Course Overview

• 

  David Luong

  David is currently working for Blizzard Entertainment as a cinematic artist and finisher. Some of David’s credits include Star...

  Read More »

• Week by week outline

  
  

  Week 1: Working Digitally

  *** Main Objective for this Workshop ***

  Create 3 major types of matte paintings for this course with a photo base: Landscape, Cityscape, and Invisible Extension. In each major type, you can choose between Landscape Natural or Landscape Fantasy (choose one); Cityscape Natural or Cityscape Sci-Fi (choose one); Invisible set extension matte painting has just one type. The first one we will go over is a Landscape matte painting. Realism, or at least art directed realism, is key in this course.

  * Optional Objectives for this Workshop *

  Create a Day for Night shot, Dry for Wet shot, a Sunny for Snowy shot and a Changing Time of Day shot. In addition to the main and optional objectives, there will be weekly quests, or homework assignments, that unlock each week for you to apply your most recently learned knowledge!

  • - Reading: The history of matte painting. What is matte painting, in the early days and presently in the digital age?
  • - Reading: Lighting. What makes good lighting? Time of day for your matte shots, dramatic vs straight on lighting.
  • - Reading: Color Theory. What schemes can be be applied for your work to make it stronger and more interesting?
  • - Reading: Composition. Even though it's based on reality, matte painting allows shifting of elements to make it more interesting to the shot and story. Examples of strong composition in mattes.
  • - Reading: Perspective. Landscape vs Cityscapes. 0 point, 1 point, 2 point, and 3 point perspective.
  • - Reading: Aspect ratios and resolution sizes, HDTV vs Film.
  • - Video: Quick thumbnail gray scale value studies for landscape and cityscape spending about 1 minute each.
  • - Video: What kind of camera do you own? What makes a good photo to be used for matte painting? Finding the right resolution, exposure, subject, noise, focal length, lighting, perspective, and avoiding compression artifacts of a photo. - Reading: Gathering photos for your matte paintings. From your camera, on the internet, or your library. Learning to organize your photo library for matte painting. Resource links.
  • - Video: Story. Why is it important? Coming up with a story to your matte painting, the motivation for your matte painting before starting a matte painting.

   

  • Quest: Pick a few photos to give you some ideas, then create as many gray scale concepts as you can with their own story and post for feedback. Create them at 8-bit 1000px wide resolution using an HDTV (16:9) or Anamorphic Film (2.35:1) aspect ratio. Subject is NOT limited to fantasy, Sci-Fi, or present day. The sky is the limit on these thumb nails! Post, post, post!
  • Quest: Begin gathering and organizing as much reference photos for use and inspiration that could be potentially be used with one of your 3 major type of matte paintings.

   

  Post works in progress for art direction from myself and feedback from peers. We all need to see progress on your works, please don't be afraid to get comments and feedback. If you do comment on another peer, please be constructive. As this is a workshop, you will get the most out of it if you participate every day as much as you can.

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 2: Landscape Digital Matte Paintings

   

  • - Reading: 8 bit vs 16-bit for matte painting.
  • - Reading: sRGB vs Linear workspace.
  • - Video: Blend modes used.
  • - Video: Layer organization, clipping masks, layer masks, naming conventions, folders.
  • - Video: Masking, extracting trees, clouds, and other objects. Tools to refine selections.
  • - Video: Create quick concepts with color based on a photo of a landscape you'll be using for matte painting.
  • - Video: Landscape matte painting: Demo on setting up and matte painting for a natural look (Part 1)
  • - Video: Landscape matte painting: Demo on setting up and matte painting for a fantasy look (Part 2)

   

   

  • Quest: Choose a natural looking landscape matte painting, or a fantasy looking landscape matte painting. Choose one only!
  • Quest: Gather reference for the type of landscape matte painting you may do and copy them into it's own folder. You should post some of your potential landscape photos for feedback too, please re-size down to 1000px wide for forum viewing.
  • Quest: Now that we're limited to a landscape matte painting, create new thumbnails with a photo base that are for your chosen type of landscape with, of course, their own story. If you have a thumbnail that you made previously that you liked, choose that and refine it some more, trying out different styles, and compositions. Color will be based on photo base.
  • Quest: After you've created some thumbnails of landscapes and have one that you like and that are approved, start creating your quick concept sketch with color on top of the plate. Hold off on using any photographic elements besides the plate until next week.

   

  Please allow 4 weeks to finish the Landscape matte painting. Matte paintings can be worked on until the end of the workshop but giving yourself 4 weeks time is a good pace per matte painting in this class.

