Arcana Masterclass: Visual Development With Professor Stanley - Arcana Academy

Arcana Masterclass: Visual Development With Professor Stanley

Course By

J. Shea Stanley

Visualist & Fine Arts Educator

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In this course, J. Shea Stanley, a 30-year design industry veteran and professor, shows how Arcana can be used as a complete, one-person visual development studio. You’ll learn the exact AI workflow he uses to produce cinematic-quality concepts quickly and consistently, all from a single platform.

The 4+ hour course starts with clear, practical prompting fundamentals, then moves into Arcana-specific techniques for turning sketches, photos, and finished artwork into polished visual concepts. You’ll see how to maintain creative control, avoid generic results, and push ideas from rough exploration to final-quality shots—entirely within Arcana.

What This Course Gives You

A proven Arcana workflow: Use Arcana end-to-end for ideation, refinement, and final renders.
Faster visual development: Generate characters, props, and environments at production quality in a fraction of the usual time.
Creative control with AI: Use precision and JSON prompting inside Arcana to direct results with intent, not guesswork.
Source-driven generation: Start from your own sketches, photos, or artwork to shape outputs instead of starting from nothing.
Complete shot execution: Take an idea from early concept through composition, integration, and a finished cinematic frame.
70% OFF Discount on Standard Plan at Arcana Labs

Course Preview

Course Details

Introduction and Core Prompting

Tools and models used

Arcana web app (Projects, Library, Create, Modify, Motion tabs).
Image models: Arcana Pro Realism, Midjourney/MJ XL, Seed Dream, Cinematic Moody, etc.

What students can expect

Get comfortable with Arcana’s interface, project setup, and asset management.
Learn how to design characters purely from text prompts, testing multiple models side‑by‑side to see differences in style and realism.
Start building prompt‑only character packs: base poses, close‑ups, expression grids, and small design variations.

Visual Development (Props and Environments)

Tools and models used

Arcana Create and Modify.
Models: Arcana Pro Realism, Flux Pro, Seed Dream, MJ XL / Creative XL, Cinematic Sci‑Fi, Cinematic Moody, style presets.

What students can expect

Learn to design props (totem poles, vehicles, etc.) using only text, then refine looks by stacking styles (Alien, Dark and Moody, 1950s Hollywood, etc.).
Generate variants, close‑ups, and alternative angles of a single prop for production reference.
Practice environment prompts (castles, paths, seasons, alien worlds) and see how small wording changes reshape realism, mood, and genre.
Produce sets of shots of one environment: different viewpoints, close‑ups, and overhead/drone angles.

Source-Based Design (Characters, Props, Photo Environments)

Tools and models used

Arcana Modify and Source/Edit.
Models: Flux Context Pro, Seed Dream (incl. colorization), Arcana Pro Realism, Nano Banana (for some multi‑view/motion prep).
Adobe Photoshop for photo preprocessing (filters, contrast, element prep).

What students can expect

Turn sketches and character sheets into photoreal or 3D‑style characters while preserving proportions and style through Transformation control.
Push vector props (e.g., retro ray gun) to photoreal objects, then create multi‑angle views, aged/worn variants, and even cutaway interiors.
Convert real photos into designed environments by preprocessing them (high‑contrast stamp look) and re‑interpreting with Context Pro and Nano Banana while keeping the original composition.
Use motion start/end‑frame tricks on source‑based assets to get consistent 360° rotations for modeling reference.

Advanced Prompting and Look Engineering

Tools and models used

Prompt assistants: Google Gemini for rich and JSON prompts; ChatGPT for detailed character prompts.
Arcana models: Midjourney, Context Pro, Nano Banana.

What students can expect

Learn to expand simple prompts into highly detailed text and JSON structures with Gemini, encoding camera, lens, film stock, lighting, materials, and style.
Apply JSON prompts in Context Pro to get consistent “look recipes” like John‑Ford‑style westerns, 1977 film stock, or vintage stop‑motion holiday specials.
Use Nano Banana plus JSON/Context‑Pro passes to composite multiple elements (backgrounds, alien, ship, podium) and then globally unify color and cinematic feel.
Understand how prompt wording and structure (including JSON fields) directly affect compositing quality, cohesion, and final polish.

End-to-End Shot and Motion

Tools and models used

Arcana: Edit/Modify, Source, Motion.
Models: Flux Context Pro (for look and framing), Seed Dance Pro, Kling Pro and related motion models.

What students can expect

Follow a complete pipeline from alien character concept to final animated shot inside a cockpit: photorealizing, background removal, zooming out, and integrating into a spacecraft interior.
Learn to direct camera adjustments via prompts (orbit/rotate camera vs. reposition subject) and add cockpit elements like panels and consoles while preserving crucial details (hands, chair).
Send the final still to Motion and write performance prompts (concerned look, reaching to press a button, lights flashing, camera shake) to get usable animated clips.
Compare different motion models and iterate on prompts for smoother movement and better acting beats.

Your Instructor

J. Shea Stanley

Visualist & Fine Arts Educator

J. Shea Stanley is a Professor of Graphic Design and Animation, at the Kentucky Wesleyan College. He brings a passionate creative career spanning 30 years across publishing, fashion, and UX design. Being fluent in traditional and digital mediums, he now fully embraces Generative AI as a vital tool for creatives. This powerful shift enables him to realize his full creative vision, revitalizing his practice and redefining himself as a modern storyteller.

Private lessons

Get 1 on 1 mentorship or team training with the instructor.

Instructor Portfolio

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Buy This Course

$399.99 USD

$199.99 USD

Pay once. Get instant access to the full course.

VOD Details

Beginner Friendly

10+ Chapters Available

4.5+ Hours of Lessons

Professional Certification of Completion

70% OFF Standard Plan Arcana Labs

$199.99 USD

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