Best Alternatives for Concept Start

24 January 2020

What is Concept Start?

ConceptStart.net is a unique random art generator which helps struggling artists come up with new inspiration and drawing ideas. It can be extremely useful for newer artists who for example need some help with building a portfolio to show potential future clients. ConceptStart.net generates drawing briefs with different kinds of exercises. You can sort these randomly generated briefs by categories such as Characters, Creatures, Environments, Fan Art, Art Studies, Sci-Fi Fantasy and even more. And not only that, within each category you are given a lot of details which help to make the art exercise more difficult. For instance, when you click on Characters, you can choose out of up to 15 details, like era, gender, personality and many more. They also present you with their own art forum within the website, where you can leave a post or comment on others their posts if you feel the need to do so. Not only that, but they also have an extensive art gallery with reference photos for if you need a helping hand with some of the briefs.

However, Concept Start sadly is not al pros. For example, you only get a very limited eight free briefs a day, no access to some of the generated brief categories, nor to the art reference gallery as long as you are not a member. For an experienced artist and one who is fully prepared and has the abilities to invest in their artistic journey, getting a premium Concept Start account could work out very well. However, if you are new to the art scene and not capable of giving out such money for your career, this might be too expensive and inconvenient for you. Therefore, here are some cheaper alternatives for Concept Start.

Client Briefs From FakeClients

One great alternative for Concept Start is FakeClients.com, a free design brief generator which gives you an unlimited amount of randomly generated design ideas, shaped just like how a real client would ask you and therefore perfect to practice with if you are aspiring to work in the art scene professionally one day, or if you are simply looking to get more practice in with some original ideas. The briefs are short and simple, and very easy to understand. Even though some are harder than others, they are a bit less detailed than the Concept Start briefs. However, this gives you the opportunity to be even more creative within the concept of your generated brief.

Even though the website starts on the logo designing briefs page, it is not the only option. If you click on the menu which is given on the homepage, you can choose exactly what kind of brief you would prefer. This can be illustration but also graphic design or for instance web design.

When you are done with your artwork, you are also given the chance to upload your originally designed logo to the feedback section. This way you can show off your design to other designers but also leave and receive constructive criticism on the posted designs. It also comes with a unique feature that lets you mark the exact part of the design on which you want to leave your feedback.

If you still feel like you are not fully satisfied with just the shorter generated briefs, FakeClient also comes with a few longer, pre-written briefs which include more detailed descriptions and are even more similar to real clients. If you even run out of the free longer briefs, you can choose to become a pro member, for a small price. Pro members are given access to even more long, detailed pre-written briefs. These are perfect for if you are really looking for a good way to up your portfolio and your skillset. However, if you are not looking to spend money just yet, FakeClients.com has more than enough available free options for you to practice with.

DrawingIdeas Generated Drawing Ideas

Seeing as how Concept Start is mainly focussed on generating drawing ideas, another great alternative is DrawingIdeas.co. It works very similarly to FakeClients.com and is also free. Except for this time, it is fully based on drawing. The simple briefs quickly provide you with a fresh drawing idea which includes the preferred art technique, such as a pencil illustration or a digital drawing, and a subject which can either be quite simple, such as a bird, or more intricate, like Leonardo DiCaprio. This way you still get a lot of diverse drawing options and a good opportunity to work and broaden your artistic style.

DrawingIdeas.co
Claim your FREE months on Skillshare: Claim