Brand: Coloso.
Price: 180 USD
Availability: InStock

Instructor

Mark Li

Concept Artist

Hello, I’m Concept Artist Mark Li, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of imagination. With over 20 years of industry experience, I currently work as a full-time freelance artist. I have served as an Art Director and Art Supervisor at multiple game studios in Shanghai, and have contributed as a freelancer to major global projects including Warhammer 40K and Saints Row 4.
I’ve also participated in the production of promotional videos for renowned titles such as The Wandering Earth, League of Legends, and Call of Duty: Zombies. Drawing on a deep understanding of diverse design workflows, I’ll share practical methods for balancing production efficiency with creative freedom—so you can deliver high-quality results without sacrificing originality.

In this class, I’ll share how to maximize creativity under tight time constraints and find the right balance between creative ambition and time investment. I hope my extensive hands-on experience working in unfamiliar environments and under extreme deadlines will meaningfully support your creative workflow.

Interview

Meet the Instructor

Question 01

What do you consider to be your most competitive professional strength in your daily work?

My expertise spans a wide range of disciplines, with a particular focus on science fiction and historical themes. I have deep practical insight into how design thinking and production workflows interact in real-world projects. While the use of 3D tools to support concept design has become increasingly common, I deliberately study design and production as separate disciplines, ensuring that one never overshadows the other.
Today, many newcomers rely on 3D execution to replace essential stages of design in an effort to save time. This often results in creative ideas being limited by technical proficiency rather than fully expressed. My approach is to strategically coordinate design and production as distinct yet integrated phases. Through this structured workflow, I ensure that creative intent is fully realized while maintaining high production efficiency—clearly defining goals, reducing unnecessary trial and error, and saving valuable time without compromising creativity.

Question 02

Based on the personal strengths you mentioned above, how will these skills be specifically applied in this course?

In this class, I break down the most valuable and transferable elements of real-world architectural styles, and demonstrate how to transform real-life references into bold, engaging, and logically grounded design innovations. At the same time, I clarify the relationship between design and 3D production workflows, helping learners design more smoothly and produce more efficiently—ultimately improving both creative quality and development speed.

Question 03

What is the planning intention behind this course? What unique differentiating highlights do you think this course offers?

In the game and film industries, fantasy architecture—both Eastern and Western—plays a major role in visual world-building. Through my travels, I’ve often found that real-world architecture frequently surpasses entertainment design in both aesthetic depth and conceptual brilliance. This is why, in this course, I invite you to explore and appreciate these magnificent traditional buildings together with me, while learning how to apply real-world research and architectural references to elevate your own designs with greater cultural depth and convincing realism.
In this session, we focus on Western traditional architecture from the 18th to 19th centuries, with particular attention to the Baroque style and the Art Nouveau movement. Our design goal is to capture the essence of history while boldly infusing it with rich imagination. Of course, an efficient and production-ready workflow is just as important. You’ll learn simple yet effective production techniques that allow you to present your designs with stronger visual impact and clarity.

Question 04

Finally, please leave a message for the students and aspiring creators.

This course is designed to be approachable and easy to get started with. It is especially well suited for beginners entering the field, as well as for designers who often struggle to balance creative design with practical production workflows.
The confusion and challenges you are facing now are the very same issues I once experienced myself. Having gone through that process, I understand how frustrating it can be to be passionate about concept design while feeling uncertain about how to move forward efficiently. Through this course, I aim to share concrete solutions and practical guidance to help you overcome those obstacles.
I warmly invite you to join this learning journey with us—where we work efficiently, think logically, and imagine boldly together. Thank you.

Class Details

You'll Learn

Intuition-driven inspiration gathering and world-building foundations

Sharpen your design intuition through real-world architecture and uncover compelling sources of inspiration. By studying references grounded in verifiable realism, you’ll learn how to build convincing and immersive game worlds. Experience a creative process where imagination is firmly rooted in reality—resulting in designs that feel both believable and visually engaging.

Formative training to quickly summarize the form

Curious about fast shape construction techniques? Using reference images as a foundation, you’ll sketch to quickly establish architectural silhouettes and overall massing. From there, you’ll layer in design elements to develop versatile foundational shape-design skills.

Draft variations for idea expansion

Based on the initial modeling, try expanding your ideas by adding fantasy and geometric elements. Through multiple concept variations, you’ll clarify your design direction and establish a solid framework for further development and detailed refinement.

Easy Modeling Construction Using Blender

Let's complete modeling by utilizing Blender's various Modifier functions. Learn practical modeling techniques that allow you to quickly establish core structures and instantly visualize game concepts—just like in real-world production workflows.

Enhancing Details and Textures Using 3D Techniques

Use Blender’s array techniques to efficiently build repeating structural details, then refine and finalize those details in 3DCoat. By seamlessly connecting UV mapping and texturing workflows, you’ll learn how to produce high-quality, polished results in a short amount of time.

Refined touch and atmospheric expression through Paint Over

Want to express refined touch and atmosphere in your work? Add hand-painted details directly over your 3D models to delicately enhance decorative elements and surface textures. Transform rigid, mechanical 3D structures into vivid, expressive game concept art with added warmth, emotion, and artistic depth.

Curriculum

In-Depth Look

**Class release dates and content are subject to change without prior notice.
English subtitles and translated materials will be provided within 60 days of the class release date.
*Schedule may change due to production circumstances.

Required Tools

This course will use Blender 4.4, 5.0 / 3Dcoat 2022 / Photoshop 27.2
Please purchase and install these programs for an optimized chapter experience.

*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.

Coloso.

Search Input

From Hand-Drawn to 3D, A Practical Game Environment Concept Design Workflow

Class Details

Design Approach and Execution of 2D Black-and-White Concept Sketches

Refinement and Iteration of Black-and-White Sketches

Lightweight Layout Production for 3D Modeling

Further In-Depth Development of the 3D Model

Materials and Texturing of the 3D Model

Enhancing Texture and Finalizing the Artwork

Important Notice

Mark Li

From Hand-Drawn to 3D, A Practical Game Environment Concept Design Workflow

Class Details

conceptartist,markli_ZH Details

Design Approach and Execution of 2D Black-and-White Concept Sketches

Refinement and Iteration of Black-and-White Sketches

Lightweight Layout Production for 3D Modeling

Further In-Depth Development of the 3D Model

Materials and Texturing of the 3D Model

Enhancing Texture and Finalizing the Artwork

Important Notice

Mark Li