To give some background, I myself took a gaming class from Greg when I was in Grad school. Through dedication and hard work, I worked in the sports video gaming industry as a UI Artist in 2D/3D animation for many years, and continue to use these technical skills in my Marketing career. Fast forward, I wanted my 8 year old daughter to be exposed to these technical skills that Digital Monkey provides. This summer she attended the classes Digital Design and Illustration and Intro to Animations camps with Greg and Ola. She felt comfortable right away. With a small comfortable environment, she learned so much and brought home great work in just one week! With her love to play games, watch YouTube and an interest to help me while I work, this camp introduced her to storytelling, art, technical skills, critiques, animation skills and more! Camps are fun, but what puts this at the top of my list is - not only fun, it taught real-life skills that can used through all types of disciplines and in her life. I don't believe there are any other programs that compare. I plan to enroll her in the next available camp. read more

My son has really enjoyed the Intro to Video Game Development class. Coming into the class, he had no background in game development or coding. With Greg's help, he has been able to learn a lot in a short amount of time, and he is very proud of his creations. Great experience all around! read more

My 3 daughters (11, 11, 8) took a week of summer camp at Digital Monkey School, and they really enjoyed it. They learned how to use Blender for 3d art and got to do some video game development. They looked forward to camp every day (9am - 12pm) and thought the small class sizes and focus on tech was such a different feel from the usual summer camps around here. read more

My 12 year old daughter has been taking Blender classes with Greg for 6 or 7 months now. She really enjoys it and has learned so much. Greg is patient and helps her easily understand whatever they are learning that day. I always look forward to seeing new skills she has picked up in class. read more

My son has been taking classes at digital monkey for at least five years. He started in middle school and is now a junior in high school. He has learned both game design and 3d modeling. He really enjoys working with Greg and feels that he gets personal instruction when he needs it. This is the one activity that my son has consistently wanted to participate in year after year. read more

Our kids really enjoyed their virtual camp experience with Greg at Digital Monkey. Greg provided great structure and adapted their program really well to the remote camp experience. We're signed up for another week! read more

My son has been attending Greg and Ola's animation class for 6 months now. The class build on kids' creativity to develop their digital drawing skills. Class size is small, so each kid receives a lot of coaching on their projects. read more

Digital Monkey saved my boyfriend's sanity! He's in the middle of a MFA program for games design (3D modeling focus) and needed help with programming in Unity for an iPhone game we're developing. At the school, Kurt worked with him for maybe an hour or two and SAVED US WEEKS OF WORK. Having someone who really knows the program look at what you've tried to do so far made all the difference in the world and we're coming back for more. There aren't many resources for 3D modeling and Unity programming and this is the best we've found in the Bay Area. It's been worth 3x as much as some of his graduate classes and its not even a tenth of the price. If you want to learn the latest software, you can only get so far with books and tutorials. At some point you're going to have something that has errors you can't figure out. A Digital Monkey expert who can point those mistakes out to you will make all the difference in getting your projects done and keeping motivated. I can't recommend Digital Monkey school enough! read more

As another artist trying to get into animation and games, Greg, Richard and the other staff at Digital Monkey School are top notch. They are able to teach you on the lastest versions of Max, Maya, Photoshop, Mudbox and Zbrush. They like to push you to your creative limits as well, which makes me a better artist. They're also great with kids. I've seen a few younger students come in and Greg is wonderful with them, teaching them painting, drawing and other art skills. If you're looking for a place to take your kids to learn digital arts or a older student trying to gain and edge, this is the place to go. read more

My fifteen year old son has taken weekly lessons at Digital Monkey since 2014. This has been a great creative outlet for him and in addition to learning video game programming he has been introduced to other software programs such as PhotoShop. He has learned really use skills which he will continue to use in adulthood and Greg has been a great teacher and mentor to him. read more

