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Houdini | FX Track

Learn how to harness fire, water, smoke, and more in a track that unravels the mysteries of the industry-standard tools and techniques for control of simulation-based animation
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Understand the role of the VFX Artist

Imagine the power to control the elements: directing the flow of water, shaping smoke, or conjuring flames. What about the ability to micromanage the movement of a million tiny particles? Or orchestrate the destruction of vehicles, buildings, and entire worlds? Better still, how about performing all these feats at the same time? That, in a nutshell, is what it means to work as an FX artist (aka effects technical director). The role of VFX artist is one of the more demanding in entertainment design, requiring strong coding chops, mathematical smarts, an appreciation of physics, plus a solid art foundation on which to build everything.

This is where our VFX/Houdini Track comes in. With a comprehensive suite of classes based around the use of film industry-standard tool Houdini, students, from beginners to advanced, will learn how to master pyro and fluid effects, cloth, crowds, destruction, and more. The track also includes training for those looking at an FX-based role at a games development studio, with the unique demands of controlling particle, environmental, and other simulation-based animation within a real-time pipeline all covered in-depth.

As you complete each VFX online 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. CGMA is proud to be a Houdini Certified partner for the 2023/2024 academic year. SideFX has an annual renewal process for certification, and certification status is not guaranteed from year to year. (Please note that Houdini licenses for students are not available to programs that are exclusively offered online.) For questions about student benefits, please contact SideFX.

Role of the FX Artist

While the part of the pipeline dubbed "animation" focuses on character and other rigged asset work, effects animation relates to anything that requires simulations to get results. These solutions usually fall into one of three categories: particle animation, fluids, and rigid body dynamics--though sometimes a solution might require several inter-connected simulations across two even three of the categories. These simulations are also often required to work in conjunction with any hand-crafted elements created by the main animation team.

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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 a course certificate of completion, students must complete at least 80% of the class assignment during the duration of the course. 

WINTER

Starts

3rd week of January

Ends

2nd week of April

Registration available on

Oct 12, 2023 - Jan 29, 2024

SPRING

Starts

2nd week of April

Ends

1st week of July

Registration available on

Jan 31, 2024 - Apr 22, 2024

SUMMER

Starts

1st week of July

Ends

4th week of September

Registration available on

Apr 29, 2024 - Jul 15, 2024

FALL

Starts

5th week of September

Ends

6th week of December

Registration available on

Jul 19, 2023 - Oct 09, 2023

BLOCK 0

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Fundamentals of Houdini for 3D Artists

Intermediate 8 weeks
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Intro to Unreal 5

Intermediate 6 weeks

BLOCK 1

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Intro to FX Using Houdini

Intermediate 8 weeks

BLOCK 2

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Abstract FX in Houdini

Intermediate 8 weeks

BLOCK 3

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Realtime VFX for Games

Beginner to Intermediate 8 weeks
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Houdini Production Studio: Destruction FX

Intermediate - Advanced 8 weeks

BLOCK 4

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Houdini Production Studio: Fluid FX

Intermediate - Advanced 9 weeks
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VEX in Houdini

Advanced 8 weeks

ELECTIVES 1

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Procedural Modeling for Production in Houdini

Intermediate to Advanced 6 weeks
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Procedural Environments in Houdini

Intermediate - Advanced 6 weeks

ELECTIVES 2

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Grooming for Animated Characters

Intermediate to Advanced 8 weeks
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Grooming for VFX

Intermediate to Advanced 8 weeks
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Pyro FX Using Houdini

Intermediate 8 weeks

ELECTIVES 3

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Crowd Simulation

Intermediate 8 weeks
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Cloth Creation and Simulation for Real-Time

Intermediate 8 weeks

ELECTIVES 4

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Nuke Compositing for 3D Artists

Intermediate 8 weeks
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Scientific Illustration in 3D

Beginner - Intermediate 8 weeks

ELECTIVES 5

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Substance Basics

Beginner 4 weeks

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Courses

Learn from award-winning artists who've worked at top studios around the world

Testimonials

This class was incredible. The curriculum Miki has prepared went above and beyond what I was expecting. I will be recommending this class to everyone I know!

AJ

Nestor is really good at his craft. I enjoyed learning from him. He has shown various techniques to improve our foliage work.

Aadil

Extremely quick and thoughtful in his responses to forum and QA questions. Almost invariably going beyond the scope of each question to give further insight.

Aaron

Incredible mentor and pushed the students to do better. I feel the honesty was what I needed to improve my skills.

Abigail

Josh is very knowledgeable. He broke down story development in a way that makes it easier for me to understand what makes stories great. I really enjoyed learning under him.

Abram

Keith Kamholz gave really excellent feedback and promptly as well. He also answered email questions very quickly and with really detailed replies.

Adam

Carlos helped everyone step out their comfort zone and approach new concepts which will have a long lasting effect! A brilliant mentor.

Adam

Melanie is a very nice and helpful person—she actively participated on the forum, answered every question, and her feedbacks were great. She really cared about her students and helped us to improve.

Agnes

Liza is great. She's very accommodating and friendly and her critiques were very constructive.

Aidan

Asa Enochs is an approachable and knowledgeable instructor who is structured and organized with his teaching style, always comes prepared in the Q&A, and gave constructive and useful feedback each week. I learned so much and would happily recommend him to any future students!

Aimee

Best instructor I could have asked for. Encouraging, knowledgeable and dedicated to each student doing well.

Aishath

Eugene was very helpful and seemed to take a genuine interest in each student’s progress.

Alan

Thanks for such a unique and interesting course! The course was for sure very unique and intense—the most intense Houdini course I have taken!

Alasgar

Was a great guy overall that explained stuff clearly

Aldin

Huge help for me were feedbacks that I got from Brandon. He was an amazing mentor through this course, giving a lot of his time even when he was busy with his own projects, and always putting amazing amount of technical and artistic tips in his feedbacks. Even if my work might not be the most amazing one I did learn a lot during this 8 weeks, and I will feel more confident while trying to learn it further on my own.

Aleksandra

Roger Oda is a very inspiring and clearly committed instructor. He always provided feedback quickly and encouraged us to ask, search, and work more. His positive attitude, good advice, and encouragement is absolutely invaluable. As much as the class was demanding, it was a great pleasure and privilege to have Roger for the instructor.

Aleksandra

Patrick Ballesteros is a brilliant teacher who can encourage students in a professional and friendly way. He is very open and always ready to help.

Aleksandra

Amazingly talented artist, and very kind and thoughtful teacher.

Alessandra

Liza was fantastic! She was incredibly attentive and helpful, always going above and beyond for us. I would absolutely take another course taught by her again.

Alex

Dmitrij Leppee offers a state-of-the-art course and it was beyond my expectations. He’s also a brilliant artist and teacher, really generous indeed. The feedbacks were extremely helpful with a lot of detailed explanations. Although I was not able to follow all the lessons so far because of my work, I intend to continue studying with the videos and materials Dmitrij’s prepared to us. I can say that I’ve learnt a lot by now and I’m sure I’ll find much more precious knowledge through this learning path. Congrats Dmitrij and CGMA on this outstanding course!

Alex Wink

Just a great instructor. Learned a ton, again.

Alexander

As a student of your Perspective class, I can only say one thing: your teaching style is great! I have autism and I’m only 18, and the way you teach is easy for me to follow. The way you explain the concepts shown in the class makes so much sense, and it helps me to take detailed notes of everything that’s talked about. It’s turned my sketchbook into equal parts sketchbook and notebook. Thank you for being such a great teacher.

Alexandra

Mr. Nacorda was so understanding when I explained that I have autism and need things explained directly. He adjusted his feedback for the videos and helped me to understand more.

Alexandra

Did a good job of showing his workflows.

Alexandre

Robert was very passionate and encouraging about the subject, which was great!

Alice

What I liked about Peter is that he always gives constructive feedback, pointing out mistakes in a way that encourages further improvement. He inspired me to continue working on my drawing skills.

Alida

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.

Alina

Poe is the best. He really cares about the students, and he will always go into further detail about his critiques if you need him to.

Allan

AMAZING instructor. Amazing class. After two years at some art college, he taught me more than I ever would have in the other college. You guys honestly have a keeper here. Best instructor for color and light I’ve had. He knows his stuff!

Allan

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.

Allan

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.

Allan

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.

Allan

Great instructor! Felt I learnt a lot within a month. I could see the improvement in my work and the methods that I use.

Allen

Minyu did a great job teaching. He was very knowledgeable in the field. I also loved his passion for helping others and taking the time for each student, helping them with their journey through this class. It made learning so much more fun.

Alora

[Louis is] awesome. He really wanted to share all of the tips and good technices to deal with real cases of simulation tasks for production.

Alvaro

Chris was great. I'm glad he's not only close with the Clinton, but shares the same overall passion for the industry.

Alvin

Weston was a great teacher and I really found his feedback really useful and precise during the individual reviews.

Alysia

The video feedback from Kristy was always fantastic.

Alyssa

Arno went above and beyond for us!

Alyssa

David was a joy to learn from! I really appreciated that he was so open to taking late assignments. Being a working professional, it can be hard to hit the assignment deadlines on time, and David was always willing to take my late submissions and still deliver feedback.

Amanda

Sang Jun Lee is an excellent instructor and mentor! He provided individual attention to each one of us according to what we needed–not only in our class assignments, but in our portfolios and overall body of work. He challenged each of us to push out of our comfort zones and take our work to the next level–and it was amazing!

Amber

Brett is an amazing instructor! The way he communicates the information in his lectures is so clear and engaging, and the exercises he gives each week are great for artists of any level. When giving feedback, Brett encourages students to push themselves. This class helps you get out of your comfort zone!

Amber

He has a great personality that shines through in the lectures. His lectures are always funny, interesting, and informative. I enjoyed watching all of the videos and participating in the live Q&As.

Amy

The course helped me to improve my artistic skills because I received that one to one constructive criticism. I feel that Shaun saw things which I was unable to see myself in my art

Ana

Very professional; I didn’t have any questions, that he wouldn’t / couldn’t answer. Gave his perspective on matters / ways to do things and how he would or had done it before. Gave feedback on demo reel and what would be nice to update & put in there.

Anders

The instructor was fantastic. My feedback were always clear and helpful with additional tips. I could definitely consider another course that Hunton is lecturing.

Andre

Hannah was a sensational teacher. I think she was very understanding and always interested in the student’s work and improvement. I admire how much effort she puts in every one of the critics.

Andrea

My instructor Lane Brown did an amazing job with the most thorough critique, I have ever seen.

Andreas

Jeremy was an excellent teacher. He went in depth with the course material and explained any questions we might have.

Andreas

Jay was a very pleasant and informative instructor. I would recommend his class to anyone interested in Hard Surface modeling.

Andreas

The instructor was very good at explaining tasks and answering questions. Feedback from the assignments was always on time and never felt rushed.

Andreia

Brandon was a great source of feedback over the course of the class!

Andrew

A very good instructor who wants students to succeed.

Andrew

Marco made great suggestions on how to improve my work and recommended great artists for my particular style and content.

Andrew

Very enthusiastic and friendly.

Andrew

Very happy with this course it was exactly what I was looking for to get me jump started in Nuke.

Andrew

Great professional, really liked working with him!

