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Concept Design Academy Summer 2017 - Summer Semester Starts June 5th~!!
(***Updated on 5/23/2017***)




Hi Everyone,
We have released our Summer term brochure on our website 
The official start date for Summer public enrollment is on May 2nd, 2017 at 12AM PDT.
All sign-ups are processed through our online enrollment website and spaces are released on a first come first serve basis.
To sign up, visit our website at http://conceptdesignacad.com/
Thanks again and hope to see you this Summer~!!
Best,
Kevin Chen
Concept Design Academy
(*** Please check last page for latest news & updates. Thanks!! ***)
Upcoming Workshop (June 2nd, 3rd, & 4th, Tuition $360):
Last edited by KChen; May 23rd, 2017 at 10:20 PM.
Reason: New Schedule Announcement
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More Artworks from the Instructors...
*** Original post from 9/2/2007***

The first term of Concept Design Academy is ready for sign up. The website contains the brochure, with class schedule, and enrollment information is located at:
http://www.conceptdesignacad.com/
We are a LA based private art school in the center of Pasadena. Our goal is to create a generous learning environment and deliver quality classes taught by some of the top professionals in the film & game industry.
This term, we have some great classes lined up starting with Analytical Figure Drawing & Intro to Character Design taught by Kevin Chen. Kevin is a freelance character designer that worked on many game projects such as Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Aion, Guild Wars, and film projects like AVP and the upcoming animation film "9" from Tim Burton Productions. You can find samples of his teaching here.
We also have Anthony Francisco, teaching Creature Design for Games/Films. Anthony came from the background of film creature shops and have worked as a concept artist on projects such as Men in Black 2, AI, Chronicles of Riddick, The Passion, and more.
On top of that, we have two great, guest workshops with Charlie Wen (Visual Development Director of God of War 1 & 2) and Khang Le (Art Director of Project Offset) that is not to be missed to learn from their inspiring works.
The registration is based on a first come first serve system and the space is limited. So, call or e-mail in ahead to reserve your spot if you are interested to attend.
If you know any friends who might be interested, please pass the link along. Thanks!!
We will have the brochures ready to send out soon. So just e-mail us your address to receive a copy in the mail.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through e-mail or phone.
Thanks,
Concept Design Academy Staff
www.conceptdesignacad.com
contact@conceptdesignacad.com
TEL 818-669-4657
FAX 818-848-1835





More Instructor Art Samples








Enjoy~!!
Last edited by KChen; May 20th, 2008 at 05:17 AM.
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Above images of the Dragon design by Anthony Francisco & Wood Elves by Khang Le are production designs belonging to Offset Software.
I would like to thank the generous guys at Offset Software for letting us use the images
Make sure to check out their site for some amazing works:
http://www.projectoffset.com/
Here are some earlier trailers of their game:
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/1931.html
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Oh god , its my dream to join..
From which age can a person get accepted , and what are the requirements?
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OMG, Anthony Francisco is my favourite artist too. It's frustrating though because his site has been down for ages =(
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Hi Celestial,
Thanks for your interest in the classes 
Unfortunately, our school policy only accept students 18 and over, especially for the figure drawing classes with nude models.
But we can make exceptions sometimes with a portfolio review and if the student is at least 16 years old with parents consent signatures.
Because the design classes require a lot of foundation skills to make it effective about design. The review will help me see if the students are ready for the pace of the class.
If the student is ready, great~!! If not, I would recommend them to take classes around the area that can help them get the foundation skills they need to make the design class more effective.
Here are some great schools around the area that offer good foundation training for teens:
LA Academy of Figurative Arts:
http://laafa.org/
Art Center Saturday High:
http://www.artcenter.edu/sat/
3Kick Studio (taught by my good friend Charles Hu, who is a great drawing and painting instructor):
http://3kickstudio.com/default.aspx
(I will keep you updated too if we decide to open up any teen figure/painting classes.)
If you are interested, just send me some portfolio samples of your work. A good 5~6 samples of your best work will be enough. I will be looking for some sample of people, perspective, and whatever you like to draw to show your interest.
Hope this will help 
Thanks!!
Kevin
Last edited by KChen; September 3rd, 2007 at 09:17 PM.
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Hi Boolean,
Yeah, Anthony is one of my favorite designers too. We have been working together for the past 2~3 years and almost all of our projects are still under NDA, that's why he doesn't have a lot to post up yet. (sigh~)
I will try to post up more of his artworks here soon, he has a lot of new cool stuff. I just need to check with him to see what we are able to post. Stay tuned for more new images~!!
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Awesome, thanks mate.
Heh, I think if I ever turned up to a class by Anthony Franciscos, I'd collapse into a jibbering shaking mess
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HAHA~ here are some more creature goodies from Anthony... enjoy~!! 




