Concept Art Fundamentals (12127.2)

This unit provides a structured introduction to the fundamental strategies and visual processes that shape concept art development across screen media, including film, games, animation, and narrative worldbuilding. It develops core capabilities in drawing, ideation, and visual communication, with a focus on designing characters, environments, props, and other elements that contribute to cohesive fictional settings. Development is supported through research, structured exercises, and the study of existing visual examples, enabling clearer stylistic understanding and purposeful creative choices. Emphasis is placed on applying both traditional and digital techniques to produce resolved concept artworks that demonstrate narrative intent through the integration of technical skill and creative experimentation.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify fundamental principles and techniques used in concept art, including drawing foundations, ideation methods, and visual communication;
2. Apply research and visual analysis to inform the design of characters, environments, props, and other worldbuilding elements;
3. Develop original concept designs through structured exercises that integrate traditional and digital drawing techniques;
4. Refine visual ideas using iterative processes that respond to feedback, stylistic references, and narrative intent; and
5. Produce resolved concept artworks and supporting documentation that clearly communicate design purpose and creative direction.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

11685 Drawing for Games AND 9749 Drawing for Games

Equivalent units

11685 Drawing for Games

Assumed knowledge

None.