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 3: Cityscape Digital Matte Paintings

  • - Video: Grain removal, adding, and matching, RGB Channels.
  • - Video: Painting back in Lights or removing shadows.
  • - Reading: Clouds and their types depending on weather and time of day.
  • - Video: Choosing a cloud base and merging multiple cloud photos to be in the same world as each other, color corrections, scale, lighting, and texture.
  • - Video: Vanishing Point Tool
  • - Video: Create quick concepts with color based on a photo of a cityscape you'll be using for matte painting.
  • - Video: Cityscape matte painting: Demo on setting up and matte painting for a present city look (Part 1)
  • - Video: Cityscape matte painting: Demo on setting up and matte painting for a futuristic Sci-Fi city (Part 2)

   

  • Quest: Once done with approved landscape thumbnails, begin matte painting right away starting with your base landscape photo. Post works in progress of matte paintings at 1000px wide, but aim for a 2K pixel wide finish. All texture quality and realism must match this resolution.
  • Quest: Choose a natural looking cityscape matte painting, or Sci-Fi looking cityscape matte painting. Choose one only!
  • Quest: Gather reference for the type of cityscape matte painting you may do and copy them into it's own folder. You should post some of your potential cityscape photos for feedback too, please re-size down to 1000px wide for forum viewing.
  • Quest: Now that we're limited to a cityscape matte painting, create new thumbnails that are for your chosen type of cityscape now only with, of course, their own story. If you have a thumbnail that you made previously that you liked, choose that and refine it some more, trying out different styles, and compositions. Color will be based on photo base.
  • Quest: After you've created some thumbnails of cityscapes and have one that you like and that are approved, start creating your quick concept sketch with color on top of the plate. Hold off on using any photographic elements besides the plate until next week.

   

  Please allow 4 weeks to finish the Cityscape matte painting. Matte paintings can be worked on until the end of the workshop but giving yourself 4 weeks time is a good pace per matte painting in this class.

  -Landscape Week 1/4-

   

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 4: The Invisible Set Extension Digital Matte Painting

  • - Reading: What makes a matte painting invisible?
  • - Video: Create quick concepts with color based on a photo of a set extension you'll be using for matte painting.
  • - Video: Invisible matte painting: Demo on setting up and matte painting for an invisible set extension.

   

  • Quest: Once done with approved cityscape thumbnails, begin matte painting away starting with your base cityscape photo. Post preview of WIP's of matte paintings at 1000px wide, but aim for a 2K pixel wide finish. All texture quality and realism must match this resolution.
  • Quest: Choose a base photo and to be extended, then do quick thumbnail studies of how to approach extension. Quest: Gather reference for the set extension and copy them into it's own folder. You should post some of your potential set extension photos for feedback too, please re-size down to 1000px wide for forum viewing.
  • Quest: Continue working on Landscape, and Cityscape mattes.

   

  Please allow 4 weeks to finish the Set Extension matte painting. Matte paintings can be worked on until the end of the workshop but giving yourself 4 weeks time is a good pace per matte painting in this class.

  -Landscape Week 2/4-

  -Cityscape Week 1/4-

   

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 5: A Change of Scenery

  • - Video: Day for Night shot.
  • - Video: Dry for Wet shot.
  • - Video: Sunny for Snowy shot.
  • - Video: Changing Time of Day shot.

   

  • Quest: Pick a photo and try a Day for Night shot.
  • Quest: Pick a photo and try a Dry for Wet shot.
  • Quest: Pick a photo and try a Sunny for Snowy shot.
  • Quest: Pick a photo and try a Changing Time of Day shot.
  • Quest: Continue working on Landscape, Cityscape, and Set Extension mattes.

   

  You can continue working on the change of scenery shots until the end of the course. But make your main matte paintings a priority!

  -Landscape Week 3/4-

  -Cityscape Week 2/4-

  -Set Extension Week 1/4-

   

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 6: Career As a Digital Matte Painter

  • - Reading: What makes a good matte painting portfolio? Website, demo reel, internships, apprenticeships, studios worldwide, and working your way up in the career.
  • - Reading: Hudson River School of artists, the history and influence on realistic matte painters these days.
  • - Video: Compilation of Hudson River School art work.

   

  • Quest: Continue working on Cityscape, and Set Extension mattes.

   

  Finish working on the Landscape matte.

  -Landscape Week 4/4-

  -Cityscape Week 3/4-

  -Set Extension Week 2/4-

   

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 7: Intro to Matte Painting Part 2

  • - Video: Examples of great matte paintings in present day. Professional and amateur.
  • - Video: A quick introduction to matte painting with a 2.5D camera move using Nuke.
  • - Final Art Direction, criticisms, and feedback week on your mattes.

   

  • Quest: Continue working on the Set Extension matte. Finish working on the Cityscape matte. All matte shots due next week!!

   

  -Cityscape Week 4/4-

  -Set Extension Week 3/4-

   

  ---

  
  

   

  Week 8: The Final Journey

  • - Reading: Choosing of exemplary works of matte paintings by workshop students: who, what and why?
  • - Reading: Where to go from here, continual support for feedback from myself, and what you can do to improve your work and skills.

   

  Due this week:

  • - Landscape Digital Matte Painting.
  • - Cityscape Digital Matte Painting.
  • - Invisible Set Extension Matte Painting.

   

  Optional:

  • - Day for Night shot
  • - Dry for Wet shot
  • - Sunny for Snowy shot
  • - Changing Time of Day shot

• Student requirements

  
  

  This  class is  aimed at intermediate Photoshop users. Recommended pre requisite classes to take before this are digital painting using Photoshop, Photography, and concept sketching for environments.

  This class is recommended before taking Matte Painting: Part 2, which will cover more compliccated matte shots and moving camera setups in 2.5D and 3D as well as dealing with some compositing.

  Required Software: Photoshop CS5 or above. Wacom tablet or similar.