This class will go in-depth into what matte painting has become these days as well as what it will take students to create an epic and believable matte shot of their own. The course begins with an introduction to the subject of matte painting, embracing every tiny aspect of the profession. We'll discuss how to come up with strong ideas for a painting, focusing on what should be taken into account when designing a matte shot. We'll cover essentials from traditional art that are crucial to artistic success—starting with black and white sketches, students will learn design and compositional rules as well as how to utilize lighting to tell the story in the best way possible. Students will then move on to color studies, learning a wide range of tools and techniques, and will learn how to achieve photorealistic quality in the final matte painting. This course utilizes a wide range of techniques from 2D, 2.5D, to 3D, using software such as Photoshop, World Machine, Maya, Vray, 3D Coat and Nuke to create a final moving shot. This course is designed to be exceptionally useful for artists of all levels to help them achieve the best results in their work. NOTE: there will be a "History of Matte Painting" lesson available prior to class beginning, located in the "Week 0" forum.
In this lecture, Igor Staritsin takes you through the entire process of creating an epic matte shot. He starts by painting a few thumbnails while discussing the fundamental principles of successful environment art. Igor then begins painting the compositional sketch while establishing the mood. Maya is then used to create a base model for the architectural pieces and then the process proceeds in Photoshop to create a detailed environment using a broad range of advanced techniques. Finally, Nuke is used to set up camera projections and to establish the final comp. Along the way, Igor covers necessary aspects of what it takes to be a successful matte painter, what should be taken into account when dealing with landscape paintings and what should be avoided to ensure that a painting is enjoyable to the audience. He also shares several technical aspects of a matte-painters’ job and demonstrates how to use them in order to be more efficient. This thorough lecture and demonstration, by a leading industry artist, will aid artists of all levels interested in achieving professional results in their work.
