I feel like this should be posted here. Too many newfags here wanting to be concept artists and having no idea what that means.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoQBxYt2sVQ
inb4 feng sucks, no one gives a shit about the feng conspiracies, he's been a successful professional for many years, I believe that makes his opinion more valuable than the average d/ic/k's.
>>2490964
I thought everybody on the eyesore wanted to draw anime art.
i paint pornography
>>2490981
This thread is not about his art obviously
>>2490987
it's in many ways more satisfying than concept art, i promise you that.
This board has an obsession towards fantasy and sci-fi art.
Let people waste their time if they want.
Thanks OP :)
LEAVE ME ALONE FENG, ALL I WANT IS TO DRAW THICK GIRLS
>>2491038
It isn't just this board, it's everywhere. He even explains why there's suddenly so many people thinking they want to be concept artists simply because video games are cool nowadays and art is easy, right, so they'll just be vidya artists.
>>2491088
All his podcasts are pretty useful to be honest, they have information no one else is willing to tell. I forgot he existed after not uploading anything for so long.
>>2491186
>so many people thinking they want to be concept artists simply because video games are cool
Shouldn't Feng be happy for these types though? They are literally the only people who'd ever consider enrolling at his school.
>>2491339
No because he doesn't want to hold these people's hands. His school isn't for beginners, so I guess he should have some portfolio-based limitations if that bothers him.
Apparently there's enough people enrolling in his school that he can be picky about them. And no, those are not the only people who want to enroll there. It's a tough school, do you even know that? It's not for hobbyists who draw once a year and think art is easy.
>>2491186
>He even explains why there's suddenly so many people thinking they want to be concept artists simply because video games are cool nowadays and art is easy, right, so they'll just be vidya artists
He's right to roast them
Learning to be a game programmer is honestly easier than learning to be an artist at the professional level required
And learning to be a programmer isn't easy by any means.
I've learned both btw so you can trust my opinion on this.
>>2491363
post ur work.
>>2491339
if he does a good job at teaching perspective & fundamentals hes already better than most schools, art school is a waste but I'm not sure his is the most egregious case
>>2490981
This picture next time
>>2491355
It is a school that is specifically aimed at the scifi and fantasy video game crowd. People who want to get into say animation as concept artists sure as hell don't consider going to FZD. This has nothing to do with how tough his school is, it IS aimed at video game enthusiasts who want to design spaceships and fantasy landscapes, so I'm not sure why Feng is knocking those same people who help him finance his airplane collection.
>>2491383
what a mongolian cutie
what would be a good alternative of concept design if someone is interested in doing highly rendered 2D drawings or just 2D drawings in general? I've known that 2D is highly saturated in terms of people going into the industry, but I can't imagine myself doing 3D since I don't have the affinity for sculpting . Do i just have to just suck it up and do 3D?
if you go on the FZD website and look at student work you'll quickly realize its not all sci-fi and fantasy...
>>2491363
I could find you 10 - 20 working professionals in 5minutes who are worse than quite a lot of people here.
>>2491186
I got to that part but my problem with him is that his voice is very droning. I don't know if it's the slight accent he seems to have or not but I literally feel like I'm sitting in a boringass lecture hearing him rather than listening to something engaging.
>>2492475
Something people don't understand on this board is that mass appeal > skill in a lot of cases.
Let's look at deviantartist for example, Humon because I haven't heard about her in awhile. Her most well known works are the little chibi-esque low-skill and low-intensity drawings she does. They have mass appeal because they're cute. People who enjoy her work don't do so because her work is good, they do so because it's cute, and she brings questionable humor to the table. I hate this bitch myself but she's a perfect example of what I mean.
An artist doesn't neccessarily have to be good for something they create to have mass appeal and thus be well recieved and liked. Look at some pop art. Look at abstract art. Objectively they aren't really "good" art because they aren't skilled lifelike paintings or drawings but people do enjoy them and like them and in the end, your skills don't matter half as much as how much people like what you create.
Yeah there's some exceptions and variables there but being a successful artist (especially if you just want to milk a patreon) is all about how much people like what you make.
Look at the movie art school confidential a moment here. The first critiques of self portaits they do has a point. The main character's art is technically sound but it has no mass appeal, it's something literally any other artist could do.
Sometimes "muh style" is what will actually get you money, in short.
