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Colton Dubell

The Drawing and Painting Weapons, Guns, Vehicles, and Mechs Course gives you a total introduction to digitally drawing and painting a wide array of weapons, guns vehicles and mech robots . Or your money back.

Throughout this course, you’ll be taught the art and design skills you always wanted to learn. Whether you’re just learning as a hobbyist, or you plan on becoming a professional digital illustrator or concept artist. This is the perfect course for you.

Read more

The Drawing and Painting Weapons, Guns, Vehicles, and Mechs Course gives you a total introduction to digitally drawing and painting a wide array of weapons, guns vehicles and mech robots . Or your money back.

Throughout this course, you’ll be taught the art and design skills you always wanted to learn. Whether you’re just learning as a hobbyist, or you plan on becoming a professional digital illustrator or concept artist. This is the perfect course for you.

Throughout this course you’ll be going through over 25 hours of live narrated content, over 50 lectures, and 55 downloadable resources. First I’ll be bringing you through the very basics of perspective, then shading and rendering, and finally sections on drawing and painting melee and magical weapons, guns, vehicles, and mech robots.

Here’s what you’ll get in this course:

  • Instant access to all 55 lectures, in 8 sections.

  • over 25 hours of live, narrated content where I’ll be bringing you through every step in real time.

  • Full money back guarantee within 30 days of purchasing the course.

The course is laid out in an easy to understand format:

  • First I’ll be teaching you the fundamentals of perspective. We’ll go through 1 and 2 point perspective, offering the same assignments that I had when I was a student in some of the top design schools.

  • After that, I’ll be teaching you the importance of lighting and how to shade and render the basic elements that create everything. Spheres, Cubes, Cones, and Cylinders. These are the elements that make up almost everything around us. Finishing off with Rendering 3 different weapons as a fundamental final exercise.

  • Next we move on to jumping straight into learning about the basics of melee weapons. Understanding is the most important part of effectively designing, so we’ll be looking at weapons and sketching them out with the intention to understand them.

  • After this we’ll go into sketching out Swords, Axes, Shields, Staffs, and Bows. Starting very rough and gradually refining them.

  • Next we’ll start rendering our weapons, paying attention to the forms, colors, and details. I’ll bring two of the weapons to a high quality finish.

  • After this I’ll teach you about drawing magical effects, what to think about when drawing magic, and take you through flame effects, ice effects, and lightning effects. Adding them to a weapon as an example.

  • In the next session we’ll be moving on to guns. I’ll use the same process of first understanding, then applying what we learned and using that to create believable and interesting gun designs.

  • I’ll bring you through sketching many different guns and we’ll take two of them and render them to a high polish. After this I’ll teach you about drawing scifi guns and painting lasers and effects.

  • After guns we’ll move on to vehicles. Where again I’ll teach you the basics, then introduce you to my favorite way of drawing vehicles without having to worry too much about perspective. We’ll sketch a few out that way before diving in and rendering out one of our sketches to a very high detailed finish.

  • I’ll go over the basics of tanks and boats as well and how to approach drawing them.

  • After this I’ll go over balloon airships, and spaceships. Sketching some and talking about how to approach drawing those as well.

  • Finally we’ll be diving into sketching and drawing mechs. I’ll walk you through my process when sketching them and also finish off with painting one of our sketches.

Throughout this entire course you’ll be learning:

  • How to use perspective and understand it

  • How to render and shade objects realistically

  • How to draw and paint melee weapons

  • How to paint magical effects

  • How to draw and paint guns

  • How to draw and paint vehicles

  • Adding lots of details.

  • tips and tricks on painting, drawing, and design.

  • tons of live narrated drawing.

  • over 115 downloadable resources.

Other Benefits:

  • You’ll also be getting access to the Q&A section

  • Lifetime access to all the course material.

  • Contact with me, your instructor

Sign up today and take the next step to growing as an artist.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Drawing and painting weapons
  • Drawing and painting guns
  • Drawing and painting vehicles
  • Drawing and painting mechs
  • Drawing and painting melee weapons
  • Painting magical effects

Syllabus

Introduction

Students will get an introduction to the course.

Students will learn about what supplies they'll need during this course.

Read more

Students will learn about the Q&A Section and how to use it.

Students will learn what tools they need for the course.

Students will start off by drawing something inspiring and fun.

Overview of what we'll be talking about in the fundamentals section.

Introductory lecture to perspective.

Students will learn about 1 point perspective.

Homework and a demo for the 1 point perspective lesson!

Lesson teaching 2 point perspective

Students will learn about how cameras work and why it's important to perspective.

Students will get their homework for the 2 point perspective lessons.

Students will be learning about the fundamentals of how light works.

Students will learn what Half to Black is.

Students will learn about rendering Cubes and Spheres

I'll be going over rendering cylinders and cones.

