“Oh Dom, I cant tell if he’s diabolical or a genius. He really pushes us to the extreme and surprisingly enough, it works!”-Anonymous student evaluation
This past fall I had the pleasure of teaching the Digital Painting class at Moore College of Art & Design again. Above are just a few examples of some of the stellar work created by a bunch of really talented budding professionals.
The class is made up entirely of juniors and seniors, most of whom have never used a Wacom tablet before, let alone painted with Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter. In addition to exploring the concepts and skills needed for digital illustration in the publication and entertainment arts industry I have the students approach each assignment as if they were real world commissions. The importance of each stage of the image making process is stressed from initial thumbnails to final rendered drawings right through on up to the final digital painting. A constant theme throughout the entire 14 weeks was that applications (such as Photoshop & Painter) are simply just another medium like oil paints or water colors and that preparatory work pays off in dividends.
I’m a big believer that to grow as an artist one has to push themselves. Often times to the extreme, working outside the comfort zone. If your good at painting the figure, paint a landscape. Draw or paint something you've never painted before. Don't sit on your laurels and be content with your last best piece, make the next one even better. Be better than your best piece.
Thanks for stepping up to the plate, accepting the challenge, and knocking it out of the park. I’m really proud of you guys.
-Dom
Images above created by (from the top left to right):
Stephanie Zuppo