Sketching for Concept Art
Improve your ideation and sketching process and learn to effectively bring your ideas to life!
Teacher Artwork by Colin Quigley
Sketching for Concept Art
In this course, you’ll learn how to visually deconstruct the world around you through sketching and generate creative solutions for any design challenge. You’ll develop the observational and analytical skills of a professional concept artist, learning how to research, interpret, and reimagine your subjects with purpose and intent.
As you build your confidence, you’ll explore how to rapidly sketch out design ideas, adapt your sketches to meet specific needs, and approach each project from multiple perspectives. You’ll also sharpen your ability to focus on the elements that best communicate your concept, ensuring clarity and visual impact in every drawing.
By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to create strong, original concepts, whether from observation or imagination, and consistently push your creative thinking to deliver compelling concept drawings.
- Course Type Online Concept Art Classes
- Duration 10 weeks
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Skill Level
Level 2 Level 2
Second level classes are for students who have a good foundation in the basics of realistic drawing (such as perspective, proportion, shading and colour theory) and already know how to use Photoshop, but need more in-depth knowledge to create professional and complex artwork.
This level is about expanding knowledge, strengthening skills, and transitioning to the world of concept art and illustration.
- Language English
You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase!
Our Online Courses are now priced in Canadian Dollars to provide you with quality artistic training at affordable prices.
Schedule
Note: This class will be offered online only
Term: Summer 2025
Class Timings: Sundays from 1 PM to 4 PM, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT or UTC-4h)
Date of first class: July 6th
Duration: 10 weeks
Please note that our classes times are listed as EDT (GMT-4) but that starting on Sunday, November 2nd, 2025, all class times will go into EST (GMT-5)
If you are unable to attend the class during the times listed above, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor.
*Please note that this class' duration is subject to change (to either 1.5 hours or 2 hours) depending on the number of enrolled students.
These shorter class formats are conducted with more of a personalized mentorship style, allowing students to have more time devoted to their assignments' critiques and the ability to ask more questions in class, while still maintaining all of the theory and planned curriculum for the regular class length.
Prerequisites
Skill requirements
To enroll in this course you should have:
- Some intermediate drawing and basic digital painting skills (use of proper perspective, proportions, shading and colour).
- Proficiency in all basic Photoshop tools.
- Ideally completed our Intro to Digital Painting and Analytical Sketching classes or have equivalent practice/experience.
If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.
Language and age requirements
You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. Please be advised that there could be artistic nudity in our classes. Students should be 14 years old to enroll.
Minimum Artistic Skills Required
Your current skill level should roughly be on par with the artwork featured here before taking this class. If you are still unsure, please send an email to [email protected]; we will be happy to assess your artwork!
Required Materials
You need to have a desktop computer or laptop with Photoshop installed and a graphic tablet sensitive to pen pressure (such as a Wacom tablet). Or you need a tablet-computer with Photoshop installed that is sensitive to pen pressure (such as the Cintiq Companion).
Also, please bring a sketchbook and a HB pencil.
Tech Requirements for Attending Syn Studio Online Classes
Minimum Requirements
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
- A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
- Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome
- Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10
Syn Studio Recommendations
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
- Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
- High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
Course Outline
*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Part 1: Understand how to build better references, generate more new ideas and maximize your creative output.
Become proficient in converting your ideas into quick functional sketches for concept design. Gain expertise in adapting these sketches to suit the design requirements of any concept art assignment. Learn how to sketch effectively to generate interesting ideas for Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and other themes.
Part 2: Gain a variety of powerful sketching techniques so you can focus on the elements that best communicate your concept and create maximum impact.
Testimonials
Registration
You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase!
Our Online Courses are now priced in Canadian Dollars to provide you with quality artistic training at affordable prices.
You will soon receive an email receipt for your purchase.
Please bring a photo ID for the first day of class.
Your transaction was not completed. Please try again. If the problem persists, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 514-998-7625
Questions and Assistance
Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625
Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]