In this two-part series, I will introduce my concept design thinking methodologies and explain how I approach Concept Art for the Video Games Industry. These are some of the mindsets that influenced my design process when creating concepts for EA’s Battlefield, Arc Raiders’ Embark Studios, and other similar projects. I will emphasize and stress a few key points about what, in my opinion, constitutes good design and how it should be mastered and experienced.

Know who you’re designing for.

When I pick up my Wacom stylus, I don't just create pretty pictures. I'm not an artist at heart, even though I love art. I'm drawn to the fleeting feelings and intuitive processes that art can convey from the depths of the soul outward. In essence, I'm a designer.

For example, a skilled concept artist designer doesn't just draw a character for a game or film. Instead, they create a character that is meant to convey an experience within the story or sequence of events.

They emphasize the value to be delivered through this experience using motifs, iconography, and symbolism that resonates with the specific audience of a game or film. In other words, we are more like the designers, we are tailoring a path and communication avenue to experience, and a story; we are storytellers, analysts, and art scientists.

Let’s simplify this for a moment: Imagine you’re sitting by a campfire at night, leading a group of boyscouts, telling them a story. The boyscouts are your audience, and the campfire at night is the setting.

Just like with the boyscouts, a game studio also needs to consider its audience. What are players expecting? How can the studio build brand loyalty?
For example, the rivalry between Bethesda and Obsidian studios is driven by their fanbases rather than the developers themselves setting out to compete. If a game studio changes the elements that the original fans enjoyed, such as storytelling and dark humor, and focuses on gunplay and dad humor, it will cause a shift in the audience.

Game studios should consider their different audiences and how they react. Just like telling a story to kids at a campfire, if a game studio creates a game that's too scary or too boring for its audience, it might not be well received. I always strive to create character designs and environments that tell a story and provide an exciting and entertaining experience. By using artistic languages, artwork, symbols, pictures, and graphics, I aim to connect with the feelings and thoughts of the audience through concept art.

Mastering Design is about solving a problem, not creating new ones.

What I really mean is that we should prioritize and focus on solving the design task, not to create a excuse to test that sweet new CG tool out in the market. Concept Design and problem-solving requires empathy, not ego.

Keep it simple.

Let's shift the focus from the term "concept art" to the crucial aspect of mastering the design itself.

All the character designs aim to connect with the audience through visual language. For instance, when creating a character for a medieval fantasy game, such as an NPC setting out on a self-discovery journey (think The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho or Harry Potter), we must make it engaging and irresistible to the audience.

We often draw inspiration from real people, characters, and stories to make the design relatable and master a sense of intimacy with the audience we design for.

The success of stories like Harry Potter lies in their ability to incorporate references to real but seemingly exotic elements, like Victorian art styles. The rarer an object, the more attention it garners, it is a design secret exposed at the naked eye that barely most see.

However, it's important to avoid making the design so unique that it becomes an inside joke, alienating the audience. While you might be passionate about the technical aspects of game development or have an incredibly creative narrative, sales are still crucial. To illustrate, consider the analogy of speaking to kids at a camp. If you tell them a story about driving a Porsche and catcalling women in college, you may not only lose the kids' interest but also anger their parents. It's essential to balance personal expression with the understanding that you are providing a service to others. Just like a barista serves the coffee customers ask for, rather than suggesting their own home-made recipe, creativity in the games and entertainment industry needs to be an asset, not a liability.

The Secret to Good Design is Having a Good Problem to Solve.

With this philosophy in mind, let’s have the words of re-known rockstar and world’s most googled Graphic Designer, David Carson, who had mastered the secret of communication through visuals, share some of his wisdom:

"They say don't judge a book by its cover, but if the designer has done a good job, you can and should judge it by the cover."

I'd add that it's a communication channel, a bridge that connects the audience with the content through, in this example, character design.

The character’s look and feel, are like having a window into what the audience will see or experience, a window into their soul - but this isn't enough; the adventure must be expressed with a clear message and a compelling call to action that captures attention and stands out.

[Example: The Character design below, delivers a stoner-psychedelic aesthetic that explores the spirituality of the audience/protagonist through ayahuasca rituals in a quest - there’s a strong hook here or rather, a strong problem to solve, depict it through simple and efficient means and in such a way the audience understands but also wants to engage with.]

I highly recommend Mr. Carson’s Masterclass on Masterclass.com

Magic Happens When Art supports Design

The approach to mastering the secrets of design problems is through artistic discourses, but art is not the end result, it is the after effect.

My process occurs through lines of iconography, symbolism, and libraries of images or other artistic elements that convey a specific message. Here, we address the subject through art. Even those skeptical of using art and ornamentation, have relied on them to communicate messages in their designs. This is because even the most design-oriented disciplines, like architecture, recognize that there is an artistic discourse conveyed through a set of graphics that resonate with the target audience and make them easily identifiable.

