Photoshop
Maya
ZBrush
Houdini
Substance Painter
Blender
Unreal Engine
Arnold
Nuke
KeyShot
V-Ray
Mari
Marvelous Designer
Marmoset Toolbag
Substance Designer
3ds Max
3DCoat
Redshift
Faceform Wrap
Lightroom
After Effects
OctaneRender
SpeedTree
Daz 3D
Agisoft Metashape
Fusion
Modo
RealityCapture
Gaea
Cinema 4D
Gravity Sketch
Premiere
Procreate
Clip Studio Paint
SketchUp
SketchBook
Katana
Natron
Mudbox
Quixel Bridge
Quixel Megascans
Quixel Mixer
Substance 3D Modeler
World Creator
Yeti
Ziva VFX
Mixamo
Adobe Medium
Quixel DDO
xNormal
Meshmixer
Storyboard Pro
DaVinci Resolve
TreeIt
World Machine
Gaffer
Corel Painter
SynthEyes
Krita
Massive
Materialize
Unity
Ornatrix
PreForm
Moi 3D
animBot
QuickTime
ReCap
Over 25 years of breaking down barriers to professional art education
The Gnomon Workshop is an industry-trusted source for high-quality CG artist training, whether you're just getting started or sharpening your professional skills.
Our Mission
The Gnomon Workshop was built on a simple idea: artists everywhere deserve the chance to learn from the best. Whether you're breaking into the industry or deepening your craft, our library of over 350 video workshops gives you the tools to get there, on your schedule, from anywhere in the world.
Who we are
Alex founded GNOMON in 1997, after working as an Applications Engineer for Alias|Wavefront, the creators of Maya. Alex has guided the evolution of GNOMON and The Gnomon Workshop over the past 3 decades while always staying true to his creative inclinations and pursuing both personal and professional side projects. From being a creature artist on films such as Prometheus and Avatar, to creating concert visuals for the musician Lustmord, and recently designing Gnomon's new 45,000 sqft campus, Alex remains a 3D artist who is passionate about the entertainment industry and helping to connect aspiring and professional artists.
Daniele Volpe leverages over a decade of VFX and game art expertise to produce world-class educational content, having collaborated with icons including Syd Mead and top studios like ILM. Dani has a passion for photography and design, and graduated from GNOMON's two-year Digital Production for Entertainment program in 2011.
Lynette Clee is from Worcester, England. She has 20 years of experience working with artists in visual effects, animation, film/TV, games, arch-viz, VR, and more, to produce creative and educational content for print, web, marketing, PR, and events. Lynette has published numerous books and magazines and was the Editor of 3D Artist Magazine.
Our Story
How It Started
Alex Alvarez founded GNOMON in 1997 as a training center for professional artists working in the visual effects, animation, and games industries. During these early years, Alex was busy as an artist, instructor, and author of many written tutorials for Maya 1.0, both online and in print.
Going Global
As the industry continued to evolve and grow, it spread far beyond Los Angeles, with artists around the world seeking to learn more about the tools and techniques of the entertainment industry. Alex launched The Gnomon Workshop in 2000 with a series of four training VHS tapes on Maya. These were so popular that Alex began inviting other artists to join the Workshop, expanding the subjects beyond Maya and VFX to include Sculpture and Concept Design.
The Evolution Begins
In 2005, The Gnomon Workshop made the shift from VHS to DVD, improving the experience for artists worldwide. The video quality was better and the digital format allowed us to include project files and resources. The library continued to diversify, with more artists and techniques being shared than ever before.
The Library Grows
After a decade of shipping DVDs to all corners of the world, The Gnomon Workshop began offering HD digital downloads. Workshops were available individually for $59 each and often sold in various 'bundles', such as Concept Art, Effects Animation, or the 'All Titles' bundle, which exceeded $10,000. While expensive, these bundles were very popular with studios looking to invest in their artist's professional development.
The Switch to Streaming
As high-speed internet became common and demand for physical media shifted, the time and technology were right for The Gnomon Workshop to transition to being a subscription-based streaming platform. To phase out physical media and embrace the convenience of streaming HD video, The Gnomon Workshop collaborated with Ballistiq, the creators of ArtStation, to develop a new website.
Twenty-Five Years
In 2025, The Gnomon Workshop celebrated its 25th anniversary. Today, with a library of over 350 workshops featuring over 200 professional artists, you can learn everything from Concept Art and 3D Modeling to Texturing, Lighting, Rigging, Animation, Game Engines, and Visual Effects at the touch of a button.
Every workshop is curated.
Every instructor is vetted.
While other platforms optimize for volume, The Gnomon Workshop optimizes for trust. Our founder and team personally direct every workshop to ensure it teaches real production workflows.
Every instructor is hand-selected based on their industry experience and project experience.
Our founder and team personally curate and direct every workshop before it's published.
We only teach the software and workflows actively used in professional studio pipelines.
We take the guesswork out of what to learn next, from fundamentals to advanced workflows.
We regularly review and update the library to ensure you're always learning relevant techniques.
Our instructors teach the whys behind the hows, not just how to push the right buttons.
Our Instructors
We only partner with qualified working professionals
Technology changes, but our
mission remains the same
Our goal is to help artists everywhere unlock their true potential with access to industry-trusted training
- 350+ on-demand Workshops taught by the professionals
- Structured Learning Paths aligned to production pipelines
- Downloadable Project Files for hands-on practice
- Save Favorite Workshops & create Playlists
Subscriptions available for as little as $41.58/month
GNOMON is a postsecondary institution that has provided training in digital production for the entertainment industry for more than 25 years. GNOMON offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, a certificate program, and individual courses in areas including 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, game art, and related fields. Find out more at gnomon.edu.