Andrey

He was great. Love that he found documentations on each subject that we were learning to help us further our education.

Andy

I liked how he showed interest in the students’ work. I watched other peoples’ critiques and he showed the same amount of interest.

Andy Fraser

She did it perfectly. I dare to say that she very experienced with speaking in public. I'm not just glad to go through the course under her guidance, I am proud of it.

Angell

It was great learning from Patrick. I feel confident on my path to becoming a better artist thanks to his encouragement and guidance.

Angie

She’s not afraid to repeat the same feedback where necessary, I appreciate her patience.

Angie

Anne went out of her way to provide me with extra content to help me out with many questions that I had. She really devotes the time and effort required, to make sure her students can learn as much as possible. I am very grateful to have had such a dedicated instructor.

Angie

He tried to support us individually, which was great.

Ania

Maarten is absolutely awesome as a teacher…. Always so accurate with his feedbacks and humorous in his class.

Anik

Robert was awesome—he took the time to answer my questions and do demonstrations in my assignment feedback.

Anna

Miguel did an absolutely fantastic job. Very intelligent and well spoken. A lot of artists have incredible skills but aren’t able to articulate themselves in a way that makes them good teachers- but Miguel was great at both.

Anna

This course is highly conceptual and very well structured. It’s not an easy material but it is explained very clearly. Also, I loved the artistic freedom we had in our assignments, it’s super inspiring!

Anna

Gilles is wonderful instructor and artist.

Anna

I think Melanie is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. I appreciate both her thoroughness and attention to detail!

Anne

Fantastic teacher, I definitely appreciated his prompt feedback and willingness to answer any questions and his positive supportive attitude.

Annie

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

Anouk

The instructor provided very good and detailed critiques and further supported students by sending reference pictures when needed.

Antonio

Shannon is a wonderful person and teacher. Her love for her craft does nothing but inspire to be better and I will ALWAYS be thankful to her for that!

Antonio

I have been trying to learn anatomy by myself for some time now, and I feel that this course has helped me to finally grasp a lot about anatomy! Everything finally made sense!

Antonio

He is very patient and his teaching is very easy to follow. I learnt some amazing new techniques which I wasn’t aware of and how to approach.

Anupama

He helped me to know more about sculpting the face, creating the low res mesh and texturing.

Arash

Lip is amazing. His technical understanding and conceptual approach makes his approach to this class thoroughly grounding.

Archer

Melanie was a great instructor and cared very much for helping students learn.

Ariel

Brandon Bennett was an awesome and knowledgeable instructor. I was initially disappointed that I wasn’t able to learn directly with Jayson Fitch, but Brandon quickly won my trust and confidence. He answered all questions and I felt he was very invested in the success and satisfaction of the class. I am very happy to have been able to study with Brandon.

Armando

Hannah Kang is an exceptionally talented artist that brings a real world perspective on how to execute at the highest levels of the entertainment industry. Hannah gives excellent instruction, insight and direction on what principles to focus on when articulating aesthetics and design in 3D space. Being able to learn from Hannah in a live Q&A environment with weekly dialogue has really helped expedite my learning and progress. Hannah’s class is much appreciated and highly recommended.

Armando

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!

Aromie

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

Arthur

Mark was an outstanding instructor and clearly demonstrates care for each student’s learning.

Arthur

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

Arthur

I appreciate 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.

Ashley

This has definitely been the most educational and productive character design class I’ve ever taken

Asia

Fantastic job on homework feedback! I find that his comments and criticism constructive and easily understandable.

Azalil

Thank you so much, Brett! I learned so much and finally learned how to put the character into characters! Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything!

Bakari

He has such an unfathomable enthusiasm for anatomy and for passing on his knowledge.

Barbara

Dedicated and generous. Sympathetic and easy to talk to during the live QnA sessions. Very skilled and professional.

Barbara

Aaron limonick is very good! I really appreciated his help!

Barbara

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

Barbbara

Adam was fantastic! He always took the time to answer my questions and help me improve my project. I truly appreciate his advice, expertise, and instruction.

Barbra

One of the best instructor for perspective and his doubt clearing sessions are really great and so much effective.

Bavanya

Minyu’s feedback was excellent and I am grateful for the techniques and knowledge he shared with us. Minyu offered simple solutions to many issues which had previously been a hindrance to some of my projects.

Ben

Omar is a super nice guy and a brilliant teacher. I enjoyed our interactions across the course and in general I learnt a lot.

Ben

Naky is a very passionate teacher whos helped me really understand the process and build confidence for my future of hair card placement

Ben

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.

Ben

Super great! His teaching style and critiques were always helpful.

Benaiah

Christian was a great instructor, who cared about his students, and wanted them to do well. His level of explanation and the depth he could go into was fantastic and really gave me a deeper understanding of human anatomy. I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to partake in a course like it and be taught by someone as talented as Christian.

Bethnay

…with a help of Tylor I managed to kearn the basics of modeling in Maya, Uv mapping, substance painting texturing, baking in Marmoset and basics in unreal engine. All these things were completly new to me!

Beti

Taylor is brilliant teacher. Thanks to him I did not give up. He s very patient and explains everything. Always provides with additional materials and inspirations

Beti

It was a pleasure to learn from Armand. He is humble, attentive and very passionate about his work which was very clear in every lecture. He is truly inspirational.

Bhairavi

Marco has been one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He’s made color and light a really fun subject. Couldn’t recommend him enough. Thanks Marco!

Billy

It was a well designed course that helped me save time and computer resources. I had a lot of different isolated CG creation skills and this class helped me develop a system to get my work completed on a deadline. Sergio is a great teacher.

Blair

Adam is a top notch instructor. He is an expert Houdini user and really put in the effort to help us find our own creative voices.

Brad

[Ainsley’s] comments really helped me improve on my perspective and boarding choices. I felt like she did a really good job of helping me improve with my stage direction and overall storytelling

Brandon

Mr. Ballesteros is a great instructor who consistently provides concise, meaningful feedback. I would recommend his course to anyone looking to improve his or her sketching ability.

Brandon

He was always very encouraging but also offered great draw-overs showing potential for growth.

Brendan

is an amazing teacher, and I’m so glad I took this class. He does a fantastic job of explaining Python, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past.

Brett

Really understanding and communicative outside of class! I knew I could email him and receive a response soon. Also seemed to really care about students and making sure we got feedback/answers to our questions.

Brianna

He’s awesome and I learned so much.

Britny

He was always supportive and gave great feedback to help me improve my skills and developing a better eye to notice those mistakes.

Brittney

Rachel is an amazing artist. She did a really good job of teaching to someone else’s lectures. The feedback was always helpful and on time. I thought she put a lot of thought and effort into the process.

Britton

GREAT instructor. I got exactly what I wanted from the course and feel fortunate to have had someone with the experience Hue has as a teacher.

Britton

Miki is a great artist and teacher, he is very diligent when critiquing students’ works. I also felt that his classes were fun and enjoyable to be a part of, even though there was a lot of work to be done on each assignment, every week felt light and easy to follow.

Bruno

Kyle is an awesome instructor and he shared a lot of useful information, especially in his Q&As.

Bryan

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.

Bryan

I started using photoshop for the first time towards the beginning of this course. The instructor really helped me with the learning process and I feel very comfortable using photoshop now. My artistic skills have really improved as well, and I think this course has helped me to get out of my comfort zone and study new things.

Bryce

He is a perfect mentor and I really enjoyed the learning path with Nate Wragg. I learned so much and he is really motivating.

Bukela

He was understanding when I could submit and he ways tried his best to help where he could and tried to make things easier and more efficient over so helpful and a really nice guy

Caitlin

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.

Caitlyn

I’m thoroughly pleased with the feedback and instruction Patrick offered. Every once in a while, I’d check out his feedback to other students. He doesn’t give out canned and generalized feedback. He seems to be aware of where each student is developmentally, and offers critiques that are most useful to them. This was money well spent. You da man, Pat!

Caleb

Simeon was exceptional! He gave us good, piercing critique, yet maintained an optimism and a positivity that motivated me to work hard. I felt like I didn’t want to disappoint him, which pushed me to put more into each painting that I did.

Calvin

He goes above and beyond for the convenience of his students, and he truly cares about their development during the term.

Camille

Scott is a great teacher, he shows that he really cares about his students. It’s been an honor to get weekly reviews from such a talented person.

Camilo

Timothy always shows his passion as an FX artist and TD, in the Q&I and reviews he was searching what were our goals as artists for supporting and helping us to enhance that skill.

Carlos

Oh, Im so happy that someone so experienced like him gave me feedback. Plus he is a great person with passion about sharing 3D modelling/ texturing tips.

Carlos

Patrick went above and beyond to give me the guidance and instruction I needed despite my difficult personal schedule.

Carsen

The instructor clearly knows the subject extremely well, and he was very good at explaining how things worked in detail, and making everything clear. In the live Q&A’s he was very dedicated to answering students’ questions, was approachable, and we covered a lot of good material.

Cassidy

He did a great job, he always answered forum questions quickly and provided feedback on time. The lessons were all very clear and covered a good range of useful and industry relevant topics.

Cassidy

He was very thorough and gave specific feedback for every student’s needs. I learned a lot not only from my own critiques but from watching other students.

Cat

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.

Catarina

Eugene is amazing!! I really loved listening to him.

Catherine

Melanie is amazing and I learned so much from her. I am so grateful for all the time she spent coaching me and helping me improve. Wonderful teacher!

Cathia

Great instructor. Really cares about sharing knowledge and the success of the students. Would love to take another class with him.

Chadwick

Clinton was so generous in giving everyone constructive criticism and every comment he’s made improved my work.

Chang

Michael has been an amazing tutor. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this course to anyone and I’d also be very keen to enroll in a course with Michael again.

Charlotte

Tim Coleman is the best instructor I had so far at CGMA. Actually he is something more than just an instructor. He is a mentor.

Chris

By far the best online instructor I’ve had. Passionate and accessible, always goes above and beyond. He has a great way of breaking down complex topics in an understandable way.

Chris

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

Chris

Very good instructor, provided clear and useful feedback each week and the QAs were very informative.

Chris

I really enjoyed this class and gained a lot of new skillsets from it, and was amazed that this was his first time teaching. 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!

Christen

Shannon is a fantastic instructor. Best I’ve seen at CGMA!

Christian

An incredibly knowledgeable and engaging teacher. He is not only an impressive Artist in his own right, but more importantly possesses just as much talent and passion for sharing his vast knowledge.

Christian

Honestly, Hannah is the best instructor I’ve had since graduating university.

Christian

Thomas is very encouraging and tries to help his students the best he can.

Christine

Because of Vidya’s feedback, I knew where I had to focus. I learned some new techniques in modeling and unwrapping, which also will helped me beyond this course.

Christoph

Sergio is great! He is generous with his time and knowledge. He is always positive and happy to help.

Christopher

Sean Ian Runnels is an extremely competent game artist and very prompt and descriptive with his help and feedback. I think he is doing his utmost as an instructor and all that is required of one.

Christopher

Fernando was great. He was attentive and took the time to explain not only the course but also what a career in animation was all about.

Christopher

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.

Christopher

Aaron is great! His feedback videos were constructive, helpful and he was always willing to answer any question for us in the Q&A

Claire

I am very pleased with Ana, she did a great job helping everyone throughout the course.