Remember that the consumer is usually not an artist
>>2492457
> He actually tells all the students to avoid scifi as much as possible.
Kek. 99% of the shit he does on his youtube channel is fantasy or scifi. I don't give a shit if all you did at FZD was draw dog portraits from life, it doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of people who would ever consider going to FZD are into video games, because that is literally all Feng does to advertize his school.
>>2492470
That's beside the point though. The argument was that Feng was talking shit about people who got into art because they want to be concept artists in the video game industry. That is literally his entire student body. The fact that he makes them draw bugs and airplanes and shit is completely irrelevant because it's just a design exercise. Their goal is still to work in the video game (or movie) industry. What they draw at FZD is just exercises to achieve that goal.
>>2492507
working professionals =/= deviantart artists
I'm sure they meant actual professionals who just aren't technically very good. There's plenty of them, mostly due to connections.
>>2492450
if you're only interested in rendering stuff, why would you even think of design? Just do illustration, both are highly saturated, but you just gotta do what you really love and if you're good at illustration, you'll stand out from the other thousand artists. Do you want to work for video games? What are you specifically interested in? That's very important to know.
>>2492551
it would be great to work in video games but im thinking about being as broad as possible and having the skills in working in different things though im not sure how viable it is
i just want to do fictional stuff in 2D whether its movies or games, I'm leaning towards concept design because I want to be the foundation of a fictional world and help build the world with my ideas and designs
I don't really want to do illustration since it seems kind of inflexible and more reliant on execution rather than ideas. Im more creative than i am skillful so I'd rather focus on the more narrative aspects of art instead of the visual aspect.
>>2492582
>it would be great to work in video games but im thinking about being as broad as possible and having the skills in working in different things though im not sure how viable it is
Indie games and mobile game studios which have small teams usually look for generalists, as they only have a handful or artists do everything in a project. And by generalist I don't mean only an artist who can do many different styles of art, you'll find that any other skills related to game development like programming and design will work to your advantage if you have them.
It's mainly just the big AAA studios that can afford teams of 50 narrow specialists or something to work on one game.
So yes it's viable but you may not be making tripple A games.
>>2492507
See
>>2492551
There are professional Concept Artists working in the industry for ~5+ years, I could point you to their linkedin / portfolio pages and their fundamental skills and general concept ability is incredibly poor.
There is such a short sighted and poor representation of the concept art industry currently being given, too many people only cite their own experience as the be all and end all method and its really tiring to see it get parroted so often.
How to get a job in the industry? Apply at the right time, have the art director see your art on deviantart / artstation at the right time. Have a forceful agency on your side (at the right time).
Titus Lunter got his first job with stolen art in his portfolio, it was known by his employers and the higherups didn't care because they wanted the result. He didn't get fired, there was no backlash and fortunately for him using photos and other compositions is now regarded as the "norm".
In short, get lucky.
>>2492582
Well if you're not a great artist yet, it's okay to experiment a little, see what suits you, find a comfort zone, but being too much of a generalist is honestly not gonna help you much. Find something you really enjoy doing, look into different areas if you'd like - visual development for animation (character design, color keys, environments, promotional art etc), theme park design, mobile game graphics, AAA realistic concept art, product design, architectural illustration, matte paintings for films...
Look it up man, there's lots of stuff to do, you just have to find it yourself. Don't get into something because it's "easier" or less saturated, you're not gonna find that in this field. Find something you love and get good at it.
I looked at linked in one day to search up portfolios of working concept artists, only a minority are what ic would call actually good/pro level. Some were amazing though, some were shit, most were very mid tier artists.
im about halfway through this and he hasn't said anything that isn't obvious
do people really believe art and working in art is easy? i don't know, ever since i started drawing i never went "i bet getting a doing art for X would be so easy" or "i bet X job is easy"
do people really underestimate how much work things take?
>>2494559
/ic/ doesn't know what concept art is, despite all the information about it that is now available. It doesn't have to be pretty, jaime tier masterpieces, it just needs good DESIGN. Too many people are disregarding what is most important about concept art.
>>2494652
Maybe you're not a beginner or retard. Yes, most people get into this because it appears easy and fun and they have no other skills. It's literally one of the worst things to pursue in that situation, just learn webdesign or simple coding in half a year and you'll get a job most likely if you're just decent.
