The Gnomon Workshop

Creating an Epic Matte Painting Shot

Advanced Techniques with Igor Staritsin

Adding Final Details


In this lecture, Igor Staritsin takes you through the entire process of creating an epic matte shot. He starts by painting a few thumbnails while discussing the fundamental principles of successful environment art. Igor then begins painting the compositional sketch while establishing the mood. Maya is then used to create a base model for the architectural pieces and then the process proceeds in Photoshop to create a detailed environment using a broad range of advanced techniques. Finally, Nuke is used to set up camera projections and to establish the final comp. Along the way, Igor covers necessary aspects of what it takes to be a successful matte painter, what should be taken into account when dealing with landscape paintings and what should be avoided to ensure that a painting is enjoyable to the audience. He also shares several technical aspects of a matte-painters’ job and demonstrates how to use them in order to be more efficient. This thorough lecture and demonstration, by a leading industry artist, will aid artists of all levels interested in achieving professional results in their work.

Duration: 464 minutes

Format: HD 1920x1080

Igor Staritsin

Senior Matte-Painter and Concept Designer



    - Oleksiy Golovchenko
    Senior matte painter (Double Negative, MPC)

  • "Igor Staritsin paints with Light. The highest Resolution"

    - Juan Jesus Garcia – Xuasus
    Senior Matte Artist Generalist at ILM


    - David Luong
    Senior Cinematic Artist II - Blizzard Entertainment


    - Lubos de Gerardo Surzin
    Senior DMP Concept Artis


    - Karl Sisson
    Senior Matte Painter at Weta Digital