Even designers like Adolf Loos, who were against ornamentation and even wrote design essays such as "Ornament is Crime," recognized the importance of some ornamentation and art discourses. For example, can you imagine how the architecture of a bank could benefit from green and gold accents?

Maybe imperial and imposing-looking Greek-style columns? It’s all about the audience. The design can't be too otherworldly, as it risks alienating the audience, nor can it be too generic, as it won't have a significant impact—the audience has seen it before. It must always be for them. It’s an artistic performance, and our designs become living and breathing organisms.

Exceeding Expectations is the Goal Expected from Concept Design

This brings us to the next part of the process: the value delivered is the context—a quest to entertain and hook the audience by design. We’re not here to just deliver any “cool” experience, it’s one that surpasses the audience and otherwise player base expectations.

This kind of secret storytelling ingredient seeds loyalty among the existing audience while springing opportunities to reach and attract new audiences.

Real-world references and strategies, to create realistic concept art and design

(I don’t mean to throw shade, but there is no AI prompt for this, there’s no automation recipe for success.)

Check more of my case studies and design process, using these methodologies over my case studies library.

Get in Character!

The Secret to Storytelling is Communication

The graphics must belong to a contemporary cultural language. For instance, consider visual principles, color contrasts, material contrasts, and how the design reads within a concept—it all entertains the audience. In the context of game design, the audience seeks entertainment, and elements from pop culture, Kotaku, and gaming culture, things like the retro Atari textures and logo, Game Boy Color, Atari, and more add to the aesthetic the audience recognizes and praises, they feel their tribe.

So in fact, we are communicators. We manifest worlds and bridges from audience to product and, to brand. If you master this aspect, communication, you master concept art and the design process.

We Respect the Source Material
and Empower it

If we are working on an established brand, it’s crucial to respect it. Let's consider Fallout.
We aim to emphasize the gritty, grungy, and humorous aspects to distinguish ourselves from what has been done before. We want to meet the audience's expectations while also exploring how we can improve and surpass their needs by incorporating elements that the competition hasn't yet designed nor explored, let alone mastered.

This may involve conducting searches on Reddit or Steam forums to identify what the audience wishes other games would deliver. Game studios often tend to replicate successful games and their gameplay. A few years ago, base building became a trend with Minecraft and RUST, with many games, like Fortenite, incorporating it. Before that, it was the Battle Royale genre. In the midst of all this, smaller details like the feel of the horse in The Witcher and Red Dead Redemption as well as the gameplay in Assassin's Creed Origins are often emulated. We are quick to replicate what has worked, the surface rather than the substance.

We are quick to dismiss what gamers were always asking for and not being served, it isn’t just what worked in other games, but also what other games forgot to include, this is a pile of treasure of ideas to grab, they are already asking for content like this, why not do it?

Some will argue that the consumer doesn’t know what they want, while I am sure that the company just hasn’t researched the market enough to know what it wants and what it doesn’t want. People know what they want, they want an experience and a feeling.

Other factors to consider include: What is the competition doing, and how can we do it better? Where is the competition falling short? What materials and execution to choose? It can indeed be overwhelming, and it is, so why not outsource or reach out for help to collaborate on something great?
Contact me here, and let’s talk about your concept art needs.

8 powerful ideas to mastering concept design and takeaways:

• In the competitive gaming industry, mastering concept design is crucial for standing out. Emphasize gritty, grungy, and humorous aspects to distinguish your work if that’s the case, this means, find the visual dialect to speak with the game and artistic dialogue itself.

• Incorporate elements that the competition hasn't yet mastered, and consider the audience's wishes when exploring new ideas.

• Avoid replicating surface-level trends and prioritize delivering what gamers have been asking for. Research the market enough to understand consumer needs and wants. Analyze competition, identify areas for improvement, and consider collaborating for better execution.

  
  If you are seeking concept art needs, let’s discuss how these powerful ideas can make your project stand out. Reach out!

Miguel Nogueira is a freelance concept artist, designer, and storytelling strategist.
He’s also worked with studios to help to map solutions to reach their audience, unlock the gamer’s sense of wonder and myth, as well as their needs, while collaborating with the studios under fun work processes.

He’s been featured at CGSociety Hall of Fame and Behance, also on Kotaku and 3DTotal. Furthermore, he’s also recently worked with NetEase Games on the release of AsFall and an upcoming, AAA, unannounced MMORPG as Character Design Lead.

If you’re interested in having Miguel speak at your event, want to sponsor his content, or start a project, please send all business inquiries to: www.menogcreative.com