**Ava Luening's Testimonial**
“While taking brainstorm classes on the side, I have been to two different art schools. One was not teaching me what I needed to learn, and the other— while being one of my dream schools, threatened to put me in massive debt. All I wanted to do was art. I wanted to learn from the best and do good work and break into the industry as a concept artist, but I was hung up on how to get the right education to start me on this path. I can confidently say, the classes I’ve taken with Brainstorm have been more worth my time and money than the classes I took at these other art schools.
This class alone introduced me to so many important elements of conceptual art and set me on my path as a creature designer. Ehsan, now my mentor and a friend, really kicked started my journey into becoming a professional artist. In this class he touches on everything from perspective,
to color, composition, lighting, design language and anatomy, while exploring both traditional and digital techniques, combining their strengths together. It was a lot, I was much more inexperienced then I am now, but at the end of my very first semester with him, using zbrush, a program I barely understood at the start, I made a portfolio worthy piece that I still adore a year and a half later.
I fell in love with zbrush during this class, and learned to consistently make professional looking creature designs using his workflow. I’ll gather references, sketch, sculpt and polypaint in zbrush, render it in keyshot with good lighting and composition then photobash final details in photoshop. I still use the same techniques in my job today.
I’d go on to take two more of his classes, producing some of my best work from both of them. Outside of class, he continued to be a great guide for me in navigating the turbulent field of the industry and pointing me towards my next steps until at last, I made it into my first job at
Tsunami Studios, doing exactly what I want to do, creature concept art. My lifelong dream came true thanks to Brainstorm and all of the excellent classes they offer to set me on the right path towards my goal and mold me into the best artist I can be without the fear of being misled, or going into debt for a good education.
I found this school purely on a whim while exploring Artstation, but I am so grateful for everything I’ve gained from these amazing teachers, and I don’t know where I’d be without their insight. I am still a young artist and have much to learn, but the road towards getting where I know I can be with the right guidance is a lot less hazy knowing Brainstorm has the right classes to help me get there.
Thank you all for everything you do for aspiring artists. You guys really have something special here, and I hope more like me will find you and also make their dreams a reality."
