Art and Design

Concept Artist

Concept artists are responsible for generating visual ideas and designs for characters, environments, props, and vehicles in various media such as video games, films, and animations. They work closely with directors, art directors, and design teams to establish the visual direction of a project. In Kenya, the role is emerging with the growth of the local film and gaming industry, particularly in Nairobi's creative hubs. Day-to-day tasks include sketching, digital painting, creating mood boards, and iterating on designs based on feedback. The global demand for concept artists remains high, especially in entertainment hubs like the US, Canada, and Europe, but East Africa is seeing a rise in animation studios and game development companies. Long-term outlook is positive as African storytelling gains global traction, but artists must stay updated with digital tools and AI-assisted workflows.

AI exposure: 46 of 100, moderate exposure
Hiring trend: Growing
Hiring rate: 20%
Minimum education: Certificate

The role

What the work is, what it pays, and what it costs you.

At a glance

Work environment: Studios, agencies or home offices; screen and maker tool heavy; flexible hours.
Remote friendly: Yes
Freelance potential: Medium
Freelance rate: Ksh 90,000
Time to senior: 6 years
Adaptation level: Moderate

A day in the role

A concept artist in Kenya spends the day brainstorming visual ideas for characters and environments, using digital tools like Procreate and Blender. They collaborate with game developers and film directors to refine designs, often incorporating African themes. They review feedback and iterate on sketches to meet project deadlines.

What it pays

Kenyan market, per month

Entry: Ksh 48,000 to Ksh 68,000

The trade offs

In its favour

High creative fulfillment; visual storytelling for games, films, and animation projects in Kenya's emerging creative hub.
Growing demand due to increase in local game studios (e.g., Usiku Games) and international outsourcing to Nairobi.
Can sell artwork online globally (e.g., ArtStation, Patreon), diversifying income beyond local jobs.
Flexible freelance lifestyle allows artists to choose projects and work from home, avoiding daily commuting.

Against it

AI tools (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E) increasingly handle concept generation, reducing demand for junior artists and squeezing rates.
Portfolio-driven field; instability before gaining recognition, with many months of low or irregular income.
Few full-time positions in Kenya; most work contract-to-contract, requiring constant client hunting.

In practice

In Kenya, concept artists typically start with a certificate in digital art from Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts or online courses from CGMA or Domestika. Entry is tough; many build a portfolio through freelance gigs on Upwork or Fiverr. Networking at Nairobi's comic cons and game jams is crucial. Some land first roles at animation studios like Buni Media or Kugali Media, often starting as an intern or junior illustrator.

Junior concept artists earn KES 50,000–100,000 per project, often freelancing. After 3–5 years, they can join a studio like Buni Media full-time, earning KES 150,000–300,000 monthly. Specializing in character or environment design leads to senior roles (KES 350,000–500,000) by year 7. By year 10, one might become an Art Director on an African-themed Netflix series or start their own studio.

The concept art market in Kenya is niche, tied to the growing animation and gaming industry. Key employers include Buni Media, Kugali Media, and upcoming game studios in Nairobi. Most work is freelance or remote for international clients, especially in the US and Europe. The market is small but expanding with Africa-focused content. Nairobi's creative scene is the hub, but many artists work from home, collaborating online.

A mid-level concept artist at a Nairobi animation studio starts the day sketching early medieval African architecture for a Netflix series. Mid-morning, they check in with the art director on Slack, then refine a character design on Procreate, experimenting with textures. After lunch, they render a detailed environment painting in Photoshop, focusing on lighting. By evening, they submit three mood boards for client feedback, then unwind by drawing for fun.

Exposure

How much of this a machine can already do, and how that was worked out.

Where this rating sits

1,516 rated careers

lowmoderatehigh

020406080100

Rated above 61% of the 1,516 careers in the catalogue, which averages 43. Inside art and design the mean is 55, across 100 careers.

What the rating is made of

Share of recorded tasks

Machine does it: 34%Software can already complete this work end to end.
Machine assists: 34%A person still decides, but the drafting is done for them.
Person does it: 32%Judgement, relationships and accountability that do not transfer.

Named task by task

Already automated

Generating initial rough concepts from text prompts
Fleshing out detail in background environments
Creating variations of existing designs
Colorizing line art
Upscaling and cleaning up final renders

Still human

Developing unique visual style for African-themed projects
Incorporating cultural nuances and local storytelling
Collaborating with directors on narrative-driven designs
Iterating based on subjective feedback
Creating hand-painted textures with traditional feel
Designing characters with specific emotional expressions

Your skills, sorted

10 skills recorded

Worth more with the tools

UI/UX Design
Graphic Design
Brand Identity Design
Web & UI Design
Information Design
Design Research Methods
User Interface (UI) Design
Interactive Media Design

Holding their value

Fashion History
Digital Art and Graphics

The six things it was scored on

0 to 100 each

People and inventionlowers exposure: 55
Digital surfaceraises exposure: 50
Routine intensityraises exposure: 45
Rule bound thinkingraises exposure: 45
Regulatory stakeslowers exposure: 40
Physical presencelowers exposure: 35

Task counts

Tasks recorded: 7
Automatable now: 0
Still human: 4

Displacing: Routine, rule-based sub-tasks
Augmenting: AI copilots for drafting, analysis and search
Creating: New AI-adjacent specialist roles

Sources

Behind the rating

Frey & Osborne (2013), 'The Future of Employment', Oxford Martin
McKinsey Global Institute, 'The Future of Work' (2017/2023)
OpenAI/UPenn, 'GPTs are GPTs' (2023), occupational LLM exposure
WEF, 'Future of Jobs Report' (2023)

Getting in

The routes into the role and what each one asks for.