>>2492632
Ok, link me several portfolios like this. I doubt it's as bad as you think if they're making a living off of it. I just came back from the draw thread and I guarantee it's better than anything on there.
>>2491363
post your code
Where are the portfolios, anon? I bet you couldn't come up with anything because you know the only people making a living off of it are really good. Way better than 99% of the shit on here. And no I don't want a link to deviant art from someone who makes 5$ off of commissions, but rather full-time working artists making a living.
>>2495429
Image by Giu Grassi, been in the Industry since 2006
>>2495439
A bit cherrypicked on their portfolios from their worst stuff, but that's definitely better than 99% of the stuff posted on here barring the B-zilla one. And they don't even have their resume up, you have no idea if they're making a living off of it. The first link wasn't that bad at all, definitely amateur professional.
>>2495448
Yeah that's definitely pretty awful. I'll concede on that guy. But he can't even afford a solo apartment though, prob has a lot of roommates and struggles month to month. I'd be really interested to see what kind of money mediocre artists like that could make in a year, it'd have to be under 20k.
>>2495460
>>2495465
Search their names then "linkedin" to view their resume. At this point they've all been working for at least 3 years professionally for studios paying at least £24k-28k per year.
Giu Grassi worked as a senior for Jagex for ~5 years, I believe hes now a senior artist at Natural Motion (so at least £30k+). His only portfolio link available is on cghub... sorry.
I can "cherry" pick more mediocre artists for you, this shit is endless.
>>2495468
I'm a little surprised, but I guess they're scraping by just barely so it makes sense. I wonder how these guys even manage to get clients with that kind of work. I've seen genuinely decent artists struggle to get clients, I can't even imagine that level of work.
I didn't even want to become a concept artist when I was in college. But the last few months of my senior year more and more companies kept contacting me. I didn't even have any concept work online. In fact, my work I had posted online was the complete opposite of concept art.
A lot of the projects those studios were working on ended up getting cut so I didn't get to work with them but there were a re couple left I got to choose from when I graduated.
The shit thing though is most of the projects I got to work on were insanely short, so the dev time to production time were incredibly short. Which meant my work never go to be polished to the point of portfolio pieces. Most of my art would be made fun of here just for the fact I had like 3 hours to not only paint the concept but pull references and style guides to go along with them.
I did join a team once that had a super long dev time and the concept they created were amazing and polished to hell. The kind of concepts that I would have only a day or two to work on, they had an entire month to create. But I was put on that time near the end when there were crunching so I once again had to crank out quick concepts.
I got well known for for speed of creating concepts. So the new studio I join they ask "So, I heard you were fast." and give me all their top priority jobs.
I want to create those awesome and badass concepts you see posted on artstation where it clearly took them forever to make it. But 99% of concept work are just sketches with photos from google posted beside them and arrows pointing to different parts on the sketch.
>>2495479
>I want to create those awesome and badass concepts you see posted on artstation where it clearly took them forever to make it. But 99% of concept work are just sketches with photos from google posted beside them and arrows pointing to different parts on the sketch.
Pretty much what the guy in OP video said, just draw that stuff in your free time if you have any
>>2495471
Paul Richards comments on this in an interview;
https://skillpointschool.com/2013/02/10/interview-with-paul-richards-concept-artist-for-darksiders-halo-4-etc/
SPS: Was there anything that, once you actually started working in games, completely blindsided you or that you felt incredibly unprepared for?
Paul: Cheaters. Frauds. Tasteless, passionless do-nothings who squeak by on little-to-no skill. They talk a good game to the right people, or fly so low under the radar as to be completely invisible. Those who don’t earn their keep are kept, and brilliant contributors whose praises ought to be sung from the high heavens are flushed without a moment’s hesitation. The value placed on “exceptional” is lower than one would expect, even by those who should know better.
If you want to look into it yourself go on gamesdevmap and then type in company name + concept artist + linkedin, theres so many mediocre skill level artists that fly against all the standard "advice" given.
>>2495502
That's what sucks though. In my free time I create other things I want to do more. If I got to do them at work it would just give me a better reason to.
There are projects that do require that type of awesome work. They are also the type of places that require 20+ years of experience.
>>2495527
The type of people he is talking about are the god damn worst. They are the people that have been at the studio since the beginning and that's truly the only reason they are there. They aren't good enough to get elsewhere so they stay where they are and if anyone ever challenges their authority they will fuck you in the ass with their ability to manipulate office politics.
