Ben Eblen Studios presents: GraymatterLive
Confidently paint form, light and value from imagination
Stop Guessing. Start Knowing.
5 weeks to finally understand light, value, and form—so you never copy references blindly again
The exact framework I used to go from photo-copying to confidently painting anything from imagination
Active Seats Fill Up Fast — Workshop starts in:
*Sit in seats remain available after active participation seats are full
Featured in / worked with
You'll have deeper understanding, not just 'tips and tricks'
Just some of the key ideas we'll be exploring
"I just wanna say a big THANK YOU to Ben for holding such an amazing workshop! This has been one of the major turning points in my artistic growth, it made me look at painting in a more systematic way and helped me tremendously. I'm so glad I applied and got to be part of this. To all my classmates, thank you for being such a wonderful and supportive group 🙂"
📅 5-Week Learning Journey
Each week builds on the last, taking you from foundational concepts to complete mastery
Light & Diffuse Reflection
Light can be tricky, but it's not magic. We'll start with the basics that build the foundation for the rest of the workshop.
What you'll learn:
Point Lights, Ambient Occlusion and how to use them
We'll expand our practise into different light types, and understand the order in which I use them.
What you'll learn:
Specular reflection and stealing light from references
At this stage, we've got a solid foundation and framework of how to light anything. Now we'll dive into slightly more advanced concepts.
What you'll learn:
Styles, Materials and Edge Control
This week we'll start flexing our knowledge and experiment with different styles, reverse engineer materials and see why edges are at the core of different styles.
What you'll learn:
Bringing it all together
Refinement of the tools we've explored so far, and a deeper dive into texture, translucency, materials and techniques.
What you'll learn:
Keep Building & Growing
Your learning doesn't stop at week 5. Continue to refine your skills and push your boundaries.
You can always:
You're Not Learning Alone
Every week, you'll join a small group of dedicated artists who are just as committed to improving as you are. Share your progress, get feedback, and celebrate wins together.
Private Discord Community
Your home base for the entire workshop
Share your work and get feedback from peers
Ask questions anytime between sessions
Connect with fellow artists who understand your journey
Access workshop resources and recordings in one place
Live sessions where you can ask questions and interact in real-time
Your Weekly Workflow
Live 2.5 Hour Session Every Saturday
Start your week with a live lesson covering fundamental lighting principles
Live Demonstrations
Watch me apply principles in real-time and ask questions as we go
Interactive Q&A
Get your questions answered and discuss concepts with the group
Recorded for Later
Can't make it live? All sessions are recorded so you can watch later
Each lesson comes with a set of assignments
Detailed step-by-step instructions, visual examples, and clear guidance
🔄 Practice Beyond the Workshop: All assignment pages remain accessible after the workshop — keep practicing and improving at your own pace!
Receive Personal Critiques & Paintovers
Submit your work and get personalized feedback — all participating students receive detailed critiques every week
I'll draw directly on your work to show you exactly what needs improvement
Submit Your Work
Share your weekly assignments and get detailed feedback
Personalized Guidance
Get specific insights on your lighting, values, and form
Accelerate Progress
Learn faster by understanding exactly what to improve
"Thank you for such a thoughtful and well put together workshop! Learned a ton and so many things clicked into place."
"Going into Ben's course, I expected some good tips and tricks, rules of thumb to help me paint more convincing light. What I didn't anticipate was how much I'd learn about how to actually think about light.
Ben doesn't just teach you how light and shadow work, he teaches you how to approach art with curiosity and ask why. Why is the light behaving that way? Where is it coming from? What materials is it interacting with?
Understanding the reasoning behind values and how to figure that out for yourself is what made Ben's class so powerful. I now have a framework I can use to diagnose problems in my own work instead of just guessing and hoping things look right.
If you've been stuck copying references or feel like you're painting in the dark when it comes to values, Ben's Graymatter course will give you the foundation you've been missing."
