Student work by Danny McMullen
Become a concept artist or digital illustrator for film, games, and publishing. Using core concept art principles, you'll learn how to turn concepts and ideas into compelling characters, creatures, props, and environments in Adobe Photoshop.
Why study concept art and illustration with us:
Learn how to work with client briefs and deliver high-quality work that keeps clients coming back. On graduation, you can choose to specialize in either concept art or digital illustration to refine your skillset even further.
Industry Certificate
9 months
20 hrs weekly
Beginner to
Intermediate
January 6th, 2025
February 3rd, 2025
March 3rd, 2025
Weekly live online classes
Video lectures
Mentor feedback
Access to vibrant community
Our career-focused digital painting programs prepare you for working in the industry. Learn technical and creative techniques while building practical job skills.
Plan your studies around your work and family commitments
Learn from experts who have worked on major films and games
Build practical and relevant job skills that studios are looking for
Pursue your passion and start working sooner with flexible payments
Begin your concept art journey by establishing a solid understanding of line work, color, value, and lighting and how they help bring your art to life. Delve into visual design basics and build a strong foundation in character and narrative design to create visually compelling art. Through hands-on projects, you'll take your ideas from reference gathering, thumbnailing, and sketching all the way to polished, rendered artwork that showcases your unique creative vision!
Learn the science of light, shadow, and material rendering to create more believable and immersive designs. You'll practice iterative design techniques, experiment with human anatomy and mutation, and master posing and cinematic composition to give your characters life. You'll also explore surface detailing and fabric dynamics and develop your personal style—all while refining your work for professional-quality output.
Learn the fundamentals of environment and set design by starting with perspective drawing: the key to creating solid concept art. Discover how to visualize environments by building matte paintings from scratch using photo-bashing techniques plus the paint-over method to acquire lighting and perspective information from pre-rendered assets.
The 9-month Foundations Course is the first half of our Career Track, helping you pave your pathway into the creative industries. Gain foundational skills and knowledge that will prepare you for advanced industry training.
Did you know that the subjects you complete in the career track courses can be used to apply for credit toward our accredited degrees and diplomas in the same discipline?
The skills and knowledge you build in any industry-certificate course can be transferred into academic credits through our Advanced Standing and Credit Transfer process. So, if you decide to take your studies to the next level, know that your prior learning will be recognized.
Compare your options and find out which course is right for you.
To be the best, learn from the best. All digital painting classes are taught by industry mentors who have worked with major game developers, film studios and publishing giants.
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.
Manager of Digital Painting
Known for Resident Evil
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.
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
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.
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Black Panther
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Minecraft Dungeons
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.
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for World of Warcraft
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.
Mentor of Illustration
Known for Magic: The Gathering
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.
Mentor of Concept Art & Illustration
Known for Hearthstone
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.
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Ghost Force
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.
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Annihilation
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Halo Infinite
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Brother in Arms 3
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Illustrations for children's market
Mentor of Concept Art
Known for Kitti Katz
Focusing on industry tools and practices, we help students build a competitive edge with high-quality work that they can confidently add to their portfolios.
Our commitment to job outcomes and a focus on career development has helped graduates find work at studios all over the world.
Age Minimum
The minimum age to be able to enrol in our career track courses is 16. We require parent or guardian consent during the enrollment process for applicants under 18.
English Proficiency
We expect our students to have a good understanding of written and spoken English. There’s no specific ’level'; however, you must be able to understand video tutorials in English (no subtitles) and speak with your mentor in English during your live Q&A session.
Computer Literacy
To be successful in this program, you will need basic computer skills and a computer that meets the minimum specifications (see next question).
Portfolio Submission
For this course, basic drawing competency is required, as this is not a drawing course. Students must submit a portfolio demonstrating their skill level before their application will be considered. If you are unsure if you qualify, please contact our admissions team.
Software:
You will be required to purchase Photoshop (photography plan only) for the length of your studies at CG Spectrum.
Hardware:
You will need a computer that meets the minimum system requirements for Photoshop, and a graphics tablet (see digital painting software and equipment).
This course gives you an excellent understanding of concept art & digital illustration fundamentals, and depending on your level of commitment, skills, and portfolio pieces, you may be ready to start applying for entry-level artist positions or freelance concept art or illustration opportunities.
To further hone your skills and increase your hiring potential, we recommend honing your skills further through the Concept Artist Specialization or the Digital Illustrator Specialization.
The specialization courses cover more complex techniques and include an entire term dedicated to career development and portfolio preparation to prepare you for junior digital painting jobs such as:
Students also gain access to additional career services to support them in their job hunt. The CG Spectrum community is another great resource—you can network and find out about game development job vacancies through graduates and mentors already working in the industry.
Discover more about these digital painting jobs, tips, and salary expectations on our careers page:
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.
Study options for all skill levels, from short introduction courses to industry career tracks and accredited degrees and diplomas.