Never, ever trust someone that's held the same position for a long ass period of time. If you get on their bad side you're fucked. Just do what you can to make them happy.
>>2495502
>>2495533
It's funny bc I get hired based on a body of work that is entirely 'passion project' type personal stuff that was made with a lot of time and love, and no guidance or restrictions. My client work looks SO much worse, and although they always say they love it and yada yada, in the end it feels a bit like they expected so much more lol. But I can't give them more unless I charge 20x what I charge now.
Shit sucks. Art + money = no bueno.
>>2495537
To add, I worked at EA redwood shores (EA's headquarters) for about 8 months and that entire complex is filled to the brim with those type of people. There is a reason EA has the reputation it has. Any new talent or people that want to challenge the status quo just end up getting the boot.
>>2495439
christ that shit is awful
>>2495540
Just curious, how much can you make in a year even if your art is mediocre like you say? I'm thinking about trying to make a living off mine, I'd have to make at least 1100$~ a month
>>2495564
dude 1k a month is nothing you can make that in a couple of days easily, in a week max. there's tremendous demand for commercial art of all sorts. getting up to say 15-20k a year is not hard at all.
and it's funny because i'm sounding exactly like the people who a few years ago i thought were full of shit. but it's true, and i now realize they were right.
>>2495710
Oh I'm aware some illustrators make thousands. It's just, I'd be starting out completely fresh with zero clients out of art school this summer. I'm just not sure if I can go straight into making money or if it takes years to build up a clientelle and was wondering what a more amateur pro would be making $$$$.
I just want to understand why on the last podcast he protects so hardly grounded design, games and movies. And in the other hand, Ratchet & Clank and Dark Souls are the top-sellers ips today.
The only point I get is that grounded design makes your portfolio distinct.
Also I drink from his knowledge fountain asf
This is the podcast that destroy dreams.
"There's 100 of them (3d artists) for every one of us in the concept department. So the odds are very low."
>>2495715
oh no i meant you specifically. it'll probably take around a year until you can reliably make 1-1.5k a month, and really know that there will be emails in your inbox equivalent to that volume of work. but it's absolutely doable. for everyone but the most delusional wannabes.
>>2495763
concept art is shit anyway man.
>>2495763
this isn't true AT ALL. It's more like 1 concept artist can make enough work for at around 8-10 people for game dev. Even on a small team (like at most 60 people?) we had 2 in house concept artists and 3-4 contract concept artists.
I was once on a team that had a nearly dozen concept artists for a team size of 300 or so people.
Character concept artists are very few however. You're much more likely to get a job if you focus on objects and environments.
>>2495763
seriously this is so fucking retarded. No one concept artist is going to make enough work fast enough for 100 people.
Who comes up with this shit?
>>2495784
>>2495799
>>2495803
Well, he says that those concept guys usually hold the job at the end of the project, at least.
But this is why I tend to focus on 2d game art too (props, mobile, illustration and so forth) as those are so close to our industry (use the same tools, the drawing and painting). There are many more openings, just search on linkedin.
I'm focusing completely on props and environments. The thing is that really, many people can concept or draw characters. I've heard vehicle designers are the hardest to find. I hate vehicle, so I have to find the other way around.
>>2495803
It's good to remember that AAA productions often break the pipeline of a single asset into stages, each worked on by a different specialist.
Like there could be the guy who models, another who rigs/animates, third one focusing on materials/textures and so on. Large assets like big environments can be broken into parts each worked on by a different team.
And then considering not every single asset needs a concept made by a concept artist. Unimportant stuff in the background could be made without a concept or a shitty concept sketched by the modeler himself or if the object is mundane enough they could just use photo refs.
>>2495784
Concept artists have the biggest say in how the game looks man. I wouldn't call it shit.
>>2495745
Dark Souls, aside from some of the monsters, is pretty grounded, is it not? It's mostly real, existing medieval armour and architecture.
Ratchet & Clank? Isn't that from like 10 years ago
>>2495745
grounded design is really good in some aspects but terrible boring in others.
Like I cannot stand the designs of LOTR. Everyone is so fucking boring. Just layers of grean and brown garbs with brown or black leather for fucking everything. Ever since then that's all anyone copies for fantasy settings and it just bores me to death.
