Advanced Digital Painting

Time: Friday 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CET
First Class: 09.10.2026
Class length: 8 weeks
Instructor: Darek Zabrocki and Michał Kus
Location: ON-SITE / ONLINE
Course type: LIVE SESSIONS
Limited seats: 15
ADVANCED DIGITAL PAINTING ADVANCED DIGITAL PAINTING ADVANCED DIGITAL PAINTING
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ADVANCED DIGITAL PAINTING
$1,200.00

Time: Friday 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CET
First Class: 09.10.2026
Class length: 8 weeks
Instructor: Darek Zabrocki/Michal Kus
Location: ON-SITE / ONLINE
Course type: LIVE SESSIONS
Limited seats: 15

TEACHERS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
LOCATION
SCHEDULE
STUDENT GALLERY

This class prepares the students to develop an understanding of visual communication across the whole spectrum of art.
The additional and necessary skills of this class will cover an in-depth journey of how to be the most effective in our crafts and how to not only understand what we paint through fundamentals but also truly stand out as a concept artist in this competitive industry.
Classes can be taken on–site or online, from every place that makes your learning comfortable and drives your creativity.

Portrait of CEO and founder of the Focal Point School, renowned Concept Artist - Darek Zabrocki

Darek has over ten years of professional experience as a concept designer. He’s worked on many significant film and game industry projects for clients like Disney, Netflix, Sony, and EA. Some franchises he contributed to include Planet of the Apes, Love Death +Robots, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Sonic, and many more.

Portrait of COO and co-founder of the Focal Point School, well known Concept Artist - Michal Kus

Michał has over ten years of professional experience as a concept designer. Kus has worked on a variety of high-profile projects, including video games and blockbuster movies. Some of his recently published work can be seen in movies like Sonic 2 and Battlefield 2042.

Week to Week - Brief Schedule

  • A cat-shaped ceramic container next to a glass cup with a beverage, and a plastic water bottle with a label in a dimly lit setting.

    WEEK 1

    calibration of skills of the students in class

  • A collection of 15 textured 3D cubes with various natural and man-made materials, including stone, metal, wood, moss, and abstract patterns, arranged in four rows on a gray background.

    WEEK 2

    understanding shapes and materials

  • A painting of a snowy river scene at sunset, with rocks in the water and snow-covered banks on the sides, using cool tones of blue and purple, with hints of warm sunset light.

    WEEK 3

    understanding how light works

  • A city skyline with tall skyscrapers, including a prominent tower with a spire, viewed through a hazy atmosphere during sunset or sunrise.

    WEEK 4

    studying samples from photos

  • A mountain landscape with snow-covered slopes, pine trees, and a river flowing through the valley, under a partly cloudy sky.

    WEEK 5

    working on the reinterpretation of reality

  • A scenic landscape painting of countryside with a river, trees, cows, and a man standing by the water, with different artistic styles and color schemes.

    WEEK 6

    analyzing the old masters

  • Collage of six images divided into three rows and two columns. Top row shows a man in a police uniform sitting at a small round table in a dimly lit stone-walled café with a beer and a candle. Bottom row features a woman walking alone in an urban street at dusk, wearing a red top and black skirt, carrying a bag. The third row displays views of a river or lake at sunset or sunrise, with some boats and a large structure or sculpture standing in the water.

    WEEK 7

    analyzing composition

  • A digital painting of a group of travelers walking on a mountain pathway at sunset, with a landscape of distant mountains and cloudy sky in the background.

    WEEK 8

    working on a final assignment

  • Week 1 - calibration of skills of the students in class. Introduction to an array of topics to see how well students handle what they already know.

    Week 2 - understanding shapes and materials. Working on the reinterpretation of reality and how to effectively understand the material definition. Working with provided references and analyzing the subject matter thoroughly. Resulting in understanding what we paint and render and not only blindly copying what we see.

    Week 3 - understanding how light works. Advanced lectures and demos explaining how universal rules of light apply to materials. Working with provided references and references that students need to gather on their own.

    Week 4 - studying samples from photos. working with reference actively and rendering, for example, the same scene with different lighting setups to further understand the relation between material definition and light.

    Week 5 - working on the reinterpretation of reality. How to exaggerate certain aspects of our works in order to make them pop and stand out through the use of all the knowledge obtained so far.

    Week 6 - analyzing how the old masters tackled their works and making studies, which will also cover many sub-topics in order to reach the highest level of our digital painting skills.

    Week 7 - analyzing composition. Enabling the designer’s mind by working on our composition skills. Movies still from iconic cinemaa are studied and dissected to further develop our skills.

    Week 8 - working on a final assignment. All the knowledge gathered will be applied. The students will have 3 weeks time after the end of the course to finish their final assignments. The goal is to have a solid piece that will be a valuable addition to your portfolio!

    *Please note. Even though we adhere to a week-by-week structure for our class program, the course’s structure is subject to modification in order to calibrate and optimize the class to the students’ needs. This is to always actively work on the best possible knowledge channeling for our students. 

  • - This is a unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of your veteran instructor, which took years to realize. Students get a serious head-start because of this,
    - Art Guidance and unique opportunity to witness live demos in making by industry professionals Darek Zabrocki and Michał Kus,
    - Development of several high industry standard portfolio pieces,
    - Understanding colors and perspective,
    - Using an array of techniques like photo bashing through the understanding of fundamentals in order to make paintings ready for the entertainment industry,
    - Understanding of visual communication, materials, and how light reacts to them,
    - Composition, elements arrangement and thumbnail sketching,
    - Applying knowledge in an effective and logical manner from studies made during classes,
    - Building a strong foundation for concept art and illustration,
    - Landscape studies,
    - Studying the old masters,
    - Developing our fundamental art skills through logic and artistic reinterpretation to help forge your own style,
    - Working on the perception of how certain designs can be visualized in the best way,
    - Homework that improves you in every way,  week to week,
    - Learning the arrangement of elements is put together in such a way as to form a harmonious whole,
    - Recreating game designs.

  • Dedication and passion about concept design and illustration,
    Equipment – laptop or tablet and Photoshop or some other 2d graphics program (and knowledge how to use it),
    Motivation, discipline to fulfill homework,
    Ability to speak and understand classes in English.

 
Exterior view of Focal Point School - Concept Art School building
Focal Point School - Concept Art School is situated in the heart of a beautiful, historic city of Gdansk

Focal Point School
Rajska 6
80-850 Gdańsk
Poland

VMS
our streaming platform

ONLINE

ON-SITE

ADVANCED DIGITAL PAINTING
$1,200.00

Time: Friday 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CET
First Class: 09.10.2026
Class length: 8 weeks
Instructor: Darek Zabrocki/Michal Kus
Location: ON-SITE / ONLINE
Course type: LIVE SESSIONS
Limited seats: 15