Junior Artist

Basic drawing is the foundation of the basics for an artist of any discipline. The course is aimed at forming volumetric-spatial and conceptual thinking, studying and drawing volumetric primitives, compound objects and plant forms.

Photoshop for Artists – you will learn how to work in Adobe Photoshop – a program for CG specialists, which is a standard in the game, animation and film industries, learn everything you need to know about brushes, tools, filters, effects, modes and ways to work effectively in the program.

2D-graphics Basic – you will learn techniques and methods for drawing cool art, get basic skills of working with volume, color, tone, materials and create a ready project for a portfolio – a concept of an object in the chosen style.

3D Graphics Basic – on the course you will master the full cycle of 3D model creation: from dummy to sculpting with the process of retopology and preparation of the model for texturing. And if these words are not familiar to you yet, let’s just say: on the course you will learn how to create cool 3D models and realize that working with 3D-graphics – a very exciting and not so difficult process!

Month 1

Theory:

• The basics of academic drawing
• Pencil work
• Work in Photoshop/Procreate
• Object proportions
• Line
• Graphic technique
• Perspective
• Building to three points

Practice:

• Texture exercises
• Analytical sketches of objects in frontal view (key/ornament/weapon)
• Drawing three-dimensional geometric bodies (cube, mortises, chamfers)
• Drawing bodies of rotation (cylinder, ball, combining shapes)
• Chest projections

Month 2

Theory:

• Texture exercises
• Architectural objects
• Plasticity and structure in nature

Practice:

• Compound object with texture (chest/casket)
• Architectural object (house/beacon/tower)
• Sketching plants (leaf, houseplant)
• Step-by-step copy sketching of male and female nudes (contrapost) + additional exercises and assignments (optional for those who have time for everything).

Bonuses to the program: anatomy and plasticity in the female figure – master class by Azat Nurgaleev, lecture “Style and Artist” by Elizaveta Parfenova.

Week 1

• Photoshop interface
• Exercises for hand placement, work with line and brushstroke
• Step-by-step mastering of the technique of high-quality and fast drawing of simple objects in color
• Basic techniques of working with basic Photoshop brushes

Week 2

• Photoshop tools – free and polygonal lasso, gradients. Using tools to simplify and speed up the drawing process
• Filters and layer styles. Students will learn how to add gloss to a picture, create volume in a few clicks, make a light glow and make it expressive
• Competent work with layers, blend modes to create juicy graphics

Week 3

• Custom shapes in the artist’s work. Tools and techniques for creating custom shapes
• Creating the first set of custom shapes
• Create some simple but cute objects with custom shapes
• Work on illustration from custom shapes, competent application of special effects

Week 4

• Exploring texture brushes
• Working on your own texture brushes
• Simulate different types of surfaces with brushes
• Using brushes on the example of painting a character

Month 1

Theory:

• Photoshop for the artist: interface and panels, brushes and layers, functions and tools
• Procreate for the artist: panels, brushes, functions and tools
• Physics of light: types and nature of lighting, components of volume, importance of surroundings, reflexes, physics of glare, common mistakes
• Material physics: gloss/matte, texture, SSS, Fresnel effect, caustics, styling techniques
• Rules of volume transfer, working with tone
• Fundamentals of composition

Practice:

• Drawing a series of volume primitives: work with technique and lighting
• Copies of textures: stone, wood, metal
• B/W still life of three figures. Three textures: stone, wood, metal
  

Month 2

Theory:

• Color harmony for the digital artist: types of color combinations, color characteristics, methods of color matching, basics of color physics
• Layer overlay modes and their meaning
• Ways of working with references

Practice:

• Step-by-step copy of color materials
• Drawing of any three materials based on a ball, cylinder and cube (three levels of task complexity to choose from)
  

Month 3

Theory:

• Introduction to concept art: goals and objectives, relations of forms, point of focus, associativity, integrity, functionality, psychology of perception
• Searching for an idea and drafting TOR
• Tone keys and their meaning

Practice:

• Concept art of props: silhouette search, sketching, color searches, lighting and shadows, material rendering
• Formalizing the final course submission

Bonus lectures:withtilization, 3D modeling in Blender, basics of sketching +payline of drawing speedpoint from life, selection of references of productions

Month 1

Theory:

• Introduction to 3Ds Max program
• Customizing the 3Ds Max interface
• 3Ds Max hotkeys
• Getting to know the ZBrush program
• Polygroups and masks in ZBrush
• Brushes, symmetry and alpha in ZBrush
• Zsphere, dynamesh in ZBrush.
• IMM brushes in ZBrush
• Surface, Morph Target, SubtoolMaster in ZBrush
• Project management in ZBrush

Practice:

• Development of the chest model

Month 2

Theory:

• Composition
• Stages of speedskulpting
• Getting to know splines in 3Ds Max
• Getting acquainted with array function in 3Ds Max
• Getting to know the Spacing Tool in 3DsMax
• Getting to know Marvelous Designer

Practice:

• Skull construction
• The main shape-shaping muscles
• Design of eyes, lips, ears
• Portrait model development

Month 3

Theory:

• How to use downloaded brushes in ZBrush
• How to create ornaments on metal, fabric, leather
• Creating a leather belt
• Fabric part in ZBrush

Practice:

• Character head sculpting/head anatomy
• Model retopology
• Preparing the model for beading
• Bake the basic maps needed for texturing into the Marmoset toolbag