Foundations & Design Tracks overview
Understand the role of an Environment Artist in Games
The environment artist’s role is that of world builder. The mission is nothing less than to craft the spaces that will create a sense of immersion, help tell a story, and work hand-in-glove with level design and gameplay. Environment artists work at the vanguard of video game development, typically collaborating closely with level designers to visualize, build, and refine the 3D content that helps define aesthetic as well as gameplay flow. In addition to providing students with an inroad to the games industry, this track also acts as an ideal primer for artists looking at more specialized hard surface modeling or digital matte painter roles in the film and animation industries.
As you complete each 3D environment art course, you will receive a certificate of completion for that course. In order to qualify for a course certificate of completion, students must complete at least 80% of the class assignment during the duration of the course.
Should you have any questions regarding these courses please contact registration@cgmasteracademy.com. Additionally, you only pay for the course(s) you take in a given term.
Foundations & Design COURSES
Get a better sense
of our courses.
As you complete each course you will receive a certificate of completion for that course. In order to qualify for an in course certificate of completion, students must complete at least 80% of the class assignment during the duration of the course.
Winter
Spring
Summer
Learn from award-winning artists who've worked at top studios around the world
”
Annie Hsu
Fantastic teacher, I definitely appreciated his prompt feedback and willingness to answer any questions and his positive supportive attitude.
”
Jagrut Kaptan
I improved very well in terms of Maya modelling and the production workflow. I was not very confident and well learnt in terms of it. I have a better idea of the workflow now.
”
Daria Lezucha
The course greatly improved my skills and I would strongly recommend it to others looking to start careers in the field. The personal feedback videos (from Vidya) every week were really helpful and critical for improving even further. I also really enjoyed that all classes were live and we could ask questions during them.
”
Andre da Silva
It gave me a better understanding of the pipeline of production modelling. There is a lot to think about when you’re modelling and this course helped me focus on those key points
”
Preston Wilson
Dylan was a great instructor! He was harsh with the feedback and did not hold back, which I respect. There is no point in taking a course like this to just have somebody tell you, "Good job, you're the best!" Dylan was realistic with his expectations and continually makes you push yourself.
”
Westley Lehman
My instructor was nothing short of awesome. He answered everything in great detail and helped me and my other classmates with anything we needed in a timely, detailed, and polite manner.
”
Nebojsa Nikodijevic
He was adamant on the basics: how crucial it is to know the software and understand how things work and should work in a production setting, before they are translated into the game. From concept, to modeling, to UVs and textures, all of it. If you don't understand the basics, all the scripts or additional programs in the world won't help you. I'll keep this advice as a creed in my future endeavors.
”
Christopher Chen
Ethan's style of teaching is phenomenal. I had a few doubts as to how I should proceed with my future projects, and Ethan's workflow gives me clarity and confidence on how to approach them.
”
Catarina Cruz
All I can say is that Ethan was an awesome instructor, I feel like I learned a lot, and I very much enjoyed the lessons.
”
James Kleckner
In all aspects, it was a great course. I learned a ton about the industry, the software, and techniques to improve my modeling. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn hard surface modeling.
”
Jacob Haroutunian
This course helped with my topology, design, modeling thinking process, UVing, use of curves, scripts, confidence in my work and ability, and more.
”
Nikolay Steng
His extended effort to show additional examples and methods both in the forums in the week days, and in the Q&A's deserves an applause! Describes and explains everything very well, and is easily understandable.
”
Jordi Cortés
Great teacher and awesome professional. Could end up learning a lot more than on my 2 year degree.
”
Jessica Anderson
I can't believe how much I learned during this course. I would definitely take any course he teaches in the future.
”
Rico Buehler
He taught students how to USE the ENTIRETY of Zbrush in 6 weeks! The reason I could never get into Zbrush, was that no instructor I found, ever, used or explained all the tools in Zbrush. I can’t believe I'm box modelling with Zbrush now, I mean, WOW. This is a skill I know very few Zbrush users have, because very few artists know how to use it. Thanks to Michael I do. No more need to import box modelling from other programs like Maya, or Blender. I can do it in Zbrush!
