We Hatch Aspiring Artists Into Professionals
Welcome to
Portfolio Masterkey
A Premium Portfolio-Building Mentorship
and Private Community
With no expiry date
We work with you for as long as you need,
until you are hired
Here is how it works
Preparatory Module - Be ready before Day 1
You get 80% of the theory before we start, so we save time and you are ready for the Mentorship
- A complete breakdown of the current Industry Landscape — how it works, how to navigate it, and how to stand out
- A full set of courses and exercises to master the Design Process and understand Production Pipeline requirements.
- An ever-growing set of extra modules and demos to improve your design and rendering abilities.
5 weeks of intensive training and personal guidance
You know exactly how get hired, we skyrocket your design skills, and you are launched in the right direction
Step-by-step guidance through every phase of the process — with everything you need to become the candidate studios want to hire
10 group sessions with in-depth feedback to review your work, answer your questions, and provide tailored direction
Access to extra workshops, bonus sessions, and resources — shaped by the needs and requests of the mentorship community (past, present, and future)
Ongoing support until you get hired
We don’t stop after five weeks — you continue receiving feedback and guidance on your portfolio and job applications for as long as you need
- From start to finish, we work together to craft a portfolio that’s flawless and showcases your full potential when applying.
- Weekly feedback on your portfolio, or at your own rhythm
- When you’re in contact with studios, I help you prepare for interviews, review your offers, and determine what salary you can confidently negotiate.
- Your work is also regularly shared with our network of studios — to increase visibility and open real opportunities.
My Personal Commitment and Guarantee :
If you are accepted in the mentorship,
I work with you for as long as you need, until you get a job
- Everyone who joins is carefully selected to ensure they have the mindset and foundation needed to succeed in the industry. I don’t accept anyone I don’t fully believe in. If you’re in, it’s because I know you have what it takes — and I’m ready to help you prove it.
- We’ll build your portfolio together, piece by piece, until it reflects the best of what you can do.
- When you get in touch with studios, I help you prepare for interviews, salary negotiation, and support you through every step of the hiring process — as long as it stays within NDA boundaries.
Benevolent, Win-Win relationship between Mentor and Students
- This is a supportive but high-expectation environment — you’re pushed to reach your full potential, build an outstanding portfolio, and dramatically increase your chances of getting hired. You get what you came for
- In return, your progress and success inspires the next wave of artists
- Many former mentees who’ve landed industry jobs now give back by actively supporting newcomers inside the community — continuing the cycle of growth
I take you by the hand
for every step of the process
Here is what to expect for every week
Preparatory Module : Understanding how the Industry, Design and Production work
Mastering Design and standing out in today's market
By the end of the module :
- You’ll know exactly how to stand out — even in what looks like a saturated market (spoiler: it’s not, if you know what you’re doing)
- You’ll understand what studios actually look for — including the key requirements most Concept Artists miss.
- You’ll master the entire Design, Rendering, and Production Pipeline — and start producing relevant, and professional-level design iterations
Video Course :
- State of the Industry
- Unplugging from the Artstation Matrix
- The backstage of Big Studios uncovered and what is required from professionals
- The Foolproof method to come up with Deep, Compelling and Drastically different ideas for any design task given to you
- How to thrive in today's seemingly saturated market where most Concept Artists fail
- How to have fun again doing art
- Every step of the Design Process explained
- How to nail Character Design, Environment Design and Props, regardless of your style
- How to get rid of the Blank Page Syndrome for good
And to accelerate your progress :
- A 4-week practical brief to apply everything you've learned — so your design and technique are already leveled up before the mentorship even begins
- Printable lists and cheat-sheets to unstuck your designs
- Real case studies of the most common design and rendering mistakes — and exactly how to fix them
- Full transcripts from all my past design courses and workshops for easy reference and deeper learning
Week 1 : finding the Entrance Door
Identifying accessible companies and understanding their requirements
By the end of the week :
- You’ll have an exhaustive list of studios you can confidently apply to — fully aligned with your VISA, experience, and artistic style
- You’ll know exactly what these studios expect in terms of Art Direction and Process — and how to reflect that in your portfolio
- You’ll know how to find and assess as many other compatible studios as needed — without wasting time or second-guessing yourself.
Content for the week :
- Inside a recruiter's mind: how an application review works
- The requirements to get hired
- Applications are Intellectual Duels : how to win them
- What is expected from a Junior vs Mid vs Senior
- How to find if a Studio hires juniors or not?
- How to find more studios than you'll ever need
- Good vs Bad Portfolios explained
- Portfolio traps to avoid
- Inside an Art Director's head : What they need
- How to understand any project's Art Direction
And to accelerate your progress :
- The Foolproof Checklist to Finding your First Studio
So you only focus on companies that are actually within reach - The Evergrowing Company Career Page and LinkedIn List
Sorted by type and location to save you time and headache - Homework resources, real examples, and demos
So you know exactly what to do at every step of the process
Week 2 : Inspecting the Door Lock
Closing the technical gap with professionals
By the end of the week :
- You’ll know how to skyrocket your technical level above junior level — without having to watch any tutorial
- You’ll know exactly how and where to learn the missing skills that matter for the job
- You’ll fully understand how to match the Art Direction, style, and workflow of the studios you’re targeting
Content for the week :
- Understanding Seniors and Art Directors Artistic Mind
- Understanding Seniors and Art Directors Process
- How to properly measure your work agains senior artists
- How to close the technical gap with Seniors fast
- How to level-up efficiently : the 80/20 rule for artists
And to accelerate your progress :
- The A/B Comparison Blueprint
A complete checklist to evaluate your work side by side with the pros, without missing a single detail - Homework resources, real examples, and demos
So you know exactly what to do at every step of the process
Week 3 : Crafting the Key
Defining, Planning and Referencing your Targeted Portfolio
By the end of the week :
- You have the ideal portfolio subject, tailored to tick all the boxes the companies you are aiming at, and planned so all you have to do now is draw
- Once the 1st chapter of your portfolio is done, you'll stand out positively and you’ll be able to start applying immediately
- You’ll know exactly how to present your work — making your portfolio a smooth, professional, and enjoyable experience for any reviewer
Content for the week :
- Finding a portfolio subject that is Relevant, Understandable and Design-Heavy
- How to tick all the boxes of studios as fast as possible with your work
- How to properly plan, structure and research your portfolio
- How to avoid the most common traps when working on your Portfolio
- How to elevate the quality of your work with proper paging
And to accelerate your progress :
- Portfolio Structure examples for every single Concept Art Specialty
Every specialty has different nuances, we cover them all. Pick a structure, apply your subject, and your planning is done. - Banger, Safe and Fresh portfolio subject suggestion list
150+ curated subject ideas, organized by category — or when you’re stuck or want inspiration that hits. - Portfolio Content and Design Roll Tables
In case you need some interesting twists to your designs, showing your attention to details - Homework resources, real examples, and demos
So you know exactly what to do at every step of the process
Week 4 : Disarming the Traps
Nailing the Hiring Process
By the end of the week :
- You’ll eliminate 99.9% of the reasons recruiters disqualify candidates — and gain an unfair advantage over 95% of other applicants
- You’ll remove the stress around hiring, interviews, art tests, and negotiations — by knowing exactly what to expect and how to prepare
- You’ll know how to send 10 targeted applications per day in under an hour — and negotiate better offers with solid, confident arguments
Content for the week :
- How to present your portfolio professionally and make a strong first impression
- Artstation Algorithm Explained
- How to beat the ATS
- How to make a banger CV and avoid being disqualified with it
- How to write a relevant cover letter to score points when being read
- How to Nail Industry Gathering Events (= the best places to get a job)
- How to prepare for and succeed in interviews, even under pressure
- How to nail Art Tests
- How to win against Loaded Questions during Interviews
- The most common interview mistakes and traps — and how to avoid them
- How to negotiate properly and secure a decent salary with real arguments, not just a salary average you found online
- How to spot legal red flags in contracts — and protect yourself from abusive clauses
And to accelerate your progress :
- Email Skeletons written by a professional Copywriter
To send 10 Relevant and Personalized Emails to Studios or Pros in less than 1 hour of work, without ever sounding like a LinkedIn Bro or like you copy-pasted some crap from Google or ChatGPT.
No more artists spending 3 hours writing an email while crying. - Complete HR Interview Breakdown
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly explained to you - Interview Preparation Checklist
Includes answers to Loaded Questions and how to defuse them - ATS-Friendly CV and Letter Files
Don't get disqualified by a robot before your work can get reviewed - Wolf of Art Street : Advanced Negotiation Tactics
How to get paid with real Money instead of a Foosball table and a Nespresso Machine
Week 5 : Harvesting Rewards
Once you get hired, replicating the process to access the next step of your career
By the end of the week :
- You'll know how to increase your Rates/Salary and climb the hierarchy
- You know how to stabilize your career and have several clients in parallel rather than staying one layoff away from being jobless
- You know how to protect yourself from Crunch and Drama and Corporate Politics in the Industry — without burning bridges
Video Course :
- Professional Etiquette — how to protect your reputation
- Corporate World Survival Guide
- Salary vs Freelance Career Growth
- How to raise your Rates/Salary and get a Promotion
- How to navigate Corporate Politics & High Positions
- International Pricing explained
- Tax Structures explained
- How to build Abundance, Security and Comfort as a Professional Artist
- How to Network effortlessly
- How to remain happy and fulfilled at work
And to accelerate your progress :
- Lifetime access to all workshops — including sessions with past, current, and future mentees.
Continue to learn and evolve even after the mentorship sessions end - Lifetime Access to Alumni Private Community
Your direct access to pros who went through the same process as you and can help you - Tax & Business structures explained
How to increase your purchasing power thanks to company expenses
Follow up and Feedback
We build your entire portfolio together
We help you in your job research until you get one
Benefits:
- You'll get guidance, feedback and support from start to finish while working on your Portfolio so it is as good as you possibly can
- You'll be surrounded with hard-working, like-minded and benevolent artists and professionals every single day
- You get help for the hiring process and negotiation — and continued support until you land the job
What to expect :
- Weekly access to live feedback sessions
- Community Feedback available anytime you want
- Extra content and resources based on community requests
- Lifetime access to all future updates of the Mentorship
- Active promotion of your work to our network of studios
- Studio recommendations when your profile matches their needs — if you’ve shown commitment and progress
- Extra workshop and presentations, including from studios
And to accelerate your progress :
- Your own private feedback channel
Every time you need feedback, you post your work, request a review, and once a week everyone in need gets individual feedback like your personal art director. - Access to all group feedback sessions — watch others get reviewed and learn from every critique
- IRL meetups at industry events — with personal support to help you connect and network with professionals
- The best, most curated and hard-working Art Community available worldwide
Our Mentees are Savages
They leveled-up a lot
Here are some of the results from our Mentees
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to do it properly, you can count between 4h30 and 6 hours of work per week for the homework
For the video course, there is an average of 1h30 of videos to watch per week, these are delivered on Saturdays so you can watch them during the week-end
This leads us to around 6 to 8 hours of work total per week for the work
The group sessions assume around 30 mins per student. So on average these should last 3 to 4 hours
No worries, if you have to leave, these are recorded and available as replays almost immediately after they are done
Yes ! And available as replays almost immediately after they are done !
If you watched the Free Course, you can confidently apply when you reach Commission Hell / Semi-Pro level or above.
If you are unsure about your level, feel free to apply anyways, if you show the right mindset, there is no problem to allow you into the mentorship.
However, if you are under that level, be aware that you will have to do extra work or work for a longer period of time after the 5 weeks in order to reach pro level.
