On October 20, 2025, the Department of Digital Art from the Faculty of Culture and Creative Industries of KNUTD held an online lecture by concept artist Maria Rakhimova: “From Sketch to Render: Concept Art in the Gaming Industry” for students of the Digital Art program and all lovers of digital art. The meeting was organized and moderated by Anastasia Avula, PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Digital Art.

Maria Rakhimova is Lead Concept Artist at “Kevuru Games”. She studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, the Department of Painting, in the workshop of temple monumental culture. The artist began her career in the game development industry in 2019 as a 2D character artist and also has experience in animation. She has collaborated with companies such as “Voki Games”, “Pingle Studio”, and “Kevuru Games”. Throughout her career as a concept artist, Maria has worked across a wide range of styles and genres in various projects.

In her lecture, the artist gave a detailed overview of the workflow of a concept artist – from receiving a brief to completing a project. She outlined each stage of the creative process and illustrated them with concrete examples, showing what tools and software are typically used.

The lecture covered topics such as: the different branches of concept art; the types of artists involved and their responsibilities; the variety of game studios; how an aspiring artist without prior experience can enter the game industry, and much more.

Maria Rakhimova

Works by the concept artist

The atmosphere of the event was warm and engaging, as participants were encouraged to ask questions throughout the lecture – both about specific processes in the game development industry and about general workflow, tools, and software used by artists.

Lecture process

The communication and lecture took place in a wonderful creative atmosphere. Students and teachers from several educational institutions and faculties of KNUTD attended the event. The lecture enriched students’ understanding of the game development industry and digital technologies in general.

Indeed, such events make a significant contribution to the professional growth of future specialists, while a comprehensive understanding of various digital technologies helps to unlock and stimulate their creative potential.

We sincerely thank the wonderful concept artist Maria Rakhimova for an extremely interesting and informative lecture!

28.10.2025