[Archived Class 1] Curriculum

[Form]

Alright! Class is officially 'in session'. Ive added a day or two buffer in case people aren't online - after that, it will be 7 days between classes!

Ok this first thread is here to expound the curriculum, to set the goals and milestones for the group, and to explain the order in which things will be tackled.

Please keep in mind that we are trying to cover a lot of material in a short amount of time. For the sake of everyone's sanity, this is important, but its important to appreciate the brevity of this class and make sure to follow up with further study after the class is over. There are many topics in here that could have months or years devoted to studying - so please take what you gain here and push yourself even further!

Without further ado --

Goals:

It is important to establish a set of goals or outcomes for the class so that there are landmarks to judge process by. In reality, the length of this class is actually a good deal of time - so we should be able to build a good body of work up.

Here are the three universal goals for the course:


Each student should aim to produce a professional entry-level portfolio of work by revising pieces as they learn. This portfolio should be in printable format, and consist of 10+ pieces of finished work.
Each student, over the course of the class, should develop a mature understanding of their own working method - and become comfortable within their working space. This understanding of their own process will enable them to continue producing artwork fluidly and fearlessly on an ongoing basis.
Finally each student should learn how to critique the work of others, and their own work, with honesty and accuracy. Building a critical eye is an important part of the classroom environment.



Measuring Process:

Each week's work will consist of a study task(s) and a production task (artwork). For each of these, students will recieve a Fail, Pass, or Professional grade.

Fail = Student needs to work more on this area before including the piece in a portfolio.

Pass = Student has succesfully completed the task and it is ready for portfolio use.

Professional = The piece of work is impressive, and should be highlighted as a strength in the portfolio.

More importantly, there will be opportunities at different points throughout the curriculum for revision to be done on the work, and for criticism to be taken into account to make sure artworks are pushed as far as they can be. Students who get a 'Fail' grade on any artwork are encouraged to correct mistakes and polish the artwork up by the end of the course; the marks can be changed.

Finally, each student will recieve a thorough feedback document at the end of the course. This will be written by myself, and two other professionals and we will all offer honest feedback from the point of view of an employer viewing your portfolio.


Core Studies:

I have compiled a list of what I believe the ten most important elements of designing environments are - and each one will be a basis for a weekly focus task. Below is a weekly breakdown of what will be tackled, and what will be produced.

Week Study Task Production Task

1 Linear Perspective Cinematic shot 1
2 Atmospheric Perspective Cinematic shot 2
3 Colour Theory Cinematic shot 3
4 Design Theory Cinematic shot 4
5 Time and Weather Effects Modify Cinematic shot 4
6 Architectural style Building design sheet 1
7 Texture and Materials Cinematic shot 5
8 Composition Cinematic Shot 6
9 Plan/Ortho Views Plan view shot 1
10 Idea Development Concept development sheet
11 Final Production time Final concept cinematic shot 1
12 Final Production time Final concept cinematic shot 2

Each study task will require minimum 3 hours, and each production task should take about 7 hours to paint up. Production tasks will have topics set to ensure that people work inside and outside their subjective comfort zones.

I welcome all feedback on this curriculum and if there is a subject you would like to tackle that you dont see here, we can probably switch it out or squeeze it into something else. Don't hesitate to let me know.

I have to head out again now, so I will be uploading the first lesson when i get home. There will also be one or two more organisational niggles to go through then, and we will begin!!

[D.Labruyere]

sounds great to me

~stands ready with his killer pencil~ :}

[Gundersen]

"Sharpening my pencil" .. Ready for first assignment as soon as its posted

[the lying prophet]

oh boy! lets do this!!!

[robmorfin]

Form, I have a hard time adding props in the Environments, therefore, lack of life, I know, some may say just look at reference, but as the Architectural styles section, I would like PROPS to be thaught more in depth as how to pick them, where to find them, how to make them look with certain characteristics. EX: If it was a house by the forest, I draw the house with windows and doors, roof, window sills, chimney,and no objects placed outside, concept artists will draw a broken bench outside, stone steps with grass next to it with mold, cracks on the walls, exposed bricks, door bent almost breaking apart with a small hole at the bottom made by mouses, a barrel and a rusted shovel next to it, fireplace badly built all bent, old roof with patches, etc, etc; See the difference.

