FOUNDER

AUREL MANEA

Founder & Director, ConceptCore Academy

"We are building the school I wished existed when I was starting out."

Where it began

I've spent 15 years in the concept art industry. I worked on games you've played. I taught thousands of students at New3dge, which I led for 5 years. Every class I taught, one question haunted me: why are so few students ready for the industry when they graduate?

What I learned

Traditional art schools train you to make finished pieces. The industry needs designers who can think, iterate, and collaborate under pressure. Those are different skills. The gap between what school teaches and what the job demands is the reason most graduates struggle.

What we do differently

ConceptCore is built on three principles. Fundamentals are king. We train designers, not renderers. We adopt new workflows — 3D, Unreal, AI — without letting them replace the thinking. Every student gets a permanent mentor who tracks their whole journey, plus 30+ rotating industry specialists.

The promise

Small cohorts. Professional teachers. Real studio briefs. We are obsessed with making you hireable — not in 10 years, but by the end of Year 3.

Worked at
  • Quantic Dream
  • DONTNOD
  • Marvel
  • Fortiche
  • Blur
  • New3dge

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