Cléa

Very knowledgeable of the content taught within the class. Great at clearly conveying ideas and concepts to the students, even without direct contact or interaction during the lectures.

Cody

Very knowledgeable about the content taught within the class. Great at clearly conveying ideas and concepts to the students.

Cody

Very well versed in human anatomy, and the art of teaching and conveying clearly multiple ideas and / or concepts to other people. Also, very interested in making sure their students understand clearly the knowledge they make so much effort to offer.

Cody

Great at clearly conveying ideas and concepts to the students, even without direct contact or interaction during the lectures.

Cody

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.

Cody

Andres is probably the best teacher I ever had and I recommend this class (or other classes with him) to everyone.

Cody Hernandez

Very committed! I appreciated his enthusiasm for the material and his delight in seeing students grow.

Collin

Marco was a great instructor and gave us feedback live during the Q&A which I enjoyed a lot, giving me a chance to ask questions on the spot about my specific piece during critique. He demonstrated alternate techniques for 3D problem solving that were not covered in the curriculum so I feel like I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth for the class.

Crystal

was awesome!! He was so positive and encouraging. He spoke to us like we are his peers and got excited about everyone’s work.

Daina

Martin is fantastic and I’d love to take another course by him.

Daniel

I really liked that Patrick took the time to provide meaningful, helpful, quality feedback on my homework.

Daniel

Marco is an incredible artist and a devout and highly capable instructor. I was immersed and fulfilled throughout the course and all of its material.

Daniel

Kalen is one of the best instructors I’ve had in my whole life. He is always encouraging people to work hard and explore new stuff. His classes are very well conducted and he has great humor. Definitely a very great experience.

Daniel

The Instructor was extremely patient and supportive. He is obviously highly qualified.

Daniel

He is a passionate, generous person, exactly type of professional you want giving training. I really enjoyed his personality and the way he approaches the students always positive and encouraging every work, and every quality level.

Daniel

Ben was a wonderful teacher who showed interest in his students and gave insightful critiques and Q&As.

Daniel

Aaron is an AMAZING instructor. Goes for all the pressing issues each student has right away and ensures that it doesn’t come across in a away that demoralizes the students. It personally made me want to do better, and the way he answers QAs and gives feedback is representative of that.

Danielle

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!

Danny

Really enjoyed Anne’s Q&A and her sense of humor. She gave great feedback that helped us and it was never condescending—it always came from a place of encouragement.

Danny

She was very interested in the questions we had, encouraging and gave really good and constrictive feedback. She was exactly the instructor that I needed to keep me motivated and comfortable to be involved in class discussions.

Daria

Mr Rey is a great instructor — thoughtful, passionate about his craft, caring about his students and extremely knowledgeable.

Daria

Great teacher. Really solid directions and explanations around ‘why’ you use the tools your doing as opposed to just outlining general best practices.

Dave

Patrick was a great instructor. An excellent teacher and a very positive and enthusiastic motivator.

David

Keith really did a phenomenal job, and I’m not just saying that. I feel as though I’ve seriously increased my skill level in Houdini Destruction work after taking his course.

David

Great teacher, interesting course with funny touch! Really enjoyed this course

Davin

Instructor was friendly and patient while going through the material, making sure we didn’t miss out on any fundamentals in our work.

Debbie

He always has great advice on how to push assignments beyond what was assigned.

Dennis

I like how no matter the level of experience each student has the instructor always gave constructive criticism. They never tore anyone down.

Dennis

Peyton is great and knows a lot, also very friendly and always knows how to fix a problem.

Diana

Roger is approachable, in that he’s friendly and easy to talk to. No fuss. Always has students’ interest in mind. He gave me new thoughts on how to approach and use Perspective as tools to tell stories. Roger alleviated my aching and reluctance to learning Perspective that has been chronically hampering my progress in art, illustration and design process.

Didan

Great teacher, instructor. Not only that, also a good mentor. Very approachable. Very easy to digest every time he gives information. Very welcoming and encouraging a very high spirit of learning. Very passionate in what he’s doing, therefore spreading the passion also to students.

Didan

Pete is the best teacher I’ve ever had. I learned a lot in the Q&A sessions and his weekly feedback was very useful. There were things I’ve never done before this class, moments of frustration that I was able to solve thanks to his advice.

Diego

Hair creation has been a breeze with Naky’s teachings, it makes sense, it’s easier to approach and I’m more eager to find new methods on a task that I used to avoid before this course.

Diego

Gael is a great teacher, he explained his workflow in great detail and provided even more information in the Q&A sessions. He also encouraged us to help each other, creating a great rapport between the students. I really enjoyed the course.

Diego

Jared is a great teacher!

Diego

Behnam Shafiebeik is really a great instructor. He made the process of learning Nuke for production quite simple, by breaking it down in to parts that could be understood and exercised in a weeks duration.

Divya

Sophie was great and really helpful through the whole course. Any questions were always answered with clarity, and showing us different approaches helps develop the way of thinking required for Houdini

Dominic

Very friendly and encouraging, Tyler provided really detailed feedback on most of my assignments and I really appreciated that. He also has a great sense of humor!

Dominique

Ethan was great! Learned a ton! Couldn’t have asked for more.

Duard

Brandon was truly amazing and easily one of the best instructors I’ve had at CGMA. He always went above and beyond to make sure all our work was given proper feedback and are questions answered thoroughly

Eddie

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!

Eduardo

Ferdinando, gave a very accurate answers to the questions and was very attentive to my ideas, trying not only to give a solution, but also to understand in which direction it is worth developing my ideas. This course came out with an individual approach.

Ekaterina

I really appreciate how Michael turned each Q & A into another mini lecture. He gave a lot of great tips that he uses.

Elena

Jose was very gentle in his critiques and has a vast knowledge on the subject. I also appreciate the fact that he didn’t cut his mistakes out from the lectures and showed the debugging process, as it’s really important part of rigging.

Elina

Patrick‘s feedback was always on point and his way of giving it made it easy to adopt it.

Elisabeth

He’s been very informative and was accommodating. Easy to follow, solid feedback and lectures made me think outside of the box.

Ellie

Tyler is one of the best instructors I have ever studied with. He was super encouraging and very helpful. He answered every single question we had and provided wonderful feedbacks for our assignments that helped with getting better not just at fundamentals of design, but also at drawing, painting, and being a professional in general. If I was rating based on the scale from 1 to 10, I would give Tyler an 11.

Elvira

I learned a lot about the Houdini FLIP (fluids) workflow, of which I knew very little about before.

Emanuele

He was very clear with his explanations and thorough with his answers.

Emiko

Thomas was excellent! Always made sure that everyone’s question was answered 😀

Emilia

Phil was an absolutely phenomenal teacher. He was very engaging in our Q&A sessions, and really went the extra mile to help us. I got a lot of valuable feedback from him, and would love to learn more from him in the future.

Emma

Eric is awesome!

Emma

Pete is a fantastic instructor and is always on top of his students questions and request. Would definitely recommend this course to anyone that has a good experience with 3D Characters and wants to take their skills to an expert level.

Emmanuel

He has a very upbeat personality and a strong understanding of the inner-workings of mechanical rigging. He went the extra mile for us by providing us with a treasure trove of knowledge and resources for improving student workflow, giving students who strive to learn valuable insight in their pursuits for growth.

Eric

Awesome instructor! She’s really nice and even takes the extra time to post additional resources. Also quite patient and understanding.

Eric

Finally, someone who gets it! I have tried so many ways to learn coding: books, notes from MIT, directly from professional programmers, even through other online courses. All of them were either overly technical, or lacking on their explanations. But this guy? His feedback to questions was clear, constructive, and his teaching methodology has a strong foundation in common sense. Someone who knows nothing about Python can understand his explanations and finish everything – even an artist like me.

Eric Hug

Josh has been a great resource for learning. His experience and knowledge was obvious and he was very engaging with the class about topics and additional reading material suggestions.

Erik

Helped me to better understand why certain practices are important, so I now know when it might be ok to break the rules too.

Erin

[Daniel] did not miss a single detail from all my submissions, and helped me improve my eye for detail, PBR workflow, among other things. The way he communicates and explains the reasons why is really really good, I never once felt that I was being critiqued it was more like a conversation on how I can improve, and what to focus on and why.

Erol

Ainsley is an amazing person! Anyone taking her class is going to come our a stronger artist. I would recommend her class to any of my artist friends!

Ethan

The instructor was great and delivered what was promised of the class. Besides this, it was great to received feedback from someone with so much experience in the industry.

Ethan

I was very satisfied with the instructor’s feedback. He always gives me an objective constructive feedback which it means very supportive for me to correct any mistakes and achieve my goals on the actual homework. Thanks for him for everything. He is a very good teacher and excellent artist.

Eva

Great instructor! Always very clear on videos and feedbacks as well as live Q & A.

Evelyn

Best instructor of all time!!

Fabian

This class has a really good presentation: there are a lot of examples and lecture notes that help us to understand the concepts. I really enjoyed this class. The instructor always gave feedback and answers promptly. It was really easy to communicate with him!

Farah

Just awesome. So many tips and even if a question couldn't be answered in the live QnA -they were for sure answered in the class questions afterwards. Provided great and useful feedback. Great explanations, nice, helpful, etc.

Felix

I’m happy that Lane was my instructor for this course. I learnt a lot from his constructive feedback.

Feras

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.

Florian

I just want to say how great David was as an instructor, his videos were full of info and yet he still managed to make them upbeat and interesting. His feedback was always encouraging and made me want to get better for the next week’s assignment.

Flynn

David really cares about character design and it shows in his interactions with students. His feedback and Q&A sessions are always insightful and motivating. David is super approachable and open, he’s never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. Truly a great teacher.

Frank

Good teacher. He’s laid back but stays focused and does a good job explaining what he is doing.

Frank Heffner

Allen is an amazing instructor. He is very involved and very present with his students. His lectures are also very informative, with the multiple examples that he shares with the students.

Freddy

He helped me a lot to be more confident, to work methodically and with a specific purpose. Always available with great constructive feedback, excellent teacher!

Gaia

Very nice person always showed an interest and maintained high degree of professionalism.

Gary

Was really friendly and encouraging; had great suggestions for help in directions that need more work.

Genevieve

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

Geneviève

Michael was very knowledgeable and was generous with his homework reviews. His sculpt overs really helped me see the areas I needed to improve.

George

Saurabh has done an amazing job for me and all the other students in his class. Everything was made with so much correct and useful information. Course lectures were clear and the schedule was perfectly covered. Can’t describe how grateful I am to have taken this class with him.

George

Jordan always gave really helpful feedback. I only watched a few feedback videos of the other students but I think I can say that Jordan knows exactly how he can help everybody individually at the right knowledge level.

George

Kevin is, without any doubt whatsoever in my mind, the best instructor I have had the pleasure of working with. He has consistently gone above and beyond in his efforts to help myself and other members of this class strive not merely for improvement, but for work that is genuinely professional. I hold him in the highest regard.

Giuseppe

Brett is an amazing artist and teacher!

Giuseppe

Definitely a lot of knowledge regarding design, the feedback was very useful and I’ve got to know a lot of good tips for my future work.

