learning the different concept art sections - how?

[sunlike]

hi,

well, i'm kinda confused.

after getting more and more into concept art, all the different things to learn (enviroments, figures/anatomy, matte painting, whatever) seem to overwehlm me.


for example:

weeks ago, i starded studying anatomy, proportions, and all that stuff. for a change i drew environments for the last days/weeks, learned the basics of perspective, contrast, fore mid and background, and all these thing, but then i read that it's good to finish a sketch, which means for me: photoshop work.

ok, from the pen to my wacom. my first trys suck incredible, so i had to spend some time on studying how to finish a piece. then i figured out, that painting a sky or an ocean is more the matte painting section.

well, studying the basics of matte painting. at last i realized, that my foreground people need some work on anatomy.

so... i've come full circle.



i know that a concept artist have to know all these things, but for me, it present problems.

so, is it better to learn things one after another, to become good at one thing before starting the next or should i mix them all up?

or should i specialize in something, e.g. matte painting which is my real fun part?

is this depending on the artist or what is the general advice here?



looking hopfully forward for some helping words...


cheers

[DavePalumbo]

bear in mind that it will take years of constant study to reach pro level. Ain't gonna happen in a week or a month. In my opinion, you should spend those years working on everything

[Bendragon]

I think to be a good "concept" artist you have to be a good artist! The thing that matters most is a good foundation in drawing/painting. If you can draw well and become more experience at what you do then these should be more easier. Ive been drawing from life for a years now and Ive only recently gotten into conceptual arts which isn't a problem.
And anatomy and the sorts arent things you can and throw away. I believe people study them all their life! But if you have a good foundation in drawing you can draw pretty much anything. Anatomy will help your understanding of it later on.