2D Environment Design Track

Stuart Ayre

I've been taught by many art teachers, and I can say with sincerity that Dzu is a good teacher. Here are three things I liked about Dzu as a teacher: 1) he treats each student in the same manner—in other words, no matter what level you are at, he cares for the student and also doesn't seem to favour particular students. 2) His advice is concise and practical. 3) He can walk the walk—in other words he can demonstrate how to create great art.

Allan Boulogne

Dzu is an awesome guy and a great instructor. He gave some really good insight into how the industry works and how he got his foot in the door. I really wish I had gotten more than 8 weeks to be in his class. Really happy I was able to have Dzu as an instructor—I could talk to him all day.

Sheryl Soong

I was pretty paralyzed before taking this class. But I learned a lot and now I feel way more comfortable with approaching environments, even with things outside my visual library.

Nicole Tord

...from week 1 to 8, i can already see the improvement in my approach to environments. I now have the tools to go and confidently tackle backgrounds and scenes

Laurence Carew

I'd like to really thank Dzu, I think he has been a great help and appreciate his feedback. A great artist I hope to follow in the footsteps of one day!

Alex Gadbois

The course exposed my weaknesses, but also revealed my strengths. I cannot wait to apply the things I have learned to more pieces.

Danny Sousa

I think he's a pretty amazing teacher. He is super knowledgeable and professional. I'm going to miss getting art critiques from him every week.

Sonal Rai

His way of teaching is just awesome and in future I would love to learn more from him. It is so simple to understand such big things in a simple way.

Javier Lopez

David is a great teacher! I really enjoyed learning digital painting with him. It was my first time also using color and his lectures and assignments made it really fun. His feedback was also always really on point and he is really kind in the Q&As.

Ian Till

David is truly passionate about painting and it shows through his stellar instruction. He quickly identifies areas that need improvement and always points these areas out with encouraging, constructive, analytical feedback that really sinks in. He is a great instructor and great guy!

Madeline Julyk

I had a phenomenal time in this class, and I'm so sad it's ending. The instructor is funny, personable, knowledgeable, and is always responsive an attentive in and outside of the classroom. He puts a lot of effort and care into critiques and genuinely cares about the improvement of his students. I can't express enough what a positive experience this was!

Tessera Madison

This has been a fantastic experience! Mitchell has been an incredible teacher. He takes the time to give each student detailed feedback. He is easily available if we have any questions or are struggling with an assignment. His lectures were extremely helpful and I learned so much. I am so grateful for this experience and would love to take more classes in the future!

Anna Berentsen

[This course] focused on the mental process behind creating a piece instead of just technical tricks, which made it one of the most useful classes I've ever taken in terms of working through those stubborn issues I have as an artist.

Nick Harran

[This course] taught me how to focus in on the storytelling aspect of a piece and to always ask myself: is this effectively telling a story

Lucas Örström

Very helpful, and could motivate students whilst giving very much needed feedback to keep the learning a fun experience!

Barbbara Pozzi

He is a beautiful person and his work is great. He helped me so much!

Jeff Holloway

Aaron Limonick is an excellent instructor and I really valued the lectures and individual feedback. I think that is one of the most important benefits that CGMA provides: real feedback and advice from the instructor. Aaron was great and I would absolutely take other courses that he teaches!

Allan Boulogne

Aaron is hands down the best teacher I've ever had. I've learned more from him in 8 weeks than I have at my art college in 2 years. One more reason I'm making the full switch to you guys. Top notch stuff. Great honor to have him as a teacher.

William Kalkanis-Ellis

The class was really informative, thank you for all your help!

Geneviève Huard

Aaron was a very articulate and fun instructor, always motivated and motivating! I'll definitively miss him!

Zi Xu

Loved having Aaron as an instructor. He gave the class a wealth of knowledge and techniques on the concept art process. It has really helped me create better environment pieces for sure.

Jacob Whitlow

I loved this intructor (Aaron Limonick) and I think he is an excellent teacher, not just a talented professional. This was my first class with CGMA but I was so immediately pleased with the course that I signed up for two more next term.

Sebastian Posada

Mauricio was awesome! He really engaged with us and answered every question that was asked - pretty amazing!

James Pickard

Really good mentorship and instruction from Mauricio.

Anouk Perusse-Bell

The instructor is clearly passionate about his profession and he demonstrated his enthusiasm throughout the assignments. He always managed to bring out the best points in any of the students' work, improving them but preserving the student's initial idea.

Peter Stringe

I learned a lot more about composition, not just how to place elements on a page but also how to use colour and lighting to direct the eye.

