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 Please also refer to Feng's Meet the Artist Q&A session on CGTalk.
1. How do I get started in the field of concept design?
Start taking some industrial design courses. Look into industrial design schools
such as Art Center and CCS. A concept artist needs to know a wide range of
subjects, such as perspective, anatomy, lighting, and composition. You can
always learn these on your own, but going to school puts you in a creative and
competitive environment which can accelerate this process.
2. Which school and major should I choose?
Concept design is part of a production process. Unlike artwork in a gallery, in
which the final product is the art itself, our design sketches are never the end
product. Much of our work is never shown to the public. You need to understand
this difference and make sure you pick a school that can teach you about design.
As far as majors go, there are two main ones to choose from: illustration and
industrial design. There are no correct answers for which one to choose, as both
majors are beneficial in our industry. However, if you like to design characters
and creatures, then think about picking illustration. If you want to design
environments, vehicles, and other "man-made" things, then industrial design
might be the way to go. Again, this is not a fixed scenario. Once you get into the
school, take cross-over classes so you that can get the benefits of both majors.
3. Do you have any advice for an artist just starting out?
Just keep drawing. There are no secrets or shortcuts when it comes to drawing.
It just takes time and experience.
4. Are there any good books about concept design?
There aren't many books published about concept design. However, there are
many books that contain great examples of concept art. Look into "making of"
books such as the Art of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, the 5th Element and Treasure
Planet. Syd Mead's book are a must buy. Some Anime books are also good.
Some of our friends have published a book called Concept Design. You can get
additional information at Design Studio Press.
You can also look into books published by Ballistic Publishing, brought to you by
our friends at CGNetworks.
5. How do I find a job in this field?
Put together a portfolio and send it to every company you want to work for. Make
sure you read their submission policies carefully first, as some companies may
require you to submit a copyright waiver along with your portfolio. Please do not
e-mail us about our client's employment information, rather, please contact their
HR department directly.
6. Can I model your designs in 3D?
Please contact us first for legal permission prior to doing so. We do not own the
copyrights to some of the designs displayed on this site; our clients do. We can
only grant you permission on the designs that we own.
7. I'm working on a personal project (MODs, scripts, book ideas, etc).
Can you do some designs for free? I'll give you credit or back-end pay.
This is probably the number one question we get through e-mail. We understand
the importance of independent projects, and how funding is often non-existent
in such cases. However, our time and services are not free.
If you are looking for a designer or any other talent to help on your project, it's
always a good idea to pay them under a legal contract, even between friends.
You need to establish the employer and the employee(s). This will save you a lot
of headaches later on. Imagine if a company decides to suddenly buy your
project for millions of dollars. Without a legal contract with your "free" talents,
any person who worked on your project can claim that funding (since they can
argue that it was their work which got your project sold). However, if they
received payment for their work, then you legally own all the designs and
copyrights.
Of course many of these projects, such as game MODs, are made for non-profit
reasons by talents on their spare time. Our company is very busy and can not
afford "free time," therefore, we can not participate.
8. Can I e-mail you my drawings or designs for critique?
Feng Zhu Design is a design company. Therefore, we can not legally view your
copyrighted materials. You must first submit a copyright release waiver before
sending us any creative work. Please read the legal statement on the contact
page.
9. Why can't you show us work from all your projects?
This website contains about 5% of Feng Zhu Design's total portfolio content. The
reason being is that we work with private clients, and often a NDA (Non-Discloser
Agreement) contract is signed between both parties. This contract forbids Feng
Zhu Design from publicly displaying any designs done for the client(s). However,
what you do see here are designs that have been publicly released, or Feng Zhu
Design has gotten permission to display them. Often however, our design
illustrations will never see the light of day. Most of our work from the past 2
years are still locked in NDA agreements, and may remain there forever.
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