World-Building for Concept Artists and Illustrators

World-Building for Concept Artists and Illustrators

 

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Monday, Feb 17 - Friday, Mar. 28, 2014

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Want to create your own Middle Earth, Arrakis, Forgotten Realms, or Dinotopia? Trying to break into entertainment design for video games or film?

Join Sean Andrew Murray, illustrator of the upcoming "Gateway: The Book of Wizards" and former concept artist at Harmonix, Big Huge Games and Turbine for World-Building for Concepts Artists and Illustrators, a 6-week online course that focuses on world-building as well as digital painting, visual storytelling, idea and inspiration gathering, and professional development.

Learn how to create amazing worlds by tapping into YOUR unique voice.

"In order to design compelling worlds, you 

have to have a passion for your own"

 

 

Course Highlights

• Weekly PRE-RECORDED video lecture and tutorial (you will be sent a password-protected link), followed by a relevant assignment.
• One-on-one 30-minute critique with Sean via Skype
• Exclusive blog for participants to post their works in progress and get feedback from Sean and their classmates
• Daily inspiration– the real-world images, quotes from creative thinkers, and blogs from artists that fuel Sean’s own world building
• Guest interviews with some of the industry's best illustrators and concept artists.
• Awesome bonus content - including tips on how to get work as a professional concept artist or illustrator, digital painting techniques, material suggestions, etc.

Course Schedule by Week

• Week 1 – Bird's Eye View map design
• Week 2 – Creating Landmarks environment and architectural design
• Week 3 – Bringing Your World to Life designing flora and fauna
• Week 4 – Populating Your World character and costume design
• Week 5 – Filling out Your World prop and/or transportation design
• Week 6 – Bringing It All Together designing a scene using all elements of previous weeks – depicting significant or cultural event in your world

Why You Should Learn With Sean

• Learning that is specifically focused on World-Building
• Techniques for learning how to THINK, not just how to create great-looking images. 
• Learn how to come up with amazing ideas every day!
• Sean has more than a decade of industry experience as an in-studio video game concept artist
• ONE-ON-ONE time. Every student gets a guaranteed 1/2 hour Skype crit session, and the possibility of more direct feedback on the blog and Facebook page
• Real college-level teaching experience at Maryland Institute College Art (MICA) with a proven track record 
• Get a peek into the ongoing development of Sean's own fantasy world, Gateway, as Sean creates new content for his personal project in the video tutorials.

What Former Students/Mentees Have to Say

"I gotta say, one of my favorite things I took from the course are the mantras. The mantras are my constant reminder for keeping a fresh mind during the creation process. World-Building can be as fun as you dare make it to be. And Sean's course provided valuable philosophies and techniques that I will forever apply in my art." 

- Ritchie Ramirez, Fall Seminar Student  http://ritchramirez.squarespace.com

"Sean Murray's course is full of inspiring and challenging assignments. He really encouraged me to dig deeply for solutions to creative problems, rather than going with the first sketch or first impression."

 - Paige Carpenter, Fall Seminar Student  http://www.paigecarpenter.com/


"Sean Murray's World-building for Illustrators and Concept Artists is an excellent course. The assignments and feedback helped me get a grasp on many of the different elements of the world I was creating, while at the same time allowing me to make some interesting work for my portfolio. It's pretty much a must-take course if you're into worldbuilding, and even if you're not there's still a ton to learn. And it's been the most fun course I've taken yet!"

- Eva Toker, Fall Seminar Student - www.evamariatoker.com


"As Sean's student, I reaped the benefit of having a mentor who put equal emphasis on the arty and the brainy aspects of conceptual design. His own work exemplifies this core theme. Look at any of his illustrations and you can see the pairing of technical mastery and the ability to cleverly remix visual reference into a unique and fantastic world. His lessons on the power of silhouette, three-dimensional thinking, world building, character design, and the collaborative nature of concept art helped me develop my job-landing portfolio. His total dedication to the craft and eagerness to share his knowledge is an inspiring blast of motivation!"

-Amanda Christensen, concept artist at Gearbox Software



"Sean 's endless enthusiasm and fascination with creative approaches to concepting really helped to inspire me and spark my interest in the field. He was always happy to share techniques or working practices with me, and I feel that I really grew as an artist when working on his team. He really encouraged me to reach deep into the weird and yank it out of my head and onto the paper. I love bringing my ideas to life and he really helped to foster that."
-Kat Berkley, concept artist at Irrational Games



"He often approached with real-life assignments and problems, teaching us not only the techniques but also portfolio presentation as well as cultivating professionalism through collaboration. I think Sean's teaching combines both technique and practicality, and for me it was many lessons I still apply to my professional career today."

-William Niu, background designer for Nickelodeon Animation Studio



"Sean is a double threat, packing an innate understanding of world-building techniques and the ability to effortlessly impart that knowledge to his students. From initial research, to design iteration, to visual storytelling, most of the skills I rely on every day were honed in Sean's class."

-Greg Murphy, game artist for Muzzy Lane Software and freelance illustrator


"Sean was the first professor to point out that while my rendering was nice, I was outlining every last thing and not giving form to my shapes with color and light and shadow. Such a simple point I've carried with me and it continues to improve my work and challenge how I do things. Sean's assignments were great fun and also huge learning improvements for me personally, and his class was my favorite from school."

-Kaitlin Reid, concept artist/colorist for Bully! Entertainment and creator of Little Moon God Plus

Here is a highlights video from one of the "Guest Artist Interviews" I did with Stephen Hickman (http://www.stephenhickman.com/) for the Fall Seminar:

About the Instructor

Sean Andrew Murray is a freelance illustrator and video game concept artist who has worked on "Dungeons & Dragons Online," "The Lord of the Rings Online," "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" and two unannounced projects at Harmonix Music Systems. Clients list includes Wizards of the Coast, Privateer Press, Fantasy Flight Games, White Wolf, Lego, EA Games, ImagineFX magazine, Steve Jackson Games, FableVision and 3DTotal.

Sean was a finalist for a medal in the 20th annual Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art competition. His work has been chosen for the past five Spectrum annuals and has also been featured in ImagineFX magazine, Kotaku.com, EXPOSÉ, and Prime – The Definitive Digital Art Collection.

A graduate of Syracuse University, he has taught in the illustration department at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and has spoken at Syracuse University’s Visual Communication Symposium. The production of Sean’s upcoming illustrated fantasy book, "Gateway: The Book of Wizards," was funded by a successful 2012 Kickstarter campaign.