Syn Studio Concept Art Diploma Program: Early Application Deadline April 28, 2021
Do you dream of becoming a concept artist and working on AAA games and blockbuster movies? The entertainment industry is highly competitive; focused training from top concept artists currently working in the industry is essential to level up your skills and build a professional level concept art portfolio that best showcases your strengths and competencies so you can gain an edge over your competition.
Syn Studio Concept Art School is the top-ranked concept art and illustration school worldwide (ranked by The Rookies in 2021). Syn Studio offers an opportunity to learn from some of the best concept artists currently working in Montreal’s entertainment industry with its affordable 18 month Concept Art Diploma Program.
Applications for the new Spring 2022 intake of this intensive program are currently open and the Advanced Application Deadline is on April 28th, 2021.
The Syn Studio Concept Art Diploma Program
The 18 months Syn Studio Concept Art Diploma Program is an affordable, high-quality program for aspiring concept artists to learn the latest and most relevant concept art techniques and workflows currently used in the industry. During the first half of the program, you will undergo comprehensive training to solidify your fundamentals and learn critical design and illustration skills. The second half of the program is designed to prepare you for the professional industry environment, with your instructor acting as your art director while you take the role of a junior concept artist. During this phase you will learn cutting edge pipelines you can use on your concept art assignments. You will get valuable feedback from your instructors so you can build an outstanding concept art portfolio.
How the Concept Art Diploma Program Makes you Industry Ready
The instructors teaching in the Concept Art Diploma Program are some of the finest concept artists and art directors currently working in Montreal’s entertainment industry. In addition to being top quality concept art professionals, the instructors also have years of teaching experience, both at Syn Studio and elsewhere.
These instructors will guide you at every step of your 18 month long journey towards building a top level portfolio and becoming industry ready upon graduation. You will also learn essential graphic design and marketing skills so you can improve your branding and present your portfolio in a visually appealing manner. And in the final term, you will learn how to navigate the industry, including doing art tests and interviews, so you can ace any challenge you may face as a professional concept artist.
In addition to this, you will also build valuable connections through teachers, fellow students and alumni who work in AAA, indie gaming, film and animation companies in Montreal and many other cities.
Instructors at Syn Studio
Jianli Wu
Jianli Wu is a concept artist and illustrator with over ten years of industry experience creating concepts and marketing illustrations for companies such as Ubisoft, Hibernum, Classcraft Studios and THQ. Prior to that, he worked as a character artist on several EA titles including NBA Elite 11, World Cup 10, FIFA 10 and Fight Night Round 4. He is an experienced art teacher and his digital painting expertise has been recognized with a CGHub Gold award and featured in Advanced Photoshop Issue 117. Jianli is currently working as an advanced concept artist at WB Games, Montreal.
Pierre Raveneau
Pierre Raveneau is a senior concept artist at Ubisoft Montreal where he is working on an unannounced project. Prior to this, Pierre has worked for companies like Gameloft Madrid and Ubisoft Halifax on games such as Gods of Rome, Asphalt Xtreme, Tom Clancy’s ShadowBreak and other unannounced projects. In addition to this, Pierre has also worked on several freelance projects for companies such as Square Enix, Applibot, Cryptozoic Entertainment, Alderac and Fantasy Flight Games, among others.
Jessy Veilleux
Jessy Veilleux is the founder and creative director of Meduzarts, a digital environment and character design studio, and the creative director of Digital Dimension. Combining a background in fine arts with his passion for digital work, Jessy’s unique approach and artistic eye has led to his work being featured in a lot of high profile movies and video games such as StarWars, The Force Unleashed II, Avatar VG, 300, AION, FallOut 3, SinCity, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen VG, Assassin’s Creed II, Prince of Persia II and Mortal Kombat X, among others. Jessy has been teaching for 10 years at Centre NAD in Montreal, where he was instrumental in creating the university’s first digital matte curriculum. A recipient of several awards including the CG Talk choice award and the XSI Gallery Award, Jessy’s work has been featured in several publications such as Exposé 5, Mattepainting.org and the CG Channel.
Sean Bigham
Sean Bigham is senior concept artist at Riot Games. Sean has worked for a variety of high profile clients including Digital Extremes and Activision. His designs have been featured in Warframe, Valorant and other unannounced projects.
Nicolas Vallet
Nicolas Vallet is a concept artist and art director at Meduzarts (Digital Dimension). For 10 years, he has contributed to the pre-production and early phases of many blockbuster films such as X-men: Days of Future Past, Immortals, Ben-Hur, The Great Wall and more. He also had a 6-year stint in China in visual development for animation and movies and led the concept team that made The Wandering Earth, which won several awards for its design and production work and was China’s third highest-grossing film of all time.
Additional Instructors in the Program
Christian Robert de Massy – Freelance concept artist and illustrator whose credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, Snow White and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, among others.
Xin Ran Liu – Lead Artist and Art Director at Kitfox Games whose credits include Mafia Wars, Shattered Planet and Moon Hunters.
Remko Troost – Senior Concept Artist at Ubisoft Montreal whose credits include Far Cry 3, Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed Unity, among others.
Veronique Meignaud – Senior artist and Illustrator at Moment Factory whose credits include Far Cry 4, Child of Light and Magic The Gathering, among others.
Chase Toole – Senior Concept Artist at Eidos whose credits include War Hammer, Far Cry, Deus Ex and Halo, among others.
How to Register?
Syn Studio’s alumni are working as concept artists at companies such as Warner Brother Games, Ubisoft, Beenox, Volta, Square Enix, Eidos, Ludia, Virtuos, Kabam, and Digital Dimension among others. Take your first step towards joining these successful students and become part of the Syn Studio community by checking out their website.
Due to the program’s graduates’ success at obtaining employment in the industry, the popularity of this program is increasing and Syn Studio is expecting even more applications this year*.
Reserve your place for an advanced portfolio review (first come first serve) and apply for the program before it’s too late.
Reserve Your Spot for Your Portfolio Review
The Advanced Application Deadline date for the 2022 Spring intake of the Syn Studio Concept Art Diploma Program is April 28th, 2021.
*Please note that there will only be one intake in 2022. We will be offering the program only in the Spring and not in the Fall of 2022, so keep in mind that you will have to wait a year to apply if you miss this application.
