That’s a really broad start because there's a ton of TYPES of concept art out there! Just like there’s all kinds of doctors from dermatologists to heart surgeons.

First off, figure out what kind of art YOU enjoy making. It's like choosing your art specialty, just the first step, takes time to discover. Dive into research, check out different companies, see what job your favorite artists have, and see what clicks.

Second, once you've decided a direction, you need a portfolio! These days, a website is the golden ticket – PDFs are more for established artists . You can easily make a portfolio through Artstation, that’s what most recruiters use.

Last but not least, network like it's a sport. You can find lots of communities easily through Discord, the Lightbox Expo discord is a great place to start. Connections are also a part of your art superpower!

So, in a nutshell: Determine your passion, build a killer portfolio website, and get out there and mingle. You got this! 🎨✨

The easy answer: practice, practice, practice.

But you might be wondering, what’s the most effective way??? If you ask me, my go-to? Analog drawing – Traditional drawing with pencils, paper, and paint. Lots of drawing from life, feeling that pencil on paper, and having to actually mix paints for color, fast-tracks improvement. The fastest people I’ve seen get good at 2d art, did gouache, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, crayon, marker etc.

It's like a creative workout, if you can flex those artistic muscles daily, and you'll see the gains. Don't just stick to your comfort zone – challenge yourself with new subjects and styles. With every piece I do, I try to tackle something I haven’t tried before, whether it’s a new angle, or a new kind of subject matter. So, grab your tools, and go get that art bread! 🎨✨

I think something that really opened my eyes, was the quote “motivation does not inspire action, ACTION inspires motivation” and that is SO true. Sometimes I wake up and the last thing I want to do is draw.

But if I just open a blank canvas…. let it sit for a while… I feel very very compelled to do SOMETHING. I’ll tell myself “ok all you need to do is ONE paint stroke” and usually, that’ll lead to 3-4 more.. then an hour has passed!

However, if you’re MAJORLY burned out, you are exhausted everyday and you’d rather eat a brick, then that’s your body telling you, you need a genuine break. Go to sleep. Listen to music and take a long walk. Taking a break does not mean rolling for gachas or scrolling mindlessly on social media. It means giving your body and mind some genuine quiet and rest.

If you truly love art, and you allow your body to rest, your motivation will always run back to you :)

My best advice: Have a colorful DIET! (not vegetables or fruit, obviously eat that too but-) I mean what you look at! If you want better color, make sure to have SUPER colorful references alongside you, and try to emulate their color palettes! Look for beautiful colorful pieces you like, and seek good color out. Your eye will naturally start to implement color into your own work.

I prefer a hands-on approach when it comes to color, and I love looking at colorful things, and then trying to recreate its palette on my own piece. This could be photographs of cool beads, the palette of socks, or film scenes. Interior designers, UI/UX, food videography, Banana Repubic’s photoshoots, good color palettes are everywhere.

If you prefer a more technical approach, I know that James Gurney's Color and Light is a fantastic book, so if you're an avid reader, that book is a great resource!

I do teach color specifically in my class via Schoolism where I specifically dive into my approach. As much as I'd like to try and explain it in this tiny paragraph, it genuinely is too difficult without visuals.

My personal recommendation when it comes to painting, is to start traditional, whether it's oil, watercolor, or gouache! Because that's the fastest way to train your eye to proper color and value; it's very difficult to mix all the colors physically, but you learn very quickly, much more than digital alone.

Start small by painting things like a single tree, a flower, and slowly move to the bigger things like cities or forests. It's like learning to dance, you have to know how to walk and run properly first, so don't worry if you can't draw an entire castle right away.

If you want to see how I paint more in-depth, I break it down in my class via Schoolism, just know it’s purely digital painting!