Concept Art That Feels Like a Movie Shot

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Battlefield 2042: Eleventh Hour.

A DLC with Visual Storytelling That Increased Steam Players.

Here’s a case study on how my methods for Researching Cinematic Concept Art got a 90% first-round approval on my concept sketches while adding my original ideas to the project while still making them fit the world of Battlefield 2024.

I’ve supported Milford Studios’s client, Electronic Arts DICE, on Battlefield: 2042, and they’ve cut down on revisions, while still iterating fast on creativity and without breaking our budget.

Because Battlefield’s work is confidential, I can only share my methods for making the work. You can scroll down and see these in action in my personal projects, art directed and concepted by myself.

Concept Art Hacks to Design Like a Film Director

When Milford Studios invited me to design for the Battlefield franchise, I knew the challenge would be to create new ideas but for a world that’s recognized by the players.

We had to deliver lots of new images per day, not just quantity but quality. DICE has a high level of expectations for their IP, and to deliver on this, I had to research new tools to help me do the job fast and well. The tool I came across was “ShotDeck”.

Here’s my secret tool, and how we designed something that not only fits the project but tries to elevate it.

I believe I'm more creative when deadlines are short. There’s no time to be anxious or wait for inspiration. I stay focused and cut any emotion out of the process. However, I still have to design feelings and emotional hooks. Some artists start sketching right away when they get a task, but to me, studying cinematography in short, timed sessions was the best, it helped me get into the zone.

What's the zone? After doing 20 to 30 quick copies of different film images in under an hour, I’d feel ready to create images for DICE’s Battlefield. At that point, I’d start thinking like a cinematographer or movie director; not just a concept artist. Then, I found ShotDeck, a great tool for brainstorming. I’d read the creative brief and try to shrink it to down to just a word or two. Then, I'd type those words into ShotDeck, to see how they show up across the minds of different people, contexts, perspectives, stories, and cultures.

For this example here, I typed in the word “Strike.” This word can mean many things to many people. ShotDeck gave me 40 different ways to see it. ShotDeck gave me dozens of frames from films exploring that concept, this helped me feel the emotion, tension, and the visual language behind the word.

Here in “Strike” we see: Violence. Labor. Precision. Lightning. Anticipation. Tension. Intimacy.

Seeing all those possibilities for different meanings of the same word, helped me think differently, it helps me find the angle no one else is looking at.

It’s a way that any word, in any creative brief, can be used in many ways and still not only fit the project but make it stronger.

In Battlefield 2042 I was been responsible for:

  • Collaborating with the studio and the EA team to understand narrative beats.

  • Researched those using tools like ShotDeck to find references that match and strengthen the story.

  • Making quick sketches to show the mood and look of the scenes before making the final images. This helped the team make changes faster and come up with more creative ideas.

An example of some 3-second sketches, drawn during my study sessions, that turned into refined images.

Client Results

  • Delivered keyframe art on time that met expectations from all teams.

  • Helped launch DLC that led to a 30% jump in Steam players in March 2023.

  • Strengthened EA’s visual storytelling impact through focused and inspired concept work.

  • Got about 90% of first-round sketches approved with no changes.

  • Made sure every visual matched the game’s intense, realistic tone while keeping it creative.

Software Used: Photoshop, ShotDeck, PureRef, Miro

Time Spent:
Quick black-and-white sketches typically took around 30 minutes. More detailed, full-color images took 3 hours or more, depending on the complexity of the scene and theme.

As a senior AAA concept artist, I worked with Milford Studios to bring unique key art for Battlefield 2042: Eleventh Hour — a DLC that increased concurrent Steam players by over 30%.

This is how I create cinematic concept art fast, that supports the project, and helps scale creativity, without going over many revisions or going over budget.

If you need me to do that for you, let me know by clicking the button below.