Concept art

Concept art is a form of illustration used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design. This term can also be applied to retail, set, fashion, architectural and industrial design.

Concept art is developed in several iterations. Artists try several designs to achieve the desired result for the work, or sometimes searching for an interesting result. Designs are filtered and refined in stages to narrow down the options. Concept art is not only used to develop the work, but also to show the project's progress to directors, clients and investors. Once the development of the work is complete, advertising materials often resemble concept art, although these are typically made specifically for this purpose, based on final work.

Who popularized or even invented the term "concept art" in reference to pre-production design is perhaps ambiguous, although references to the term can be found being used by Disney as early as the 1930s. It may have also come about as part of automotive design for concept cars.

A concept artist is an individual who generates a visual design for an item, character, or area that does not yet exist. This includes, but is not limited to, film, animation, and more recently video game production. A concept artist may be required for nothing more than preliminary artwork, or may be part of a creative team until a project reaches fruition. While it is necessary to have the skills of a fine artist, a concept artist must also be able to work to strict deadlines in the capacity of a graphic designer. Some concept artists may start as fine artists, industrial designers, animators, or even special effects artists. Interpretation of ideas and how they are realized is where the concept artist's individual creativity is most evident, as subject matter is often beyond their control. Many concept artists work in a studio or from home via freelance. A lot more concept artists are switching to freelance because of the job security of having multiple clients. There is an established salary to working for a large studio but it depends on the artists preference. The average salary for a concept artist is 60-$70,000 a year, although many make much less or more than that.

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