For fuck's sake they are even adding those garbs and leather to sci fi shit. Destin, elysium, chappie, and all that other stupid shit with armored soldiers or robots wearing weathered and ratty cloaks. Why? Why woudl a fucking robot wear a cloak? For what fucking purpose.
Everything has to be GROUNDED now. Like nolan's batman designs or the xmen movies. They just need to loosen the fuck up.
On the flip side though we have asian designs where nothing is grounded and everything has extreme flair that looks stupid as fuck.
>>2495439
Contributing
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WXbgJ
>>2495745
Grounded doesn't mean 100% from real life. It just means that it's somewhat realistic, based on reality. All best designs are based on reality, you might just not notice it.
Dark Souls is pretty grounded. Low fantasy, gothic architecture, medieval stuff, it's well mixed and altered so it's not copied.
Ratchet and Clank is first off a heavily stylized funny game, so it doesn't have to be taken seriously. There's not many games like that anymore today. And you have to work for current studios. Despite that, most things are still based on reality. The environments especially.
>>2496148
The problem with Tolkien stuff is that it has become extremely generic over the years. Every single fantasy based medium is heavily copied after Tolkien, which is sad.
Creators don't have to "loosen up" because you're too stupid to enjoy anything but comedy. Comedies have their place and there's enough of them. I fucking hate this Marvel cancer bandwagon.
>Creators don't have to "loosen up" because you're too stupid to enjoy anything but comedy
What the fuck are you talking about? Where did you get that shit from?
>>2495745
dark soul's weapons and armors are all extremely grounded with some exceptions, as well as a lot of the enviroments,annor londo's main castle is literally based off of real life churches. The only thing dark souls does thats outlandish is the insane bosses and monsters and some areas like blight town and demons ruins.
>>2496148
cloaks are fucking sick bruh
>>2496148
The original Star Wars trilogy is still the best example of scifi design in movies. It's grounded enough to look believable but it's also imaginative. Take inspiration from reality but don't forget to use imagination.
>>2496148
a robot might use it to not get sand and stuff stuck in their joints. also they look cool as fuck
Fundamentals
Fundamentals
Funda fucking mentals
This is all i ever hear this feng fucker talking about yet he doesnt do a fucking video on fundamentals
Whats the fucking point? What are these fucking fundamentals?
concept artists make for terrible designers
>>2497157
What do you fucking siggest then fucking fine artists?
>>2497180
i suggest concept artists study design concepts, practices and methodologies as well
>want to become concept artist
>start industrial design course
>draw normally
>barely pass
>pump out iterations 8 hours a day
>actually start passing well, getting good feedback from people in the industry
>this is/ will be my life for the next 50 years
>>2497237
you'll grow tired of it very fast.
>>2497237
>just like painting
>paint all day every day anything I want
>paint only my favorite shit ignoring any and all advice from people saying I should spread my portfolio out
>get more and more well known for my art
>still only painting what I like
>get jobs for painting the things I like
>also get jobs for things I have never painted before in my life
The worst thing you could possibly do is for yourself to paint shit you don't want to. If you like hot anime babes, paint hot anime babes. If you enjoy it and have a competitive edge to improve yourself you will improve naturally over time.
>>2497186
What resources would you recommend?
>>2497251
>anon about to get his foot into the industry
>gets told it will suck and that he shouldn't do it
classic /ic/
>>2497262
Painting shit you wouldn't want to paint on your own time is still a million times better than flipping burgers. Being able to make a living on your own artistic vision is a rare thing so it's not really the most constructive advice. I'd have a lot of weird commissions that involve drawing things I never would think of but I still feel I learned a lot from them. And it was more fun than any other job possibly could be.
>>2490964
Are his videos worth listening to if you don't want a career in concept art
>>2497585
Maybe? I don't know, it's really mostly geared towards concept artists
>>2497509
That and I actually count as one of the best things about having a professional career that it has forced me to go out of my comfort zone and draw things I normally would never have. I think that actually makes you grow as an artist, and if you really love drawing, you'll love drawing anything anyway, regardless the subject matter.
>>2496186
I just disagree that Ratchet have to be taken seriously.
For me it's fine to have robots with cloaks. It's passable at least.
And I don't think Dark Souls is exactly grounded. Vikings series is grounded.
The thing is I don't know what Feng saw on those portfolios that made him so mad.
>>2497599
>have not to
Auto fix'd. Ratchet is fucking awesome, come on.