Students will complete a final  rendering assignment.

I'll be explaining how I use the symmetry tool in my work.

I'll be talking about side views and why they're so important.

Students will learn the basics of melee weapons.

Introduction to drawing and designing swords

Students will learn about and be drawing axes

Students will learn about drawing and designing shields

Students will learn about and draw staffs and polearms

Students will learn about drawing and designing bows.

Students will learn how to finalize weapons

Students will learn how to finalize weapons

In this lecture we'll be discussing Magical effects such as lights and colors and how to make them believable.

In this lecture students will learn about drawing flaming weapon effects.

Students will be learning about drawing ice magic effects

Students will learn about and create their own lightning weapon effects.

In order to break the rules of guns, we need to understand the rules of them. So we'll be learning about how guns work in this lecture.

Students will learn about old guns like flintlocks and cannons.

Students will get a demo on how I like to sketch guns.

Students will learn about drawing pistols.

Students will be shown how to draw and design rifles.

Students will learn how to draw sniper rifles.

Students will learn about shotguns and how to draw them.

Students will learn how to render guns part 1.

Students will be learning about rendering guns: Part 2.

Students will learn about drawing scifi guns.

Students will learn about drawing lasers and weapon effects.

Students will learn the basics of vehicles and what to think about when approaching drawing them.

I'll be teaching the technique I like to use for sketching vehicles in side views.

Sharing one of my favorite ways to draw vehicles.

Students will be learning how to render vehicles.

Students will be learning how to render vehicles. Part 2.

Students will learn about adding colored backgrounds to their rendering

Students will learn about tanks and how to draw them.

Students will learn about how I like to approach drawing boats and speed forms.

Students will learn about drawing balloon airships.

Students will be taught how I like to draw space ships.

Students will learn about sketching mechs.

Students will learn about rendering mechs.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Covers perspective, shading, and rendering, which are fundamental skills for concept art and illustration, providing a solid foundation for beginners
Explores drawing and painting melee weapons, guns, vehicles, and mechs, which are common subjects in fantasy and science fiction concept art
Includes over 25 live narrated content, which allows learners to observe the instructor's process in real-time and gain insights into their techniques
Teaches how to draw magical effects, which can add visual interest and storytelling potential to fantasy weapon designs
Includes over 55 downloadable resources, which may include templates, reference images, or other materials to aid in the learning process
Requires students to have access to digital drawing and painting software, which may require a separate purchase or subscription