Last edited by KChen; September 4th, 2007 at 04:24 AM.
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The designs are beautiful. O_O
I don't think I'll be having the opportunity to reach the course at my current age and residence , though , I'd like to ask , is it a one time course , or would you be teaching it again in..Lets say , 2009 ?
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Thanks a bunch for posting those Kevin! They are very very inspiring
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Here are some more art and demo samples from the classes:


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Hi Celestial,
All the ten week courses will continue to run as long as there are enough students 
The workshop will be limited to the guest instructors' availability. A lot of our instructors are good friends and local artist, so if they are not too busy working, there is a good chance that they will be back again in the near future.
If there are enough demands for a high school figure drawing class or workshop, I would consider opening one up in the future at a lower price. So, let me know if anyone is interested.
In the meantime, you can still sign up for Charlie's or Khang's workshops without any age restrictions. The workshop does not contain any nude models and does not require everyone to be at a similar skill level. It will be a good way for you to see how the professionals work and ask them how they got there. It will help you to get a better understanding of the profession and to better plan your education toward it.
Hope this will help.
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re
I wish you had some night classes during the week so I could go after work. Like 7-10.
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Thanks Rad Sechrist for the feedback 
We are planning to run some week night classes next term. Most likely Tuesday or Weds nights.
I will keep everyone updated as the new teacher roster and schedule for semester 2 is confirmed.
Best,
Kevin Chen
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When is the second semester starting exactly?
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Hi Epias,
The next term should start around mid Jan. 2008. The exact date is not confirmed yet, but I will keep you guys updated as the date gets set.
Thanks
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You probably don't accept international students, do you?
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Hi Blue Bed,
Thanks for your interest in our program. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer international student visas at this point. But as long as you can come over with a visitor's visa, the classes is open for anyone over 18 years of age.
To take the classes there are couple options:
1) Take a summer vacation and chain up some classes around the LA area. There are some great Entertainment design classes and teachers around that you can take advantage of on your visit here:
- Gnomon School of Visual Effects
(great CG classes and design workshops)
- LA Academy of Figurative Arts
(Traditional drawing and painting classes)
- Jordu Schell Studio
(Creature Design and film make-up/maquette sculptures)
- Concept Design Academy
(Design Workshops & Character design classes)
- Animation Union
(Figure drawing classes with Glen Vilppu and Karl Gnass)
The expensive part will be finding a place to rent and a car to get around with. Car is a must around LA.
2) Some other international students I know are getting their student visa through Pasadena City College. While they are there, they take classes on the side at the above places to supplement their studies. Around the campus you should be able to find a lot of rentals for students and they are located in the same city as the Concept Design Academy & Art Center College of Design.
Hope this will help and feel free to e-mail me if you have more detail questions.
Thanks,
Kevin
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Always loved the signature in this one:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...CharlieWen.jpg
School looks great!
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I dont usually say I feel jealous, but damn, im jealous of all you guys in CA - so much cool stuff to attend!
This looks fantastic Kevin!
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Oh man!!! I so would love to enrolled if i had the cash to live abroad,
man this thread both lifted my spirits and depressed the heck out out
of me, at the same time
and Oh dear the flesh tones the dam flesh tones!!
-gasp-
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...CharlieWen.jpg
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Spring 2008 Semester Ready for Sign up~!!
Hi Everyone,
The first semester of Concept Design Academy has finally come to an end last year and was a great success. We would like to thank everyone for your generous help and support over the past few months.
Our new brochures for Spring 2008 have been completed and is out in local schools and art stores in LA area for distribution. Attached is the jpeg version of the brochure & Enrollment form to help you plan for your next semester’s schedule.
We have 3 new classes next term and 4 new workshops coming up. Hope you will be able to join us for another great semester of exciting classes and workshops.
The payment date for Spring 2008 will start on Jan. 1st, 2008 and the first day of class will start on Feb. 9th, 2008.
If there are any classes or workshops you would be interested to sign-up, you can reserve your space by e-mail anytime.
Once we receive your reservation e-mail, we will send you an email confirmation and will be expecting your enrollment form + payment 5 days from the confirmation mail. (ex: if you receive the reservation confirmation on Jan. 1st, your payment’s due date will be Jan 6th).
Also, there is a new change for Spring 2008 tuition. Now, both class and workshop will require a registration fee. The new registration fee is now $20 per student/per term.
If you have any questions about our new classes or policies, please feel free to contact us anytime by e-mail.
Thanks again and hope to see you guys in Feb~!!
Best,
Kevin Chen
Concept Design Academy


