Learn the methods and philosophies of award-winning artist Bobby Chiu, live-action creature designer for such blockbuster films as Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Men
in Black 3". Bobby will guide you through his process, from generating great ideas to bringing them to the screen, realistic and lifelike. Get ready for a jam-packed
curriculum of nine lectures and assignments designed to fill your brain with the knowledge to create compelling, realistic creatures. If you are a "creature person" and want
to take your creatures to the next level, Bobby will help you get there.
"Painting Creatures with Bobby Chiu" consists of 9 lectures presented over 12 weeks.
Lesson 1 - The Idea
One of the most common questions I get is how do I come up with my ideas? In this lecture, we will talk about generating great ideas, how to make them memorable and, more
importantly, how to make them viral.
Lesson 2 - Sketching, Drapery, and Skin
Sketching is to a painting what notes are to an essay. In school, we learn the alphabet to write with but we don't learn a language to sketch with, so in this lesson, I will
teach you my "sketch language". You will learn how to create and read your own sketches while understanding every detail.
Lesson 3 - Research, Reference, and Three-Tone Sketches
Great work springs from great preparation. In this lecture, we will discuss how to properly prepare and gather research and reference, how to use it effectively, and the
wonderful three-tone sketch method for creating ideas and composition quickly.
Lesson 4 - Fur
In this lesson, we will unravel the complexities and mysteries of fur. You will learn my methods for creating realistic straight and curly fur from imagination.
Lesson 5 - Rough Tonal
The rough tonal is my foundation for creating realistic creatures. In addition to my painting techniques, we will also discuss the crucial thinking and logic behind the
brushstrokes.
Lesson 6 - Scales and Eyes
In this lecture, you will learn how to create eyes and scales. In my demos, I will talk about the logic and reasoning that I consider in order to make my eyes and scales
appear more realistic.
Lesson 7 - Color
In this lesson, we will discuss general color theory and how to effectively use contrast, lighting, and atmosphere to tell a story in your creature illustrations.
Lesson 8 - Hands and Feet
Creatures can have all manner of limbs and appendages. Here, we will look closely at the most common ones: hands, feet, paws, claws, fins, etc. I will do various demos to
show how to look at complex hands and feet in a simplified way in order to make painting faster and easier.
Lesson 9 - Finish
Taking everything that we've talked about in previous lectures, we will now bring a colored rough creature to a realistic finish.
