Guide to Concept Art: 3 Types of Concept Art

In concept art, artists draft different styles (or concepts) of a fictional world, creating unique character and scenery designs. Concept art allows animators to show mock-ups to the art director and other creatives before choosing a final design. Concept art is employed in various forms of media including films, video games, animation, and comic books, particularly sci-fi and high fantasy stories. The term “concept art” originated alongside Walt Disney’s films in the 1930s as animated features entered the mainstream.

Concept art is a central part of the visual development process for comic books, video games, animated films, and other commercial media. Throughout this creative process, numerous graphic artists and art directors move quickly through digital art representations, and concept art allows everyone to get on the same page before advancing to the next stages. This allows for stylistic consistency, a unified color palette, and an established tone. Without concept artists’ work, the work of the individual designers might lead to an incohesive final product.

Illustration and concept art are two art forms that intersect. Illustration is the creation of visual imagery to accompany or explain a story or message. There are many illustration styles. The principal difference between concept art and illustration is that concept art helps define what the world and characters of a project could look like. Illustration, meanwhile, is the combination of those elements to create a final product. For example, concept art might be the beginning stages of drawing the costumes or accessories for members of the X-Men, while an illustration would have the character wearing that attire while in the middle of a fight sequence, generating a more narrative image.

Conceptual artists in an animation studio are always creating different kinds of concept art. Each step of this digital art process is a puzzle piece that helps realize the creation of video games, animated films, and more.

1. 1. Character concept art: Before putting pencil to paper, character concept art involves thorough research. If you were creating concept art for a new Spider-Man film, for example, you might look at different images of spiders to help craft the iconic black symbol found on the titular superhero’s suit. As research accumulates and art directors weigh in, concept artists will create multiple character design drafts before landing on a finished piece.
2. 2. World concept art: This type of art involves sketching and understanding the scenery and architecture of a particular story. Creating the setting is part of world-building. This branch of concept art helps you visualize the color, texture, and specificity of a world, which will often be seen in establishing shots or in the background as characters move through it.
3. 3. Equipment concept art: Equipment concept art encompasses the items, weapons, and armor within comic books, animated films, or video games. Equipment concept art can enhance a world while also giving it a deeper definition, creating a final product that is much richer and detailed.

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