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Concept Art Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Epic Games

Lead Environment Concept Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $135K/yr

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire. What You'll Do Epic Games is searching ...

Nintendo

Concept Artist [Contract] (Retro Studios)

Austin, TX · On-site

$125K - $144K/yr

Collaborate with the Art Director, Artists, and Designers to define the look of our games by ... Take ownership of concept work for various game features while actively collaborating with other ...

PUBG Madglory

Principal Concept Artist

Madison, WI · On-site +1

$128K - $147K/yr

Understands concept artwork not as standalone images but as part of the game experience. * Can ... Collaborate with Art Directors, Design, and 3D teams to ensure concepts are realized in the final ...

Epic Games

Senior Environment Concept Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire. What You'll Do Epic Games is searching ...

Epic Games

Senior Concept Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire. What You'll Do Epic is looking for a ...

Skydance

Art Director

Santa Monica, CA

$2.9K - $4.0K/wk

Create and contribute high-quality concept art, visual development materials, and key imagery * Collaborate with the Production Designer to lead and oversee the Los Angeles and Madrid based Art ...

Skydance

Art Director

Santa Monica, CA · On-site

$2.9K - $4.0K/wk

Create and contribute high-quality concept art, visual development materials, and key imagery * Collaborate with the Production Designer to lead and oversee the Los Angeles and Madrid based Art ...

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Concept Art information

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$27K

$69.6K

$121.5K

How much do concept art jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 26, 2026, the average yearly pay for concept art in the United States is $69,553.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $36,000.00 and $99,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Concept Art vs Character Designer?

AspectConcept ArtCharacter Designer
Primary FocusCreating visual representations of ideas, environments, and overall art conceptsDesigning and developing the appearance, personality, and style of characters
Skills & ToolsSketching, painting, digital illustration, understanding of anatomy and environment designCharacter anatomy, costume design, personality development, digital illustration
Work EnvironmentGame studios, animation, film, advertisingVideo game companies, animation studios, film production
Industry UsageUsed in early development stages to visualize ideasUsed to define character look and feel for production

While both roles involve digital illustration and visual storytelling, Concept Artists focus on broad visual concepts and environments, whereas Character Designers specialize in creating detailed character appearances and personalities. Both roles are essential in the creative process, often collaborating during game or film development.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Concept Artist, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Concept Artist, you need strong drawing, painting, and visual storytelling abilities, typically supported by a relevant degree or portfolio of creative work. Mastery of digital art software such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, or Procreate is essential, and familiarity with 3D modeling tools can be beneficial. Creativity, adaptability, and effective communication enable artists to translate ideas and feedback into compelling visual concepts. These skills are crucial for developing original designs that guide the visual direction of games, films, or other media and for collaborating successfully within creative teams.

What is concept art?

Concept art is a form of illustration used to convey ideas and visual representations for characters, environments, props, and other elements before they are finalized in films, video games, animation, and other creative projects. Concept artists help establish the look and feel of a project by creating visuals that guide production teams. Their work serves as a blueprint, ensuring everyone involved shares the same creative vision. Concept art can range from rough sketches to highly detailed paintings, often evolving as the project develops.

How does a concept artist typically collaborate with other departments during a project?

Concept artists work closely with multiple departments, such as game designers, 3D modelers, and animators, to ensure their visual concepts align with the project's vision and technical requirements. Regular meetings and feedback sessions are common, where concept artists present sketches and iteratively refine their work based on input from art directors and team leads. This collaborative process helps translate early ideas into cohesive assets that can be effectively realized in the final product, making communication and adaptability essential skills for success in this role.
More about Concept Art jobs
What cities are hiring for Concept Art jobs? Cities with the most Concept Art job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Concept Art jobs? The most popular types of Concept Art jobs are:
What states have the most Concept Art jobs? States with the most job openings for Concept Art jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Concept Art jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Concept Art jobs are:
Concept Art jobs near you
Infographic showing various Concept Art job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 83% Full Time, 15% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 96% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 3% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $69,553 per year, or $33.4 per hour.
Lead Environment Concept Artist

Lead Environment Concept Artist

Epic Games

Cary, NC • On-site

$117K - $135K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 23 days ago

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?
At the core of Epic's success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it's building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we're always innovating.
Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.
ART
What We Do
Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.
What You'll Do
Epic Games is searching for an experienced Lead Environment Concept Artist to support and supervise environment concept content created by external partners as part of our collaboration with Disney. Reporting to the project Art Director and working closely with the Outsource Manager and Environment Art Leads, you will help drive the visual quality, consistency, and world-building direction of environment concept art across the project.
This role requires a highly skilled environment concept artist with strong leadership instincts, exceptional communication skills, and experience working within AAA game production pipelines. You will collaborate with both internal and external teams to ensure concept work aligns with the project's artistic vision, gameplay needs, and production requirements while helping establish a clear quality bar for outsourced environment art.
In this role, you will
  • Partner closely with the Art Director, Environment Art Leads, Outsource Managers, and internal art teams to support external environment concept vendors
  • Communicate the project's visual direction and world-building goals to outsource partners while ensuring all submitted work meets Epic and Disney quality standards
  • Create and oversee high-quality environment concept designs that support the visual identity and storytelling needs of the project
  • Develop mood boards, paint-overs, visual target references, callouts, and production documentation to guide external teams
  • Help define environment pipelines, workflows, and quality benchmarks for outsourced concept art production
  • Review outsource submissions and provide clear, actionable artistic feedback to ensure consistency in style, tone, composition, and functionality
  • Collaborate closely with environment art, level design, lighting, VFX, and gameplay teams to ensure concepts support downstream production requirements
  • Identify risks, communication gaps, or quality concerns early and escalate appropriately to leadership when needed
  • Lead, mentor, and provide artistic direction for a small team of environment concept artists
What we're looking for
  • Exceptional portfolio demonstrating strong environment concept art skills, visual storytelling, composition, color theory, lighting, and world-building
  • Deep understanding of environmental design principles, including architecture, atmosphere, scale, shape language, and gameplay readability
  • Experience working as a Senior or Lead Environment Concept Artist on at least one shipped AAA title
  • Strong ability to communicate visual direction and collaborate effectively with both internal developers and external outsourcing partners
  • Experience creating production-ready concept packages, including callouts, orthographic designs, paint-overs, and reference sheets
  • Understanding of downstream game development workflows and how concept art supports environment art, lighting, level design, and VFX production
  • Excellent organizational, communication, and feedback skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced production environment
  • Proven ability to maintain high artistic standards while balancing production realities and schedules
  • Experience working with stylized and/or highly immersive world-building aesthetics is a strong plus
  • Bonus: Fluency in an additional language such as Chinese, Spanish, German, Italian, or Russian
EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE
Our intent is to cover all things that are medically necessary and improve the quality of life. We pay 100% of the premiums for both you and your dependents. Our coverage includes Medical, Dental, a Vision HRA, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance & a 401k with competitive match. We also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents. Throughout the year we celebrate our employees with events and company-wide paid breaks. We offer unlimited PTO and sick time and recognize individuals for 7 years of employment with a paid sabbatical.
ABOUT US
Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.
Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!
Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.
Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.

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