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news • 23 July 2024

Tutor Spotlight: Jim Russell

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with MA Concept Art Tutor, Jim Russell, to talk about concept art, the entertainment industry and his favourite work.

What attracted you to become a concept artist? 

I was intensely interested in how things were made from a very early age. That led to studying design and then Architecture. Being obsessed by games and films meant that concept art was a logical progression from there. 

Where do you find inspiration for your concept art?

From looking at stuff in the real world. There is so much to see and experience! I love to travel, especially on mountain bike trips overseas, as this is a great way to really see and be immersed in a completely new environment. 

How would you describe the role of a concept artist has evolved in the entertainment industry over the past decade? 

Concept art has existed as a “behind the scenes” role for a long time but has really only become a known career path in the past ten years or so. In that time, as the fidelity and ambition behind entertainment projects has grown, so has the need to design and previz them. Concept Art has become much more prevalent and also more specialized. There’s now a lot more stuff that needs designing in more detail and with more believability. 

What advice would you give someone looking to become a concept artist today? 

Draw as much as possible (both from life and from your imagination), look at reference – study how things look but also analyse how they are constructed and why they are designed, or have evolved, to look the way that they do. Go outside and look at stuff :)

What is your favourite concept art piece you have worked on?  

Probably this one - It's a painting that didn't come together easily. It started out as quite a different composition and getting it around to where it ended up was like wrestling with a crocodile. However, once it was working in terms of composition and values, it was very fun to get right into the design of the landscape and structures. It's a direction that I'd really like to explore further in the future.