Henri Woon-Am

Gilles provides very clear and helpful feedbacks, directly pointing out how and why your work should be changed, and how your art would be overall improved in the end. His expertise in environment painting, coupled with his professional but also laid-back behavior, makes the Q&As really enjoyable and informative.

Chris Lindstrom

Great instructor, provided lots of useful and clear feedback on assignments and very informative Q&As.

Peter Millar

Gilles was very professional and free with his knowledge.

Anna Orlova

Gilles is a wonderful instructor and artist.

Allan Boulogne

Gilles was a fantastic instructor and I'm really glad I got to have him as a mentor. He cares about the students, answered every question to the best of his ability at each Q&A. Awesome guy.

James Wright

He went above and beyond. I cannot recommend him enough! Great teacher with a fantastic work ethic.

He is truly an exceptional teacher, and was very adept at providing inspiring feedback and further direction, as well as answering any questions. This is a very well-structured, thorough course that provided even more than I was looking for.

Aromie Kim

Patient and considerate, Tyler did an amazing job at letting me realize my mistakes and using them as steps to better understanding. His feedback made me want to improve and I was inspired to redo my past assignments while doing the one that would be due. All in all, a fantastic instructor whose lessons I'll remember!

Christopher Lambert

Best teacher I have ever had. Best class I have ever taken at CGMA.

Allan Boulogne

Hands down the coolest instructor I've had at CGMA. Super down-to-earth and funny guy. I loved the small history lessons of each architecture type. He really knows his stuff and he's really, really supportive of all the student's work. Amazing guy and great course!

Akos Szabo

He was a fantastic teacher during the entire course!

Arthur Hargrave

Very clear and very informative. A lot of information to study from.

Emma Wittwer

Eric is awesome!

Silvia Tjong

Eric is awesome! I learned a lot from him. He is my first CGMA instructor and the good experience makes me interested to take more course on this site

Blake Wood

Helped me gain confidence in just being able to tackle environments in the first place. Was really helpful!

Nick Fernandez

Perspective and composition were a tremendous help, as well as simplifying complicated shapes to make them look believable.

Heida Rafnsdottir

It helped immensely with advancing my foundational techniques for creating environments. I am already implementing what I've learned in my work and ongoing studies.

Florian Fiebig

Ricardo is very knowledgeable and a great artist. He inspires to grow and learn new techniques and addresses issues artists face (Perfection vs. Efficiency)in the industry which is very important.

Eduardo Brito

Ricardo is an amazing teacher and I would recommend this course to anyone that is interested on breaking into the movie industry. I enjoyed it a lot!

Jane S. Kim

Ricardo is one of the few rare brilliant professional instructors who has such an excellent eye and gives so much to you. His critiques are always on point and he is also tremendously kind and so humble.

Tom Moore

Nick's lectures were amazing. He was great at explaining what his thought process was while working through multiple iterations. His Q&A sessions were fantastic; he was great at answering everyone's questions and was very generous with sharing his knowledge.

Usama Jameel

Nick is a fabulous instructor and he explained each and every thing in depth. He always encouraged us to do research and for us to develop our own styles rather then depend upon the instructor's weekly examples or brushes. I really enjoyed learning with Nick. I recommend this course for anyone who wants to develop the skills in production designing.

Chris Anka K

The course has given me the confidence to approach drawing and sketching with a critical mind. Its given me the tools to problem solve many different subject matters that my come up in drawing and design

Sudipta Patra

I didn't have much knowledge of matte painting before taking the course. I think in the past 8 weeks I have learned a lot both in Matte Painting and art fundamentals.

Arthur Valverde

Igor was going above and beyond to provide us with feedback and arm us with knowledge we needed to tackle each task. On top of that he is really cool and open guy. I had amazing pleasure to learn and grow along his side. Thank you Igor!

Kimberly Halm

It was a lot of fun. The live sessions were the most useful part to me in the course and I always looked forward to them.

Branko Đanić

It helped me to understand a lot about design theory and design practice

Bakari Griffin

It helped me with thinking and creating a clear definition of the topic i want to draw, which is a huge help in starting anything, be it a drawing or a project.

Ligeti Miklos

Now I feel that with these tools and knowledge I am finally able to realize the ideas I have.

Abigail Whitnall

[This course] really gave me an insight to what the artist industry is actually looking for and taught me many techniques I'll be able to use to further my craft

Chadwick W

Incredibly helpful practice. Gave lots of tools, rules and tips for how to think about and approach composition. The lectures and feedback were jam packed with super valuable information. I improved a ton, had multiple "ah-ha" moments, and will continue to work with what I learned to go further.