How did I Create Concept Arts using AI
By cyberdevz on September 12, 2025
Table of Contents#
- Introduction: A New Frontier for Concept Artists
- Step 1: The Foundation - Hand-Drawn Strokes
- Step 2: From Paper to Pixels - Photo Editing
- Step 3: The AI Catalyst - Prompting for Accuracy
- Step 4: The Polishing Loop - Iterating to Perfection
- Conclusion: The Future is a Hybrid of Human and AI Creativity
Introduction: A New Frontier for Concept Artists #
As a 3D artist, I’ve always believed that great art starts with a strong concept. For our latest project, my team and I explored a new, hybrid workflow that combines the traditional art with the power of technology.
I'm excited to share the steps with you. This method isn't about replacing the artist; it's about empowering them to move faster and explore more creative possibilities.
Step 1: The Foundation - Hand-Drawn Strokes #
Every great piece of art needs a starting point. For me, that's almost always a classic graphite pencil and a sheet of paper.
Before even thinking about AI, I created a rough scene sketch to capture the core composition and mood for our upcoming game. This initial, hand-drawn sketch is the most critical part of the process. It's where I can freely express my imagination and set the scene without being constrained by a digital interface.
The traditional feel of the pencil on paper helps to capture the raw energy of the moment, which a machine can't replicate.
Step 2: From Paper to Pixels - Photo Editing #
Once the sketch was complete, I took a photograph of it.
To prepare the image for the AI model, I did some light editing to enhance its clarity and contrast, ensuring the pencil strokes were clear and the composition stood out.
This step is about cleaning up the image, making sure the AI has a solid, well-defined foundation to build upon.
Step 3: The AI Catalyst - Prompting for Accuracy #
This is where the magic happens. I fed the edited sketch into the Gemini Pro AI image generation model. The real key to getting a consistent and accurate result, though, is in the prompt.
Instead of just saying "make this look cool," I provided a detailed textual description of the scene's atmosphere, environment, and intended artistic direction.
For example, I might describe:
- Environment: "ancient, abandoned basement destructed chemical lab"
- Artistic Direction: "rich, vibrant colors with a painterly feel, similar to a digital oil painting"
It allows the model to intelligently interpret my original vision and fill in the details with a high degree of accuracy and consistency.
Step 4: The Polishing Loop - Iterating to Perfection #
Rarely is the first output exactly what you want. The process is iterative.
I generated several variations and carefully evaluated each one. Some might have the perfect color palette but the wrong mood. Others might have the right mood but lack detail.
By continually refining my prompts and providing slightly different variations of the original sketch, I could guide the AI toward the final desired outcome.
Conclusion: The Future is a Hybrid of Human and AI Creativity #
This hybrid creative workflow—combining my hand-drawn elements with the advanced capabilities of AI—allowed us to rapidly evolve a basic idea into a fully realized concept art piece.
It stayed true to my original vision while adding a level of depth and refinement that would have taken significantly longer to achieve with traditional methods alone.
This process is a testament to our studio’s focus on innovation and efficiency in game development.
AI is not here to replace the artist but to serve as a powerful new tool in our creative arsenal.
I hope this gives you some ideas for your own projects! Feel free to share your thoughts or your own experiments with this process in the comments below.