The Gnomon Workshop, in collaboration with Design Studio Press, has released seven new DVDs. Concept artists James Clyne (TROY), Scott Robertson (who launched Design Studio Press) and Feng Zhu (STAR WARS: EPISODE III) offer titles on sketching, rendering, drawing and environment design.
"The release of these DVDs marks another landmark moment in design education," says Alex Alvarez, founder of The Gnomon Workshop and the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. "Feng Zhu adds an environment design DVD to his series, and we're delighted to welcome James Clyne and Scott Robertson to The Gnomon Workshop with their first DVDs. James comes to The Gnomon Workshop from a career designing creatures and characters for various games, as well working on such films as MINORITY REPORT, GALAXY QUEST and THE POLAR EXPRESS. As a Gnomon Workshop partner, Scott contributes his vast experience that has included designing products for companies such as Mattel Toys, Nike, BMW and Patagonia. Both James and Scott are also contributing authors to the book CONCEPT DESIGN, WORKS FROM SEVEN LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT DESIGNERS. "The knowledge, expertise and teaching abilities these artists contribute make The Gnomon Workshop the premiere place to learn truly professional design practices."
"It's great to be continuing the 2D series and building a complete world of educational tools for concept designers and artists," adds Robertson of Design Studio Press. "With the fundamentals of environments DVD, Feng Zhu shares more of his design process; James Clyne reveals the complete scope of environment design techniques in his two DVDs; and my DVDs provide both the fundamentals of form design and the specifics of drawing cars, aircraft and spacecraft. It's work we do every day, and we are thrilled to be sharing these techniques with artists around the world."
Gnomon Workshop DVDs are priced at $69 and can be purchased online at
www.thegnomonworkshop.com . Academic pricing is available. Each title includes 120 minutes of instruction, lecture notes and bonus material.
DVD descriptions:
* THE TECHNIQUES OF FENG ZHU: VOLUME 3: SHOT DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENTS
This DVD breaks down the individual components necessary to stage a successful environment design. First Zhu covers the basics of perspective, which he follows with demos explaining the use of scale and composition. Next, he illustrates the fundamentals of lighting and values. Finally, watch Feng sketch out various environments, incorporating all the topics covered.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF JAMES CLYNE: VOLUME 1: ENVIRONMENT SKETCHING AND DESIGN
In this educational DVD, Clyne explores the crucial first steps in the creation of powerful design ideas and quick environmental layout techniques. He will take you through a step-by-step progression of pen and marker sketching and the ideas behind them. Multiple avenues will be explored culminating in a final drawing, executed on design vellum, ready for rendering. These techniques mimic the process in which James brainstorms for ideas in the pre-production phase of a feature film. He will also demonstrate the creation of a dramatic and effective environment through the use of such themes as scale, mood, depth and composition. All artists within the fields of film, industrial, game and architectural design will find such techniques useful for producing advanced and inventive imagery.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF JAMES CLYNE: VOLUME 2: RENDERING A CINEMATIC ENVIRONMENT
In this DVD, Clyne will take a finished line drawing to a presentation-level digital color rendering. This process parallels Clyne's creative techniques while working on large-scale feature film productions. Using 2D digital rendering tools, James takes you through such cinematic rendering techniques as dramatic lighting, film-format compositions, mood, creating depth and design theory. This DVD will also cover some of the more advanced Photoshop tools and tricks-of-the-trade procedures, including layer properties, brush techniques and texture applications. These techniques are crucial for every concept artist, not just those working in the film industry; they also apply to other design fields such as gaming and architectural rendering.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF SCOTT ROBERTSON: VOLUME 1: BASIC PERSPECTIVE FORM DRAWING
On this DVD Robertson introduces the basics of 1, 2 and 3 point perspective drawing and leads you through the exercises needed to gain the skills necessary to draw man-made forms of your own design. Intended to be a lecture for the beginner or a refresher for the working professional, Robertson shares the form building basics he utilizes when doing his advanced vehicle drawings; the drawing of freehand perspective grids and ellipses becomes the basis for a form building strategy. The DVD concludes with the drawing of complex curved surfaces that become the building blocks for vehicles in Robertson's following DVDs.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF SCOTT ROBERTSON: VOLUME 2: HOW TO DRAW CARS
On this DVD, Robertson demonstrates the basic drawing techniques he uses when drawing cars. The lecture begins with a detailed look through some of his past car drawings and the strategies employed while drawing them. Next, he demonstrates his techniques of establishing a perspective view and the proportions of a car. After these basic setup steps, follow along as he draws three cars, each in a different perspective view. This DVD is a solid introduction to drawing cars of your own design in perspective with a focus on basic drawing skills.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF SCOTT ROBERTSON: VOLUME 3: HOW TO DRAW AIRCRAFT
On this DVD, Robertson demonstrates the basic drawing techniques he uses when drawing aircraft. The lecture begins with a detailed look through some of his past aircraft drawings and the strategies employed while drawing them. Next, he demonstrates his techniques of establishing the perspective view and proportion of a couple of simple airplanes. He then draws three more aircraft for you in three different perspective views. The final drawing is then overlaid and refined into a finished line drawing. This DVD is a solid introduction to drawing aircraft of your own design in perspective, with a focus on basic perspective drawing skills.
* THE TECHNIQUES OF SCOTT ROBERTSON: VOLUME 4: HOW TO DRAW HOVERCRAFT/SPACECRAFT
On this DVD, Robertson demonstrates the basic drawing techniques he uses when drawing hovercraft and spacecraft. The lecture begins with a quick look at several of his past hovercraft vehicle drawings and the strategies employed while drawing them. Next, he demonstrates his techniques of drawing 11 different flying vehicles of his own design. He demonstrates his approach to ballpoint pen sketching, chisel-tip pen sketching and pencil sketching. This DVD is a solid introduction to drawing hovercraft and spacecraft of various shapes and sizes, with a focus on basic perspective drawing skills.
For more information, as well as instructor bios, galleries and DVD descriptions, please visit the Gnomon Workshop Website:
www.thegnomonworkshop.com .
The Gnomon Workshop is an outgrowth of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, a professional institute specializing in training for the high-end visual effects community. For more information on the Gnomon School, visit
www.gnomon3d.com .
Design Studio Press is a specialty publisher that focuses primarily on original artistic works and educational books. For more information, visit
www.designstudiopress.com .