Gosia

[Janice is] very kind and down to earth, but also has an air of expertise about her that you can’t help but admire, I’d recommend this class to a ton of people if she teaches it again.

Gregory

I like how the instructor structured and taught this course. Having knowledge doesn’t always mean you have the skill to pass it on to someone, but this instructor definitely has it, and that’s why I find this course so awesome.

Grzergorz

Just a great guy, he really pushed me forward.

Guido

Mathias has provided excellent constructive feedback with each lesson and I feel like I’ve already improved as an artist because of it.

Gunel

Mathias is a great artist & instructor. Would love to take more classes by him in the future.

Gunel

More than great—much, much better than classes that I had taken in university.

Hannah

One of the best! Was very patient and helpful. Went above and beyond when we needed answers for specific problems.

Hasnain

My instructor was very detailed when explaining the functions and steps to complete the desired task. He didn’t just give the technical reasons but shared his experience from an artistic point of view. His personality and approach to handling students is friendly and met with enthusiasm. Assets of a great teacher.

Hayden

Juan is such a pleasure to talk to, and shares the wealth of knowledge he has on the subject very willingly. He definitely goes above and beyond in answering questions and introducing new plugins and scripts.

Heather

Really passionate instructor! Helped me understand and appreciate perspective more. I can definitely recommend him to anyone that wants to learn more about perspective.

Heaven

Very useful insights and tips about his work. Kind Person. Great course!

Heiko

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.

Henri

This course has challenged me and many different ways that I otherwise would not have been able to. Nate was excellent at explaining things in ways I've never thought before and had done so in very clear, concise manner.

Henry

Scott gives great critiques and went over more technical perspective issues case-by-case in the assignments and Q&As.

Hilary

Carlos is a wonderful mentor! Not only because of his experience and skill level, but also because he’s very personable and approachable.

Hollie

Eugene was a really good teacher. He always took time to answer questions and give good and clear feedbacks. Also he didn’t have the same level of expectation the first weeks as the last weeks. Which was really awesome and helping!

Hugo

Very enthusiastic and engaging. Listening to her lectures and her live Q&A was always a pleasure.

Ian

Pete is a very kind, intelligent teacher with immeasurable artistic talent and ability. He always responded to my emails with kind, helpful answers and feedback.

Ian

Mayan is a great instructor and a great guy! He brings extensive real world experience to his lectures and provides constructive criticism to his feedback that isn’t sugar-coated (which I really appreciate). Mayan is the man!

Ian

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!

Ian

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!

Ian

Very positive and can see the potential of a concept in an initial drawing.

Ibrahim

It develops your eye and attention to detail. This is an excellent course. Walking my instructor through my grooming scene in Houdini and getting real time feedback on things was perfect, I loved that. Having your work reviewed by such a talent really made me want to push the hard work for me. I'm grateful for that because you feel always motivated.

Ignacio

Mélanie is by far the best instructor I’ve had at CGMA so far. She is an amazing artist and shares her knowledge! And she also gives helpful feedback, like really telling you what does not work in your drawing and why.

Ilona

Melody Romero was an amazing teacher. I hope she can continue teaching because her feedback was always great and she is also very smart and kind with it.

Isabella

Absolutely amazing teacher!! I couldn’t have asked for a better class!

Isabella

Mayan has always been very clear explaining the exercises each week and giving feedback. It seems to me a very important point that he has used examples so that we understand him perfectly.

Itziar

Christian is an awesome instructor. Very informative and helpful. Always encouraged us to use the forums and such as well and be a class rather than just being individual students.

Ivan

Bill was a really great mentor with a lot of experience at his disposal. Watching him draw was really incredible too. Seeing the way another artist works and how they choose to tackle a design is seriously so helpful.

Ivy

I think Kat had a lot of wonderful things to teach about shape language and intention with your designs. She would pull up good references as examples from her own work or other artists and it really helped nail home the concepts she was explaining.

Ivy

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.

JD

Christian is awesome—he really knows his stuff. I thought he was going to be a bit academic at first, but he has a hysterical sense of humor that occasionally comes through!

JD

Dmitrij’s dedication is amazing. He really cares about the students and provides thorough feedbacks and explanations.

Jacek

I feel like a lot of the class was information I’ve heard over the years in other classes and through trying to learn through youtube tutorials, but it was condensed and presented in a way that gets you to think about a lot of things all at once while drawing. New information I took away from it was that iteration and exploration are key to good design. Before this class I would draw a character one way and then just try to make that one way work by drawing them the same way over and over maybe with slight differences, when its exploring the large differences that leads to better design. Also through practice and with Ricky’s feedback I feel I have a better grasp now on how to create balance and readability in a drawing.

Jacob

Taylor’s individual feedback and answered questions were incredibly helpful. You could tell that he went the extra mile to provide meaningful and honest feedback to help make our projects the most successful they could be.

Jacob

I loved this intructor (Aaron Limonick) and I think he is an excellent teacher, not just a talented professional.

Jacob

Amazing teaching style, completely comprehensive, I have taken a few python courses that were not maya centered but they were always bogged down by niche concepts and not paying enough attention to the core of python as a whole. I learned a lot and that is thanks to you!

Jacob DeRemer

Kalen excels in both technical expertise and teaching acumen. He’s very much qualified in both fields!

Jacqueline

Anthony is really knowledgeable and great at explaining technical things in a way artists can understand.

Jacqueline

Vidya was awesome at teaching us about every aspect. She always made an effort to be motivating and helping us.

Jahrut

It’s a pleasure to have Peyton as my instructor and he is really awesome at explaining things and highly knowledgeable.

Jaikumar

I learned a lot and appreciate all the information and input from Andres.

Jaime Molina

I think Patrick does a great job with this course. Even though he has taught this extensively, his enthusiasm for the course and our success was present in every Q&A. As this was my first course with CGMA, I did not know what to expect, but if Patrick represents the caliber of instructors at CGMA I look forward to my next course.

Jake

I liked having multiple people lecturing and giving feedback throughout the course, it was an interesting change from usually just having the classes be a single instructor.

Jake

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.

James

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.

James

Really good mentorship and instruction from Mauricio.

James Pickard

This was the best course I have done at CGMA. Marco is clearly passionate about both art and teaching and this is infectious. He takes a huge amount of interest in students and goes above and beyond when providing detailed feedback and responding to WIP requests on the class forum.

James Pickard

Great instructor, really challenged me to do more and explore my designs more.

James Pickard

was fantastic start to finish. His QA’s were informative, and as long as they needed to be. He took the time to answer every single question. He had a great attitude and never made anyone feel like they didn’t have what it took to do this kind of work, offering real constructive criticism. Not coddling anyone, but telling them what they needed to do to improve and move forward. I’d take another class with Reilly for sure.

James Rumfelt

Adam is an incredible teacher and this course far exceeded my expectations. I really appreciate his ability to teach a technical subject while keeping us engaged / grounded in the high-level theory behind it all.

James Tupper

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

James Wright

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. This in turn made me feel really inspired and encourages me to try my best every class.

Jane S. Kim

Joshua was able to create a great and most of all safe space to share ideas. It made me feel like I was taken serious, especially since I’ve been struggling with insecurity issues. His feedback was always very good and helpful.

Janneke van den Biggelaar

She was always eager to find out what we wanted to know more about so she could incorporate it in her lessons.

Jannes Lauwers

He has a way of knowing how to break down complex material for individuals of any level to understand.

Jared

Andres was great. Learned a ton!

Jared Chavez

Nice guy. Clearly put a lot of work and dedication into the feedback, which he posted like clockwork.

Jason

Arno’s critiques were concise, accurate, and extremely helpful. This is the first class I’ve ever taken where I felt like was significantly better at the end of each week…I can tell you that I am a completely different (and better) artist than I was at the start of this course. Can’t recommend Arno highly enough.

Jason

Tyler is a great and engaging instructor. His passion for the subject and teaching really comes through.

Javier

Saurabh is a really, really good teacher that shows passion and knowledge.

Javier

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 feedbacks were also always really on point and he is really kind in the Q&As.

Javier

Ethan it's an awesome teacher, the way he answered all of our questions was super clear, and even if he came across a problem he doesn't know 100% he looks into it to teach us the way to solve it

Javier

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.

Jay

Ben is a fantastic instructor. Hard surface modeling felt like math to me but he made the workflow easy to understand.

Jayleen

Robert treated each of us like professionals which is something I really appreciated. His experience and ability to constructively give criticism was thoroughly appreciated.

Jaylynn

Jonathan was absolutely lovely and his somewhat laid back but thorough approach to helping us with feedback was awesome!

Jaylynn

My knowledge definately improved after this course in material and shading part. I really liked the way Hugh explain every material nodes process.

Jean

She seems really passionnate in her craft and she really wants us to improve by providing us with the tools and informations we needs.

Jean

Sergio did a great job in covering a lot of bases with the software, and sharing tips specific to our needs as 2D artists, and his availabilty to answer questions was excellent.

Jeff

Sergio spent a lot of time with us and did a great job, thankful to study with him.

Jeff

Excellent instructor. Clearly knows the content and provides fantastic critiques on a timely basis. This was a great experience.

Jeff

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

Jeff

Richard is super helpful and very open to answer any questions I have had. Great Instructor with a ton of knowledge.

Jeffery

She did a good job explaining things and giving advice on how to refine my work further.

Jenn

[Martin] is resourceful in technical and artistic in the level of seeing the big picture of the composition.

Jennifer

You rock Mitch!

Jenny

Mark was excellent—I think he might be one of the few instructors that I’ve seen be that dedicated to each and every student. He was very kind and patient with each student. Overall, CGMA is lucky to have someone who takes a lot of pride in being an instructor, and is willing to go so above and beyond to help his students and share his time like that.

Jenny

Brett: you’re awesome! I’d definitely want to join another class in the future.

Jenny

Mélanie was amazing! this was my first CGMA class and it has definitely got my so pumped up to take more classes.

Jeremy

Very nice guy; always remembered the small things about us and our work.

Jerome

Poe Tan is an excellent instructor and always helpful.

Jerome

Diego is awesome! He's very friendly and easy to talk to; he was always happy to answer our questions and extremely encouraging about continuing to learn and grow as artists. He provided a lot of great demos in the Q&As and always gave detailed and thoughtful answers to both specific technical questions and general career related questions. It was a truly great experience to have Diego as an instructor; his enthusiasm for his craft really comes through and his willingness to share his own career experiences and anecdotes is greatly appreciated.

Jerry

Chris is absolutely amazing. The course was tough but he made it easily understandable and where I can improve each week. He helped me fall in love with painting and I can’t thank him enough for that.

Jess

Chris is a great teacher who was always very positive and encouraging, and gave helpful feedback.

Jess

Gael was knowledgeable and passionate about anatomy, and conveyed that knowledge clearly at an appropriate level.

Jesse

Really thinks about suggestions for individual students to help them get to the next stage wherever they are. Never makes us feel stupid or lazy just because we’re not professionals yet!

Jessica

Highly enjoyed Mark’s class, I would even say it was the best class I’ve taken through CGMA. Mark was extremely engaging and was a great teacher, he offered helpful feedback to our work and offered great insight, his sessions run very long.

Joakim

Pete is an amazing artist with a lot of knowledge, he has the ability to share it in a very clear way.

