Concept Art Masterclass - Landscapes and Environments

Explore composition principles for believable landscapes, including leading lines, rule of thirds, and warm versus cool colors, to create depth and a compelling visual narrative.

Explore how the rule of thirds in film creates conflict and dynamic imagery by off-centering subjects to reinforce narrative structure and visual language.

Use visual research to start paintings with reference images, extract ideas, and shape composition from a blank canvas; then set images aside and sketch to develop ideas before finalizing.

Set up a large Photoshop document (3840x2160 RGB, 300 dpi) for background design and create four to ten thumbnails to explore composition with loose color blocks and brushes.

Turn mood board thumbnails into a rough sketch to establish composition, a horizon line, and a cabin framed by trees for a snowy landscape, then refine on layers to prepare for values.

Block in values from light to dark with a desaturated bluish tone to create depth in a wintry landscape, using the brushes panel and eyedropper.

Establish a subtle blue-toned background color, divide the scene into foreground, middle ground, and background on layers, then experiment with brushes, keep details loose, and refine background trees.

Learn to build a forest background using layered brushes, textures, and careful shaping with the lasso and brush tools to create defined trees and canopy.

Apply textures and details by layering and painting snow on trees, using layers for background, mid-ground, and foreground. Paint on trunks with a textured brush, erase to refine wintry feel.

Explore concept painting by adding snow to the trees and textured cabin, while maintaining a zoomed-out, cohesive composition that supports storytelling and character hints.

Maintain a rough, dilapidated cabin mood by omitting full furnishing, emphasizing broken timber, wall gaps, and selective snow on the roof; refine texture, stamps, and layers to anchor the scene.

Transform a regular cabin into a storytelling element by adding a fire glow that hints at a character, sparking narrative interest and color contrast with cool tones in the composition.

Enhance the cabin scene by adding a soft glow on a separate layer, using blend modes and smoke brushes to deepen mood and prepare the final painting.

Learn a painting workflow to depict a moody forest creek with ice on the banks and a reflection of the trees using clipping masks, ending with fog and a vignette.

Apply a subtle atmosphere and reinforce the focal point with a vignette, soft brush mood, and light mist to create depth for film and animation backgrounds.

Explore experimental background design with texture brushes and free-form methods, and learn grayscale painting in Photoshop to establish values and contrast for rocks, mountains, sand, and palm trees.

Block the composition with grayscale values to establish contrast across foreground, middle ground, and background, then craft an architectural shape in back for depth and an otherworldly sci-fi mood.

Identify the light source from above left and build structure with light and shadows using grayscale, multiple layers, and repeated elements to create depth and rhythm.

Add a foreground silhouette to establish depth and guide the viewer's eye, using a character to convey story, mood, and journey through landscapes toward the focal background structure.

Learn to check your composition using the rule of thirds and the golden spiral, anchoring on the character to guide a balanced visual journey into color phase.

Learn to define a color theme and a limited five-to-ten color palette for landscapes, derive harmonious swatches from an image, and use simple Photoshop steps to guide your painting.

Organize layers from foreground to middle ground, set a base sky tone, and build up textures with clipping masks and color passes to shape rocks, pebbles, and organic forms.

Move from the foreground to the midground, applying a color pass on a new layer to build light, contrast, and a bright sandy midground, sampling colors with the eyedropper.

Use the lasso tool and paint brush with clipping masks to create sharp edges and a strong focal building, then block in tones for atmospheric far mountains and balance.

Finalise the composition by refining the sky, adding mountains for scale and balance, and layering textured brushwork, then progress from greyscale to painted to detailed texture.

Use the lasso tool to add definition to the mountains and background cliff, carving hard edges and textures, then refine with selections, clipping masks, and light/dark tones.

Paint a sci-fi, industrial background structure with simple shapes, shadows, and pipes, emphasizing flat tones and contrast to create depth, then add atmosphere and finalize the render.

Reintroduce the character by refining composition and aligning with the golden spiral in the landscapes and environments design, while enhancing blue dust, water features, and atmospheric clouds.

Enhance your final touches by layering clouds, adding atmosphere, and dramatically changing the sky with gradients and a moon to render a moody desert scene.

learn to create a stylized cartoon background using the pen tool and standard Photoshop brushes, with a step-by-step guide from rough sketch to final painting, noting textured brushes later.

Begin with a rough sketch to solidify composition and key ideas before color and painting phases, using three layers—foreground, middle ground, and background—to guide the viewer.

Refine the sketch and block in flat colors using a gradient reference, building the foreground, hills, and mountains on separate layers with a limited palette.

Use the lasso tool to build forest silhouettes on separate layers, making tiny incremental moves to create jagged edges and layer colors for depth from back to foreground.

Use the curve's editor to shape the tree, add branches and leaves, and apply highlights and shadows with clipping masks. Organize layers into foreground, middle ground, and background for design.

Carve definition on the foreground with the lasso tool, flatten the clipping mask onto the base layer, and add light, shadow, texture, and silhouetted vegetation for a painterly, three-dimensional composition.

Finalize the foreground by adding subtle texture over rocks and leaves with dark and light brush strokes, using clipping masks to create painterly depth.

The instructor refines composition by rearranging layers, harmonizing the midground color, and adding foreground trees with soft brushes, while painting subtle light, shadows, and mist for an impression of depth.

Add definition to the far mountains with light tones and geometric shapes, then layer mist for atmospheric perspective and softly soften the horizon to finalize the background.

Create a dawn-inspired sky with layered gradients and soft clouds, then add blossom details and petals to a stylized landscape design.