Underpaint Academy

Anime & Gacha Illustration with Joseph "Kunomd" Chan – Underpaint Academy Sign-ups open now! An introduction to professional character illustration through the lens of the Eastern entertainment industry and Gacha games. Topics include: critical technical art skills, meta v...

Catch his class LIVE for two more weeks only:
underpaintacademy.com/product/anim...

dont talk to me or my son ever again 👻

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timelapse by Underpaint Academy instructor @kunomd.bsky.social
#characterdesign #conceptart #visdev #illustration #vtuber #mogughost #anime #timelapse #underpaintacademy

Tiny Gobbos!!
Love doing traditional drawing

A slender feminine masked character laying on a muscular masculine masked character's lap as he smokes a pipe by her face

Slender masked masculine character lounging on couch behind a beaded curtain with pipe as feminine masked character lies on his lap smoking a straight pipe. Close ups of their masks frame the top and bottom of the image.

The two original figures framed by visual call outs of their masks

share a moment with me

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arcane kindred character concepts by Underpaint Academy instructor Victor Maury

#arcane #kindred #leagueoflegends #conceptart #splashart #illustration #visdev #underpaintacademy

Painting Iconic Splash Art with Victor Maury – Underpaint Academy Sign-ups open now! Let’s learn about painting memorable characters for the splash art, trading card game, and animation industry!  Every week will include a combination of lectures, demos, and live paintovers and feedback catered to your goals and area of focus. We will cover everything that Victor Maury learned in his time in the animation industry creating characters for Arcane, League of Legends, and Dungeons & Dragons, including illustration fundamentals, designing characters, creating a fun and sustainable art practice, and finishing and rendering your work. If you've ever wanted to know what it is like to design and paint characters for splash, this class is for you! Date & Time: Saturdays at 10AM ET starting January 31, 2026 Skill level: All skill levels welcome Tiers: Receive feedback or spectate without homework feedback Format: 5 hour live class each week with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings are generally provided within a couple days of each live session. Materials: Any digital or traditional mediums. Paintovers will be done digitally. All weeks will be a combination of lecture, demos and feedback. Week 1 - Intro: the Artist's Toolkit A brief look at my own art journey, introducing the critique tier, and running through our tools for telling stories. Week 2 - Brief, Pillars, & Thumbnails An in-depth dive into how to interpret a brief or craft one from scratch, using style guides, pillars, and word maps. Week 3 - Recognizing Archetypes How to wield the timeless power of myth, and adapt symbols for the modern age. Week 4 - Demystifying Values Notan vs. Form. Patterns, design, grouping, and gradients. Week 5 - Conveying Power earning to recognize the many forms of power, both explicit and implicit, and how to put our characters at the center of it all. Week 6 - Drawing from your own Experience Making use of the ingredients inherent to you to make a unique and delicious dish. Week 7 - On Rendering From the mechanical to the lyrical. Microcompositions, hypnosis, & spotlight moments. Week 8 - the Final 1% How to push beyond your current limits, time and time again.

catch his Iconic Splash Art class live for two more weeks only:

A slender feminine masked character laying on a muscular masculine masked character's lap as he smokes a pipe by her face

Slender masked masculine character lounging on couch behind a beaded curtain with pipe as feminine masked character lies on his lap smoking a straight pipe. Close ups of their masks frame the top and bottom of the image.

The two original figures framed by visual call outs of their masks

share a moment with me

-
arcane kindred character concepts by Underpaint Academy instructor Victor Maury

#arcane #kindred #leagueoflegends #conceptart #splashart #illustration #visdev #underpaintacademy

People in hazmat suits searching and cataloguing a museum of alien skeletons with flashlights

hide & seek

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piece by Underpaint Academy instructor Alex Konstad
#scifi #horror #conceptart #museum #specimen #visdev #illustration #artschool #underpaintacademy

People in hazmat suits searching and cataloguing a museum of alien skeletons with flashlights

hide & seek

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piece by Underpaint Academy instructor Alex Konstad
#scifi #horror #conceptart #museum #specimen #visdev #illustration #artschool #underpaintacademy

Textured painting by Underpaint Academy instructor Daniel Reid of a woman holding cup by a goat

Man in suit and tie with a dog overlooking a city from a desert plateau at night

Man and woman with a llama on a sandy plateau by an oriental rug overlooking a lit-up pyramid

Daniel Reid's new course, Experimental Painting, is now open for registration!

