Portfolio Compilation

A lot of people that I know who made it into these fields did BA animation at QCA. Graphic Design is most focused on things like logos and the like, not a real good "creative" course. I do not know much about the visual comunication course so I can't comment on that.

As for what you should have in your folio, almost all Uni submission folios have to be to specific requirments. When you decide on the course you want to do, contact the uni that offers it and ask them what the folio requirments are.

Pantmonger

Hi Immortal,

I studied Interactive multimedia and graphics design and to tell you now graphics design does not get you in to film/game conceptual art, it could get you in to novel illustration but i dunno that area.

If you really want to get into those careers i beleive do a games course or a film/animation courses.

Also to tell you now that both graphics design and multimedia is a slow industry to be at unless you are doing contract work which is hard too.

if you got any questions i can help you with what to put in to your portfolio.

Chris... [:)]

Thanks heaps guys. more questions arise!!
So is that industry moving forward, like are there new positions always opening in the gaming conceptual art side of things, or should i b a slacker n go do advertising stuff hehe!
Also, i can't go out of NSW for my study and im assuming QCA is QLD based so :.
As for my portfolio.....argh.....i just dunno how much sketches etc and how much finished like the ratio of unfinished stuff to show off my concepts compared to finished stuff to show off my technique. bit of both i guess. Thanks again for ur help guys.

I think malus or J.I can answer that [:)]

I never went ot Uni or trained in art so I can't really comment. Pants has been through the prosess so his comment would be more accurate.

As for the industry well I'm only new to it and far from an expert, maybe some of the others on sumea who have been in it longer are more qualified to answer.

Saying that I don't know if there is that much work for soley being a concept artist, most companies probably only have one or 2 and won't be looking for more unless your work is really good, I mean really good.

Like the others said, don't do graphic design if you're interested in film/game concept art.

At the moment I am doing Digital Media at University of New South Wales. Basically it lets you get a taste of all types of media. I suppose if you are completely set on illustration you might find it a bit boring, but I also think that experimenting with other media forms (sound, video, photo, composite work, 3d model and animation etc) gives you a more well rounded experience and set of skills.

Vis Comm at UTS is similar to digital media I think, but it's more focused on design and is much more vocational I think. Which is usually a good thing.

It's not really until you're half way through digital media that things start to become more towards to videogames/film stream. But in the first half you can just have a good time, meet people, do interesting subjects you thought you'd never do and work on drawing in your own time (if you're motivated enough).

As for portfolio, I haven't ever made one but one piece of advice i've heard is, only put your best work in there. Your portfolio is only as good as it's worst piece.

I wouldnt rule out Graphic Desing completly, espeically if your a concept art. Graphic Design can teach alot about techniques and information that can be used in the world of film/games.
However with that said, there ARE better courses that are suited to the film/game career.

As for your folio, I wouldnt include unfinished material. Try to include as many (as well as your best) finished works in there. In some cases they are also interested to see some sketchbook stuff as well, so they can get a feel of your work process and thoughts.

A few Concept Designers recommend Industrial Design (including Feng Zhu), with a major in illustration and a few life drawing short courses on the side. The American Industrial Design Courses might be a little different, you'll probably have to find that out. A few links to help you out:
UTS Website, were you can find their ID course - http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/
Concept Design Forum. A few Pro's on here willing to give advice - http://www.conceptdesignforum.com/board/index.php
Conceptart.org. Simular to above but a little more popular these days - http://www.conceptart.org/

Hope that helped.

Thanks happy, and thanks all. thats great! i have loads of info now....my main options atm are UTS ID, UTS VisComm, Billy Blue Graphic Design or UNSW..i think animation. Dunno dunno dunoo....UAI dependant i guess. Now to figure out my portfolio... yeah i asked a bunch of ppl about Industrial Design and they said its stuff like interior architecture, furniature design etc...which seems a bit odd..but i guess a lot of conceptual stuff is to do with set designs etc.......so maybe thats an option. Feng Zhu rocks hehe but....i dunno i think the US ID courses MUST b different....

