Sam has perfected an approach to picture making that works for any level of experience. The absolute …

$299.00
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Unlimited Duration

Total Video Time

23 hours, 53 minutes

Sam has perfected an approach to picture making that works for any level of experience. The absolute beginner will rise quickly and start creating bold energetic paintings within the first couple of weeks of this online self-study. The experienced professional will learn the simplest way to break down a scene and only paint what is necessary to communicate the story. This class will not be covering tightly rendered paintings, but instead focus on quick color sketching to tell the entire story. BIO: Samuel Michlap began his animation career in 1992 as a layout artist on Walt Disney’s Classic “The Lion King,” and key set designer on “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Sam was influential at DreamWorks as a Lead Visual Development Artist, Art Director, and ultimately Production Designer. He contributed to “The Prince of Egypt”, “The Road to El Dorado”, “Sinbad”, “Shrek”, “SharkTale”, ”Monsters Vs. Aliens”, “Tusker”, “Madagascar 3″, “Turbo”, “MegaMind” and “The Rise of the Guardians”. Sam has been recently working on the Guardian of the Galaxy feature films for Marvel. He is an accomplished Fine Art Gallery Painter. His clientele includes: Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Sony, BlueSky, IDT, Imagi Studios, Universal, IM Digital, EA Games and Buena Vista Visual. He shows at Howard Mandville Gallery, Trailside Gallery, Ann Hughes Fine Art Gallery and Settler’s West Gallery.

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Samuel Michlap

About Instructor

Samuel Michlap began his animation career in 1992 as a layout artist on Walt Disney’s Classic “The Lion King,” and key set designer on “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Sam was influential at DreamWorks as a Lead Visual Development Artist, Art Director, and ultimately Production Designer. He contributed to “The Prince of Egypt”, “The Road to El Dorado”, “Sinbad”, “Shrek”, “SharkTale”, ”Monsters Vs. Aliens”, “Tusker”, “Madagascar 3″, “Turbo”, “MegaMind” and “The Rise of the Guardians”. Sam has been recently working on the Guardian of the Galaxy feature films for Marvel. He is an accomplished Fine Art Gallery Painter. His clientele includes: Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Sony, BlueSky, IDT, Imagi Studios, Universal, IM Digital, EA Games and Buena Vista Visual. He shows at Howard Mandville Gallery, Trailside Gallery, Ann Hughes Fine Art Gallery and Settler’s West Gallery.

