What’s Next in Concept Art Design

“Concept art is like a crystal ball for the makers of movies or games, giving them a snapshot of what their project might look like before they’ve made it.” — Iain McCaig, legendary film artist and concept artist veteran. 

Agreeing with McCaig, the role concept art plays in visual storytelling is unparalleled. To share a glimpse into our world and our take on this category, we spoke with one of our own experts, Gianluca Rolli. 

In this interview, he opens up about his journey as a concept artist, the trends he finds exciting, and how he navigates through this field.

Welcome Gianluca — thanks for joining us today! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to join Forge.

Hi! I’m Gianluca, and I’ve been a Concept Artist since 2015. After graduating from the European Institute of Design in Rome, I worked as a freelancer for several years, traveling through Southeast Asia. This was when I immersed myself in diverse cultures and stories, which ended up influencing my drawings and sculptures.

I discovered Forge Studios when I returned to Rome from my travels. After collaborating with the team on a few projects, I felt a strong connection with their vision and creative process, which was then a natural next step for me to officially join them in 2021.

What an impressive background. What’s your current go-to style and why? 

I’m consistently drawn to characters inspired by ancient, exotic influences with a touch of tropical vibes. Although I’ve explored various styles over the years, from simplified to highly realistic, and from fantasy to sci-fi, the projects I’ve enjoyed the most involve blending vibrant, spiritual elements from colorful cultures with darker, horror-inspired themes.

There’s something rewarding about bringing together contrasting qualities, such as delicacy and strength, into a single character. Such creations become truly unique and evocative.

Love this! What would you say is a common challenge concept artists face today, and how can they overcome it? 

A big one is the rise of AI generative tools. While these tools present exciting opportunities, they can also create job anxiety among young professionals, affecting their passion and motivation.

The best way to tackle this is to focus on what makes us human: our ability to think creatively and come up with unique ideas. Technical skills are always important, but it’s our personal experiences and intuition that bring ideas to life. And by nurturing our creative thinking and technical skills, we can stay passionate and valuable, even as technology evolves. 

Makes a lot of sense. Based on your experience, what’s one piece of advice you swear by that has helped you stay ahead in your career? 

A friend and colleague once said learning new information or watching a tutorial doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it. It’s easy to assume that absorbing the material is enough, but we need to remember how important muscle memory is.  

Putting what you’ve learned into practice immediately is how you will internalize it. Test yourself, integrate new concepts into your workflow, figure out where things click or need adjustment. This approach has helped me progress faster, retain information better, and significantly improved the quality of my work. 

We can’t agree more! Before we let you go, do you have any predictions for concept art this year and beyond?

Aside from video games becoming ultra-immersive, game engines will continue to become more powerful and versatile. In return, concept artists will have more room to push design boundaries and create innovative and stunning visuals.

These advancements will help bridge the gap between concept art and final assets. Turning artistic visions into interactive, cinematic experiences will then be faster and more seamless. 

Thanks for sharing your insights, Gianluca! It was a pleasure speaking with you and hope to catch you again soon. 

For more information about Forge Studios and the services we offer, feel free to send us an e-mail at business@forgestudios.com and check out our Art Station portfolio here.