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Reviews summary

Concept art for fantasy & scifi design

According to learners, this course offers a strong foundation in perspective, lighting, and rendering, essential skills for any concept artist. Students appreciate the wide range of topics covered, from fantasy melee weapons and magic effects to scifi guns, vehicles, and mechs. The live narrated demonstrations are frequently praised for their clarity, showing the process step-by-step. While many find the course to be excellent value for the extensive content provided, some reviewers note that it assumes prior familiarity with digital painting software like Photoshop, and that the pacing can be inconsistent, with certain sections feeling either slow or rushed. Overall, it's considered suitable for beginners with some digital art experience or intermediate artists.
Most beneficial for those with some art background.
"This course is perfect if you're an intermediate artist looking to specialize in concept art for fantasy and sci-fi."
"It's a great starting point for beginners, but ideally, you should already have some basic drawing and digital art skills."
"I think this is best suited for someone who is past the absolute beginner stage and understands core art principles."
Offers extensive content for the cost.
"Given the sheer amount of content and hours of instruction, this course is excellent value for the money invested."
"So many hours of instruction covering diverse topics for the price point, it's hard to beat this in terms of value."
"Definitely worth the investment if you're serious about learning concept art for fantasy and sci-fi subjects."
Instructor's drawing/painting demos are helpful.
"The live narrated demos are easy to follow and show the process step-by-step, which is crucial for digital art."
"Watching the instructor paint in real-time and explain their thought process was very insightful and boosted my own workflow."
"The demos helped me understand the workflow and techniques better than if it were just static images or sped-up videos."
Covers many fantasy and sci-fi art topics.
"This course covers everything from swords and magic effects to spaceships and mechs, a really great range of topics!"
"It's amazing how much is packed in - weapons, vehicles, magic effects, really comprehensive content for the price."
"I specifically wanted to learn how to draw guns and mechs for my portfolio, and this course delivered on both effectively."
Builds essential perspective and rendering skills.
"The sections on perspective and rendering were incredibly helpful, really solidifying my understanding of the basics."
"Building from the basics like perspective and shading makes the complex parts of concept art much easier to grasp."
"I really appreciated the time spent on fundamentals before diving into the specific objects like weapons and vehicles."
Pace varies; some parts slow, others fast.
"Some parts of the course felt like they dragged on a bit, while others moved frustratingly fast for me to keep up."
"I had to rewatch certain lectures multiple times because the pace suddenly picked up without much warning or repetition."
"The fundamentals section was thorough, but some of the later specific rendering sections felt a bit glossed over or rushed."
Requires prior familiarity with digital art tools.
"Beginners should know this isn't a software tutorial; you need to know how to use Photoshop or similar programs before starting."
"I struggled a bit initially as I was relatively new to digital painting tools and how they function."
"The course jumps straight into drawing, assuming you already know how to use the brushes, layers, and basic functions of your software."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Concept Art: Draw and Paint Fantasy and Scifi Weapons with these activities:
Review Perspective Fundamentals
Reinforce your understanding of perspective, a crucial foundation for drawing weapons, vehicles, and mechs in a believable space.
Browse courses on Perspective Drawing
Show steps
  • Review notes and examples from perspective lessons.
  • Practice drawing basic shapes in one and two-point perspective.
  • Find real-world examples of perspective and analyze them.
Review 'Mechanika: Creating the Art of Machines'
Learn about the design principles behind mechanical objects to improve your vehicle and mech designs.
Show steps
  • Read the book and analyze the design choices of the featured artists.
  • Identify key principles of mechanical design and functionality.
  • Apply these principles to your own vehicle and mech designs.
Shading and Rendering Exercises
Improve your shading and rendering skills by practicing on basic forms, which are essential for creating realistic-looking weapons and vehicles.
Show steps
  • Practice rendering spheres, cubes, cylinders, and cones.
  • Experiment with different light sources and shadow placements.
  • Apply shading techniques to simple weapon shapes.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Review 'The Skillful Huntsman: Visual Development of a Grimm Tale at Art Center College of Design'
Study the visual development process used by professional artists to improve your own concept art skills.
View Alter Ego: A Novel on Amazon
Show steps
  • Read the book and analyze the artists' design choices.
  • Identify key principles of visual storytelling and composition.
  • Apply these principles to your own weapon and vehicle designs.
Design a Weapon from Scratch
Apply the course's principles by designing a unique weapon, focusing on form, function, and visual appeal.
Show steps
  • Brainstorm weapon ideas and gather reference images.
  • Sketch multiple variations of your weapon design.
  • Refine your chosen design and add details.
  • Create a final rendering of your weapon.
Follow Advanced Rendering Tutorials
Refine your rendering skills by following advanced tutorials that focus on specific techniques, such as metal rendering or creating realistic textures.
Show steps
  • Search for tutorials on advanced rendering techniques.
  • Follow the tutorials step-by-step, paying attention to the details.
  • Apply the techniques you learned to your own weapon and vehicle designs.
Create a Weapon Design Portfolio
Showcase your skills by creating a portfolio of weapon designs, demonstrating your understanding of form, function, and visual appeal.
Show steps
  • Select your best weapon designs from the course and your own projects.
  • Create high-quality renderings of each weapon.
  • Write brief descriptions of each weapon's function and design inspiration.
  • Organize your portfolio in a visually appealing format.