Joaquin

Janice was a great instructor. Provided great insight on the assignments and knowledge of the industry.

John

Marko is a great instructor. He is thoughtful and provide constructive feedback to help me improve as an artist.

John

Yves was by far my favorite art teacher I’ve ever had. I’m not saying that lightly. I’ve learned more from him in these 8 weeks than I have from anyone else. He’s very attentive, easy to talk to. I can’t wait to take more courses with him in the future.

John

A great teacher, Ron was able to be stern in his critiques while never seeming hostile or combative. I always felt that my improvement was his first priority.

John

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.

John

Nate Wragg continues to impress me with his knowledge of the material, and the skills he displayed in demos and in the Q&As! He really knows his stuff, and the fact that he is willing to share that knowledge with us is really great. He is also open and honest about the industry, and what we will face when we get there. Honestly, I feel honored to have studied with him, and hope to work with him in the future.

John

[Janice] was great at providing feedback that was both helpful and encouraging. There was enough constructive criticism to improve, but I always felt inspired and confident in my skills after watching the feedback videos.

John S.

It was actually really helpful to see Saurabh demonstrate mistakes and then correct himself during his videos. It helped me to realize things I should avoid but also made him relatable.

Johnathan

Bevin rocks!!

Jon

Very fun person to learn from, he made classes interesting and kept things interesting without taking away from the lessons.

Jonah

Really good at explaining difficult concepts and was really nice to everyone.

Jonah

I cannot say enough about Patrick’s ability to communicate his process. Patrick was extremely helpful to everyone during the Q&A and took his time with every single critique. I consider Patrick one if not the best teacher I had the pleasure of studying under. He is a true master of anatomy and I cannot recommend his class enough. I hope to one day have the opportunity to study under him again.

Jonathan

I really enjoyed Igor’s practical and experienced HW feedback. I really appreciated how he ALWAYS would reply to WIP threads and would often go above and beyond in the student feedback videos.

Jonathan

Brent is very encouraging and committed to his students. One of the best instructors I’ve had at CGMA.

Jonathan

Aaron is certainly interested in the improvement of the students and always has something to offer when looking at homework.

Jordan

Great teacher and awesome professional. Could end up learning a lot more than on my 2 year degree.

Jordi

He is a great instructor!

Jose

Adam was an excellent instructor and offered very insightful critiques and alternative processes that spoke to our individual designs. Always in a thoughtful, patient, and professional manner. As an instructor for almost 20yrs, I'd say you have a winner in Adam Beardall.

Jose

Very fun, uplifting instructor. The feedback I received was super helpful, but also positive so even after a rough assignment, I left the critique feeling inspired and ready to improve the next assignment. I learned more than I expected to, and while the limit 8 weeks means things are fast paced, I have plenty of tools to continue to practice with.

Joseph

Fantastic teacher. I really, really enjoyed learning from him. Very clear and patient. Really felt like there was an invested interest in my work.

Joseph

Ben has been one of the most accommodating, engaged instructors I’ve ever had, always enthusiastic about our work and making sure things are clear. And on top of that, he’s very open about career advice and provides high-level artistic critique.

Joseph

Hillary’s feedback has been tremendously helpful and constructive. And she’s been very responsive to all questions during (and out of) the QA. It’s been a great experience.

Josh

Tyler did a fantastic job breaking down the elements of design very clearly.

Joshua

Patrick has opened the world of traditional art to me. And I am forever great full. His passion for his work resonates clearly in his lectures and QA sessions. He really makes it feel like a world I want to be part of. I will continue to work in charcoal and sanguine long after this class. Thank you Patrick.

Joshua

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 delivers feedback in a great encouraging tone. He has a great eye for detail and easy to reach and help out.

Joshua

>Patrick’s been great. I’m glad that I’ve had more time to devote to this course than I’ve had in the previous courses I’ve taken. Now I need to play through the games he’s worked on.

Joshua

He’s a very encouraging and caring dude. I felt like he really enjoyed teaching the class, which goes a long way.

Joshua

Christian was outstanding. My knowledge gained during this class has multiplied tenfold without a doubt. Christian helped me to understand the human form rather than memorizing shapes and hoping that it turns into a human model.

Joshua

I’ve had the privilege to learn from multiple instructors the last 2 years or so, and I’ve learned that just because someone is a great artist doesn’t necessarily mean they will be great INSTRUCTORS. Christian is the rare exception of being great at both, and it was definitely an honor to be part of the course!

Joshua

Ashley was extremely thorough in her answers to questions and feedback advice, as well as in providing links to external resources related to the questions and feedback.

Joshua

He’s great, very knowledgeable, and gives awesome individual feedback. He’s an incredibly nice guy.

Joshua Williams

Chris was great! I would take another class hosted by him any time.

Josiah

Thank you for the professionalism you have shown at all times and how well you have managed to lead the course. I have learned a lot with all the contents of the program.

José

He is very helpful and always gave good feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Joubert

Peyton was fantastic and really helped us all develop!

Jozsef

Really great course, all I was looking for, Sergio is a great instructor!

Juan

I thought Juan was a great coach. I highly recommend this instructor.

Juan

Great class! Highly recommend Varomix, he has made learning the fundamentals of houdini easy and fun.

Judith

I loved Heather’s class, and her approach to the work and additionally to the ethics of the work. It’s a fast-paced class, loaded with digestible information and a clear overall directive.

Julia

Pat really made the course useful. He was always there to answer questions posted to the forum message board and gave very useful advice.

Julian

Diego is awesome! super patient and encouraging.

Julie

Mehreen is very effective as an instructor. She is very eloquent in the subject matter.

Junard

My instructor was incredible, very talented and good at explaining information clearly. I did not always get to attend the q&a but I watched the recordings and he answered everything very clear and had files setup to show how he handled certain things in the modeling process.

Justin

Kevin is a great, knowledgeable teacher who I would definitely take a class from again.

Justin

Patrick is an excellent instructor. He gives clear instructions and feedback. Everything he pointed out during the feedback was valuable. He has been very inspiring throughout the course. I really enjoyed his class and has learned a lot from it.

Ka

It really helped me understand some of the intricacies about the pipeline for animated grooms. The reviews were also really helpful.

Kamran

Shannon is very caring, precise, detailed.

Karim

Kristin was super kind and was always available and really helpful.

Karina

I think she did a great job. Helped me a lot.

Karolina

I am now able to create my own animation shorts and also have a better understanding of the graph editor, modeling, camera work and how to keep my work organized. Not only that, this course also enabled me to showcase my creativity given that each assignments were open to interpretation and ideas

Karolina

Clinton is excellent at explaining answers from a wide range of questions; from very intricate and complex as well as for someone brand new. He’s also very patient, supportive, and I can tell that he very much enjoys what he teaches!

Kat

Ben is very focused on the student—he gives long and outstanding homework feedback.

Katarzyna

The way that Peter adapts to the needs of each student and manages the time spent on various subjects according to needs and not just a fixed plan is just incredible. He also shares so much about his own methodology and experiences that we gain so much invaluable insight. Not only have I ‘learnt’ new things, but have ‘unlearnt’ my bad habits that were holding me back.

Kate

Nate is a great instructor with very professional approach. Many thanks for his thorough feedbacks and always being there to help.

Kate

He was great! I’ve learned so much from him, especially because he explained things so clearly and easily.

Kate

Aaron was amazing and really helped me gain a deeper understanding of the material taught. He always went above and beyond to answer questions, providing long detailed feedback videos and often staying late on Q&A nights.

Katianna

Heather Abels is a wonderful teacher.

Katsushi

[Cathleen] was very encouraging and did a fantastic job critiquing, while also pointing out what I did well

Kayla

He gives not only course related knowledge during the Q&A session but also industry information and advice, which is so useful to students. He always goes further with his feedback, tries his best to cover any possibility and concern the students may encounter.

Kean

The teacher was tough but fair and he pushed our boundaries.

Keila

Could never have imagined Miki would be such a present and engaging teacher. All his feedback was extremely helpful and the Q&A was always insightful.

Kelly

Ed really showed me great techniques to make sure I got a realistic water simulation. Amazing course!

Kenneth

I like how Dmitrij also allowed for casual conversations during Q&A if no immediate questions were at hand. Makes it felt welcoming and not as rigid. He talked about his own personal interests as well and fields he is trying to improve on himself. Mark of a great artist!

Kenny

I felt the instructor (Nestor) was very understanding of where students were at in terms of having time to apply to the course and outside issues that would affect weekly submissions

Kevin

The best teacher I have ever had. The effort he puts is inspiring. I feel like he really has made a massive difference to my learning. I understand so much more. so good!

Khadeeja

He’s very helpful, especially for an overwhelmed beginner like me.

Khadeeja

He simplify a very hard and complicated subject (Hair for games) and makes it easy to understand and to apply, Amazing job by the instructor!

Khaldoun

Amazing, phenomenal instructor. This is the best CGMA fundamentals course, and I believe it is the single most important for 3D Character Artists.

Khaldoun

Brent is the best, his knowledge in modern 2D Flash Animation is up-to-date to the industry standard. Brent’s techniques and tips are the most valuable of the course. They are valid even to artists who are already working in the industry.

Khang

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.

Kimberly

In many ways Hannah pushed me, technical and artistic. Since I was sort of new to the tools, her structured way of working and clear step by step work approach was just perfect.

Kirsten

He is very helpful and always gave good feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Knut

Kat’s feedback is invaluable to me. She always showed me how to make my character designs better, and every feedback video was an “aha” moment for me.

Kristen

[Patrick] has a good understanding for the game creation workflow and the human anatomy as well, So i have a lot of understanding for both as well.

Kuan

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.

Kyle

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.

Kyle

Phil really went above and beyond to give everyone an equal footing while helping us all along no matter the skill level.

Lance

Amazing! Really made me feel like he cared about me and my progress. Would take the course again just for Nik’s expertise & care for students. So approachable!

Laura

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.

Laura

Christian is a great teacher who knows how to enhance every student’s skills regardless of their level.

Laura

Mr. Rey was great!

Laurel

I genuinely feel like my skills are becoming competitive for the animation design job market thanks to Nate!

Lauren

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!

Laurence

Tyler was an awesome teacher and very involved with the learning of his students. He left great feedback and inspired the class as a whole with the techniques he shared and his really great demonstrations. His lectures were well prepared and his Q&A sessions were very entertaining, insightful, and also very well prepared. Not only did Tyler do a great job with his art and concepts, he was an exemplary teacher due to his attention to students and preparedness in lectures.

Laurent

Bobby was a terrific professor, I will definitely take his class again!

Laurie

Dzu Ngyuen is a straight forward, down-to-earth guy. He did his best at answering questions and gave substantial answers to said questions. He is a very good instructor!

Lawrence

She is amazing! I'm really happy to have signed up with Ashley, her feedback was very constructive and supportive and I really appreciated that as a beginner.

Lei

Ashleigh is a great instructor. She’s always available to answer questions and she gives thoughtful critiques.

Leigh

Nik was awesome, providing examples in the feedback which makes understanding notes easier.

Lev

Excellent instructor. It was great to have someone like Anthony sharing his knowledge with us.

Lewis

I learned so much in this class. Patrick is a fantastic teacher, artist, and person. He truly cares about art and the well-being of his students, like a drawing art-dad!

