Epic Games has offered a behind-the-scenes look at how its artists design Fortnite characters and environments — and where AI-assisted tools enter the workflow.
In a video published to the Unreal Engine YouTube channel, Epic artists Pat and Chris walk through the concept art process from initial sketches through to final assets, using a combination of traditional tools, including Blender and Photoshop, alongside internal AI-assisted workflows.
The video shows artists maintaining creative control throughout, with AI used to accelerate iteration and rendering during the concepting phase rather than replace the design process itself.
The five-and-a-half-minute video opens with an artist sketching a character before gradually adding color and refining the details.
The video demonstrates how AI image generation often produces unexpected errors and unwanted details, requiring artists to step in and manually edit the renders to match their original vision.