”
Ben Donely
He did a great job of showing us all the possibilities that exist from different workflows to different artists and really set us on a path for success following the courses conclusion.
”
Luciano Zadikian
The course gave me tons of knowledge of how to flesh out and create my ideas in zbrush, I now feel proficient in the program and am able to create artwork of my own.
”
”
”
”
”
Vitaly Bonndar
I really like Clinton's style of teaching. He explains any topic in a way that's very accessible and detailed. I would love to have gone through another course with such a great teacher.
”
James Morgan
Clinton was a great instructor providing excellent feedback great tips and techniques. He also provided extra material relating to each week's theme or area. This adds more value to course, providing tutorials and documents to continue study.
”
JD Gardner
Clinton is amazing; I would absolutely take another class with him in a second. Very personable and active in the forums, great with specific feedback examples, and he clearly knows his technical stuff.
”
Andy Fraser
He was great. Love that he found documentations on each subject that we were learning to help us further our education.
”
Luca Tietto
He was really clear during the lectures and has incredible patience. Never received late a feedback or email. Definitely an incredible teacher and artist!
”
Caitlyn Kenney
Clinton is a very good teacher. He explains things well and is easy to understand. He went above and beyond the class material and explained other things too, and answered our questions about the industry.
”
Virendra Pratap Singh
This course was an amazing experience. Clinton is simply outstanding both in his knowledge and the way he teaches.
”
Kyle Chin
He was great and had a lot of experience to pull from. He was able to helpfully bring up scenarios and situations that he'd been through.
”
Joshua Max Pears
Patrick has been a fantastic tutor, I have enjoyed his feedback and he delivers the feedback in such a great way. Even if it was not the best work you have done, he delievers feedback in a great encouraging tone. He has a great eye for detail and easy to reach and help out.
”
Alina Dreesmann
Patrick really did a good job, was flexible and tried to find solutions and help whenever he could. His input and feedback was really nice and he's super polite
”
John Griffiths
Omar is a superb artist and teacher. His lectures and feedback were easy to follow and helped to highlight areas of weakness in a submission. Omar showed us multiple ways to tackle lighting in different environments, the maths behind it, and tools to achieve results. It is a great course for anyone who wants to find their feet in the area but also pushes them to try new workflows and experiment.
”
Ben Keeling
Omar is a super nice guy and a brilliant teacher. I enjoyed our interactions across the course and in general I learnt a lot.
”
Andreia Vieria
The instructor was very good at explaining tasks and answering questions. Feedback from the assignments was always on time and never felt rushed.
”
Viktoria Rogoa
It helped me better understand things I was struggling with before. I learned many new interesting things that I didn't know before the course. It gave a valuable information and skills that I can confidently use in my future projects
”
Cody Grech
Awesome teacher—I would take other classes taught by David without giving it second thought. Very knowledgeable and friendly, assignments are paced very well, lots of great info that is useful with real applications.
”
Laura Meijer
David Mooy speaks in a relaxed manner and doesn't sound rushed, which is a big plus for students who are not native English speakers.
”
Brittney Rose
He was great and very helpful!
”
Russel Aronchick
David presented the material in a very easy to understand way and the course itself was definitely a good kickstart into learning the basics of Maya.
”
Nathanielle Onchengo
Mr. David Mooy, is a great instructor. Really shows that he loves teaching, and can teach effectively.
”
Guido Tinagli
David is really a great teacher, one of the best I've ever had
”
Lewis McDonough
Excellent instructor. It was great to have someone like Anthony sharing his knowledge with us.
”
Kyle Tallant
Anthony Vaccaro was great and really seemed to care about my work during the feedback videos. He showed great interest and knowledge during the Q&A's as well, and answered every questions asked during so, as well as answered every question posted via forum throughout each week.
