Concept Art for Animation – Designing Magical Environments

Turn your creative ideas into captivating concepts by bringing fantasy images to life in Photoshop
Through digital concept art, you can design believable worlds for movies and TV, which help tell stories about a character’s journey. When visual development artist Tory Polska realized that the magic we see on screens was made by people, she knew she wanted to be a part of it. She has worked with clients like Netflix and DreamWorks, and is passionate about evoking that same sense of wonder in the audience through her work.

In this course, Tory teaches you to research and design visual concepts for animated worlds. Learn how to turn your creative ideas into beautiful and meaningful images that enrich a story using Photoshop. Breathe life into fantasy environments with the magic of animation.

What will you learn in this online course?
Begin the course by getting to know visual development artist Tory Polska. She talks through the creative career that saw her go from starting a marketing degree to working as a designer for international studios. Discover the fellow artists that inspire the work she creates.

Dive into what visual development is and what you can expect from the course. Then see Tory’s approach to gathering references for her work and coming up with ideas. Explore basic stylization principles that will add an animated quality to your designs, before experimenting with the digital tools of Miro and Photoshop.

Learn how to read a creative brief efficiently before making reference boards filled with visual ideas using keywords. Analyze your references and add notes to them, taking into consideration what works, what doesn’t, and what they have in common.

Time to start sketching your ideas based on your research. Draw your vision loosely and in black and white before refining your sketches. Then finalize your design by bringing multiple ideas together to create a collage. Develop everything you’ve worked on so far into a concept art piece to add context to your idea, using light, color, and more. Then add the finishing touches like noise effects and textures.

Organize all of your work into a portfolio page that showcases your creative process from start to finish. Finally, Tory shares her advice for creating your own visual development portfolio, as well as how to get into the animation industry.

What is this course’s project?
Develop a lineup of sketches along with a refined concept for your own animated fantasy scene.

Who is this online course for?
This course is for artists, digital painters, and illustrators who want to develop their visual ideas and design compelling worlds.

Requirements and materials
Basic digital drawings skills and knowledge of Adobe Photoshop are required.

You will also need access to a computer and tablet with Photoshop installed.