There's also Automotive Industrial Design.

I'm not sure about ID, i only looked into it because i was considering it myself. It might be dependant on the electives, I think it is possible to avoid the interior architecture and furniture if you choose wisely. What your meant to get out of it as a concept designer is good Technical Drawing skills, by the end of the course you should be able to do set design (environment design in the case of games), Vehicle design and Prop Design. You also get to hand build models and stuff like that. A few students final concepts were done in 3D so i assume there is 3D somewhere in the course.

If you do ID, I think it's better if you do the architecture type subjects. Feng has such a good grasp of drawing interiors because his drawing foundation is very much from a perspective/construction basis. Francis Tsai (www.teamgt.com) is a great illustrator and his construction and perspective work is strong because he had an architectural background.

I think that a lot of the ID artists started out doing ID and got all their drawing skills from doing the boring subjects (like furniture design) and when they get out of school, they applied all those skills (marker rendering, perspective etc) to more interesting things from their imagination.

I suppose in general, the three basic things concept artists need to learn are: Perspective, anatomy and colour.

Thanks jason. I had a look at the industrial design course at UTS and its very technology based - things like designing new fire hydrants, lockers, watches etc..not too much interior or architecture. i think visual communication has more of that....i want to find a course that has a bit of architecture but i dun wanna do architecture itself :| maybe ill take a look at COFA...

Yeah Graphic Design is not really a good choice for learning concept art. I am speaking from experience as I am 2 weeks shy of finishing my diploma. Granted, this course had a life drawing component plus heavy dose of illustration it is mainly geared towards the design field. Think printed media.

I feel I have a broad skill set which I think is important when presenting a folio. Plenty of variety and a passion for what you do is the key. I mean at the end of the day it's having a kick-arse folio which will land you the job.

I don't mean to be a pest but have you taken a look at Digital Media at UNSW as well, i have a friend doing it and i've heard a few ppl talk about it on this forum. I don't know whats involved but i think there is some illustration, but it also gives you some other skills. Another option perhaps.

As for the 'folio the only advice i've been given about it is to mix in as many different media types as you can as long as they're good. If your any good with makers, achrylics, oils, water colour throw them in, traditional art seems to get bonus points for certain courses. If you can do CG thats also good. And drawings obvoiusly. Maybe you should post your 'folio and get some Critisism. I hope i haven't steered you down the wrong path.

Like Groady said a broad skill set is important.

thanks groady, camper.

groady what course are you doing and where?? and do u know anything about billy blue school of graphic design (in sydney)

camper im going to be posting my folio in the next week...its very well designed and presented which is good...like contents etc everything is designed......im good with pen and ink, acryl, markers, cg.....so im on the right track i think im jus worried about my UAI...92.6 for f**ks sake!!! does anyone know anything about reduced UAI for full fee paying students??

I'm studying a Diploma of Graphic Art at Chisholm Institute of TAFE in Melbourne. Check out the design section on my site. All the stuff in there were assignments.

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

There isn't really any course that will teach you the process of being a concept artist. The range of skills needed is so diverse and although there are a lot of guidelines you would need to adhere to, it really is just a matter of learning to come up with a wide range of great and original ideas and be able to translate them to paper in a way that inspires and informs people... and do it to stupidly tight deadlines.

I do a bit of concept art here at work, aswell as 3d. I mainly concept characters and sometimes props. My background is from graphic design although graphics didn't teach me much about drawing, but it did give me a solid foundation in colour and form theory, aswell as roughing out concepts and learning to think in lateral terms.

Another of the concept artist's here has a background in Industrial design and traditional medium. This certainly shows in his work as he has a very solid grasp of interiors and exteriors aswell as environments.

I've met a few very good concept artists who also come from a comic book background. The medium seems to lend itself well to the sort of qualities you need in game conepts.

I guess the best teacher is yourself, since no course is going to teach you exactly what you need to know. Try and focus on what you are passionate about and do the neccessary research in that area. For characters... life drawing, environments.. architecture etc...

Good luck with whatever you end up doing. Concepting is the best part of the process IMHO :)