Our Open Days are BACK and earlier than ever! 👀✨
We’re kicking things off on 13th June across Adelaide, Melbourne & Sydney - ahead of the usual uni rush!
Explore our uni pathway into games, animation and VFX, tour our training facilities, and meet the people behind the work 🎬
💬 Chat with staff and students
🎨 Get involved with drawing activities
🌟 Plus location-specific extras!
🎟️ Register free via our link in bio
#artschool #arteducation #uniopenday #conceptart #animation
It’s been an incredible year at CDW Studios and we wanna end it on a high by sharing our 2025 Rookies Global School Rankings results!
🏆 Once again we have been ranked the number 1 creative arts school in Australia!
Globally we are ranked:
⭐️ 38th in the top 50 schools
⭐️ 5th in 2D Animation
⭐️ 8th in Concept Design
⭐️ 26th for 3D Animation
Our students/grads were also selected as finalists!
@jeanagerie@binscent_art@potatopatotojay@sambuntingart_@khoa.banana@therookiesco Global School Rankings are the most trusted independent creative education rankings built from real student work, and judged by industry experts from leading studios worldwide.
Every year thousands of students from over 120 countries and regions submit their work, so to be recognised as one of the top schools globally is a testament to our standard of education and to the dedication of our students, instructors and staff!
🙌 Congratulations!! We are super proud!!
🥳 Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy and creative 2026!
Highlights from our BIGGEST Student Showcase yet!!
Huge congrats to our 3rd year and Honours students 🎉 You’ve grown so much over these few years - truly a proud moment!! 🥹✨ Check out all their amazing in our bio!
Big thanks to our amazing staff, instructors, and partners @flindersuniversity for guiding our students on their path to become industry-ready.
To be recognised as the No. 1 Creative Arts School in Australia by @therookiesco is a testament to everyone’s dedication ✨
And of course, TY everyone for coming!! From industry pros to family and friends, thank you for coming together to celebrate the next generation of artists and storytellers 🙌
#digitalart #2Dart #3Dart #conceptart #VFX #animation #artgrad #therookies #arteducation #flindersuniversity #cdwstudios #artschool #animationschool #entertainmentdesign
Student Spotlight: Jean Shuttleworth @jean.shutt
Meet Jean, a digital matte painter and compositor, passionate about building immersive 3D environments and worlds that people can escape into.
With skills across Blender, Nuke, Photoshop and Houdini, Jean is driven by both the technical and collaborative side of visual storytelling, with a strong work ethic and eye for detail ✨
After graduating from our VFX Stream, Jean reflects:
“Throughout these past three years, I’ve been pushed to my limit and constantly challenged with every project. Flinders University & CDW Studios has motivated, supported and guided me in becoming confident as an artist, providing the opportunities to gain experience and learn from amazing teachers and peers. I felt that I have massively improved from when I first started and I am able to walk away with new knowledge as well as the excitement to continue learning.”
Epic work Jean!! 🤩
Give @jean.shutt a follow and see more of their work on Artstation & our showcase website!
#mattepainting #compositing #vfx #3Dmodelling #environmentartist
Re-imagining Alice in Wonderland 🐇 Pt.2
Last year our 3rd year students were tasked to re-design an existing world, delivering a main character, prop, environment and vehicle/mech or sidekick companion.
Over 12 weeks they went from creating brief sheets, to thumbnails, layouts, line work and finally to full renders - receiving critique from our instructors along the way.
Great work everyone!! 👏👏
#aliceinwonderland #redesign #characterdesign #environmentart #digitalpainting
Re-imagining Alice in Wonderland 🐇 Pt.1
Last year our 3rd year students were tasked to re-design an existing world, delivering a main character, prop, environment and vehicle/mech or sidekick companion.
Over 12 weeks they went from creating brief sheets, to thumbnails, layouts, line work and finally to full renders - receiving critique from our instructors along the way.
Great work everyone!! 👏👏
#aliceinwonderland #redesign #characterdesign #environmentart #digitalpainting
THRONE OF BLOOD. For this semester @cdwstudios my 2nd year class has to design two characters, in depth and in detail. One Villain. One Hero/ Heroine.
They are required to construct their own narrative, based on listening to some pieces of supplied, unfamiliar classical music, for visual and emotional inspiration.
Fionudd is my little heroine. With her slain parent's souls within the Helm and the Sword they once possessed, she's is duty bound to exact revenge upon the bloodthirsty Dravvenkutt, now sat on the throne, Fionudd's rightful place.
Story is a pivotal part of how I construct my character designs and I look to emphasise this in my classes. Telling stories visually through our characters is a real challenge, but so much fun! This little concept has taken on a life of it's own and I can't stop adding to it!
#comic #comicart #ink #blackandwhite #fantasy #evil #blood #swords #concept #sketches #art #story #cdw #swordandsorcery #throne
✨ Student Spotlight: Michaela Gerrard @michaelaa_art
Meet Michaela, a Visual Development Artist focusing on environments, props and colour keys. Fluent in 2D design workflows, using Photoshop and Blender, she is driven by a passion for storytelling and collaboration.
After completing her Honours Degree of Creative Arts (Visual Effects & Entertainment Design), Michaela reflects:
“Through studying at Flinders University & CDW Studios I was able to find a community of likeminded and passionate people who both inspired and pushed me to become a more confident artist.”
Beautiful work Michaela! We love your style! 🤩
Follow @michaelaa_art for more!
#visdev #digitalpainting #environmentdesign #colorkey #conceptart
Welcome to Feedback Fridays!! CDW Studios director @simon_scales_art shares quick, practical feedback to help level up your digital paintings 🙌
#feedbackfridays #digitalpainting #environmentpainting #arttips #howtodraw
MASSIVE CONGRATS to our students for taking out 🏆 1ST PLACE in the Lightbox Easter Egg Global Paint-a-thon competition!!
Not only did they kill it with their piece, but it was an awesome display of team work as students across our 3 locations: Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney collaborated online for 24 hours!
The theme was “It’s alive!” and they had to create a story-bound piece whilst hiding several easter eggs including iconic monsters, vehicles and weapons into the artwork.
We’re beyond excited for ya’ll!! 🤩 Lightbox LET’S GOOOO!!
👏👏👏
@hoowua_@kritphol.art@derckjr@sim.r_art@shoe05@cesarmg_rt@svamptea@binscent_art@lightboxexpo@huiontablet@schoolismlive #LBX #LBX26 #lbxpaintathon @flindersuniversity #cdwstudios