Learn how to combine logic and intuition, mixed media, and imperfectionism to create richly expressive pieces!

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#painting #mixedmedia #conceptart #conceptualart #tutorial #visdev #art #artschool #underpaintacademy

Experimental Digital Painting with Daniel Reid – Underpaint Academy Sign-ups open Monday March 2nd at Noon ET! Join Daniel Reid (papa.png) in this 4 week workshop as he guides you through using digital painting as a truly artistic medium for expression. We’ll Cover: Letting go of perfectionism  How to use intuition and not just logic Hybrid 3D and photo workflows Week 1: Foundations of voice and subconscious storytelling The Transformative Line: Using a technique called transformative line to contact storytelling deeper than the surface Narrative Engine: Using Dream Logic to drive the story. Prioritizing symbolic continuity and emotional truth rather than strict realism. Intent: Composing with the specific goal of contextual accuracy, bypassing the urge to "make it look pretty.". Week 2: Intuition & Composition Matte Painting as Experiment: Moving away from rigid photobashing toward experimental composition. The Mixer Brush: Unlocking the tool’s potential for flow, edge play, and controlled abstraction. Design Decisions: Analyzing why we make choices navigating the tension between Logic vs. Intuition. Tone Control: Using Contrast & Affinity as the fundamental tools to manipulate emotional and thematic impact Week 2: Intuition & Composition Matte Painting as Experiment: Moving away from rigid photobashing toward experimental composition. The Mixer Brush: Unlocking the tool’s potential for flow, edge play, and controlled abstraction. Design Decisions: Analyzing why we make choices navigating the tension between Logic vs. Intuition. Tone Control: Using Contrast & Affinity as the fundamental tools to manipulate emotional and thematic impact Week 3: 3D Forms & Image Crushing 3D Coat Workflow: Intro to Intermediate sculpting for silhouettes, forms, and rapid design generation. Combining that with our stories. Image Crushing: The art of destructive editing. Extracting energy from renders through heavy paintovers and artifact manipulation. Controlled Chaos: Articulating texture and focal points through "accidents" and destructive workflow techniques to find image tension. Week 4: Synthesis & Direction Macro Critique: A holistic review of work produced across the month. Identifying recurring themes, strengths, and personal voice. Final thoughts: On industry, life, and why art is important. Duration: 4 weeks Date & Time: Saturdays at 1PM ET starting Saturday April 4 Skill level: All skill levels welcome Tiers: 12 Critique spots - Receive feedback or spectate without homework feedback Format: 4-5 hour live class with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings will be provided within ~2 days of each class. Materials: Any digital or traditional mediums. Paintovers will be done digitally.

Sign up here:

Textured painting by Underpaint Academy instructor Daniel Reid of a woman holding cup by a goat

Man in suit and tie with a dog overlooking a city from a desert plateau at night

Man and woman with a llama on a sandy plateau by an oriental rug overlooking a lit-up pyramid

Daniel Reid's new course, Experimental Painting, is now open for registration!

Learn how to combine logic and intuition, mixed media, and imperfectionism to create richly expressive pieces!

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#painting #mixedmedia #conceptart #conceptualart #tutorial #visdev #art #artschool #underpaintacademy

reze, study

The finished piece:

The finished piece:

More wok i did for Where the Water Tastes like Wine. 2015-2018

Mastering Light & Form with Pluvium – Underpaint Academy Sign-ups open Monday March 2nd at Noon ET! In this brand new 8 week live course, Pluvium (PLGR) will take you through the fundamentals of learning light & form so that when you look at references you...

Register here:
underpaintacademy.com/product/mast...

🩰 @pluvium.bsky.social's new course, Mastering Light & Form, is now open for registration!

Learn how to observe, how to learn from reference, and how to leverage light, form, & shapes to create sensitive paintings 👇

#art #painting #colorandlight #conceptart #tutorial #artschool #underpaintacademy

Large cityscape of Brooklyn facing Manhattan from DUMBO with Spider-Man by Underpaint Academy instructor Yuhki Demers for Across the Spider-Verse

🕸️ Yuhki Demers's new course, Energetic Composition, is now open for registration!

Make your portfolio stand out with great composition — link in bio!