My daughter has been taking classes under Ola and Greg for a few years now. She loves this place and always looking forward every Saturday for her digital class. I am very happy to have found this place. Ola and Greg are wonderful to work with and knowledgeable in their fields. I would recommend this place for parents who have children that are into digital drawing. read more

Digital Monkey School - Art Schools Near Me - Belmont, California

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My son started taking classes here in 5th grade with Greg and what an amazing journey! My son is on the autism spectrum and Greg took so much time to understand him. Because he love video games, this was the perfect next step. Programming and developing skills to make his own. Plus, he has made some friends (not that he acknowledges that, but still, we do!). Now that he is a Junior in High School, he has had the chance to work as a summer assistant in the camps. For him, this was big progress. This place gets kids, but also gets kids who do not fit the mold. We are thankful. Thanks to Digital Monkey for the steps in progress! read more

My 2nd grade took a summer coding camp. He enjoyed and fully engaged for entire 3 hours. I was impressed and pleased how well the virtual camp worked. Thank you!!!! read more

I was really excited to find a place that teaches digital art, in addition to teaching traditional painting and drawing. They have classes for people of all ages and for all levels. I think it's amazing to see these really young kids creating impressive artwork with programs like Photoshop and 3d Studio Max. I have been learning programs including GameMaker, AfterEffects, and Studio Max through the instructors, who are all extremely talented, very knowledgeable, great teachers, and fun people. They also teach programs like Flash, Unity, and Unreal. They also have more advanced classes for people who are working on their portfolio to get hired. Class sizes are small, so we get a lot of individual attention and help. Being in a class also is helpful because we learn from others and get inspired by what others are doing. I am always wowed to see what other students have been able to achieve through these classes. read more

My younger son, now 9 has been a piano student for 5 years with Elena. My older son (12) has been taking classes from Armando in digital music for 2 years, learning ProTools, Sibelius, Reason; all professional recording studio software. He's having a blast while absorbing music theory and composition - WAHOO! I looked at a lot of programs (and still do!) because I want to have them have fun while learning - unlike my piano lessons as a child. Elena has a unique program which really works for young wanna-be pianists, and brings in theory as well as performance from the get go. She's able to work with a range of personalities and temperaments, and customizes music to fit the student's interests (we were hooked when a fellow preschooler could play the theme from Star Wars)... read more

My son has been attending classes at Digital Monkey for several years, and really enjoys it. It has helped my son turn his hobby of playing computer games into a drive to actually develop games. He has learned a lot of skills and really enjoys working with Greg, who does a great job of building on my son's interests and keeping things fun. read more

If you have a real passion for creating digital art, and especially video games, Digital Monkey is the ONLY place you need to know. With very personalized classes in everything from programming to painting, you're always getting exactly what you want and need. I took classes here with Kurt to improve my portfolio, and within a few months I was getting called for interviews at major studios. They all know their stuff here and Greg especially has a wealth of experience to share, both in art execution and the mindset behind the industry as a whole. I still call him up from time to time to get advice on industry issues, and he's always a great help. As a an artist working in games, the field is incredibly competitive. Newcomers and veterans are frequently vying for the same positions and it's a very daunting challenge, but Greg and the team at Digital Monkey really have been through it all and can help out in all aspects of the process. They are also fantastic with kids, helping to inspire creativity and spark imagination for newer generations. They offer a complementary first class as well, so you get to try it out and see if it's a good fit for you, and I'm willing to bet it will be. read more

Excellent digital art and computer game making classes! My kids have been taking classes here for the past 5+ years. The teachers, Greg & Ola are wonderful with kids of all ages and they are experienced in a wide variety of software programs. Greg used to (or still) teach at the Academy of Art. They teach in individual it small groups and have flexible schedules. They have taught my kids Photo Shop, Voxotron, and many skills ranging from creating designs digitally to creating and building computer games. My kids LOVE it here! They offer classes after school, on weekends and summer camps as well. They also do art exhibits sometimes at some of the local Peet's coffee shops of the kids artwork. They offer free workshops at the San Mateo County Fair which is how we first encountered the school. I think the classes are reasonably priced. Digital Monkey is a great way to have your kids learn fun and valuable computer skills! read more

