The concepting of Flax – What to expect as a concept artist – Part 4

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Concept art has many facets. One of the most important ones is storytelling. Your concept could just be of a generic creature someone could get across, but won’t think more of. Or a leading one, like Flax, a prominent mount in the storyline. Both types have a clear overlap in how you should approach them. Habitat should be taken into account as well as functional anatomy based on their habitat and behavior. But there is way more to a character or creature that has a prominent place in a story. And Flax, a Lutherial Vixen is a good example of that.

Blue Sky phase – What to expect as a concept artist – Part 1

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Concept art is idea-generating based on a prompt or brief. This brief can be as simple as ‘We need ideas for tundra type creatures that can be used as mount’, or as complex as an iconic boss with a huge back history. The process that follows is usually the same and can slightly vary depending on your client or studio you work for.

What is concept art

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When I just started drawing I had a lot of difficulties understanding the difference between ‘normal’ art and concept art. To me, concept art more often than not looked finished and polished or fully rendered. While at the same time some specific art styles looked unfinished to me, or as something I’d expect to be a concept.
I know that with me there are far more people that don’t understand what concept art really is. And the truth is: You can’t tell by just looking at it. There is just one key ingredient to be able to tell if it’s concept art or not: Was it meant to serve as a concept or not.