”
Jay Dalnoot
I loved the overall feedback and this course, it was clear and honest. And gave me a different way of creating creating an environment. He could easily see where I need to improve my assets and explained it very well
”
Katarzyna Wielhorska
Ben is very focused on the student—he gives long and outstanding homework feedbacks.
”
Tim Brakensiek
Ben was great, I really enjoyed his instruction and he really knows Substance Designer and Painter and can relate his knowledge well.
”
Malin Runsten Fredriksson
Really happy to have Ben as an instructor! His videos and feedback are simple and clear, and I never felt that I was completely lost when taking the course. He also really went out of his way to answer all kinds of questions, especially in the Q&A. I took this course to learn the tools and mindset of Substance, and I believe I achieved this goal with this course.
”
Sam Cole
I really appreciated the frequency of feedback Ben was able to give. It really helped me improve rapidly week-to-week.
”
Bryan Pitt
Ben was absolutely fantastic to learn from. I felt pretty intimidated trying to learn game art from a pro but he was very open and nice. He made it easy to ask questions and gave thorough answers.
”
James Morgan
Ben did a great job of breaking it down in a clear and concise manner with no fluff—just the theories and professional practices to use and get great results. So thanks again for all the effort he put in and the speedy reviews and feedback.
”
Ashley Wade
I appreciated Ben’s attention to detail during this course. His openness made it easy to ask questions, and his willingness to explain even small things made it feel like he cared about my personal growth.
”
Ian Mize
"Ben, is by far the most thorough instructor I have had at CGMA. All of my classes have been great but I feel like I have gained the most constructive learning from this course. Thank you endlessly! "
”
Mark Kirkpatrick
Kurt is an amazing instructor. It was obvious to me that he is very dedicated to helping students improve. His feedback was invaluable to me.
”
Michael Bates
Great job explaining.
”
Maxime Vysniauskas
At the start, I expected minimal feedback, but he went above and beyond to show me how certain things work in the work environment.
”
Christen Smith
I really enjoyed this class and gained a lot of new skillsets from it. He has a natural talent in not only his craft, but in delivering it in a digestible manner in class. I highly recommend this class!
”
Alexander Cowan
Jeremy was awesome!
”
Sara Parysz
Jeremy was one of the best instructors I've had for game design. He was always helpful, always kind, and was a wealth of information for both newcomers and experienced artists.
”
Sahir Irfan
Jeremy is an awesome instructor! I'm so happy I took this class and I'm happy with what I've learned.
”
Joshua Williams
He's a very encouraging and caring dude. I felt like he really enjoyed teaching the class which goes a long way.
”
Andreas Lohse
Jeremy was an excellent teacher. He went in depth with the course material and explained any questions we might have.
”
Esther Love
It was good to always be practicing on something different every week....It was a fun course overall!
”
Michael Barrington
I feel more confident with my skills and have learned quite a bit from taking this course.
”
Leigh-Ann Johnson
I learned a lot of new skills such as becoming more efficient in 3DS max, design, color theory, UVing trees, etc.
”
Lizabeth Leers
I improved a lot with designing my own concepts and got a lot faster with painting textures but still maintaining a high quality. Really impressed with the growth I've seen in 10 weeks!
”
Nicole Zedan
Taught me new ways to break down a task and brainstorm my ideas. Helped solidify my methods and create better concepts that read well.
”
Murray Blue
Taught me a good pipeline, how to utilize substance designer in environment art
”
Shona Robinson
Peyton was great throughout the semester, he gave feedback that was constructive and useful in progressing my art, was understanding when I needed to submit some assignment late and gave a lot of knowledge during the Q&A sessions that was extremely helpful.
Speak to an advisor
Need guidance or course recommendations? Let us help!
Show us your skills
Not sure if you have the skills, or are you proving you do? Show us.
1-800-959-0316
Request Appointment