After only a few classes at digital monkey I can definitely say I learnt a lot. The instructor (Greg) teaches at the perfect pace so it is easy to follow the lesson. I really enjoyed the classes and Greg being as friendly and approachable as he is makes it so easy. He has vast knowledge and is passionate at what he does. It is totally worth it to attend the classes cause you will benefit from it.The cost of classes is incredibly affordable. Also its super easy to get there from SF or anywhere in the Bay Area with public transportation as they are less than a 5 min walk from CalTrain Belmont station. read more

I am writing this review because I am very happy with the Digital Monkey School. We were new to the area and my son was unhappy because he had to leave his friends and the school that he loved. He wasn't involved in sports and his only hobby was computers. He loved gaming and i was worried he was spending so much time on video games. Everything i tried to get him involved with other things didn't work. Finally i talked with a counselor who suggested that i just go with what he likes to do. She suggested that instead of fighting my son's love of technology and gaming, i could encourage that he learn the technical aspects of it. Instead of gaming for hours she suggested that he learn how to make the games himself. I liked this idea but had trouble finding technology classes for a 12 year old. I finally found Digital Monkey and enrolled him. He loved it. His instructor was extremely knowledgeable and my son looked up to him because he also loved technology and went to college studying it. We now go to weekly classes and my son is getting much better at programing games. He has made some new friends at school and is proud that he knows more about gaming than most of his friends. He spends his time now learning how to make games rather than just playing them. I would recommend Digital Monkey to other parents. read more

My daughter attended the Digital Monkey Studio for about a year. She likes to draw very much. Now she can use a computer in addition to paper, pens, paint, and brushes. She has learned a lot of computer programs that let her do the work with much more fun. And "Monkey" is a great place for kids of any age to learn Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and other useful programs. The studio has very competent instructors who can teach kids to do their projects professionally. Here kids can develop their skills earlier and make the right choice for their future. read more

Thumbs up! My daughter has been with Digital Monkey for more than one year now and we both absolute love them. The director, Greg, is supervising at the school level and he's on top of everything. Elena is very organized and flexible for setting up the class schedule for you. Last but not least, our teacher, Richard, is a great teacher, very knowledgeable and fun to be with. Among quite a few after-school activities my daughter goes every week this is the one she really looks forward to. I believe they are really an eye opener for children like my daughter who are interested in both traditional art painting and digital art, although they offer high quality traditional art class too. Many of the staffs are professionals in the industry or academic so they have the first-hand knowledge in this field. The software they're using is no difference from the professional ones used in real movies industry so the sky is the limit for these kids. I believe it's really rewarding for the kids themselves to see their art is live on screen too. They help the kids to extend and strengthen their skills in a very fun way and help them to keep their interests high. I would definitely recommend this to anybody who has a kid who is interested in both art and computer and you don't want them to sit in front of computer to play online games for hours. read more

It is clear that Digital Monkey offers students who are serious about skill building a program that will engage them in building a portfolio or improving an existing portfolio to help them move into digital arts careers. It amazed me to see how "real world" the assignments could be, and yet each child is also given the option of making this a casual art making / fun activity. They're nurturing and non-judgy but certainly have a challenging curriculum ready for kids who are more directed. The space is somewhat small but not cramped somehow. Older kids with an interest in gaming and digital arts ought to check it out before heading off to post-high school courses geared to that career in my opinion as it will be a good place to do career research with someone who has a lot of experience in that domain. The creative director, Ola, is also really sweet, and leads courses in fine art traditional media for younger kids. My daughter did not take those courses but I wish she had Ola around when she was interested in doing workshops of that sort. This place is city cool in our little suburb. read more