Liberty

Excellent instructor. I’ve had a lot of trouble understanding this topic in university classes and was shaky on the subject before I started the class. After finishing I feel confident in both color/light and also just starting any painting in general (mega bonus!).

Lily

Pete Zoppi has a wealth of wide ranging experience and is an extremely good tutor able to break down complex subjects into an easily digestible form.

Lorraine

Seemed like she was very knowledgeable about the software.

Lou

All of her feedback was really helpful and useful… she is exceedingly knowledgeable and every critique was very helpful. Would 100 percent have her as an instructor again.

Louise

Michael’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I couldn’t dream of a more approachable teacher. He is always friendly, very clear in his explanations and advices, and encourages us to reach out for help if needed. Favorite teacher so far!

Loup

The feedback given was great, Frederic pointed out things that can be improved and all the question were explained in the live QnA very clearly. Frederic was very cooperative in explaining material that students did not understand.

Lovina

He was really clear during the lectures and has incredible patience. Never received late a feedback or email. Definitely an incredible teacher and artist!

Luca

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

Lucas

The classes were really full of knowledge and I learned a lot!

Lucca

Miguel is an amazing teacher, with a lot of knowledge, very professional and helpful.

Lucia

I really like Simeon’s enthusiasm in the feedbacks, which makes me wanna push further!

Luis

Very good class. He was always encouraging and helpful. His critique was clear and concise without being harsh. Overall excellent class.

Luis

I really liked that he prepared some material to cover during live QnA sessions that applied to issues he found in the weeks homework’s. This allowed the call to have a nice flow and even encouraged people to come up with more questions.

Lukas

Sean, absolutely amazing and possibly one of the best teachers I’ve ever studied under.

Luke

Alex is fantastic at what he does and obviously has a natural aptitude for passing on information and scaling his feedback accordingly

Luke Davenport

Yves Yumol was incredibly thorough and generous with his time and very clear in his communications on the individual feedbacks. I would definitely take a class that he is in instructing in again.

Mackenzie

I had a phenomenal time in this class, and I’m so sad it’s ending. Mitchell 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!

Madeline

>Asa is an incredible teacher who really encouraged me to dig deep, try and experiment through out the course his feedback was practical and to the point, on top of that he would show even more examples of problem solving and different methods or techniques with the in depth q a. His methods of including games in of finding perspective not only breaks the ice in an online class setting but really is a fun quick engaging way of learning,I feel really lucky to have a mentor as professional and caring to help me improve, really cgma hes a beast, that made realise I made a great decision learning with cgma, i didnt expect to learn at such a rapid rate and enjoy the process as much as I do. I hope there are more classes soon with Asa.

Majid

Ron definitely showed that he cares about student progress and gave some amazing advice about anatomy drawing, and also about growth as an artist in general.

Makoto

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.

Malin

All of the instructors should be like him!

Marcellino

Liza was an awesome instructor. She always provided good feedback.

Marco

Chris was an absolutely amazing instructor. You can tell he is a very nice guy who is passionate about what he does.

Marcus

Poe really stimulates the students to do their best and push the students to get out of their comfort zones. Definitely the best teacher I’ve ever had.

Margareta

Robert was amazing—very personal and objective and the same time, gave positive feedback which was inspirational but at the same time gave constructive feedback on how to improve. Would love to take some other course with him.

Maria

Behnam is a great instructor! He was very patient and answered questions in detail.

Marian

The best was the in-depth critiques and all the involvement displayed during Q&As, not only demoing but answering all the questions during them.

Marina

It’s been the best character class I’ve taken and I’ve taken many. Knows the material very well and sets the bar high which helps with my improvement.

Mario

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.

Mark

I can recommend Daniel Hourigan enough. He was extraordinarily attentive and helpful.

Mark

This is my second time taking a class with Armand. I really enjoy his teaching style and love the fact that he always has feedback for our work. His teaching style allows us to become more of a thinking artist which I find a huge plus. On top of the fact that he always shows interest.

Mark

Sebastian’s Q&A sessions were really helpful. It helped a lot to watch him tackle the assignments in real time.

Martha

Mr David Mooy has the ideal teaching style for helping learners at the early stage of their journey, not only to develop skills quickly, but also to be enthused and excited about the learning journey ahead. He’s patient, positive, personable and knows his subjects inside out.

Martin

I love how close of a conversation you can have with him. How he seems to have a working example for nearly everything, it's really helpful to visualize if a specific question is more technical.

Martin

For a beginner like me, this course was a real game-changer. I struggled a lot every week, but I know for sure that mastering these materials will be the foundations of my future works, and that’s really motivating!

Martino

Fantastic class! Nate is a great teacher and an incredible resource, I’m so thankful for his dedication to teaching!!

Mary

Ron was great! His examples are easy to understand and he’s probably the best art instructor I have ever had!

Massiel

I learned a ton of stuff through this course. Ethan is a great instructor!

Matt

Great instructor for the course: friendly and always happy to help out with any problems the students ran into.

Matthew

Brent was great; he went above and beyond to teach us about the industry. He has a great ease at motivating and communicating with his students.

Maureen

Varomix was great. Very helpful, warm and friendly.

Max

At the start, I expected minimal feedback, but he went above and beyond to show me how certain things work in the work environment.

Maxime

I learnt a ton about everything! Mathias was really good at explaining design fundamentals, and even though I already have been taught them, I feel like I understand them much better now. His analyses of big, medium, and small, detail placement, and colour theory, were super useful…. The feedback was super good and Mathias was very honest whilst being very constructive and fun with it.

Mayenna

Loved Mahreen as a teacher, very helpful feedback and encouraging.

Megan

Really impressed with Ron and happy I took the class with him. I am definitely a better artist now than I was six weeks ago, and as someone who already has a BFA (and has taken many many figure drawing classes in the past), I was really happy that Ron was teaching such a technical way of approaching the subject matter. In our first lesson he mentioned gesture drawing and how frustrating he found it to be as it did not yield a usable mannequin, and as someone who learned the “old way”, I can definitely agree. Really, really useful class, taught by a great artist!

Mei-li

Tan is very smart, knowledgable, and always supportive. He gives wise suggestions to our career, always listen and responds to any of our questions or concerns right away. He is so hardworking and he is an excellent teacher.

Meihe

Dorothy cares so much about her students. She take extra time to give comprehensive and detailed reviews, share additional resources with us, and answer questions not only about the course, but also gives career advices. She is so helpful and enthusiastic, and a extremely warm-hearted teacher! I learned so much from her!

Meihe

Great instructor. An online course can sometimes be very detached from the real experience of a classroom, however Nate really engaged us as students through his lectures and fast & useful critiques, which made the whole experience more effective and real.

Melis

Hunton was super helpful each week with his feedback. I felt that, with his help, I could push myself to improve my model each iteration.

Melissa

He was very responsive and definitely encouraged everyone to learn more and search more to have a deep understanding of the topics.

Mert

Shane was fantastic, a great instructor and extremely helpful answer questions and just about anything level design related.

Michael

Great job explaining.

Michael

Good guy Gilles, showed me a few new tricks and was very encouraging.

Michael

It is like learning from a real seasoned veteran of the industry. Mooy seemed passionately interested about what he does — and clearly knows his stuff — and you can obviously see that in the Q&As, where he answered a question it would generate more discussion and it was all so interesting to listen to and you learned so much.

Michael

Really helped me get a better emphasis on material definition as well as gave me the confidence to do something like texture a face from scratch

Michael

Instructor was great, gave real world production examples and treated all students respectfully

Michael

Kevin is awesome! I didn’t plan on signing up for this class at first because it didn’t seem focused towards television animation but I changed my mind when I saw Kevin’s portfolio. He is not only an excellent storyboard artist, but a really gifted teacher.

Michelle

He is a great teacher! We know he was busy with his job, but even though he had other commitments, he always answered our questions and helped us find solutions.

Michelle

Best instructor ever!

Michka

Great class and teacher. I like how the class hits realism and stylized aesthetics and touches on other topics like expressions with blendshapes. The workflow and analysis of the human head was eye-opening and really helped me improve my work where I was previously hitting a wall. This class was a great experience.

Mickey

Really nice guy. His critique videos were always double the length of the videos in my other CGMA classes because he goes for quite a while on certain aspects of my assignment and the perspective, which is what I wanted to hear. It was awesome getting feedback from him!

Mika

Really great teacher. My first art lesson ever and I signed up for two more based on my time with Yves!!

Mike

Brent used his own experiences and industry know-how to help us further our craft. All his critiques were thorough and on time. I only wish I had taken the course at a less busy time in my own life so I could spend more time on my assignments.

Mike

In terms of art teachers in general, Marco is probably the best I have ever had. His enthusiasm and detailed analogies to describe one topic in multiple different ways so that everyone could understand is really motivational and inspiring!

Minnie

Best rigging instructor ever

Mio

Hillary is so enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and helpful! (and also super funny!)

Miranda

I now know how to use substance painter, texture a face, and render a scene in marmoset. Incredibly useful.

Miriam

Clinton is by far the best teacher I’ve experienced on CGMA so far. He’s kind, patient and very much into detail when answering a question.

Mitch

He worked hard to push us to simplify very complex tasks and encouraged us to take simple steps each time to build magical stuff. I also admired his modesty & wellness for helping and sharing some of his coolest & production proven techniques, which you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere.

Mohammed

I already had intermediate skills for designing the environment, but Anthony took everything to the whole new advanced level of world building and helped me a lot to learn different steps of the environment design and how to prepare the assets and landscape to get the result that I want. His experience is priceless and I am so happy that I invested in this class and I feel more confident to pick whatever idea or concept that I want and turn it into the portfolio piece that I want.

Mohsen

The instructor (Hillary) was very positive and knowledgeable.

Molly

Very knowledgeable.

Molly

He is extremely knowledgeable and very generous in how he shares what he knows with the class.

Molly Gilmore

Well organized, forces everyone to be better than their best.

Monica

Offered great advice to someone looking to start their storyboarding career. Always gives helpful notes!

Morgan

Peyton was really helpful and understanding of the different levels of artist in the class.

Murray

Juan is a great instructor to learn from. He is very understanding and aware of his students skill level. His friendly and calm manner make it easy to follow the course and his encouraging feedback make it easy to stay committed.

Myoungjun

One of the best instructors I have ever had. My artwork improved considerably during this course, as did my understanding of the figure. The instructor is extremely sincere, and encouraging while having high expectations for excellence. I wish that he were teaching more courses. I would take them all.

Nancy

Nate is an exceptional teacher. It changed my way of taking on new projects and opened up new opportunities and horizons as a freelance artist. I cannot thank him enough for how valuable it was to take Nate's class.

Natalia

Michele has been a great help throughout this course, always giving useful and easy to follow recommendations and critique.

Natalie

Absolutely fantastic. Phil always spent enough time talking to everyone about their work and teaching a few new techniques. Also always very positive and encouraging.

Natalie

Good guy.

Nathan

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.

Nebojsa

Peyton was great, clear and concise with his comments.

Neil

Great instructor who has in-depth knowledge on animation. He was always willing to help and gave good, honest feedback about the work I produced.

Neil

Sir Damon Woods is really supportive to the students. Answering all our questions and also drawing out our best. He would always give great feedback to really improve upon our work.