Course Curriculum

    • D.C.S. | Introduction 00:30:00
    • Sam introduces Dynamic Color Sketching as a tool to create powerful cinematic paintings. We will use cinematography as a study aid, and discuss using film for reference. Sam will review why certain palettes and combinations of lighting, composition and values just work better than others.
    • D.C.S. | In-class Exercise 00:34:00
    • An exercise will demonstrate how to begin the quick-pace thought process of creating thumbnails.
    • D.C.S. | Abstract Thinking 00:39:00
    • Flat thumbnails are developed into volumetric designs working with color. Homework assignment is to copy at least 50 frames from "The Third Man" and make abstract shape compositions using a maximum of 4 values.
    • D.C.S. | Study Aids 00:45:00
    • Color study demonstrations will be done using a shot from a film as reference. Indicative painting is a fast approach to bold value and shape design through color.
    • Dominant Idea FREE 00:33:00
    • Two demos will be done using film shots for reference. Learning to identify big ideas for how colors relate to each other will lead to successful paintings. The homework will be a minimum of five 5-minute film frame studies working with color temperature.
    • D.C.S. | Color 00:34:00
    • A homework critique will demonstrate how to balance color and composition simultaneously. Breaking down film compositions is a great exercise to help find the big idea in a shot.
    • D.C.S. | Composition 00:39:00
    • A film frame color study will demonstrate how to quickly break a composition down using subdivision of large tones. The goal of the exercise is to build color while maintaining color harmony and the simple statement.
    • D.C.S. | Q and A 00:32:00
    • Sam answers questions and begins discussing how to create quick color comps from movie frames.
    • D.C.S. | Pen Tool 00:42:00
    • Building strong graphic shapes will demonstrate the versatility and speed that is possible with the pen tool. Lighting keys will be used to show how easy it is to make an composition into a shot for a movie.
    • D.C.S. | Pen Tool Exercise 00:51:00
    • A film frame color study will be done with the pen tool. The homework will be to make variations of the final exercise that was done in class.
    • D.C.S. | Homework 1 00:08:00
    • The directions for the homework assignment are given.
    • Color Comps 00:50:00
    • Emotional palettes are discussed in creating the "big idea" in a composition. A variety of color schemes will be used to balance dominant simple shapes with subdominant shapes.
    • Green vs Blue 00:41:00
    • An in-class assignment will be given along with a demo. Color sketching exercises will done with speed and bold thinking.
    • D.C.S. | Critique 1 00:42:00
    • A critique of the in-class assignment for each student will be given.
    • D.C.S. | Homework 2 00:08:00
    • The directions for the homework assignment will be given.
    • D.C.S. | Critique 2 01:48:00
    • A critique and paint-over demo is done on student homework assignments, developing them into cinematic moments. The importance of layout is considered in designing space.
    • Layouts and Backgrounds 00:56:00
    • A presentation of layouts and backgrounds from classic animated films are analyzed. The color schemes are broken down and discussed in relation to storytelling. Sam will cover how to breakdown a shot and study from great cinematographers.
    • Copying Disney Backgrounds 00:54:00
    • The in-class assignment will be to make 4 copies from frames within 5 minutes; and 1 at 20 minutes. Quick decision making and thinking boldly with color is an important part in creating strong compositions.
    • D.C.S. | Q and A 2 00:54:00
    • Questions on color harmony and color vibration are answered.
    • D.C.S. | Review 1 00:42:00
    • Review of last weeks lesson and a critique of the homework will be done with a painting demo over student work. Sam will cover the basics of how to use these tools to capture a specific emotional response for your audience.
    • D.C.S. | Color and Light 00:50:00
    • Color paintings are presented to show the different ways and possibilities of using color in your paintings. Psychology of color, composition, design, and lighting all factor into every scene we create as visual storytellers.
    • D.C.S. | Color Comparison 00:39:00
    • A demo will be done showing how to push the color we see in photography by comparing colors.
    • D.C.S. | In-class Assignment 1 00:58:00
    • In-class exercises will be done to help see and push color possibilities by using color comparison. The goal is to look for the right gray harmonies and relationships by comparing color.
    • D.C.S. | Homework 3 00:06:00
    • Continue the in-class assignment pushing color photos or film frames by comparing color.
    • D.C.S. | Review 2 00:58:00
    • A review of last weeks assignment will be done with a demo over student work to help develop strong compositions. Paintings will be dealing with color in more complex settings.
    • From Layout to Paint 00:27:00
    • A lecture showing examples of what the class assignment will be is presented.
    • D.C.S. | In-class Assignment 2 01:05:00
    • Students will create a fully realized emotional color sketch from a selected layout. A demo will be done simultaneously to show the possibilities in pushing the lighting and composition from the reference image.
    • D.C.S. | Final Painting 00:29:00
    • Sam will explain his decision making process with his paintings. A critique of student work will be done. The homework assignment will be to prepare a layout for next weeks class.
    • D.C.S. | Notes 01:09:00
    • In the final class students will create compositions from their stories. Sam will recap the most important things to think about while sketching in a critique of last weeks work.
    • D.C.S. | In-class assignment 3 00:45:00
    • Short demos will be done while students develop their layouts. Sam answers questions as he looks at student work.
    • D.C.S. | Final Critique: Part 1 00:51:00
    • A critique of the in-class assignment will be done with paint-over demos.
    • D.C.S. | Final Critique: Part 2 00:48:00
    • The critique continues with paint-over demos.
    • D.C.S. | Final Critique: Part 3 00:41:00
    • The final critique of remaining student work will bring the class to an end.
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