Aguri's one year of fundamentals Guide

Term 1

Perspective for artists with Erik Olson sections 1-10*

Learn linear perspective and how artists used it to subordinate into their compositions. This is
an exhaustive class so take it slow and take clean notes.

Materials: (optional: Wacom tablet and either Photoshop or Sketchbook Pro) 16x24 pad of
sketchbook paper, drafting beginners kit, prismacolor pencils.
Viscom Scott Robertson: Basic perspective form drawing

Learn the see-through method of drawing form from imagination. This uses techniques of
linear perspective to build spaceships, cars, hovercrafts, environments, anything you desire.

Materials: (optional: Wacom Intuos tablet—at least medium size—and either Painter 10+ or
Photoshop) Scott Robertson Basic Perspective Form Drawing, How to Draw Cars, How to
Draw hovercraft..., How to Draw Airplane Gnomon DvDs. Scott Robertson’s How to Draw
textbook (refer to the book for additional supplies if done traditionally, although most not
required).

Additional recommend watching: Watch all of CGMA 2011 workshops throughout the term
to understand what is need from you in this industry. You do not do any work form these
workshops, just observe and listen intensely.
Time to completion of term 1 is 8 weeks. After 8 weeks you will continue to keep using the
techniques of Scott Robertson a lot. Pick a date on Google Calendar and count the date you
are to finish everything.

Term 2

Design Sketching. Sketching The Basics series of books.

You will continue to practice the techniques of see-through form drawing and learn to
incorporate it in design sketching; an essential tool for concept designers. You will learn what
makes good design and how to make designs practical. Get the first book (essential) and the
other books as well if you are man (or girl) enough, even if they go balls deep into Industrial
Design.

Materials: If you a rich buy an assortment of copic markers, sketchbooks, and pens. If you
aren't rich, lucky day you can use Sketchbook Pro for its copic library.
Michael Hampton Analytical Figure Drawing

You get to finally learn to draw humans (what everybody wants to do). This is an intensive 8
week figure drawing class. It is recommend you know perspective, and you do assuming you
did not skip what I wrote for whatever reason, because you will be constructing form on top
of gesture. Tip: don't sweat it on the gesture lecture, it just needs to show simple flow; your
main goal is to learn anatomy and not be the next Stanchfield.

Materials: (optional: Wacom tablet and Photoshop) Prismacolor pencils, sketchbook or copier
paper.

Vilppu Drawing Manual

Author note: There are a huge amount of resources on anatomy but you only got 8 weeks +1
extra week so I recommend just focusing on 1 at a time, that is Hampton first and then you are
free to learn from another teacher.

Time to complete: 8 weeks + 1 extra week total 9 weeks

Term 3
Digital Painting
Go through all the Ctrl;Paint painting content (you can skip the section about unplugged).
Buy or borrow all the premium content and go through it all.

Materials: Wacom tablet (obviously) and Photoshop.

Designing with Color and Light with Nathan Fowkes

After you know how to use Photoshop, it's time to begin to learn how to do comp studies with
color. This is your bread and butter to doing master studies and you will want to be doing this
a lot to git gud. I recommend taking his class to get critique if you can. Or if you are a poor
kid, either take the self-taught class or “borrow” his class. Either way, this class is critical
damage to getting better.

http://www.schoolism.com/school.php?id=22

Materials: Wacom Tablet, Color and Light with James Gurney, Imaginative Realism

Additional recommend watching: Anytime during the term watch these 2 Gnomon DvDs that
will complement Scott Robertson’s books and the next term.

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/1072/Concept-Design-Workflow-Vol-
1%3A-Composition-Sketching#.VFt8OZ9Z2Ow
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/1074/Concept-Design-Workflow-Vol-
2%3A-Using-Modo-and-Photoshop-to-Visualize-Design#.VFt8Op9Z2Ow

Time to complete: This Term is packed and deserves your utmost attention! I would give
yourself 3 ½ months max to complete this so mark your Google Calendar.

Term 4

Animal anatomy

New Masters Academy Animal anatomy lectures. You will need to learn animal drawing so
you can build upon a foundation to create believable creature design.

Materials: Photoshop and Wacom Tablet or paper and marker.

Environment Sketching

Thumbnails and quick sketching environments. Scott Robertson covers environment

Materials: The Art of Urban Sketching, Scott Robertson: How to Draw

Additional recommend materials: Feng Zhu has a great set of Gnomon DVDs covering the
topics of environment sketching. Watch The Techniques of Feng Zhu and Concept Design
DVDs.

Time to completion: 8 weeks

Character Design

Find any resource you can that will teach you the fundamentals of character design.
Schoolism has a class for starters. There are plenty of resources you can get—just make sure
to get good ones (you should have an eye for what looks good and what doesn't by now).

Color and Light “advanced”

Fundamentals of lighting (advanced lighting) with Sam Nelson. You can take or borrow his
class (recommend) or you can buy Scott Robertson's How to Render book.

http://www.schoolism.com/school.php?id=3

http://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/193349283X

Additional reading: http://www.amazon.com/How-Design-Concept-inspiration-

Meant to be read in term 2 but because anatomy is so intense I left it out as a breather. When
Scott Robertson's how to Design book comes out, read it from cover to cover.

Term 6
Digital Rendering Techniques

Gnomon has an online class that teaches rendering but it is a bit pricey for the poor kids. You
can opt for digital tutors or any resource you can come across that will teach you rendering
techniques (like Scott Robertson...again)

Portfolio development

You now have completed the basics, congratulations. Now it is recommend to start building
up your portfolio or your presence online—whichever you want. Make a social network
account like a Tumblr and put your work out there!

Time of completion: 8 weeks for rendering and forever for portfolio development

What next?

You now know the core fundamentals. Now you can feel proud of yourself of doing it within
a year (assuming you were MAN/GIRL enough) and can no longer feel bad about anonymous
d/ic/ks stabbing you with Looooooooomis. Don't get too comfy, you are far from done...I said
fundamentals not the end of your artistic journey.

Now you have options: Character design or Environment Design. If you do character design
you can get into Illustration for animation, comics to make your own designs, concept design
for video games—the sky is the limit in those departments.

Or environment design where you make believable virtual worlds for people to explore. Both
are very exciting fields and the decision boils down to you. Whichever you pick you will then
learn what it is needed to do those tasks. Replicate what I wrote here and learn what you need
to learn.

You will need to learn Zbrush and 3D; 3D is unavoidable in this day and age, I'm sorry. And
you will need to learn a degree of photo manipulation. Just giving you the facts, but you came
this far so suck it up and just do it, you b*tch.