Nestor

Awesome job! Kyle is by far one of the most articulate and fun teachers to learn from. His experience and passion shine through our sessions and it was a real privilege to have taken his course.

Nicholas

Ron’s knowledge on anatomy is exponential, and I felt like I could ask him anything regarding how to draw the figure.

Nick

Poe was great. He is one of the most knowledgeable teachers I have ever had, and his experience shows through and proves just that.

Nick

I had a great time with the course, there were a lot of examples that showcased different aspects of using flip in Houdini, and the lecturer provided us projects that helped utilize and practice that knowledge.

Nicolas

Really enjoyed learning from Edward Ferrysienanda, really friendly and learnt a from him and his course.

Nicolas

Very knowledgeable and engaging.

Nicolas

Very skilled at what he does which not only shows in the end result but also in how he approaches things. Very professional

Nicolas

She was very kind and pushed the idea of imperfection is perfection, and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed to step forward and become a better artist. Somebody that everybody should learn from.

Nicole

The instructor was fantastic and I absolutely loved his class!

Nicole

Showed an intense interest in her students, making us all feel very inclined to learn and engaged in the content. She was readily willing to answer questions about any topic and give us access to all the resources she could.

Nicole

The course helped answer many questions I had coming in, both about the industry and about MAYA. I learned new ways to model things that I wouldn’t have been able to before.

Nidhi

Lip is a great instructor. He provided helpful and insightful feedback and he helped me grow in my artistic skills.

Nienke

Ron is a tremendous source of information. He really knows his stuff, and he gives good critiques. Also special commendation for getting all the feedback videos in before the Q&As.

Nikhil

His extended effort to show additional examples and methods both in the forums and in the Q&As deserves a round of applause! Describes and explains everything very well, and is easily understandable.

Nikolay

Chris Brock has been an outstanding teacher, providing great feedback and always answering emails or forum threads with helpful information.

Nora

My instructor has been extremely helpful, always offering different industry tips and tricks to quickly achieve great results!

Odin

Andres was a great teacher. His comments, suggestions and critiques were very insightful and helpful in developing my project. His suggestions were always coupled with explanations and examples of why they would be beneficial which is a great way to develop an understanding of what to look for when developing our own work.

Okan Beyit

His feedback is always comprehensible and give me motivation. I really appreciate it.

Okito

Very good, strong learning skill, very helpful all the time.

Olaf

Lane is amazing teacher and he made very deep and long feedbacks.

Olesya

Jason was very nice, helpful and knowledgeable.

Olga

Richard is definitely a professional and a very good teacher. Through the lesson he was giving the same amount of attention to all students and was taking the time to explain things in case someone had a difficulty in an assignment. Finally he was really kind and encouraging with everyone while providing constructive feedback and good advice to improve our work.

Olga

It is a great course! The instructor seems to really want to teach people and not just show how stuff is done.

Oliver

My understanding of the human face, and rendering skills have improved massively thanks to this course

Owen

He’s great at teaching everything you need to know about Hard Surface.

Pablo

Miguel is amazing, both as an artist and a compassionate instructor. Thank you so much for your insight and support!

Pam

Clinton always made sure you understood what he was teaching and would go over anything and everything with you until it clicked without hesitation.

Parker

Minyu is a great teacher with so much knowledge and insight. I learned a lot and feel grateful to have taken his class.

Parthena

Peyton is always very helpful when I run into a problem, he answers emails and always addresses my questions in Q&A.

Patricia

He is very skilled at explaining both the fundamental concepts that underpin storyboarding and how he thinks and problem solves when he creates storyboards. Lanny is very open and generous in sharing his knowledge about the storyboarding industry with his students.

Paula

Ron Lemen is an excellent teacher—very communicative and invested in his students’ improvement. Ron’s Q&A sessions were always informative and enjoyable. He encouraged discussions and answered students’ questions in-depth.

Paulina

Very personal and always had a great mood and good constructive critiques which is hard to come by. This helps students learn very well when listened.

Peter

I really liked the course and the way it was taught. I’m excited about VEX coding and would like to learn more. Looking forward to your more advanced course coming soon. Thanks for your great work!

Peter

He was very professional and free with his knowledge.

Peter

Chris has a kind, supportive way about him while clearly getting across his constructive and thought-provoking criticism that support better learning, observation and growth.

Peter

Manuel Tausch is an extremely high-skilled, positive and passionate teacher. It was a very challenging yet welcoming learning atmosphere throughout the course.

Peter

Marco Bucci is a good instructor and provides clear insight during individual critiques as well.

Philip

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.

Preston

The feedback from teacher was really helpful to notice my weak point and improve my drawing skill.

Rachel

I know much more about shaders than before. I am not afraid of making one like I was before. He (Hugh) is a great professional.

Radoslaw

It was great to have an instructor with such a wide background in animation as well as a concentration in one specific aspect.

Raymond

Really enjoyed the classes and Asa structured the Q&As really well to make the most of that time. Upbeat and a really great approach to constructive feedback – I felt really relaxed each week, knowing the feedback would be delivered promptly, the tone friendly and the advice really catch the points I was struggling with and point out further ways to push the work.

Rebecca

Pete is an awesome instructor and really pushes you to improve your skill set. Answered questions immediately in the Q&A sessions and really cares about individual progress!

Rene

Kyle is an amazing teacher and the course has really increased my confidence in body mechanics particularly, and character animation in general. I struggled with body mechanics a lot before this course and I was on the verge of giving up. Now I feel a renewed love for the art of animation and I am poised to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a professional animator. I am very happy with the course and with Kyle’s mastery, dedication and attentiveness as a teacher and animator.

Rex

Tim is easily the best online instructor I’ve had. Maybe even the best teacher I’ve ever had. He is knowledgeable, patient, thorough in his explanations and takes an interest in the students.

Ricardo

One of the best courses I’ve ever taken!

Ricardo

Ethan is a great artist and also a great instructor, he helped with every problem I had even when they were not related to groom so that was great.

Ricardo

Brent is a great instructor. His feedback was always great and well thought out.

Richard

This is the most complete course that I’ve ever taken. Weston has a good teacher and I learned a lot in this mentorship. All the steps are clear and the Q&A solved a lot of doubts that I had in the course.

Rick

Yves used examples of his personal work as well as other professional artists to help answer the class’s questions. I found it helpful to see how the pro’s approached those issues.

Robert

Hector provided an inspiring insight into techniques and ideas with a wealth of knowledge, patience and totally fired up the sense of discovery with his demos during the live Q&As.

Robin

I truly was impressed by his skill. He dragged us from simplicity to complexity using a very simple method. I really liked the class. BRAVO!

Rodrigo

Andres has a great energy. Definitely made me (more) excited for animating in Maya… I wish I could take another course with him.

Roel

Heather is an amazing instructor and goes way beyond our Q&A time to answer questions and post on the forum.

Roger

I was very happy how my work came out with the guidance I received! He was so helpful and was kind enough to put in his time to giving amazing and caring feedback. His enthusiasm in his feedbacks helped be feel like I could accomplish anything!

Rosana

Shaun was brilliant! Always opened up my feedback feeling like I was about be uplifted, but you also knew all the critique to push you further would be in there. I like when someone can point out everything that needs changing in such a positive way.

Rosanna

Bobby was very thorough and constructive with his feedback. He was also very encouraging.

Rosemary

Mark is a great instructor and very encouraging person.

Roxsy

Mr. Haslow is a great instructor and always provided the best feedback. He’s helped me become a much better designer.

Roy

Johannes is a great tutor that knows well how to explain the concepts in an approachable manner. Even later in the course, he was able to keep hinting at things that were taught in the course so it would remain in the back of your mind. Excellent instructor.

Roy

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.

Russel

Marko is incredible and clearly gives his best for his students. He gave clear examples to questions and prepared videos of his process to help us visualize where to take our projects. His feedback has been quick, positive, and helpful.

Ryan

I can’t recommend Gilles Beloeil enough. Very thorough, and cares a lot about the students.

Ryan

It’s been a good experience and I’ll definitely take some more classes in the future. Mark has gone out of his way and done more than necessary to support us in our studies.

Saachi

One of the best! Was very patient and helpful. Went above and beyond when we needed answers for specific problems.

Saem

Jeremy is an awesome instructor! I’m so happy I took this class and I’m happy with what I’ve learned.

Sahir

Oda is very engaging and adds an element of fun to the assignments. His feedback was very complete and informative. I would definitely take a class with him again.

Sal

Very easy to work with and good at explanations.

Sal

Chris was a great instructor!

Salomey

Great constructive feedback videos and very nice guy!

Sam

I really appreciated the frequency of feedback Ben was able to give. It really helped me improve rapidly week-to-week.

Sam

Great instructor, and I would without a doubt recommend him to other students and even to teach another class.

Samuel

In the feedback he always would paint over and explain the strengths in my work, and were I need to work more. At the QA he use to bring more examples for better understand the subject of the week.

Sandra

Stefan is an amazing teacher! …He have a lot of patience for his students, and is happy to share from his experience in the industry.

Sandra

I really loved how Frederic started with the basic info about lights and shaders, and worked his way up to the advanced stuff. It was really clear that way.

Sandra

Informative, knowledgeable and answered a lot of questions I had about story and the business of it.

Santosh

Juan was awesome! I learned so much in these few short weeks.

Sara

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.

Sara

Axel was great! His feedback was thorough, thoughtful, and encouraging. He was very knowledgeable and his passion for illustration was contagious. I would take another course with him in a heartbeat!

Sarah

He’s a great instructor and the class was really great. I hope I can keep improving from his feedback.

Sarah

Peyton was an excellent instructor. Always gave good feedback and tried to help promote creative thinking and problem solving.

Sarah

Mr. Asa passion about teaching and sharing his knowledge to his students is outstanding. He gave clear feedback to homework that helped me in improving my work in the future.

Sarah

Great introduction to painting in photoshop.

Sascha

I’ve looked forward to each Q&A and critique as Kyle is such a amazing instructor and very enthusiastic! I’ve learned so much and have had a lot of fun during this class!!!

Sawyer

Jose is such an amazing instructor! He explains things thoroughly so that even a beginner like my self can follow along with success!!!

Sawyer

Outstanding. I was always aware of the principles and ideas I was supposed to exercise while working on the assignments, the explanations were clear and concise, and there was an incredible amount of fast, effective communication. There were no gray areas or vague, open-ended goals or standards. These are rare qualities in my art education experience to date.

Scott

Kyle has been fantastic – very engaging and enthusiastic.

Scott

I just wanted to say that I really appreciated all the time and help Dzu gave us. I learned quite a bit from him.

Scott

I thought he had taught us well, giving the extra time of the Q&A to help the class how to approach our work, and help us improve.

Scott

Emiel was simply perfect. He is easy to listen to, he has a mountain of knowledge, he teaches really well, doesn't overwhelm with too much information. I would personally prefer the course to be 2 or 4 weeks longer and taught exclusively by Emiel.

Scott

Andres is amazing! Always shows up with a great attitude and tried to always bring the best product to us. Couldn’t ask for more from an instructor!

Scott Gudahl

She’s amazing! Extremely helpful with all the knowledge she’s able to share

Sean

Great job, especially considering it was the first class Patrick taught on the CGMA platform.

