What is /ic/'s opinion on Ateliers? I found one recently,

>>2645293
I've been going to an atelier full time for about a year now and it was definitely worth it for me, since i wanted to learn how to do representational art. If your looking to improve your observation skills and technical abilities then its just for you. However it doesn't help you much with drawing or painting from your imagination

>>2645293
They're decent schools but only if you want to learn a very narrow approach. When it comes to learning skills for the entertainment industry you are much better off self teaching or using online courses, or if you can afford art school then go to a good program like Art Center. Industrial design is probably not a bad thing to study either if there is nothing near you.

>>2645293
Too expensive for me, so I just self teach at home, there's an endless stream of information and teaching material on the internet

>>2645329
-if you have more than enough money for it though, then I say go for it, I hear pretty much only good things about them

>>2645320
That's a bit of a generalization. Multiple instructors at the Watts Atelier, for example, work or have worked in the entertainment industry.

>>2645355
Watts Atelier is sort of a special case since it's the only one based on the Reilly Method, whereas most in Europe and the USA are based on the French system and the Bargue course. Russia and China are more construction based but they are not easy for foreign students to go to.

In any case, Watts is not the best place for training up for the entertainment industry either. It won't teach any design at all, only teaches traditional skills, and focuses 95% on drawing the human figure from a model in a studio setting. Also none of the instructors really have done much in the entertainment industry. A couple like Gist or Graciano have done a bit of tcg work, but that's about it.

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>>2645293
>Or are they all talk, with no real application to the entertainment industry but rather more gallery work?

That's a pretty odd statement to make.

But yeah, ateliers generally teach copying accurately from life and focus on little else.

>>2645361
Hmm interesting. I would mainly choose to go to an atelier to strengthen my fundamentals and technique. But you're right, they don't teach squat about design.

I also want to bring up small entertainment schools such as Brainstorm, CGMA, or Gnomon? Are the courses worth it? Or are the dvds and recordings the only thing that matters?

>>2645361
Gist worked in the video game industry for around 10 years.

>>2645361
Russia is cheap compared to the US though, and they do have some american students. Problem is you need to actually learn russian and be already decent to get accepted.
The academy itself looks fucking awesome though, I would love to go for their summer school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpxrY0O40Ic

>>2645361
>focuses 95% on drawing the human figure from a model in a studio setting.

Nonsense, they split it up into head, figures, landscapes and still life which covers all the parts that make up a painting. Then tons of master classes on perspective, composition, illustration, mood and such many in different mediums.

>>2645384
Doing the courses for those types of programs are probably better than just having the videos, but if you can't afford them easily then it's not worth it and better to just torrent. The courses themselves are not groundbreaking when you have a teacher there, it's just handy to have some feedback. The information in just the videos is probably enough.

>>2645392
I wasn't aware of that. In any case, I don't think that was recently, and I don't think his skills would be suitable for most video game jobs these days.

>>2645399
>Problem is you need to actually learn russian and be already decent to get accepted.
That's why I said it isn't easy for foreigners. As far as I know there have only been like 2 or 3 Americans to have ever gone to the Repin Academy. It's mostly Russians with a few Chinese students and occasionally one from Europe.

>>2645784
>head, figures, landscapes and still life which covers all the parts that make up a painting
That's not all that makes up a painting at all. Looking at the current schedule there are 29 classes/time slots per week, and 20 of those are drawing or painting the figure or head. The rest are mostly related to learning how to use different media like oils or inks. There's only two landscape classes and one of them is about cloudscapes. The only perspective class is freehand outdoor sketching. It's hardly a well rounded curriculum and will not prepare somebody for working in the entertainment industry (not that Watts ever claims that is their goal).

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An art school (not academy) is really worth it if you want to exel in technique. I studied with someone who went to the school in Florence and recommended it - it's great if you do realistic painting.
There is also a school in Stockholm.
But unfortunately it costs a lot.

>>2645293

They are beneficial but they typically have a minimal focus on drawing and painting things from imagination, atleast those of the Florence lineage. You can spend five years in a atelier and produce some absolutely beautiful figure paintings and still lives and yet have a beginner thread tier skill in drawing from imagination if you stick to the curriculum religiously. Drawing from imagination and producing beautiful works of art from life are two distinct skill sets.

With that said, if you supplement the atelier training with imagination drawing you can learn a fuck ton. There are also a lot of illustrators and digital painters in ateliers, some really fucking good. So you'll likely meet some cool ass people too.

>>2645822
>Looking at the current schedule there are 29 classes/time slots per week, and 20 of those are drawing or painting the figure or head

Fair enough, I'm on the online program.

>>2645861

Are you referring to SARA? It moved from Stockholm to Simrishamn in southern Sweden. There is/was(?) a another very small atelier like school in Stockholm but I wasn't very impressed with what I saw of the student work there. There is also a branch of the Florence academy in Gothenburg

>>2645877
Yes, you are correct. I forgot sara moved.

>>2645822
Keep in mind the classes change every term, and the only reason they keep running head classes is because they keep getting filled up.

>>2646509
Yes but each term the classes are more or less similar to that. In my opinion it simply is not a good program if you want to enter the entertainment industry. The program at Watts is not meant for that at all and thus doesn't teach the necessary skills for it.

>>2645361
http://artac.org/welcome

This one teaches the Russian method in Italy