"Also want to say thank you for this course it was exactly what I needed and has defibrillated my joy of painting by giving me some solid foundations to build off. I'm much more excited to get into rendering now rather than being afraid of it and my recent works almost look like they were drawn by someone else. Awesome pace, great simplification of content, really relevant homework and a no-BS approach to critique. I'll definitely be recommending it to anyone who wants to up their game. Think you should be proud of what you pulled off!"
"Legendary workshop 🙂 Such valuable information, definitely connected a lot of dots and changed the way I perceive things. Thank you Ben and thank you classmates! I wish everyone the best of luck on their art journey🤞"
Tyler
Aug Cohort 2025
🎨 Student Transformations
In only 5 weeks, real results from students who applied the workshop techniques
Tyler
Aug Cohort 2025
Candice Mak
Aug Cohort 2025
Darcy
Aug Cohort 2025
🎨 Why the focus on grayscale?
Understanding light and values is what enables me to play with color confidently.
I wish I had spent way more time focusing on and learning about how light works in the context of values before jumping into color.
When I truly understood how light behaves in grayscale — how it falls off, bounces, and creates form — the world of color made so much more sense. I'm more than happy to discuss colour in the workshop, but it's just not going to be the focus.
Drag the slider to see how solid grayscale foundation translates to confident color choices
🛠️ Tools & Software
This workshop will be held mainly in Photoshop, but any digital painting software you have access to will be more than fine:
Procreate
Photoshop
Krita
Clip Studio PaintWe're not going to be focusing on software 'tricks' —
You'll also be able to take these learnings into traditional mediums like oils, acrylics, or even graphite.
The Graymatter Brush Pack
This workshop includes the exclusive Graymatter brush pack — a custom set of brushes specifically curated for this workshop, available for both Photoshop and Procreate
Who am I?
Hey, I'm Ben Eblen, an 🎨 illustrator, 👨💻 developer, 🎤 podcast host , ⚡️ chaser of 'aha' moments and I love sharing my process and findings online.
This workshop is the one I wish I'd taken back when I was stuck in the "just copy references" phase, wondering how others could draw, paint and invent characters and worlds from scratch that actually felt real.
It's essentially a workshop for my younger self who was struggling to make the leap from observation to imagination.
Super excited to have you join me!
Cheers, Ben
Choose Your Time Zone
Select one session time that works best for you
Choose Your Seat Type
Select the learning experience for the Europe session
9:00 AM CET
Europe
The
Sit-In Seat
Watch, learn, and follow along — at your own pace
Europe session • Every Saturday
Unlimited Seats
Observe only
What's Included:
- ✓Live Zoom access
- ✓Workshop replays (access for 1 year)
- ✓Private Discord community access
9:00 AM CET
Europe
The
Workshop Seat
Live, structured training designed to build lighting instinct from the ground up
Europe session • Every Saturday
Active Seats
What's Included:
- ✓Live Zoom access (ask questions + interact)
- ✓Workshop replays (access for 1 year)
- ✓Weekly assignments
- ✓Group critiques + short personal recorded critiques
- ✓Private Discord community access
- ✓BONUS: Early access to my Graymatter On-Demand Course (currently in development)- Lifetime access
9:00 AM CET
Europe
The
1 on 1 Seat
The full workshop, plus 1 on 1 calls with me
Europe session • Every Saturday
1 on 1 Seat
What's Included:
- ✓Everything in the Workshop seat +
- ✓1-on-1 private sessions with Me (3 x 60 min). Discuss your work, business, social media, whataver you think will benefit you.
- ✓BONUS: Early access to my Graymatter On-Demand Course (currently in development)- Lifetime access
Bonus: Early Access to the Unreleased On-Demand Course
The on-demand course is currently in development and being built from the ground up (not just recordings from the live workshops) . When it's ready for early release, Workshop & 1-on-1 students will get first access plus lifetime access to all future updates.
Note: The on-demand course is a work in progress being built from the ground up (not just recordings). You'll receive access as soon as it's ready for early release — our thank you for joining the live cohort!