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Concept Art & Visual Development
Strengthen design thinking, composition, visual storytelling, exploration, iteration, presentation and the kind of decision-making expected in professional visual development.
A four-week, production-style Lab for emerging and developing artists who want direct senior-level guidance in concept art, visual development, ComfyUI or a hybrid workflow, with one project pushed far beyond their usual stopping point.
This Lab is built around the way visual development actually works: brief, exploration, selection, iteration, art direction, production thinking and presentation.
Each artist develops an individual project aligned with their goals and current level. The scope adapts to what you can realistically execute, while the standards, reviews and deadlines remain ambitious. You also learn by watching other artists solve completely different problems.
Strengthen design thinking, composition, visual storytelling, exploration, iteration, presentation and the kind of decision-making expected in professional visual development.
Learn how to build controlled, production-oriented workflows for ideation, image editing, relighting, reference control, detailing and integration with 3D and Photoshop.
Combine both. Your project can move between drawing, 3D, Photoshop and ComfyUI depending on what each stage actually needs.
You do not have to decide this perfectly before applying. We can define the right balance together after looking at your work, your goals and where you are currently getting stuck.
Specific decisions, paintovers, demonstrations, references, visual targets and next steps. If a skill is blocking the project, we stop and work through it.
No generic school assignment. We shape a project around your portfolio, current level, strengths, weaknesses and the work you want to be hired for.
2D, 3D and AI-assisted workflows can be used when they genuinely improve speed, exploration or decision-making.
See how different problems are solved at different levels. Other people's critiques, demonstrations and breakthroughs become part of your education.
Focused 1:1 moments at key stages so your project doesn't disappear inside a group format.
The final week is not just rendering. We edit the story, process and presentation so the project works as a professional case study.
You may be asked to abandon an idea you love, redo work you thought was finished, or push an exploration much further than you normally would. The pressure has a purpose: to get the project beyond your usual stopping point.
This Lab is for passionate, ambitious artists who genuinely want to improve. You do not need to arrive with senior-level skills. If technique is blocking the work, I will demonstrate, paint over, explain and help you find a way through it. The standards stay high, but you will not be left alone with a problem you do not yet know how to solve.
I meet you where you are. I do not leave you there.
A junior artist may finish one excellent environment and a strong process case study. A more advanced artist may take on a broader design package. The ambition is personal, not identical.
The Lab does not depend on filling every seat. The program runs around your individual project.
With one artist, the experience becomes highly personal. With two or three, you gain shared critiques. With four or five, it starts to feel like a small visual-development room.
The maximum is five because beyond that, direct art direction becomes diluted. The point is access, not scale.
1–5 artistsIndividual projectsShared reviewsSmall cohortThis is not a “download my workflow and press Queue” course. If you choose the AI + ComfyUI pathway, the goal is to understand how to build workflows around a real visual-development problem.
We can work on controlled generation, reference and composition control, depth and structure, image-to-image iteration, relighting, materials, detail, photographic finishing, and the integration of Blender, Photoshop and ComfyUI. Just as important, we will also identify when AI is the wrong tool and a traditional solution is stronger.
Move beyond random prompting. Build repeatable ways to explore shape, mood, composition and visual direction while preserving intent.
Understand why a graph is structured a certain way, how stages connect, where control enters the pipeline and how to modify it for a different problem.
Connect AI with 3D blockouts, Photoshop, paintovers, relighting, detailing and presentation instead of treating generated images as an isolated endpoint.
Photoshop, Blender, ZBrush, Octane, ComfyUI, generative AI, paintover, photobashing or traditional drawing can all belong in the workflow. The Lab is tool-agnostic at its core. The criterion is whether the tool gives you more control, speed or visual certainty.
A small selection of concept art and visual development work across film, games and original projects — full body of work on ArtStation.
A concentrated professional Lab designed to produce one meaningful jump in the quality of your work, process and portfolio.
No. Five is the maximum, not the minimum. The structure works with a single artist and becomes increasingly collaborative as the cohort grows.
No. Each artist develops an individual project. Everyone follows the same production milestones and participates in shared reviews.
It can be. You can focus on Concept Art & Visual Development, AI + ComfyUI for Visual Development, or build a hybrid project that combines both. The project is shaped around what you actually want to improve.
No. Tell me what interests you and where you feel blocked. We can decide the most useful balance after reviewing your work and goals.
Yes. You do not need a polished professional portfolio to apply. What matters most is that you already make visual work, are serious about improving, and can commit to the workload. Your project scope will be adapted to your current level.
Yes, within the areas where meaningful professional guidance can be provided. The project is chosen strategically from your portfolio and career target.
Then that becomes part of the Lab. I can demonstrate, paint over, break down the problem, suggest a simpler route or help you choose the right tool. No mercy does not mean no help.
This is designed as an intensive. A serious project will require meaningful work between reviews, not just attendance at live sessions.
Maximum five artists. Portfolio review required. Fees are provided by quotation after reviewing your application and project goals.
Or write directly to visualdevlab@protonmail.com or rubenalbaarias@gmail.com