Bachelor of Science in Entertainment Design - Concept Design Track

Concept Designers are visual storytellers who create fantastic worlds, expressive characters and never-before-seen environments from their expansive imaginations. As artists, they create designs for entertainment properties in a variety of industries, including video games, film/tv animation, live-action film, theme parks and toys/consumer products. ArtCenter’s rigorous Concept Design program emphasizes artistic skill, technical ability, storytelling, and most importantly, thinking and creative problem-solving.

What You'll Learn

The Concept Design curriculum begins with the fundamentals and then quickly progresses into applied design classes. The later terms are designed with flexibility in mind, allowing students to customize their coursework toward mastery within a specialty of their choosing. The Concept Design program focuses on the proficiency of the following skills: Thinking Process & Conceptual Methodology, Storytelling, Communication, 2D & 3D Proficiency, Painting & Lighting, Design Knowledge & Critical Thinking, and Professional Awareness.

Key courses include

• Concept Design 1 & 2
• Character Design
• World Building
• Designing with Light & Color
• Production Design
• Architectural Design

Teamwork and Collaboration

At ArtCenter we know that working in the entertainment design industry is all about collaboration. Concept Design students will have numerous opportunities to work on production design projects, animated shorts and video game prototypes with students from other programs including Animation, Game Design, Illustration, as well as your Concept Design peers. These collaborative projects emulate the real-world studio experience and provide excellent portfolio and resume material.

Our Faculty

Learn from a distinguished group of talented faculty as you strengthen your design, aesthetic and teamwork skills. Our faculty are professionals working for major studios and streamers, such as: Disney, Dreamworks, ILM, Sony, Insomniac Games, Riot Games, Sony Santa Monica Studio, Treyarch, Warner Brothers, Marvel, Netflix, Aardman, Nickelodeon, Fox Pictures, LAIKA, Universal, Blur Studio, Tencen and Blizzard.

Career Opportunities

• Concept Artist
• Visual Development Artist/Designer
• Character Designer
• Creature Designer
• Costume Designer
• Environment Designer
• Prop Designer
• Theme Park & Attraction Designer
• Storyboard Artist
• Keyframe Painter
• Background Designer
• Background Painter
• Hard Surface/Mech Designer
• Toy Designer

Notable Alumni

Graduates of the Concept Design program are in-demand visual storytellers, holding a variety of creative careers.

Mark Castanon, Lead Concept Artist, People Can Fly
Prog Wang, Principal Concept Artist, Respawn Entertainment
Shan Qiao, Character Concept Artist, Santa Monica Studio
Erin Shin, Visual Development and Concept Design
Qiu Fang, Lead Concept Artist, Blizzard Entertainment
Peggy Chung and Robert Simons, Co-Founders, Gadget-Bot Productions
Saiful Haque, Concept Artist, Kalpana Studios