Post job

Explore jobs

Find specific jobs

Explore careers

Explore professions

Best companies

Explore companies

OverviewJobsSalary

Skills

What They DoEducationDemographicsJob DescriptionHow To HireBest CompaniesBest StatesBest CitiesRemote JobsJob OutlookCompareFull Time jobsWork From Home jobsLocations
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Concept artist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
Quoted expert
Christopher Aaron
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical concept artist skills. We ranked the top skills for concept artists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.2% of concept artist resumes contained storyboards as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a concept artist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 concept artist skills for your resume and career

1. Storyboards

Here's how concept artists use storyboards:
  • Created character designs, environment/architecture concept art, storyboards, cinematic illustrations, and helped pitch new projects
  • Collaborated with other artists to create storyboards and short animations

2. Maya

Maya, also known as Autodesk Maya, is a software and a graphics application used to create 3D models, effects, and assets intended for use in such 3D products as video games, films, architectural plans and models, and other, often interactive, pieces of media. Maya has, since the late 90s, become a standard and one of the core tools in the film and video game industries, has become a part of the primary learning curriculum in schools devoted to these crafts, and has been used in many famous movies, such as Lord of the Rings.

Here's how concept artists use maya:
  • Sketched raw ideas, Modeled and Rendered them in MAYA.
  • Utilized both ZBrush and Maya to create and present final design.

3. Animation

Here's how concept artists use animation:
  • Recognized by superiors for successfully coordinating and animating several complex raid system and animation.
  • Collaborated with animators to color and clean up rough animation for final presentation.

4. Sketch

Here's how concept artists use sketch:
  • Charge of creating game characters and environment with Hand sketch, Photoshop, Painter.
  • Received packages and signed vendors in and out Artist(Freelance) Present I sketch portrait drawings upon request.

5. Art Direction

Art direction is an essential job in the activities related to theatre, advertising, fashion, publishing as well the film industry. All of these fields have a direct or indirect connection with art and therefore require direction and supervision regarding this very aspect of the job. The art director is responsible for how a product turns out visually..

Here's how concept artists use art direction:
  • Mentored junior artists by providing art direction and technical assistance.
  • Followed a reference guide, style sheet and art direction to create one of the main protagonist's features and props.

6. Graphic Design

Graphic design is the art of making visual content to communicate messages. Designers apply different page layout methods and visual hierarchy by using letters and pictures to meet the need of end-users. Most companies use graphic design to sell their product or services and to convey complicated information by using infographics.

Here's how concept artists use graphic design:
  • Develop graphic design and marketing materials.
  • Directed artists and graphic designers as well as coordinated with writers, editors and the layout artist to produce quality games.

Choose from 10+ customizable concept artist resume templates

Build a professional concept artist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your concept artist resume.

7. UI

Here's how concept artists use ui:
  • Developed critical hit, healing, speed up, and defend icon concepts for the UI.
  • Worked with art director, lead UI designer and 3D animators to finalize new art assets.

8. Design Concepts

Here's how concept artists use design concepts:
  • Produce design concepts for environments, characters and hundreds of vehicles.
  • Produce design concepts of actual LEGO parts to be fabricated.

9. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how concept artists use adobe photoshop:
  • Developed and managed rapid concept creation workflows using research breakdowns, software tools, 3D software, and Adobe Photoshop.
  • Used Adobe Photoshop as a primaryprogram for color design, crop of the hand drawn concept art.

10. ZBrush

Here's how concept artists use zbrush:
  • Created concise and simple imagery to assist patients in understanding dental procedures using Photoshop, ZBrush and Key Shot.
  • Applied 3D knowledge to produce zBrush sculpted/textured character busts to provide better visualization for concepts select in-game.

11. Environmental Design

Here's how concept artists use environmental design:
  • Character design and environmental design.

12. Industrial Design

Here's how concept artists use industrial design:
  • Coordinated with outside marketing agencies and the marketing,engineering and industrial design departments.

13. Visual Style

Here's how concept artists use visual style:
  • Created Environment Visual Style Guides and Design Documents * Worked closely with design leads to flesh out levels.
  • Work included concepting characters, various cultures, and environments based on an established visual style and fantasy world.

14. Game Design

Here's how concept artists use game design:
  • Participated title: Cracked Created the environmental art Enhanced game design attributes
  • Contributed to game design and implementation.

15. Visual Design

Visual design is an art where the artist uses visuals and graphics to communicate to the user. A visual design aims to increase a product's aesthetic appeal. A visual design consists of lines, use of colors, white spaces, layout, and typography. Each element is executed to attract the customer towards it. Different styles and textures are also normally seen in visual designs.

Here's how concept artists use visual design:
  • Worked with team to create cohesive and functional visual design for games.
  • Conceptualized visual designs for art assets in a group setting using.
top-skills

What skills help Concept Artists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What concept artist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Christopher Aaron

Associate Professor of Media Arts, Webster University

- Procedural approaches will be a big deal. Procedural modeling, layout, texturing, etc. will continue to replace object-based modeling and manual layout.
- AI is here. Being able to work with it will be a reality many artists are wary of.
- Virtual production will grow exponentially. Learning game engines will open up all kinds of opportunities in the game industry as well as the film industry.
- Old skills will still be needed and may become more valuable. For example, traditional frame by frame animation will be increasingly sought after as less and less people will be practicing it. We’ve had alumni get great positions because they were the only animators in a region that could do frame by frame. When the industry goes in one direction (like using 2.5D and cut out rigs) the skills “left behind” sometimes become obscure and gain value.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about concept artist

List of concept artist skills to add to your resume

Concept artist skills

The most important skills for a concept artist resume and required skills for a concept artist to have include:

  • Storyboards
  • Maya
  • Animation
  • Sketch
  • Art Direction
  • Graphic Design
  • UI
  • Design Concepts
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • ZBrush
  • Environmental Design
  • Industrial Design
  • Visual Style
  • Game Design
  • Visual Design
  • Visual Development
  • PC
  • Asset Creation
  • Style Guides
  • VFX
  • Texture
  • Video Games
  • IP
  • Environmental Assets
  • UX
  • Art Style
  • FX
  • User Interface
  • Environment Design
  • Game Art
  • In-Game Assets
  • Game Play
  • CG
  • Fiction
  • Comics
  • Concept Illustrations
  • MMO
  • RPG
  • Motion Capture
  • Level Design
  • Logo Design
  • Facebook
  • Feature Film
  • Game Projects
  • Media Design
  • HUD

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs