Color Scripting Mentorship
Next Term: September 24th-Dec 10th 2026
Spots are limited and applicants will be selected based on portfolio review.
Deadline to apply is September 5th. Chosen applicants will be notified by September 7th.
This 12 week mentorship will train students to use lighting and color cinematically to create impactful color keys for animation. Students will learn how to push mood and storytelling through value, color and light, master the color key workflow, and build the skills needed to succeed as professional color key artists. Scroll below to view breakdown of mentorship.
Please note that to apply for this mentorship, you must submit a portfolio. Students who apply should have the fundamentals of painting solidified.
what to expect from this mentorship:
11 weekly 2-2.5 hr live sessions via Zoom on Thursdays mornings (exact time TBD, but usually around 8-10am PST)
all sessions recorded via Zoom and available for replay up to 3 months after mentorship
Homework briefs for each lesson
Live paint overs of homework in each class + PSD paint over files of your homework you get to keep
Bonus supplemental materials related to color and lighting
Private Discord Community to post progress and chat with peers
1-on-1 meeting with Tiffanie on the week of the mentorship
10-20 hours of time commitment a week (depending on your speed and your level)
12 week mentorship for $1,350
How the Color scripting mentorship is structured:
The mentorship is divided into 2 blocks.
The first block focuses on the fundamentals of designing with value and color, paired with foundational exercises that build up in challenge to prepare you for painting successful color keys.
The second block is the project phase, where students can either reverse engineer an existing black and white film of their choice and paint color keys for a sequence of the film, or create color keys for their own story/ project.
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-Learn how to distill complex scenes into simple 2 value statements that read instantly.
-How does soft lighting, hard lighting, and value structure lighting affect the mood of the scene?
-Explore different ways of creatively lighting a scene with key, fill and back lights and how to use color psychologically and narratively.
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What is the role of a color key artist and what does it take to be a successful color key artist?
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-Sometimes before doing color keys, you do a value pass to analyze the progression of lighting in BW.
-Learn how to create an abstract color script bar charting the emotional arc and rhythm of your scenes in color before diving in to color keying and painting each still.
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Learn how to approach color keys strategically with a solid workflow, while applying all the fundamentals from Wk 1-4 to push the cinema and storytelling with color and light. Goal is to paint a minimum of 15 keys.
Students can either reverse engineer an existing black and white film of their choice and paint color keys for a sequence of the film, or create color keys for their own story/ project.
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Students will present their final project to the class.
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Students will meet with Tiffanie 1-on-1 for 25 min to discuss any questions they have and pick Tiffanie’s brain more! Time slots to be determined towards end of class.
Student Work
✺ Frequently asked questions ✺
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That is fine if you cannot finish all the homework each week- a little is always better than nothing. During the project phase, there will be weeks where you can catch up on certain assignments because some weeks are just letting students flesh out their color keys.
However, this is a demanding mentorship, and it is advised to carve out a minimum of 10-12 hours a week to do the assignments. Homework assignments build on each other, so if you miss one week, it will be harder to catch up on later assignments.
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That is totally fine if you can’t- it is not mandatory to attend the live sessions, although it is highly recommended! Tiffanie will still critique and do a paint over your homework if you submit homework and you can rewatch the recordings.
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The live sessions last about 2 -2.5 hours. Each session includes a lesson, homework paint overs, and a demo when necessary.
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Yes, you will have access to the replays of all sessions up to 3 months after the mentorship ends.
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Due to limited spots and preparation involved, cancellations will receive a partial refund if requested up to 7 days before the mentorship start date. No refunds will be provided within 7 days of the start date.