Concept Art

What is Concept Art?

Concept art is the visual planning stage of a production: illustrations that show what characters, environments, and objects will look like before the actual making begins.

At a glance

Also known as
Visual development artVD artPre-production illustration
Used for
Defining character and environment designsExploring visual directions before productionCommunicating aesthetic intent to an art team
Common tools
MorphicMidjourneyAdobe photoshopProcreateStable diffusion
Related terms
Production designStyle guideStoryboardVisual developmentMoodboard

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How it compares

How it compares

Concept ArtStoryboard

Concept art explores and defines the visual design of individual elements ( characters, environments, props ) without reference to narrative sequence. A storyboard plans the specific shots and scenes of a narrative in sequence. Concept art asks 'what does this look like? '; a storyboard asks 'how does this scene unfold visually?

Think of it like…

If a film production were a building project, concept art would be the architect's sketches and visualisations produced before any construction begins: not blueprints yet, but clear enough for everyone to understand what is being built and why it should look the way it does.

Pro tip

When using AI generation for concept art exploration, generate a wide variety of directions early and resist narrowing down too quickly: the most productive use of AI speed is in the breadth of early exploration, not in refining a single direction prematurely.

Types and variations

  • Concept art encompasses several distinct types of work within a production pipeline.
  • Character concept art focuses on the design, costume, proportions, and expressions of characters.
  • Environment concept art explores locations, architecture, and spatial atmosphere.
  • Prop and vehicle design art defines the look of objects and mechanical elements.
  • Colour scripts are a specialised form of concept art that maps the colour palette across the full arc of a story sequence.
  • Key frame illustrations are highly polished concept pieces that define specific dramatic moments rather than general design directions.

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Common use cases

  • Concept art is used in film, television, animation, video games, advertising, and theme park design: any production where visual consistency across a large creative team needs to be established before expensive production begins.
  • It is also increasingly used in AI production workflows to define the visual language that will be translated into prompts and reference images for consistent AI generation across a project.

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FAQs

What is the purpose of concept art in a production?
Concept art defines the visual identity of a project before expensive production work begins, ensuring that all artists and designers share a clear, agreed understanding of how characters, environments, and props should look.
Is concept art the same as illustration?
Concept art is a specific type of illustration created for production purposes rather than as a finished artwork in its own right. It is functional: its goal is to communicate design intent clearly to a production team: rather than decorative.
How has AI changed concept art workflows?
AI image generation has dramatically accelerated the early ideation phase, allowing artists to generate and compare many visual directions in the time it would previously take to produce a single sketch. This shifts the concept artist's role toward creative direction and curation rather than manual execution of every exploration.
Do I need concept art if I'm working alone on an AI project?
Even for solo creators, producing concept art: or using AI generation to explore visual directions systematically: helps establish a consistent visual language before production begins, reducing the inconsistency that comes from generating without a defined aesthetic target.
What makes concept art different from finished production art?
Concept art is exploratory and communicative: it prioritises clarity of design direction over polish. Finished production art is the final, approved version of a design ready for use in the production pipeline.
How is concept art used as a reference for AI generation prompts?
Approved concept art pieces can be uploaded as reference images for AI generation tools, guiding models toward the established visual style of a production. This is one of the most effective ways to maintain visual consistency across all AI-generated assets in a project.
What software do professional concept artists use?
Traditional concept art is produced in software such as Adobe Photoshop, Procreate, and Clip Studio Paint. AI-assisted concept exploration uses tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Morphic, often in combination with traditional painting software for refinement.
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