[A.Alvarez]

Hi all.

Just wanted to let you all know that today we released four DVDs by concept design legend Syd Mead. We are of course very excited by these titles and feel priveledged to be able to bring these to the community.

Below is a link to the press release.

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/newsletter_111504.html

-Alex

[skullmonkeys]

I bought the dusso dvds a while ago. I was really disappointed at the quality of the dvds. The topics that are listed on the site does not get covered in any detail. Plus the artist rarely explains the techniques or steps that he is doing.

I will think twice before getting any more gnomon dvds.

I understand if the artists don't really want to share the techniques that they display in the dvds. but you shoulden't pay them and get them to make the dvds if they aren't putting the $75 US prics tag worth of information on those dvds.

Hope the new one is different. For the sake of those who are gonna buy them and for the artist's reputation.

[kimchi]

I agree. I too am disappointed with the quality of my Gnomon DVDs. In fact, every single artist I've spoken to shares the same opinion.

Thanks for the SPAM though. Always hungry for SPAM.

[pixel farmer]

We all have our own opinions I guess. But the DVD's were not designed to create lemmings. a true artist should learn to create their own techniques. Yanicks DVD's show alot if your paying attention. People have commented that Yanick didn't show the brushes he used, but he only uses the stock photoshop brushes anyway.

I have spoken to Yanick about his DVD's and he said that they were designed to help beginers understand blocking in and creating colour pallets, I believe he does this very well... As for price, I think its quite reasonable, considering he is without a doubt one of the best matte painters in the world.

at the end of the day... you only get out what you want to. Me, I learn something new every time I watch them.

by the way, we are currently working with yanick, and $75 is not alot to watch a world class matte painter share his techniques. a good mate painting costs around $15,000 USD per painting.

just my 2 cents

[balistic]

Scott Robertson's discs are excellent. Gnomon is a little hit and miss, but definitely check out Scott's videos for them if you haven't already.
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Gort]

Ditto on Scott's stuff - I own a couple; they're simply fantastic and an invaluable source of practical and useful information.
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- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield

[Jimmyjimjim]

I've seen all of the Syd Mead Gnomons, they're great! It's awesome to see his process.

[Mikko K]

Iain McCaig dvd's seem to rock as well, but I've only seen one so far. It goes beyond holding the pencil though, so I don't know if its any help for people complaining about "artists showing off".

[kmblackbear06]

This is just my input coming from a begginer...

I am attending the New Media program at the University of Maine, and honestly I dont get much help from the classes I have put my money into, so I decided to buy some of these DVD's, and search like mad on the internet for help. Through the many resources I have accumlated, the Gnomon DVD's rank fairly high. I have a Ryan Church one as well as Scott R, Feng Zhu, and a couple others. I love the DVD's and it has helped me out so far, I just have to take more time to practise. They do seem to teech a lot in just an hour but like I said I am just getting my feet wet here. They are a bit high in price for me since I am a poor college student, but they are cheaper than taking classes. Anyone care to donate to the Kyle Mitchell fund?

Just my input...
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-Kyle

[balistic]

I just ordered one of Syd's discs via budplant.com. Will let you guys know how it is.
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Reakshun]

I bought the entire Syd Mead collection and they're great. The first piece I produced after watching the videos made the cover of the May '05 issue of a local magazine here in Los Angeles called JOINTZ (www.jointzmag.com).
Even though the videos are taught with traditional media, they still apply to digital. For all you wonderkind digital heads who've never touched a brush...touch one soon and often...it'll make all the little tricks you know in Photoshop 10 times better and quicker.

The Ryan Church DVD's are cool in terms of "how-to-do-it-The-Ryan-Church-way". If you're a noob, you'll most likely bite his "style" rather than learn from his technique and approach.

Feng's perspective video was a good refresher course.

Clyne's sketch and final drawing video are just like Syd's...so just buy Syd's video...really becuz he's an OG....you have to give it up to Syd. And Clyne's coloring video is ok...but, compared to his commercial artwork, his illustration example in the video looks more like a throw away piece.

Dusso's video was exactly what somebody else mentioned. He really stresses color palettes, studying photos, shape description, and adherance to good quality reference. When you look at his work you can tell this person is obviously studying photos. So, it's no secret other than look at a damn photo and figure out how to render it.

The main thing about these videos or watching any pro produce art is to listen to and understand they're APPROACH. You get "how" first and then get WHY are they doing this or that?
For that reason, Syd Mead's videos are the best becuz this guy has been doing this for over half a century and you can hear it when he talks about what and how he does what he does.

No, I don't work for Gnomon.

[Ranath]

okay I just got Concept design 1 and 3 by Feng Zhu and Techniques of Scott Robertson vol.2. I think people agreed already somewhere at these boards that Scott Robertson's DVDs are good, but I'll let you know if Feng ones are good too.

[Ranath]

Okay, Scott was very instructive, I hadn't seen the first DVD (which was about perspective and pretty was necessary for the second DVD), but I still got hold of what and why he's doing. Very good stuff about perspective and drawing principles. I would have wanted him to talk a bit more about design though, but like he said, it's a drawing DVD, not a design DVD. I didn't really dig the results, seemed a bit throw-away -pieces, but the process was very educative. Obviously results would have looked better if he had rendered them, but those were about the drawing process after all.

Feng was instructive and also entertaining instructor. You know at school how a good teacher can get even the most boring lessons flow quite quickly. Anyway, Feng was more like telling what he's doing at the moment and why, didn't go too deep into perspective etc. but like I said, really nice. That was more of a technique DVD, when Scott Robertson one was a perspective DVD. His drawings, (apart from the droid sketch in Concept design 3) were really impressive.


Anyone seen new Dylan Cole ones?

Any idea when Craig Mullins DVDs are gonna happen?