We got people attending the mentorship while they were about to start a year in Art School and it still benefited them tremendously !
All that matters is the right mindset
All the communication and Group Sessions will happen on Discord
The Video Course and sessions replays will be available on Systeme.io
There are 2 sessions per week : one on Mondays, the other on Thursdays
I'm running 2 classes in parallel each of these days, one from 1:30pm to 5:30pm CET and the other from 8:00pm to Midnight CET
This allows us to cover everyone's availabilities and timezones
You can join any of these that suit you best and you spectate the other if you want.
English
A microphone, an internet connection, and if you want a webcam
For the work, just your usual gear and softwares
We understand that unexpected events occur
If you happen to miss a session, don't worry, you can watch the replay and we will make time during the next session for you to catch up
In the event of multiple absences, we will work together to devise a suitable catch-up plan, provided this benefit is not exploited
It depends on how much time you have available every week for your portfolio.
Some former mentees able to work full time on their portfolio managed to make it in 3 months
Some other mentees, working a full-time job, took 6 months to craft their portfolios
In any case, for as long as you do the work, I keep working with you until you get a job
This mentorship is a portfolio-building one and focused on the professional part of the job, not just the technical part of art
However, this mentorship is meant to get you to level-up A LOT
You have seen some Before/After on that page already, you can see way more here
In Week 1 and 2 we discuss in depth about the art techniques and tools you need to develop
During Week 4 and 5 you will also do a "test piece" and receive feedback and paintovers on it. It is a crucial step in preparing for your full portfolio
And for every piece of your portfolio, you will be pushed to the maximum of your abilities and beyond
While the mentorship is Job-Agnostic and could easily be transposed to any artistic role in the Industry, I currently work solely with Concept Artists and Illustrators.
This is my expertise and I want to ensure anyone in the mentorship gets as much value as I can possibly give them.
Absolutely !
As I said, I Art Directed and Oversaw several projects and classes that were stylized, the principles are the same !
This happens quite frequently as our dream jobs are often very high-end companies hiring only seniors.
While there might always be some exceptions to that rule, it is crucial to accept that as part of our artistic journey, it is part of the process to find some companies hiring juniors, start there and keep working on our professional journey by applying the same framework explained in the mentorship.
Exactly as you did for that first job, you apply the framework again for the next job, then the next one, then eventually your dream job.
Again, it is all about perseverance and doing the work to become the perfect candidate for that company, and this is exactly what this course is about.
In this case, the course/mentorship is perfect for you because you will need to strongly target a company that wants you enough to either relocate you or let you work remotely.
Also, after the world changed massively with Covid, the industry realized that it can still function very well with remote work, and this allowed a lot more companies to hire people regardless of their location. Also it sparked the creation of a lot of remote outsourcing studios.
These are massive advantages for us.
Totally !
And actually around half of our past mentees were already working their first or second job in small studios.
It's very likely that you have accomplished part of what is mentioned in the mentorship without ever deeply thinking about it and understanding how it works universally, or else the studio you are part of was more flexible on their requirements than the AAA industry.
The mentorship is there to get you out of your comfort zone and allow you to move forward by understanding how to aim for the next step in your career, whether you're just starting in art or already have a few years of experience behind you.
Additionally, the mentorship will likely help you increase your rates.
Because I've been successfully applying this formula with students for over 6 years.
Because I went from art school dropout to AAA Concept Artist to Art Director using this exact process, all of that while actually not being a massively popular artist in the industry or with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram.
Because I have more than enough results from my former mentees to prove my method works and I share these results all the time in total transparency. These speak louder than any word or marketing tactics.
Because you can ask any current/former mentee on The Art Nest Discord about the mentorship if you want and I know the mentorship will be heavily recommended.
And because very little to no other mentorship online is solely focused on that other 50% of the artist's job and providing that much content about it.
Still don't trust me? Have a look at the Free Course to let what I do speak for me.
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