Sean

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

Sebastian

Henrik has been a truly great teacher, following the students in every step and being always super clear about explanations or when asked to clarify something.

Serena

Brought great energy and pushed us to the best of our ability!

Sergio

Great teacher who always gives the best for his students to learn anatomy and design.

Sergio

Nate Wragg is easily one of the best instructors I’ve ever had. He seems like a truly caring human being and a top level instructor. I would give him a 20 on a scale of 1-10.

Seven

Nik was great. He was very inspiring throughout this entire journey.

Shannon

I think Tyler is an amazing instructor. He often does extra work to help students understand the course objectives. For example, He provides the opportunity for additional feedback to our assignments in the WIP forum and even has taken the time to create additional feedback videos for work submitted in this forum.

Shaun

Perry is extremely well advanced in the material he covers throughout his course, and very helpful in resolving any student issues via feedback. I highly recommend his course.

Shawn

My favorite CGMA teacher so far, and I’ve taken like half a dozen classes! I really appreciate how she was around on the site too to answer questions about WIPs.

Sheryl

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.

Sheryl

Ashley is the most inspiring Zbrush mage! Her live QAs are super fun and get us hyped about trying something new in the software and in our designs! Found my love for Zbrush with her demos and feedback and hope to learn more :D

Shruti

I think Andy’s lectures were really outstanding. He clearly explained all of the principles of animation and demonstrated them with clear and appealing examples. Well done!

Sian

Andy is a fantastic instructor! He has such a good eye for animation and can spot the tiniest details in our animations even from weird angles. He is funny and helpful. Really appreciate all of his help!

Sian

Loved Vidya’s substance lecture. She made it so easy to get started. Also appreciated the MASH and topology lectures as well.

Sian

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 courses on this site.

Silvia

Being a self-taught artist is fine for creating troubleshooting skills and discipline, but the experience of a production artist is priceless. Hannah gave us the most; her experience and great feedback based on her knowledge in the field.

Simón

Max is a star! His feedback was always thoughtful, constructive and useful.

Sofia

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.

Sonal

I could address all the fields I wanted to improve in and Mau also opened my eyes to some crucial points I wasn’t aware of

Sonja

Mau took a lot time for each student and really addressed the situation and point at where each student was.

Sonja

Kat is an excellent mentor and was the main reason I took the course as I have admired her art for years. She is really kind, and supportive and her feedback has been so valuable! I hope she mentors future courses!

Stacey

“>Saurabh is a really good instructor, I would take another class of his in a heartbeat. It’s his genuine love of learning different methods and citing sources that i like the most.You can tell hes going out and finding the best answers and sharing everything he’s picked up.

Stephen

This guy knows his stuff! I would recommend and sign up for any class John teaches. I haven’t had a workshop or instructor teach me as well and as thorough as John since Art School.

Stephen

Gave me direction and got me to practice, the critiques also helped me become more aware of my mistakes

Sterling

Henrik was a superb teacher, from the start of the course right to the end. He is generous with his time, can concisely sum up issues in artwork, and can lead you in the right direction to improve your art.

Stuart

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.

Stuart

Student testimonial here

Student Name

Student testimonial here

Student Name

By answering my questions mostly. ^^ Also, since Hugh have experience in the field, he can say why he’s doing something, good practices, gotchas, ect. It was also an amazing introduction to PBR.

Sudhir

Frederic is a wonderful instructor. Not only he is good at explaining a difficult software into something easier for students, he is also patient and provides extra learning resources to students. Both the weekly tutorials and live sessions are helpful. Thanks Frederic.

Susanna

[Maarten is] honest, encouraging, and just as excited about the subject as we are. The class often feels empowering as a result.

Takahiro

Michael’s encouraging approach made learning on this course a great joy as well as a great challenge. You can really feel welcomed into the world of 3D if you’re a newcomer.

Takahiro

He is a great instructor—I learned a lot from him and I can tell that he is passionate about art and teaching.

Tam

Instructor was very helpful and thorough with feedback.

Tami

I personally do NOT like drawing backgrounds or environments AT ALL and this instructor made learning this very informative and enjoyable.

Taylor

Michael is a very efficient and energetic instructor, which I love because the course material can become so much more dense. I feel like I got to learn a lot in a very short amount of time because of that.

Taylor

>Amazing instructor. Very knowledgeable about the content, learned more during this class then I have in my entire college career.

Taylor

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!

Tessera

I gained a much better understanding of the project flow for game asset creation and how UVs are handled for video games.

Thomas P

Jacob did a fantastic job creating an environment where students felt comfortable asking questions. He was very responsive and it was clear he put in a lot of time and energy to make sure we had everything we needed from him.

Tiffany

One of the best I have ever had. Very knowledgeable and knows how to stimulate thought and creativity in students.

Tim

Ben was great, I really enjoyed his instruction and he really knows Substance Designer and Painter and can relate his knowledge well.

Tim

Roger Oda was a joy to learn from. He seemed genuinely interested in helping us learn, had no ego, and his laughter really made the videos entertaining. Perspective can be quite a dry subject but I loved every moment of it. Thank you for being awesome!

Timothy

Ben was a fantastic tutor who really look the time to aid us as best he could. I’ve suggested the course to many peers / colleagues.

Tobias

Jonathan is a fantastic instructor. He is very generous with sharing knowledge. He gives great feedback and provided us with some very useful demos.

Tom

Heather was very professional and knowledgeable. It’s rare that you can ask so many questions and get a pro like Heather to answer them. I personally asked every single question regarding my curiosity about matte painting, and Heather really took the time to answer each and every question.

Tomer

Peter Han is an excellent teacher with a genuine interest in student development.

Tommi

I felt Jason did an awesome job and it was an amazing course.

Travis

One of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had. Always had more to teach and show while doing so in a way that was quick to grasp. I did not expect my comfort in Zbrush to scale so fast in several weeks.

Travis

I like how Armand tailored his content to each student specifically to push them as designers. It wasn’t a cookie cutter method; he valued each artist based on their interest, guiding them through each week as time progressed. He’s once-in-a-lifetime artist that truly cares about the artist and their craft.

Travis

I thought his approach from an animation angle was interesting and much more thorough than a typical comic artist. I’ve worked in both industries for Marvel and a lot of the big animation studies and thought he was a top notch instructor, comparing him to industry practices and the classes they hold at TAG, the Animation union. I would recommend Miki and the CGMA classes to anyone, including top professionals who want to brush up their skills or explore something new.

Tricia

Shane was a great instructor. He really did a great job explaining things about level design that wasn’t tackled in the lectures. Also really gave lots of practical tips.

Tristan

I love it whenever Anne shows her work, progress, thoughts, and techniques. I think that’s the single most valuable insight to be able to see how professional artists paint.

Trung

Shannon goes above and beyond. She visibly puts more time, effort and energy into each student’s work and critique than anyone else. Her critique and QAs are always lengthy (in a good way), she explains things in simple terms, and she is constantly sharing resources, whether on the forums or in the QAs or your critiques. Her caring and commitment to her students shows through in all she does.

Tyler

Sean was very good with answering both technical, artistic, and profession centered questions

Tyler

Patrick was very professional, and personable. Very much wanted to help you learn.

Tyler

Fantastic!!!

Tyler

Very good instructor. His feedback was always very clear and critical. The Q&As were always interesting and the instructor was always very engaged in them, giving answers to long or hard questions and staying after time of the session to answer everyone.

Ula

He is a very personable guy—his spirit makes learning this content fun. He is good at not only finding the students faults, but also remembering to point out the things the student has done well.

Ulina

Ed is the best VFX Lead that I had the chance to learn with.

Vaimiti

Andres give so much more than just information, he explains how it works, he opens new vision on to how it works in industry, how we can break rules and create something what you will believe in. I’m so excited!

Valentina

Bevin is a great instructor and has amazing experience in her field! Hope she will continue teaching!

Valerie

Melody is a great instructor! She gave me extremely valuable feedback which helped me finish my project while maintaining good quality of work.

Vedant

Excellent instructor.

Vincent Vaillancourt

This course was an amazing experience. Clinton is simply outstanding both in his knowledge and the way he teaches.

Virendra

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.

Vitaly

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Vlad Test

Magnificent transformation--strongly recommend Louis and his course to every person who wants to advance their skills.

Vu

The teacher was attentive and showed full capacity with the tools and pipeline. He was always happy and willing to share materials beyond the course.

Wesley

My instructor Ethan Hiley was nothing short of awesome. He answered everything in great detail and helped me and my other class mates with anything we needed in a timely and polite manner.

Westley

Kyle did an amazing job. He’s enthusiastic, has a lot of knowledge, and he knows how to teach in a pleasant and efficient way.

Wiebe

Awesome instructor, I like how he shows enthusiasm in teaching and the content of the lecture is awesome.

William

Allen was kind, patient, and made the class safe for everyone to experiment with something that takes some courage to do.

William

Really appreciate all the feedback, it’s been clear and concise. It’s been really helpful knowing what parts of my design need more work, and how to improve them.

Xavier

Ricardo has been an exceptional teacher, who genuinely cares about each student and their progression. His calm and humble teaching style and consistent professionalism has kept me feeling supported through a demanding course.

Xaxier

Tyler showed genuine interest in the student’s work during the feedback and Q&As: he always goes the extra mile to help us with long and detailed critiques, making sure to address all of our points. The lectures were very informative and presented the class materials well

Xuan

She was excellent! Yes, I had no previous knowledge in animation and now after the course I’m able to create a short animation by myself!

Yaara

Lecture videos by Marco Bucci are very good, clear and professional.

Yue

I think the lectures, assignments, and feedback both on assignments and in the forum were handled so well, they were all invaluable to me as a beginner. Roger structured the course really well and gets across the fundamentals really efficiently.

Yusuf

Anne was very resourceful and inspirational in all interactions. This was definitely a game-changing experience for me.

Yusuf

I really enjoyed learning from Emmanuel. He was very humble and knowledgeable. I can tell he put a lot of thought and time in using our face to face time wisely by addressing as many overall issues the class was having with their projects via his demos and lectures. He also made himself available for industry based questions that are so important, yet outside of the realm of just learning how to create.

Zach

Robert was an amazing, delightful, and insightful instructor.

Zachary

She is very positive and encouraging, and is sensitive to the stylistic choices of the individual.

Zachary

Christian Nacorda is the best instructor I’ve ever met. He teaches his students with passion and he truly transfers this passion to students through his lectures. He is such a good supporter of amateurs. I was always afraid of drawing Anatomy but Christian made it so easy to learn. I am very pleased to had this opportunity to be his student.

Zahra

One of the best instructors I had so far, really learned a lot from him

Zamir

I became a lot more confident and fluent with the material editor in unreal. The fundamentals were made clear to me and I’m glad I took the course. Hugh was very helpful and responsive to questions.

Zeth

She always took the time to share lighting techniques and explain concepts verbally and visually. She’s a great instructor and I’m glad to have learned from her!

Zeth

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.

Zi

Clinton explained all fundamental very clearly and will provide a lot of article links you may need, also the reviews were always on point! Best teacher ever!

Zian

Mahreen was really helpful during the course, she gave me precise and clear feedback that really pushed my work forward. I liked that she had a different approach to things than Ben from the videos because it was helpful to see two points of view and it made things easier to understand.

Zoltan

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