept, before taking you through his 3D and 2D painting process

See how Lucas Staniec uses a brainstorming technique to flesh out a loose idea for an environment concept.

As you consider pursuing the path of a concept artist, you’ll no doubt be assessing the quality of your art skills. Yet one of the most important things you’ll need is not a specific technique in your artistic box of tools, but rather the right mindset.

As a concept artist you’ll be required to deal with a lot of problem solving. To do that, it’s crucial to observe the world around you and try to understand how things work. Not only will your designs be based on the things we know, but you’ll be able to use your awareness for inspiration. Knowledge will help you geek out about your own designs and make them better. Put simply, the more you know, the better!

Creating a good-looking picture can be challenging, but what’s even harder is coming up with a good idea or design that could serve as a starting point. This could lead to an original location, a complex piece of machinery or even an entire universe.

The design process is time consuming. As a concept artist you’ll have to do hundreds of exploratory sketches before that ‘eureka’ moment. Your job will require you to do things over and over again, so brace yourself! I’ll show you how I get inspired and how to proceed with a concept illustration task. I’ll also give you some insights into what to pay attention to in your own work.