conceptartist,brandonliao Details
My name is Brandon Liao, and I am a concept artist who works primarily in games. I mainly focus on visual development and worldbuilding, which means I help visually build worlds from scratch and establish guidlines to keep future development as cohesive as possible. This includes characters, environments, props and weapons, mood and tone all across many genres.
In this class, I will be showing different techniques and processes to create my favorite part of visual development: cinematic mood paintings.
[Current] - Freelance Concept Artist [Previous] - Principal Concept Artist at Mountaintop Studios - Lead Concept Artist at Zenimax Online Studios - Associate Concept Artist at Riot Games [Notable Projects] - Spectre Divide (2022 - 2025) - Project Blackbird (2018 - 2022) - League of Legends (2012 - 2014)
[Current] - Freelance Concept Artist [Previous] - Principal Concept Artist at Mountaintop Studios - Lead Concept Artist at Zenimax Online Studios - Associate Concept Artist at Riot Games [Notable Projects] - Spectre Divide (2022 - 2025) - Project Blackbird (2018 - 2022) - League of Legends (2012 - 2014)
What makes your class different from other classes?
Along with covering the fundamentals of composition, lighting, and color, this class will show you how to effectively make use of tools available in Photoshop and Blender to quickly and efficiently create cinematic illustrations.
What are some essential skills or "must-have" tools in this industry,
and why?
Having the fundamental drawing skills to convey perspective/depth, color/lighting, and form/anatomy are key. Mastering those makes your life easier as you spend less time wondering how to draw something correctly, and more time on executing your ideas. Even though there are must-have tools like Photoshop and Blender that can supplement or cover any skills you're lacking, having a mastery over the fundamentals ensures you know what to look for and how to manipulate them to achieve the best possible result.
How would you define success in this industry? What is the formula to success in your opinion?
Success, by my definition, is if you're having fun making the art, if the majority of your audience is enjoying it, and if you're happy with whatever returns you gain from it. If all three are true, then you've won.
Do you have any advice for your students?
Don't be afraid to mess up; everyone does. The sooner you fail, the quicker you learn, and the faster you will succeed. The only way to improve is to get critcal feedback, and never take it personally no matter how bad it gets. Lastly, never stop drawing.
Research and References
Organize your thoughts and ideas through moodboards to help start an illustration; this helps to chip away at any lingering doubts or questions of what to draw or how to draw it.
Composing the Best Shot
Learn to experiment with different perspectives, camera angles, and visual guides to get the best shot to tell your story.
Build Intrigue and Curiosity
Understand how to draw your audience into your world. Every detail counts; from character posing, props on a table, to the lighting scenario, and even the design of things in your scene. All parts add up to create the greater whole of hinting at a much larger world beyond the camera frame.
2D and 3D
Having skills in both 2D and 3D programs goes a long way when creating illustrations. Even learning a few basic tools in each can speed up the drawing process significantly.
Lighting with Adjustment Layers
Master the use of various adjustment layers and blending modes to get colors and lighting in a relatively non-destructive manner; making experimentation and implementation easy.
Speed and Efficiency
There are many ways to make an illustration; knowing what and how to execute them only adds more tools to your creative arsenal. This class will show you a few different techniques and methods to efficiently create complex illustrations.
**Class release dates and content are subject to change without prior notice.
- Section 01
Orientation
01. Class Intro- Introduction of the instructor and overview of the class - Workspace settings and programs
- Section 02
Mood Boards
02. Direction and References- Highlighting the value of having references - Creation of a reference library - Decision on visual direction
03. Gather References for the Shot- Decision on the narrative - Gathering shot references - Keeping an eye on lighting, mood, and the general environment - Gathering possible character poses
04. Gather References for Designs- Decision on the type of world - Gathering environment references - Gathering interesting design details for characters, props, etc.
- Section 03
Sketches
05. What Goes Into Composition- Explanation of framing and focal points, character posing, and lighting plans - Explanation of storytelling in a scene
06. Test Shots I- Sketching compositions for Illustration 1 - Sketching compositions for Illustration 2
07. Test Shots II: Using 3D- Building compositions for Illustration 3
08. Test Designs- Explanation of sketching designs before execution - Sketching environmental details - Sketching character details
- Section 04
Underpainting I - Environment General Colors and Values
09. The Underpainting- Explanation of the underpainting - Highlight the importance of using ambient light (or diffuse light) values first - Going over how to add basic colors quickly
10. Illustration 1: Environment Block-In- Using photographs to create an underpainting for Work 1
11. Illustration 2: Environment Block-In- Using photographs to create an underpainting for Work 2
12. Illustration 3: Environment Block-In- Creating and using proxy models to set up a scene for Work 3
- Section 05
Underpainting II - Character General Colors and Values
13. Posing in an Environment- Going over how to pose a character within an environment - Paying special attention to perspective and depth - Discussing artistic liberties
14. Illustration 1: Character Block-In- Keeping values in line with the environment for Work 1 - Painting the costumes and props the character interacts with or will interact with
15. Illustration 2: Character Block-In- Keeping values in line with the environment for Work 2 - Painting the costumes and props the character interacts with or will interact with
16. Illustration 3: Character Block-In- Posing a character proxy model in 3D for Work 3 - Blocking in props the character might interact with
- Section 06
Underpainting III - Cohesion Between All Elements
17. Adjustments- Adjusting elements to serve the focus of the illustration
18. Shading- Adding ambient occlusion and basic contact shadows - Correcting general ambient lighting
19. Atmosphere- Adding in atmospheric effects to create the illusion of depth
- Section 07
Paintover I - Environment Details
20. Storytelling Through the Environment- Going over the thought process behind what goes into an environment - Reviewing examples of considerations to make an environment feel more alive
21. Illustration 1: Environment Detailing- Painting in environment details for Work 1
22. Illustration 2: Environment Detailing- Painting in environment details for Work 2
23. Illustration 3: Environment Detailing I- Building environment details for Work 3
24. Illustration 3: Environment Detailing II- Texturing environment details for Work 3
- Section 08
Paintover II - Character Details
25. Storytelling Through the Character- Going over the thought process behind what goes into a character - Explaining how costume design can help tell the story of the world they're in - Reviewing examples of things to consider to hint at personality and history of a character
26. Illustration 1: Character Detailing- Painting in character details for Work 1
27. Illustration 2: Character Detailing- Painting in character details for Work 2
28. Illustration 3: Character Detailing- Painting in character details for Work 3
- Section 09
Lighting I - Let There Be Light!
29. Cinematic Lighting- Explaining lighting, mood and tone; why lighting is applied last - Explaining how to use lighting to set a focal points - Explaining the use of adjustment layers and blend modes
30. Direct and Bounce Lighting- Adding direct lighting and bounce lighting
31. Environment and Character Lighting- Adjusting lighting in the environment and on the character
- Section 10
Lightning II - Post Processing
32. Adjustment Layers and Blend Modes- Color correcting the entire illustration to harmonize all values at once
33. LUTs and Final Touches- Color grading the entire illustration to achieve the cinematic look
- Section 11
Summary
34. Recap- Summarizing the entire process
35. Takeaways and Conclusion- Key takeaways - Advice
This course will use Photoshop, PureRef and Blender
Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.
*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.
