Concept Art Foundations
Student work by Danny McMullen
Concept art and illustration course taught by top artists
Expert career training with an industry mentor as your guide
Turn your artistic skills into a career as you discover how to create professionally polished art for the film, video game and publishing industries using Adobe Photoshop.
Why study concept art & illustration at CG Spectrum:
- Be mentored by award-winning artists
- Learn to create art for film, games & publishing
- Discover expert Adobe Photoshop techniques
- Private 1-on-1 or small group classes (max 4 students)
[more]More[/more]
At CG Spectrum digital painting school, you’ll get hands-on experience creating compelling concepts and narrative images for the entertainment industry. Learn how to work with client briefs and deliver high quality work that keeps clients coming back.
You'll be mentored by highly experienced artists who have worked with some of the world's biggest film and game clients.
On graduation, you can choose to specialize in either concept art or illustration and continue with the advanced course.
Your pathway to the industry
Dive right into the full study pathway and be industry ready in 18 months.
Brandon Reimchen
Brandon brings almost 20 years of experience as a video game concept artist with a long client list that includes EA, Activision, Capcom, Gree, and Disney Interactive.
Read full bioManager of Digital Painting
Known for Resident Evil
Humza Khan
Humza has worked for EA, Microsoft, Activision, LucasArts, Wargaming, Ubisoft, Fischer Price, Hasbro, Mattel. Credits include: Call of Duty, The Division 2, and the Sims.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Imery Watson
Imery's first job out of school was on the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 20 years on he's still working as concept designer and art director with top clients like Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Disney.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for Warner Bros, Universal, Disney
Mike Thompson
Award-winning artist Mike has worked with clients such as Marvel, Hasbro, Dimension Films, HBO, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros, Mattel, DC Comics and Cartoon Network.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for Black Panther
Fang Jing
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Minecraft Dungeons
Bernie Kang
Now art director at Phoenix One, Bernie created creatures, characters, weapons and FX concepts for cinematic trailers for World of Warcraft and more while at Blizzard.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for World of Warcraft
David Malan
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Disney Infinity
Eric Wilkerson
Eric is an illustrator/concept artist for film, TV, advertising, publishing, comics and games. Clients include Wizards of the Coast (Magic: The Gathering), Weta Workshop, Marvel, Upper Deck, Scholastic and Disney.
Read full bioMentor of Illustration
Known for Magic: The Gathering
Tyler James
Award-winning artist Tyler has worked with major clients like Cryptozoic and Blizzard on titles including Heroes of the Storm, Warhammer, Rift, Star Wars, Hex, Warcraft, and RWBY.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art & Illustration
Known for Hearthstone
Jonathan Li
Jonathan currently works as a Concept Artist at Square Enix. He has a passion for narrative arts and loves creating worlds, characters, and the stories they can tell.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Florian Escuer
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Ghost Force
Peter Ocampo
Peter is a freelance concept artist and has worked at DNEG as an in-house concept artist on diverse projects for film and TV. He has a particular passion for designing dark horror creatures.
Read full bioMentor of Concept Art
Known for Annihilation
Nilah Magruder
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Book & Comic Illustration
Dio Lee
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Halo Infinite
Catalin Laie
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Brother in Arms 3
Mike Meredith
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Illustrations for children's market
Mike Yamada
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Wreck it Ralph 2
Joel Carpenter
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Kitti Katz
Not just for people wanting to break into the industry, it's also for professionals already in it.
I am a concept artist at Paradox Interactive in Sweden, and I wanted to expand my illustration skills, so I decided to take the Digital Illustration Course. I am loving it!! If you're a professional and want to learn a new skill, I would say go ahead! Expand your set of skills!
Thank you CG Spectrum for giving me exactly what I needed to get started in this competitive industry.
I started the Concept Art & Illustration Course to create a stunning portfolio to apply for an internship. Without CG Spectrum I would never have been able to create a portfolio on a level that got me an amazing internship in Beijing.
These courses helped me learn much faster than in any other school or classroom.
I spent so much time trying to learn on my own using free resources - which worked up until a point. But it's that extra push a mentor will give you that really ties it all together. I couldn’t be more grateful for all the support this community and my mentor Eric Wilkerson have given me. Taking a rough concept to a fully-rendered illustration is something I never could have done before, and now I finally have the skills to make it happen.
Loving every minute of it.
As an aspiring Concept Artist, it's been amazing to have an industry professional as a mentor. Brandon Reimchen has not only been able to teach me new skills and techniques in regards to my art, but also how to apply my craft in a client-based situation. I've learned so much these past 6 months and have gained much more motivation to work hard for my dream job.
Eric Wilkerson is truly an excellent mentor.
It is a pleasure to be in his class. Firstly, he is so knowledgeable and his tutorials are packed with valuable information. Secondly, he is very patient and always takes time to find the best solution for problems his students encounter. On top of that, he is an AMAZING artist!
It was literally the absolute best thing that has ever happened to my career and professional life.
I feel like I’ve improved not only as an artist but as a professional as a whole, as the classes integrate every single detail of the artist life. The doors really open for us all and there’s nothing I’d change.
I have never experienced such an explosive evolution in my art since attending CG Spectrum.
I have learnt an incredible amount, not only from my amazing mentor Eric Wilkerson but from the entire CGS community. Being part of such an amazing program has opened my eyes to techniques that have streamlined my process and increased my confidence tenfold. I highly recommend the Advanced Illustration Course. Buckle up, and knuckle down – this could be the course that changes everything for you.
The staff are really awesome. They genuinely care and they work very hard for you.
There are plenty of extra curriculars on offer. You can drop in on fundamentals classes every week. The Technical Assistants run friendly competitions. They have workshops and Q&As with big-name studios like Industrial Light and Magic. You get out what you put in, but they do their best to make a lot of good available to you while you're there.
Thanks to CG Spectrum, I am a lot closer to my dream of being a concept artist.
The curriculum structure is very reasonable, with both academic basic theories and useful suggestions for career paths. Thanks to my mentors, Brian Huang and Victoria Sarkissian, who not only taught me drawing skills and design techniques, but more importantly, they also gave me the confidence to continue working hard.
It's one of the best discoveries of my life.
Never been so happy to study before. I've learnt so much in such a short time, and not only with the awesome mentors here, but thanks to this big community too! Thanks, CG Spectrum!
They give you the right tools for the right job.
I enrolled in the Concept Art and Illustration course without any art background (theoretical and practical). Thanks to my enthusiastic mentors, Eric Wilkerson and Brian Huang, and knowledgeable fellas in group chat, I was able to improve my skills in a short time.
Highly recommend this school!
My teachers were very helpful and I have learned so much about the industry. The highlight I think is the community they nurture—I have great relationships with other students, alumni, and mentors from my time at CG Spectrum.
I learned so much in 9 months that my personal efforts at learning beforehand paled.
My experience with my mentor was fantastic. His own expertise was clear in how cleanly he was able to analyze my artwork and offer advice ranging from creating an effective composition, adding storytelling elements to an image, effective ways to paint over line work, simple brushes to generate quick and useful effects, and even just using the lasso tool in simple ways to expedite workflow.