I hope I'm making it clear, I think Props would help a lot to bring life to the Enviros, please let me know what you guys think.

[Form]

cool idea man - and in the end, this is what really makes us useful as concept artists right? Its the amount of thought we can put into the concept and how to clearly convey that. All the things you mentioned are ways of adding detail for the purpose of communicating a concept or mood for that hut.

As far as whether or not this should go in the class... i think really your ability to do those things is based on the amount of observation you do from life. Especially if you live in the city. Observing the environment and how people interact and act within that space, noticing the effects of time, weather, and behaviour on the buildings and streets, seeing how nature integrates with the city. Notice what happens when it starts to rain. Live your life vividly and openly - most of the stuff happens on your way from A to B, very few people take the time to appreciate it. That is one of our gifts given to us as artists! I will consider it definately for the second semester if there is one, or indeed for masterclasses and the like.

And by all means, we can talk about it in the weekly threads :) Cheers rob. And dont hesitate to hit me up on msn.

[Gundersen]

/me slaps robmorfin

you just told what a house would be painted by a concept artist, why dont you just simply do it like that then? BREAK away from the architectural bubble you are in. Talk to me on msn aswell, i might be of assistance to you :)

One good way is to use custum brushes and have some happy mistakes as people call it, Mash your picture up, throw a large texture over it, paint fast... see what you get from it ... Break away from the clean simple architectural style... Then when you got crazy looking things start to refine it, paint in small details, add texture and so on.

As Form points out, annoy him on msn, he have given me many good tips that have helped me out

[Form]

well... i wouldnt say annoy :P maybe gently pester would be a better way of putting it :) or politely agitate?? :)

[robmorfin]

Thanks Form, I see what you mean, I'm going to pay more attention to props from reference images as well as places I go, trying to understand which makes the enviro come to life & help create a stronger mood.

/me slaps robmorfin

you just told what a house would be painted by a concept artist, why dont you just simply do it like that then? BREAK away from the architectural bubble you are in.

Gund, I know what props would look cool on an image, as well as all of us, we also knew from the beggining that we need to use perspective, atmospheric perspective, colors, values, tones, balance, rythm, time and weather effects, etc., etc. But it doesn't mean we were/are using them accordingly, we are still trying to understand all this elements to create professional art like Form, we are learning how to use them, it's not as easy as "just do it like that", otherwise we would all be getting PRO.

By the way, it's not only me, I see a lack of Props in most of our environments.

[Gundersen]

yes i totaly agree, i am bad in it aswell, and would love to learn more from it. But as Form says, he cannot teach us to make props, we all can make it. You need to see yourself that there needs to be props or similar things to create beliveability to your image.. Its something you learn over time. You cant expect to take a course and be a pro after it. It takes years to become good, and even if we become good it doesnt even mean we will be good enough.
Had a few beers atm so not sure if that made sense :P

What i miss more FORM is you! :)
Id like more input from you during our process, that would help the learning curve alot

[Form]

i'll try mate :) im thinking of better ways to run this so my participation can be more useful next time... but i will do my best till the end

A

[Gundersen]

well i think your doing a good job, its realy nice to talk to you on msn and get ideas and tips from you. But i think the most helpful thing is that you are simply writing some comments daily or every second day, cause then we can all pick that up and develop even more.

You need to push us, see some sweat on our faces. In my architect course i think they do it on purpose. Tell people when it doesnt work, make them do changes that totaly changes the image. These kind of things make you angry, but it learnes you how to change things fast, work up stuff.

... :anime:

[Form]

thanks for the feedback thomas - waiting for you guys to upload wips SO I CAN CRUSH YOU INTO BITTER DEFEAT DUST!!!

[Danuh]

Aw man, this is exactly the kind of class I was looking for. Guess I missed the sign-up D:
When d'you think you'll be taking new victims?

[Gundersen]

Danuh Email Form with your work, there are some open spots if your skilled enough :P hehe