Guest blog

Hello, my name is Michael Smeltzer. I am a 3D artist as well as the author of the "A Modding Start" blog. Today I am going to go over what concept art means to a 3D artist like myself. While I don't know much about concept art, I fully realize how important it is.

For a 3D artist, the concept artist is a guide. As Nick mentions, it is the concept artist's job to give form to the art directors ideas. Once the concept is complete, the concept artist turns the design over to the 3D artist to be created for a game, film, or commercial.

The way a concept for a single object is presented determines the difficulty of the job for a 3D artist. If the concept artist only draws the concept from one angle, it will make recreating the concept in 3D difficult. For the sake of accuracy it is best to draw a concept from the three flat angles, a top view, a side view, and a front view. Depending on how symmetrical the concept is, you may need to draw two side views, a right and a left. While it isn't always necessary, a 3D view never hurts either.

For a environment concept, the principle is the same but the presentation method is a little different. The environment must be build around you, instead of the other way around. For example, if the concept is a room, it must be drawn from 4 directions, North, South, East, and West. Additional views like a bird's eye view don't hurt either.

While it is not a 3D artist's job to be a concept artist, it is important that they have a good understanding of concept art. Knowing why certain lines are or aren't drawn, or why you shade an object a certain way, helps the 3D artist to see in 3D. This reason is probably one of the greatest reasons why concept art should be taught in all art schools, including UTDallas.