How To Become A Concept Artist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a concept artist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.

The duties of a concept artist vary daily depending on the type of artwork, the visual medium, and the size of the art team. He/She draws concept images for artworks found in video games, print ads, and online marketing campaigns. He/She designs specification sheets with details that can be employed by other artists and animators. Also, he/she shares ideas and criticisms on various pieces of concept art with members of the art team. Concept artists are employed by advertising companies, video game designers, animation studios, and businesses.

Employers seek out concept artists with skills like creativity, computer, attention to detail, interpersonal, and communication skills. You must be experienced with using computer drawing programs, sculpting, painting, and drawing tools. For this role, you need at least a bachelor's degree in graphic design or an artistic discipline. Concept artists make about $74,663 per year, equivalent to $35.9 per hour. The salary varies between $49,000 and $111,000.

What general advice would you give to a Concept Artist?

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.

Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida

I was once told if you do what you love you will never "work" a day in your life. I have found this true in my own career and hope our VPA graduates will find it true in theirs as well. The arts offer such a unique means of engaging and we, as arts educators, have an ability to "reach" those we have contact with in a unique way.

ScoreConcept ArtistUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,713

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 7.66%

Black or African American 4.33%

Hispanic or Latino 14.22%

Unknown 5.62%

White 67.51%

Gender

female 25.73%

male 74.27%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.2

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a concept artist

Explore concept artist education requirements

Most common concept artist degrees

Bachelor's

75.3 %

Associate

12.9 %

Master's

6.7 %

Start to develop specific concept artist skills

Skills	Percentages
Storyboards	8.20%
Maya	7.51%
Animation	6.51%
Sketch	6.21%
Art Direction	5.63%

Complete relevant concept artist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New concept artists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a concept artist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real concept artist resumes.

Research concept artist duties and responsibilities

Create many MEL scripts to help automate routine daily tasks and improve overall productivity.
Rig character for animation in Maya.
Create pitches for new and old IP.
Sketch concept art for an online game

Prepare your concept artist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your concept artist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a concept artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Concept Artist Resume templates

Build a professional Concept Artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Concept Artist resume.

Apply for concept artist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a concept artist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Concept Artist Job

Ram Munoz

Concept Artist, recent graduate from Otis College

I have always had a fondness for art that began at age five to express what I enjoy. Some of my favorite media outlets back then, even today, were games like Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat. TV shows like Samurai Jack, Batman Beyond, and Avatar:The Last Airbender. Also, comic books like Marvel Comics and Rocket Racoon. From there, I wanted to learn how to create my characters and worlds and make them realistic. So, I started to draw my characters. It grew into a passion when I entered high school and took several art classes. One of my assignments was to draw a person I like, so I drew an actor named “Mark Hamill” (reference included stage). By then, I realized my desire for an animation career, so I took a school program outside of high school at SoCalRoc. There, I studied video game design At Otis, I gained much more experience designing characters and concept illustrations. Finding my style: Now, I draw characters, props, and environments, as well as visual development and inking.

I like to design world building art and retro fantasy. And sci-fi, of course. I can do various arts; it's my passion, and at Otis, I expanded it more with classes such as Drawing Intensive. It was like a comic book with perspective and angles. Learning two point three point and fish eye view. So now I'm gonna be drawing and making comics utilizing those skills to make my own comics and stories. While i'm doing that i plan to get a job in the art industry such as nickelodeon animation studios and sony pictures animation. I have long journey ahead but i'm ready for any challenges to come.

How do concept artists rate their job?