#conceptart #environmentdesign #spiderverse #acrossthespiderverse #illustration #tutorial #visdev #art #artschool #underpaintacademy

Some of the work i did for Where the Water Tastes like Wine back in the day

Energetic Composition with Yuhki Demers – Underpaint Academy Sign-ups open Monday March 2nd at Noon ET! As a working production designer in film and television with over a decade of experience I have looked through countless portfolios and can say that one aspect, above all others, separates the pros from the amateurs: composition. Good composition can elevate your portfolio to a professional level and is a sign that, as an artist, you are ready to be hired. In this course we’ll cover not only what it takes to make an energetic composition, but also what it takes to make a composition that is right for your story. I want to walk you through the process I use to create energetic compositions that can elevate your portfolio and your visual storytelling capabilities.  We’ll Cover: Basic compositional ideas Thumbnail ideation Cinematography Cinematic Film Language Composing for visual storytelling Composition for props or set designs Week 1: Intro to composition Composition do’s and don't’s good reference, Thumbnailing demo Week 2: Camera angles and lens types shot types, Prop design Demo Week 3: Dividing the Picture Plane, Spacing and Percentages demo Week 4: Using 3D to help find composition, Blender Camera and Composition Demo Week 5: Shot Variety, and unconventional compositions, Thumbnailing Story Moment Demo Week 6: Composition for storytelling, Start Story Moment Demo Week 7: Continued composition for storytelling, Continue Story Moment Demo Week 8: Final Crit, and Industry Wake up Call, Final Q&A Time & Date: Sundays at 12PM ET starting Sunday April 12 Duration: 8 weeks Skill level: All skill levels welcome Tiers: 12 Critique spots - Receive feedback or spectate without homework feedback Format: 4-5 hour live class with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings will be provided within ~2 days of each class. Materials: Any digital or traditional mediums. Paintovers will be done digitally.  

Sign up here:

Large cityscape of Brooklyn facing Manhattan from DUMBO with Spider-Man by Underpaint Academy instructor Yuhki Demers for Across the Spider-Verse

🕸️ Yuhki Demers's new course, Energetic Composition, is now open for registration!

Make your portfolio stand out with great composition — link in bio!

#conceptart #environmentdesign #spiderverse #acrossthespiderverse #illustration #tutorial #visdev #art #artschool #underpaintacademy

Live courses are now open for registration! 👇

gouache painting of a pink three-eyed alien bearing a wand and riding a blue horse in the night surrounded by sparkles

would you still make art if you were a worm 🪱

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Happy worm moon day — the first full moon of the lunar new year!

Piece by Underpaint Academy instructor Kellan jett
#conceptart #visdev #gouache #illustration #aliens #horses #lunarnewyear #fullmoon #art #underpaintacademy

Sign up here: underpaintacademy.com/shop

Live courses are now open for registration! 👇

Sign up here: underpaintacademy.co...

Batman Beyond poster advertising Yuhki Demers' Underpaint Academy course Energetic Composition

Poster of a woman backlit by a large bioluminescent jellyfish advertising Daniel "papa.png" Reid's Underpaint Academy course Experimental Digital Painting

Painting of a horned, periwinkle-haired woman advertising Pluvium's Underpaint Academy course Mastering Light & Form

Our live spring 2026 term is now open for registration! Head to our shop to sign up for classes from Yuhki Demers, Pluvium, and Daniel Reid!

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#conceptart #illustration #visdev #mixedmedia #batmanbeyond #anime #tutorial #artschool #underpaintacademy

Person in a protective suit and mask holding a glowing purple orb advertising Daniel "papa.png" Reid's upcoming Underpaint Academy course, Experimental Digital Painting, opening for registration on Monday

Registration for Experimental Digital Painting with Daniel Reid opens Monday! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get notified when it opens — link in bio 🔗

#painting #mixedmedia #visdev #conceptart #tutorial #artschool #underpaintacademy

Woman in white dress sits with her back to us, her hand covering her face, in this poster for Pluvium's Mastering Light & Form class opening for registration on Monday.

Registration for Mastering Light & Form with Pluvium opens Monday! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get notified when it opens — link in bio 🔗

#painting #colorandlight #visdev #conceptart #tutorial #artschool #underpaintacademy

Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen attack Paper Vulture on this poster for Underpaint Academy class Energetic Composition with Yuhki Demers which opens for registration on Monday

Registration for Yuhki Demers's upcoming Underpaint Academy course, Energetic composition, opens Monday! Sign up for our newsletter to get notified when it starts — link in bio 🔗

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#conceptart #visdev #illustration #painting #tutorial #spiderverse #artschool #underpaintacademy