Matte Painting and Concept Art for Production by Igor Staritsin

This course is built for artists who want to break into concept art and matte painting for film. It skips the fluff and focuses on the practical pipeline: from generating strong ideas and nailing composition to using photography, 3D, and Nuke for final shots. You’ll walk away with at least three portfolio-ready paintings and a solid understanding of how to work fast and efficiently in a production environment.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Design and compose a believable matte shot from scratch.
• Master color theory, lighting, and perspective for cinematic storytelling.
• Use advanced matte painting techniques like extraction, blending modes, and color correction.
• Create clean plates, set extensions, and photorealistic keyframe art.
• Set up camera projections and composite final moving shots in Nuke.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Good understanding of perspective, composition, and lighting. Solid knowledge of Photoshop is required.
• Tools: Wacom tablet (or similar), Adobe Photoshop, Foundry Nuke, a 3D software (Maya, Max, ZBrush, or 3D Coat).
• Hardware: Computer capable of running the listed software smoothly.

📝 Description

This isn’t a “paint-by-numbers” tutorial. Igor Staritsin teaches you the why behind every brushstroke. The course starts with the fundamentals—composition and black-and-white thumbnails—because a strong idea is the foundation of any great shot. You’ll learn to think like a film director, using lighting and color to tell a story before you even touch a photo.

The real meat of the course is in the production pipeline. You’ll move from painting to photorealism, learning how to extract and blend photography seamlessly. The “Destroying the City” project is a masterclass in taking a concept from a rough sketch to a final, cinematic keyframe. By the end, you’ll be setting up camera projections in Nuke and compositing your paintings into moving shots, giving you a complete understanding of the VFX workflow. It’s practical, hands-on, and designed to get you industry-ready.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Intermediate to advanced digital painters looking to transition into film and VFX.
• Concept artists who want to add matte painting and photorealistic skills to their toolkit.
• Artists who have completed an “Environment Concept Design” course or have equivalent professional experience.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Igor Staritsin is a Lead Concept Artist and Matte Painter with a killer resume. He’s worked for Warner Brothers, Disney, Marvel, and Naughty Dog, contributing to blockbusters like Godzilla: King of Monsters, Black Panther, Thor Ragnarok, and Game of Thrones. His work has been featured in Ballistic Publishing’s D’artiste Matte Painting 3. He brings a deep understanding of both the artistic and technical sides of production, having navigated the demands of major studios for years.

🏁 Final Result

• At least three high-quality, portfolio-ready matte paintings.
• A final moving shot (camera projection) composited in Nuke.
• A strong understanding of the entire concept art and matte painting pipeline for film.

📢 Guys, this is a Group Buy campaign, check the GBC forum thread to get access

You can find the course preview in the download section below.