What to study

8 courses

How people get in

University Degree
4 yearsHigh cost
BFA in Graphic Design, Illustration, or Animation from Kenyatta University or UoN
Online Specialization
18 monthsMedium cost
Specialized courses (Schoolism, CGMA, Domestika) + building a competitive portfolio
Self-taught
24 monthsLow cost
YouTube tutorials, digital painting practice, and participation in online art challenges to build portfolio

Certifications

Adobe Certified Professional in Visual Design
AdobeKsh 25,0003 months
Certified Digital Illustrator
AdobeKsh 25,0003 months
Certificate in Concept Art (Kenya College of Animation)
Kenya College of AnimationKsh 100,00012 months

Tools of the trade

Autodesk Maya
designNice to havePaid
Adobe Photoshop
designRequiredPaid
Blender
designRequiredFree
Procreate
designRequiredPaid
PureRef
designNice to haveFree
Substance Painter
designNice to havePaid
Unreal Engine
designNice to haveFree
ZBrush
designNice to havePaid
Clip Studio Paint
designNice to havePaid

Who hires

Interview preparation

3 questions

How would you design a character that embodies the spirit of Kenya's 'Mazingira' environmental movement for a local animation series?
TechnicalMid
Focus on incorporating elements from Kenyan landscapes, colors, and cultural symbols while ensuring the design is appealing for animation. Consider the movement's values of sustainability and community.
Describe a time you had to revise your design based on feedback from a non-artistic stakeholder in a Kenyan studio.
BehavioralMid
Highlight your ability to accept constructive criticism and adapt without compromising the artistic vision. Emphasize communication and collaboration.
Imagine you're leading a visual development team for a Nairobi-based game studio. The client requests a complete art style change midway through production—how do you handle it?
SituationalMid
Focus on reassessing timelines, communicating with the client, and reallocating resources. Show leadership and flexibility while maintaining team morale.

Common misconceptions

Concept art is only for video games
In Kenya, concept artists work in animation (children's TV), advertising, and even architectural visualization.
You must master realism before finding work
Stylized and expressive art styles are highly valued in animation and children's content — a niche where Kenyan artists excel.

What happens next

How the role changes from here, and where it leads.

How the role changes

2024-2030

Expect steady augmentation rather than wholesale replacement. 4 higher-value tasks remain human-led for years to come. Practitioners who embrace AI tools will out-earn those who don't.

2024already here
AI copilots augment daily work; productivity gains for adopters.
2027projected
Augmentation deepens; some routine sub-tasks automated.
2030projected
Practitioners who pair domain expertise with AI tools pull ahead.

The near term

AI is a productivity tailwind through 2028 — ~69% tool adoption, minimal net job loss for those who adapt.

AI copilots become standard (~69% adoption by 2028)
~31% of repetitive sub-tasks automated
Role shifts toward review, judgement, and orchestration
Digital fluency becomes a differentiator
ChatGPT / Claude adoption reshapes daily workflows

What to do: start using the AI tools below now like ChatGPT / Claude and Microsoft Copilot, and reposition around what AI can't do — Digital fluency, Data literacy, and complex problem-solving. Net effect is productivity, not job loss, for those who adapt.

Where pay is heading

2024 to 2030

20242030

Entry58kMid130kSenior275k

-7%54k-2%128k+5%288k

Monthly pay in Kenyan shillings, rounded to the nearest thousand. These are projections, not observations.

Growth outlook

Net demand change: 5
Over: 2024-2030
Drivers: Digital transformation across sectors
Headwinds: Automation of routine work

Supply and demand

Demand: 65
Supply pressure: 35
Balance: Balanced

What to learn

Digital fluency
Data literacy
AI tooling basics

Tools worth knowing

ChatGPT / Claude
Priority: Essential
Drafting, research and analysis
Microsoft Copilot
Priority: Recommended
Office productivity and writing
Power BI / Excel Copilot
Priority: Recommended
Data analysis and reporting

Where people move next

5 recorded moves

Storyboard Artist90%easyCreative Director60%challengingUx Ui Designer50%moderateTextile Designer30%moderateUx Researcher20%challenging

Line length under each name is the distance of the move: shorter means more of what you already do carries over. Marked lines are steps up rather than sideways.

Creative Director
Challenging60% skill overlapPromotion
Leverage your visual storytelling and team collaboration skills to move into creative direction, but you'll need to develop leadership, business, and strategy expertise.
Storyboard Artist
Easy90% skill overlapLateral
Concept artists already excel at visual storytelling, making this a natural lateral move with minimal retraining needed.
Ux Researcher
Challenging20% skill overlap
While your artistic eye for user needs helps, this requires learning qualitative and quantitative research methods to validate design decisions.
Textile Designer
Moderate30% skill overlapLateral
Your pattern and color sense transfers, but you'll need to learn textile-specific software, fabric properties, and production processes.
Ux Ui Designer
Moderate50% skill overlapLateral
Your visual design skills are directly applicable, but you'll need to learn UX principles, wireframing, and prototyping tools.

Related careers

Kenyan market notes

Demand linked to growth in gaming, animation, and film production in Kenya (e.g., Ubongo animation, local game studios). Nairobi-based studios and international remote work are main sources.