Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video Games: An Insider's Guide for Students

by Eliott J. Lilly

Do you aspire to become a concept artist in the video game industry but don’t know where to start? The Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video An Insider’s Guide for Students is a comprehensive book that gives aspiring artists an honest, informative, and concise look at what it takes to do just that. Author Eliott Lilly uses his own student work as a teaching tool along with personal experiences to help you on your journey. From finding the right school and getting the most out of your education , to preparing your portfolio and landing your first job , the advice and strategies Eliott offers are organized for easy reference and review. The book also features an extensive list of resources that students will find useful, as well as interviews with renowned concept artists David Levy, Sparth, Stephan Martiniere, Ben Mauro, and Farzad Varahramyan, all offering their own invaluable advice. With his firsthand knowledge about the ins and outs of the video game industry, Eliott Lilly is an exceptional guide who can help prepare you for the long journey toward realizing your ambitions.

Genres: Art, Video Games, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2015

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides advice to students who are consider a career as a concept artist in the video game industry. It goes into what skills you should develop, whether to go to art school or not, and how to prepare a portfolio for your first job hunt. The author is honest about the amount of hard work that it takes to start an art career and about the sometimes grueling work conditions in the video game industry, which is something I appreciated.

Another thing that I think will be helpful for teens is that the author included some of his own work from his teen years in the book. Oftentimes, books like this show only the professional work of the authors, which can be very intimidating for teens who haven't really had time to develop their art skills yet. By showing his own teen work, which is amateurish, it gives students hope that they would be able to raise their skills to professional levels if they work hard.

[Sebastián Posada · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very impressive. When I started reading was deciding what field of video games and movies start to train .
I was trying to learn to paint, to do 3d, to animate, to write, all at the same time, and this was very frustrating. When I found this book, I was already somehow thinking about going for art, but wasn't sure, after reading it and with a lot of thinking and talking with friends and masters I decided to quit school and go on to study at CGMA.

It would't have been possible without this book! Its a treasture!

[Meleena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and offers up questions about this career path I haven't thought of before.

[NostrumWorks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great intro into the world of concept art. Good ideas on how to get into the industry.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, this book comes from a different time - as of 2015, probably not yet the mass of tutorials, information and teaching offers existed, especially on YouTube and generally on the Internet as we have them today. Nevertheless, The Big Bad World of Concept Art is still a very instructive and interesting book for all those who are interested in the area of activity that the title already indicates. The author goes into the career of a concept artist from the very beginning. That means he talks about materials, about prerequisites, which aspects you should learn, which role internships play, what value art universities have and how to design your portfolio. All this and additional o-tones from experienced concept artists are combined in this book, which makes for an interesting reading despite the fact that everything is quickly outdated in this fast-changing industry.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful and inspiring! A tad outdated by now, but that’s how it goes.

[Jon S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grey book for students and those in their early stages of a career in the arts, albeit video games, movies, design etc. Has valuable advice and interviews inside.