For higher rez version of the brochure, visit our site at http://www.conceptdesignacad.com/
Last edited by KChen; January 24th, 2008 at 08:14 AM.
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Khang Le Vehicle Design Workshop this Sat~!!
Hi Everyone,
There are still 7 spaces left for Khang’s Imaginary Vehicle workshop this Saturday, Jan. 26th, 2008.
In the this workshop, Khang will cover the basics of perspective layout, scale, practical design ideas, style variations and rendering techniques he uses in creating Vehicles and Robots for his current projects.
This is a great class for both beginning and intermediate artists who is interested in strengthening their vehicle / props design for entertainment. During class, Khang will share his working process and take a vehicle or robot design from beginning to finish.
Enrollment is on first come, first serve basis. Space is limited, so please e-mail ahead to reserve a spot in the class. We accept cash only at this point. Payment will be collected at the door after e-mail reservation is confirmed.
For RSVP, you can e-mail us at contact@concpetdesignacad.com or call us at 818-669-4657 for questions.
Thanks and hope to see you this Sat~!!
Best,
Kevin Chen
Concept Design Academy
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New Teacher: Creature Design 1 w/ Jerad Marantz!!
Hi everyone,
I have two quick announcements to make. One is a reminder that Creature Design 1 on Sat morning 9:30AM~12:30PM is open for enrollment!! It is a ten week course starting on Feb. 9th, 2008.
Second is that we have a new instructor, Jerad Marantz for this coming semester to take over the class for Anthony Francisco.
Anthony will be taking a break this term, due to a full work schedule. He plan to continue to swing by the class as a guest speaker from time to time.
Jerad's design background came from both film and game productions. He have been working for studios such as Stan Winston, ADI, Climax Games, , NCsoft and Aaron Sims Studio. Some his recent projects include "I am Legend" and "Tabula Rasa".
Jeard have a great passion for creature design and a great demo teacher at showing and explaining his work process. This is a great class for anyone who is interested in improving or expanding their creature designs skills for either film development or game production. Previous figure drawing experience is strongly recommended to help you get the most out of the class.
If you have any questions about the class or sign us please feel free to contact us anytime.
Best,
Kevin Chen
Concept Design Academy
contact@conceptdesignacad.com
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KChen do you have like a blog or a site where i can check out more of your work? i know you have a few threads here but i was just wondering if you have anymore art in other places online..or do you have a Book? Man your stuffs great!
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Hi Award_me,
Thanks for the kind words
Unfortunately, I don't have any website right now showing my recent works. Most of my recent stuff are still under NDA, but I will start to post more of my class demos up here and at the school blog:
http://conceptdesignacad.blogspot.com/
Thanks again for your support and Keep in touch~!!
Kevin Chen
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Steve Huston Drawing Workshop

http://hustonart.com/index.html
My teacher, Steve Huston is running his Drawing Workshop over at our Pasadena studio in May.
Steve is an amazing artist and an inspiring teacher. He is one of my main influences in teaching and drawing. I strongly recommend his course to anyone who is interested in learning figure drawing.
Here are the workshop sign-up details:
Location:
55 Waverly Dr. #104
Pasadena, CA 91105
The workshop will start on May 1st ~ 4th, 2008 (Thursday~Sunday)
9AM~4PM daily (including 1 hour lunch).
The tuition is $575. Payment in full is needed to reserve a spot.
For payment, send check to:
Steve Huston
4680 Conestoga Circle
Bozeman, MT 59715
For more information contact Steve at (406)-522-0906
Thanks for your time,
Kevin Chen
Last edited by KChen; March 8th, 2008 at 05:17 AM.
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there are only two places I can recommend for studying concept design and this is one of them. Congrats on the success guys! Great work with the program too.
Jason
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