Concept art schools teach more than simple drawing. Concept art is the early art work done in any gaming or animation project. It allows artists to come up with the characters and other critical objects that inhabit their virtual project. Concept art begins with simple sketches that evolve into fully working 3D models. A successful artist in this world knows how to navigate it at all levels. With more and more of the animation and gaming world being virtual, successful students will learn how to bring their raw creative talents to bear on with technical skills.

Students take classes in drawing and design. Despite the high tech nature of modern animation, students still need to understand how to do basic drawing and design. In concept art schools, they take classes in basic drawing where they learn how to draw figures. They get an understanding of capturing the human figure and making realistic drawings of various pieces of anatomy. As they master these basic artistic skills, it prepares them to translate those bits of information into the 3D animation world. They refine their artistic talent in the process. This ultimately makes them better animators and artists.

Students also learn how to do 3D animation work. Once they learn the fine art of how to capture figures in the two-dimensional world, the next step is to learn how to translate their concept drawings into 3-D models. This involves taking their sketches and making figures in the virtual world. These early models often resemble the earliest sketches that they have made. They learn how to go through several iterations and make refinements to their 3-D sketches. Eventually, they take the 3-D models to the point where they turn into the final characters. In concept art schools, this involves taking classes where students learn how to use software to create 3-D models and how to evolve two-dimensional sketches in the 3-D world.

Students learn how to bring elements together into a final product. Once students understand how to create conceptual drawings and bring them into the 3-D world, the next step is to bring all of those elements together into a final project. They learn how to bring together different elements from various artists into a single production product such as a game or animation film. All of this comes together when attending concept art schools. It is a perfect way to enter either the gaming or the animation industry.