Career center

Learners who complete Concept Art: Draw and Paint Fantasy and Scifi Weapons will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Concept Artist
A concept artist develops visual representations of ideas for use in games, film, and other media. The concept artist role often involves designing weapons, vehicles, and environments. This course helps build a foundation in weapon design, especially in drawing and painting fantasy and science fiction weapons. With instruction in perspective, shading, rendering, and the specifics of melee, magical, and ranged weapons, this course is an ideal starting point. The course even covers vehicles and mechs, further expanding your design capabilities as a concept artist.
Game Artist
Game artists are responsible for creating the visual elements of video games, including characters, environments, and props. As a game artist, skills in drawing and painting weapons are valuable. This course delves into the specifics of drawing and painting fantasy and science fiction weapons. Instruction in perspective, shading, and rendering helps build a foundation for excellence. The course covers melee weapons, magical effects, guns, vehicles, and mechs. This provides a comprehensive understanding of how to design and render visually compelling assets for games.
Illustrator
An illustrator creates images to accompany text or convey a particular message in books, magazines, and digital media. As an illustrator, proficiency in drawing and painting weapons and vehicles can be a significant asset. This course is useful for learning how to digitally draw and paint a wide array of weapons, guns, vehicles, and mech robots. You will learn perspective, shading, and rendering, crucial skills for any illustrator. Modules dedicated to melee weapons, magical effects, guns, vehicles, and mechs will provide specific knowledge to elevate your work as an illustrator.
Digital Painter
Digital painters create artwork using computer software, often for films, games, or advertising. As a digital painter, skills in rendering and creating realistic textures are highly valued. This course helps build a foundation in these techniques. The course offers instruction in perspective, shading, and rendering. Specific modules on weapons, vehicles, and mechs provide unique subject matter for digital painting and can enhance a portfolio.
Automotive Designer
Automotive designers create the aesthetic and functional design of vehicles. As an automotive designer, you need to be able to communicate your ideas through drawings and renderings. This course helps build a foundation in these skills. The course provides instruction in perspective, shading, and rendering. The specific modules on vehicles offers practical experience in drawing and painting vehicles, from basic forms to detailed designs. This makes it an ideal starting point for aspiring automotive designers.
Comic Book Artist
A comic book artist creates the illustrations for comic books and graphic novels. As a comic book artist, the ability to draw weapons, vehicles, and action sequences is crucial. This course is useful in its approach to weapon design. Instruction in perspective, shading, and rendering provides a solid base for creating dynamic comic book art. Sections dedicated to melee weapons, magical effects, guns, vehicles, and mechs supplies specific training relevant to the needs of a comic book artist.
Animator
Animators create moving images for films, television shows, video games, and other media. An animator with skills in drawing detailed objects such as weapons and vehicles can enhance the visual appeal of their animations. This course may be useful as it teaches the fundamentals of perspective and rendering. These are essential for creating realistic and dynamic animations. The course content on weapons, vehicles, and mechs provides specialized knowledge that could be applied to animation projects.
Storyboard Artist
Storyboard artists create visual representations of scenes in film, television, and video games. A storyboard artist visualizes action sequences and the overall flow of a story. This course may be useful due to its focus on weapons, vehicles, and mechs. The course covers perspective, shading, and rendering. These skills are fundamental to creating clear and dynamic storyboards. Learning to draw and paint various types of weapons and vehicles enhances your ability to create action-packed and visually engaging storyboards.
Industrial Designer
Industrial designers create the form and function of manufactured products. An industrial designer may sometimes be called upon to design specialized equipment or tools. This course may be useful in learning how to design and draw objects with form and function. The course covers perspective, shading, and rendering. Learning to draw and paint various types of weapons and vehicles enhances a sense of design.
Production Designer
A production designer is responsible for the overall look and feel of a film, television show, or theater production. The production designer helps to create the visual world of a story. This course may be useful by providing skills useful for conceptualizing and visualizing props. With instruction in perspective, shading, and rendering, this course can help build a foundation for understanding how to create visually cohesive designs that enhance the story. The specific modules on weapons, vehicles, and mechs add specialized knowledge.
Matte Painter
Matte painters create realistic landscapes, sets, or extensions of sets for visual effects in film, television, and video games. Matte painters need to be able to accurately represent detail and form. This course may be useful in the instruction around perspective, shading and rendering, helping create realistic imagery. This course's focus on hard-surface objects makes it all the more relevant for matte painters.
Modeler
A modeler creates three dimensional digital models of objects for use in animation, video games, and industrial design. Skills in perspective and rendering are critical. This course may be useful with its instruction around perspective, shading, and rendering. The course modules on weapons, vehicles, and mechs provides specialized knowledge that could be applied to modeling.
Texture Artist
Texture artists create the surface details and visual textures of 3D models for video games, films, and other media. The role of a texture artist requires the ability to create convincing materials and surface properties. This course could be helpful as it covers rendering and shading. These are valuable for understanding how light interacts with surfaces. The course provides instruction in how to use these skills when creating realistic textures for objects, including weapons and vehicles.
Aerospace Engineer
Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircraft and spacecraft. While the role is primarily technical, the ability to visualize and sketch designs is valuable for communication and conceptualization. This course may be useful as it teaches the fundamentals of perspective and rendering. The course also covers drawing vehicles, balloon airships, and spaceships. This specialized knowledge can enhance an aerospace engineer's ability to visualize and communicate design ideas effectively.
Technical Artist
Technical artists bridge the gap between artists and programmers in game development and animation. As a technical artist, being able to understand the artistic pipeline and how assets are created is valuable. This course may be useful in understanding how to create compelling artwork. Even more, by learning the constraints and challenges faced by artists, the technical artist can better optimize the artistic process, and create tools, pipelines, and shaders.

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Concept Art: Draw and Paint Fantasy and Scifi Weapons.
Explores the design and creation of mechanical objects, including vehicles and robots, with a focus on functionality and visual appeal. It provides valuable insights into the design process, from initial sketches to final renderings. It useful reference tool for understanding the mechanics and aesthetics of machines. This book adds more depth to the course by providing real-world examples and design considerations.
Showcases the visual development process for a fictional Grimm tale, demonstrating how professional artists approach character and environment design. It provides valuable insights into visual storytelling, composition, and design principles. While not directly about weapons, vehicles, or mechs, it offers a strong foundation in visual development applicable to any concept art project. It is best used as additional reading to expand your understanding of the concept art pipeline.

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