Concert Art Workflow Overview: Our Process for The Arbiters (Why We Go Chronologically)

When it comes to concept art, there are a lot of ways to do it. You can design by theme.You can isolate characters first.You can tackle environments in batches.You can refine one visual language until it’s perfect before moving on. That might even be the “better” way.But for The Arbiters, we’re doing something different.In this episode, I break down our concept art process — specifically why we’re moving chronologically through the script, designing scenes in order rather than by category or aesthetic theme.For me, trying to design everything based purely on theme felt too abstract and overwhelming. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how to sustain that approach across the entire film.Going scene-by-scene is simpler. More tangible. More momentum-driven. Our goal right now isn’t perfection.It’s not final production-ready art.It’s creating “close enough” versions of everything.Once we’ve concepted the full film — characters, props, environments — we can step back and review: 1) What’s working? 2) What feels inconsistent? 3) What needs to evolve? 4) Where are we repeating ourselves visually?And then we refine.Two important notes: 1) This is our process for The Arbiters. It’s not the only way. There’s no universal pipeline. Every creative team has to choose what works for their brain, their workflow, and their bandwidth. 2) We’re doing this after building a 100+ page movie bible — a deep world-building document covering history, governments, technology systems, currency, celebrations, power structures, and more. That foundation gives us clarity. We know the core. Now we’re building the visuals that express it.This episode is about choosing simplicity over paralysis, momentum over perfection, and trusting that iteration beats overthinking.If you’re developing your own project — animated, live-action, indie, big-budget — this might help you find a process that actually works for you.