JOB: Concept Artist, Grinding Gear Studios

QUALIFICATION: Diploma in Applied Animation

Auckland based studio Grinding Gear Games has been riding a wave of success since the launch of the highly acclaimed and popular game ‘Path of Exile’. Boasting over 7 million users the kiwi game is capturing the imaginations of hard-core gamers worldwide.

Just imagine developing the elaborate design for the characters that wage war in this online RPG as part of your career.

It’s no secret that aspiring artists are salivating over an often-glamourised part of the creative industry; the concept art department. 

The fast-paced and creative world of concept art is indeed dynamic, but what is it really like to work in this field?

Concept Artist George Lovesy starts his day like anyone would expect, with a cup of hot coffee, but explains that there’s a lot more to it than just churning out pretty pictures.

Although Concept Artists do have big imaginations, studio work is highly collaborative and there are often concessions to make in finalising a functioning design. 

“Usually the first thing I do is check my to-do list from the Art Director. I’ll have a quick chat with him about what needs prioritising, if he has anything particular in mind art/style-wise for certain concepts etc. The rest of the day is spent working through those issues, conversing with the other concept artists for critique and checking with other departments; 3D Modelling and Animation to make sure my concepts convey ideas clearly and to prevent any problems that may arise in the translation from 2D art to a 3D model”.

Having studied traditional 2D animation in the Diploma of Applied Animation, George has discovered that fundamental skills go a long way, but he’s not averse to picking up new skills.

“The main skill sets I rely on are a good understanding of design and also a good understanding of the fundamentals of painting. Understanding colour and light are extremely important when it comes to being able to render out the concepts you make to a highly realistic standard which is what the Path of Exile art style leans towards”.

“When I first started out, I only had a 2D painting skill set to put forward, but as I've progressed within various companies I've picked up 3D techniques from software such as Maya or Zbrush that help me day-to-day; I now use Zbrush quite a lot when it comes to creating weapon and armour concepts”.

“Having a good design sense is what is most important though, as that is what pretty much 90% of your job as a concept artist is. There’s no point having a prettily rendered out image if the design is terrible; your boss will just tell you to do it again”.

George reflects on the feeling of his artwork reaching a really large audience. 

“It fills you with a sense of pride when you read in the forums that your designs have been well received and people are enjoying what you've made. That's what games are all about and that's why I wanted to get into the business”.

Finally we asked George if he could give any advice to ambitious artists planning on entering the field of concept art.

“My advice would be just to immerse yourself completely into the art world, also practice the fundamentals, like I can't stress this enough. The best advice I was ever given was not to have an art style, to be adaptable. This is especially true for a concept artist as you never know what your art director is going to ask of you. Last of all, remain humble and learn to accept critique; the best artists I know are the ones who understand that you're consistently learning in the art game and that the more you know the more you realize you don't know”.

George’s work has featured in well-respected industry magazine Imagine FX and has been selected from thousands of artworks on Deviant Art for daily deviations on several occasions.

He works exclusively for Auckland-based studio Grinding Gear Games.