Become a CONCEPT ARTIST for video games - What to practice?

If you're going to build entire worlds, you're going to have to practice a different way of thinking. If you want to become a concept artist, you'll have to practice and train your thinking differently than if you want to do animation or film concept art.
These are some of my formulas and processes that Ive used on the games that I've worked on.

Games I've worked on -
Fortnite (Environment concept art)
Overwatch (Environment concept art + Sprays artwork)
League of Legends (Character design + Environment concept art, UI + Icons)
Diablo 3 (Character design + Environment concept art)
Hearthstone (Illustration)
Burning Crusade(Character design + Environment concept art)
Wrath of the Lich King (Character design + Environment concept art)
Indivisible (Environment concept art)
Final Fight Streetwise (Voice Acting + Character Design + World Design + Cutscene Direction + Co writer on script)
He Man GBA (Pixel Art)
Terminator 3 GBA (Art Direction + Pixel Art)
CannonBallers (Character + World design)
Ikeda: The Scrap Hunter (Programming + Art + Design)
Goblins and Gnomes (Concept Art)

Books available-
CreeD Re:Imaginary (2021) - 2 part Comic series
Twilight Monk - Return of the Ancients (2021) - Illustrated Novel
Twilight Monk Secrets of Kung Fulio (2020) - Illustrated Novel
Escape from Giants Crown (2019) - Illustrated Novella
World Of Twilight Monk Vol 1 (2019) Art Book
The Man and the Moonken (2019) - Illustrated Novella
The Beast of Tuksa (2018) - Illustrated Novella
Twilight Monk (2012) - 2 Graphic Novels
Nova Colony (2009) - 1 Graphic Novel
CreeD (1993-2007) - Comic Book Series
Ghost Rider (2000) - Comic Book Series
The Fuzz (1997) - Comic Book

[mox__art]

this is both inspiring and overwhelming, thanks trent you triggered my anxiety

[RealVergilSparda]

as a 3d modeler, and i cannot stress this enough, PLEASE give us clear art, theres nothing more frustrating that when i find a beautiful environment and the rocks or terrain are made out of an airbrush and i now have to make up shapes, if you still do it then atleast be willing to make a close up shots of the assets clearing out their shapes so the 3d modelers life will be easier

[GiannisMihelakakis]

This is the kind of video that you watch sitting on your couch and at the end you throw your phone to the wall and start a new character concept sheet. Thank you so much Trent you've been an inspiration for years now

[robertbest]

It sounds like creating concept art has alot in common with making your own D&D campaign it has alot of story telling elements and a huge focus on the narrative, challenging but fun

[isabellej]

watching this as a 14 year old with my dream being a concept artist and it's honestly overwhelming but i'm willing to put in all the effort i can to make it happen as it's all i want :)

[Vorpal_Wit]

Character Artist here - THANK YOU, TRENT! Thank you for making this video. Nothing is more frustrating for me than finding myself on a project where the "concept artist" is actually an illustrator or cartoonist. Concept Artist is its on very distinct discipline. Yes, it uses many of the same skills and toolsets as other art disciplines, but it has some that are unique considerations for the job. Particularly the ability to turn forms, to render them in such away where they respect real 3 dimensional volumes. If you cant do that, you are either going to be doing a lot of re-work, or you are giving license to have your designs edited/changed as needed to work in 3D. Also, one step beyond respect for 3D volumes - and this is particularly important for characters - MOVEMENT & ARTICULATION! Your cool armor design, or crazy cool outfit has got to be able to move. Get used to thumbnailing your designs in different action poses - so you can work out issues with articulation ahead of time. It way faster and cheaper for a studio to work out issue in concept then to try and fix that stuff further down the pipeline.

[KenoxProductions]

I literally just pick up drawing a month ago and it feels like one hell of a mountain to climb. There's periods of feeling overwhelmed and you just wanna give up, but then you look at your (pencil) drawing from far away and you realize: "hey that's actually not bad for what it is" and you get hooked. It's a crazy cycle, that I hope will eventually get me hooked rather than turned away from drawing.

[skudopludo]

On first listen this made me think I can’t possibly be a concept artist anymore, but after thinking, this has REALLY motivated me, and I’ve been studying human anatomy for about a week now, it’s improving, and I hope to be as good as this guy one day

[nope]

This is literally the stuff I'm obsessed with as is lol. Communicating a world and story through character design is so much fun to me. Thinking it all through, designing contraptions that *could potentially* work, aesthetics, anatomy, construction, all that stuff; it's absolutely crack to my adhd autistic brain. I need to learn painting- I've been a line artist for too long and only recently started painting. Differentiating materials is hard. And I need to improve movement and pose clarity. But most of this stuff, I love. So many details but they all *mean something*.

[MariamYasserArt]

This is The kinda video that you watch once. Then, watch again with a note pad and a pen to take detailed notes of each minute of it.
Thank you! I'd really love to see one about comic art.

[Cesar_Orostegui]

What I loved the most about this video is to see that my thing is illustration and not concept art, so if you think about it, you helped me a lot! Thanks!

[OCDTraci]

This is something I have ALWAYS wanted to do.
Majored in art, draw all the time.
Now, I just need that push to take my art to the next level and start working.
BTW, I'm a 41 year old female.
Does age really matter if you have the chops? I hope not. I've finally reached a point in my life where I can pursue a career and I want this.

[_soulcraft_]

This was refreshing. I spent almost a decade attending 3 different design schools working up to Art Center - graduated with a BS in entertainment design. I haven't been hired in 7 years despite sending thousands of applications. You reminded me that I didn't create enough clear turnarounds and examples of iteration... and I didn't target the style of specific studios. Wish I'd remembered this in the last half a decade since graduation, I'd have a lot less resentment towards the near 20 years I spent following this path and feeling like it went nowhere. At this point I don't even draw anymore. I can't even pick up a pencil, I just feel blocked and burnt out instantly.

[FurryWrecker]

"The things that were absolute truths yesterday are totally different now" can not be preached hard enough. I'm a hard surface modeler second for work, but an illustrator first as a hobby. The tools of the trade, the ways we get taught, and the end goal is ever-changing. I went to college for 2 years learning how to hand-paint and photo-map environments in Photoshop only for Substance Painter to come out 3 months before graduating. The output was the same but 2 years of learning Photoshop tricks become "old knowledge" practically overnight. That was 9 years ago and I'm still rocking. Adaptation is key to surviving this industry.

"You have to be able to paint like this other artist" is also something we were taught in college, and oh my god it is a RUSH to break away from my normal style and be like "I'm gonna pretend to be X today" and mimic their style like putting a mask on. I like my ink and colored shitpost stuff the most, but I can paint a mean landscape if need be.

[Newtie_]

Bro watching your art progress alone scared me shitless. That's incredible.

[Abhishek-jpib]

I just love concept art, i don't aspire to be one but i just love it, I can look at them for hours lots of love and respect for all Artist

[mathewbelemont]

As a dm and long time artist this video reconfirms that concept art is right for me. Thank you for making me feel a bit less crazy

[TWLpontus]

As a old time 3d modeler who dabbles into 2d art from time to time on my free time, I found this video refreshing, it is spot on with what you have to do to get a job in the games industry as a concept artist. So if this is what you want to do, here is another comment saying this is the real deal.

[SimonSenaviev]

After 3 years of drawing on a phone with little improvement this video finally gave me the courage to stop listening to the people around me who enjoy what i do and finally give up

[frankenweeny]

As much as I love art and drawing all kinds of things, I don't think I have the patience or time to even take it up as a serious profession. This video was very informative however and I'm glad I watched it! :)