Applying for Concept Art? Read this before submitting your portfolio 👇
Hi everyone 👋
I’m Mel Cummings, a Lecturer in Concept Art for Games and Film at University of Staffordshire.
If you’re applying for a Concept Art course, your portfolio is your opportunity to show your creative thinking, design process, and technical skill. It’s more than just showing us what you can draw – it’s about showing us how you think.
Here are my top tips for putting together a strong portfolio 👇
Show your progress
We love to see your ideas developing. Include sketches, thumbnails, and plenty of iterations. Don’t just show the final painting; show how you got there!
Show your influence
What inspired your designs? Include research such as reference boards of photos, screenshots, and studies. It shows your awareness of visual culture and design thinking.
Show variety
Think beyond drawing characters from your favourite game or manga. Concept artists need to design everything. Environments, props, vehicles, and creatures. The more range you show, the better.
Show that you observe the world around you
Strong concept art starts with real observation. Include studies of nature, architecture, and objects. From life, photos, or museum visits. It demonstrates that you understand form, texture, and light.
Show that you love concept art
Be ready to talk about your favourite concept artist, film, game or TV show. Think about how these things influence your work. Passion and curiosity go a long way!
Show it professionally
Use a portfolio website like ArtStation to display your work clearly. Good presentation helps us focus on your creativity.
Show that you’re building your skills
Demonstrate that you’re practicing core skills like perspective, value, and figure drawing. We’re looking for potential and progression.
Show your best work
Choose pieces that represent your current skill level and creative strengths. Quality always wins over quantity.
If you’ve got questions about building your Concept Art portfolio, drop them below. I’d love to hear what you’re working on and what inspires your designs!
I’m Mel Cummings, a Lecturer in Concept Art for Games and Film at University of Staffordshire.
If you’re applying for a Concept Art course, your portfolio is your opportunity to show your creative thinking, design process, and technical skill. It’s more than just showing us what you can draw – it’s about showing us how you think.
Here are my top tips for putting together a strong portfolio 👇
Show your progress
We love to see your ideas developing. Include sketches, thumbnails, and plenty of iterations. Don’t just show the final painting; show how you got there!
Show your influence
What inspired your designs? Include research such as reference boards of photos, screenshots, and studies. It shows your awareness of visual culture and design thinking.
Show variety
Think beyond drawing characters from your favourite game or manga. Concept artists need to design everything. Environments, props, vehicles, and creatures. The more range you show, the better.
Show that you observe the world around you
Strong concept art starts with real observation. Include studies of nature, architecture, and objects. From life, photos, or museum visits. It demonstrates that you understand form, texture, and light.
Show that you love concept art
Be ready to talk about your favourite concept artist, film, game or TV show. Think about how these things influence your work. Passion and curiosity go a long way!
Show it professionally
Use a portfolio website like ArtStation to display your work clearly. Good presentation helps us focus on your creativity.
Show that you’re building your skills
Demonstrate that you’re practicing core skills like perspective, value, and figure drawing. We’re looking for potential and progression.
Show your best work
Choose pieces that represent your current skill level and creative strengths. Quality always wins over quantity.
If you’ve got questions about building your Concept Art portfolio, drop them below. I’d love to hear what you’re working on and what inspires your designs!
Reply 1
Is there a page limit for the portfolio? And also, I'm not old enough yet to have an Art Station account. What other forms can I submit my portfolio? I currently have mine as a PDF.
Original post
by AnonymousIs there a page limit for the portfolio? And also, I'm not old enough yet to have an Art Station account. What other forms can I submit my portfolio? I currently have mine as a PDF.
Every university you apply to is going to have slightly different page requirements. This is typically anywhere between 8-20. You're generally expected to edit your portfolio for submissions to different universities.
Don't worry about not having access to Artstation yet. In general I advise having everything you're considering for your portfolio backed up either on an external hard drive or a cloud service like Google Drive or One Drive. This is a good safety precaution in case your computer breaks etc but will also allow you to format the work for each application according to each university's guidelines - some may want your portfolio as an Artstation link, but others might want it as a pdf, or submitted to an online portal. So just having the pages stored somewhere sensible is the most important thing.
Hope this helps
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