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VFX & CG Mentorship

Forget random
CG tutorials.

Learn the real VFX pipeline from a VFX and CG Supervisor with 20+ years
at studios like DNEG, MPC, Mill Film, Framestore, and Pixomondo.
Not another course. Mentorship that makes you someone studios want to hire.

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The real problem

You do not have a tutorial problem.
You have a foundations problem.

What tutorials do

Which button to press

A tutorial shows you how one person solved one specific shot. It never teaches you why. The moment your shot is different, and it always is, you are stuck guessing again.

What mentorship does

Why the work holds up

Foundations survive every software change and every new project. That is what I teach. Not buttons. Thinking. Then I give you real feedback on your actual work, which no tutorial can do.

How to fix it

Four ways in.
One place to start.

Mentorship one-to-one, mentorship in a group, self-paced courses, or the tools I build on the job. Different formats, same standard.
Not sure which fits you? That is exactly what the free call is for.

Bespoke1-to-1 mentorship

1-to-1 Mentorship

The deepest, most personal path. Every session built around your discipline, your goals, and your pace.

  • Live 3-hour sessions, fully tailored
  • Weekly assignments on your own files
  • Two extra review sessions to consolidate

$3,500 $4,900 Late 2026 offer

See the 1-to-1 program
Live cohortGroup mentorship

Group Mentorship

The same production-level standard, in a cohort of serious artists, with the momentum of not doing it alone.

  • Weekly 3-hour live sessions, around 10 weeks
  • Real feedback and studio-level habits
  • A more accessible entry point

$490 $650 Late 2026 offer

See the group program
Self-pacedOnline courses

Online Courses

Start today, on your own schedule. A structured library you can rewatch forever, and a certificate on completion.

  • 100+ pre-recorded videos, instant access
  • Build real foundations at your speed
  • The on-ramp into mentorship later

From $150

Browse the courses
Instant downloadPXL Store

PXL Store

Everything I make, ready to use. Production tools out of PXLsuite, plus models and assets, with every tool free.

  • Maya tools that install in one drag
  • Every tool free, on one licence key
  • They update themselves in one click
Browse the store
Cristian Spagnuolo, VFX and CG Supervisor
Cristian Spagnuolo
VFX & CG Supervisor
Proud member ofVisual Effects Society
Who is telling you this

I am not a guru. I am a supervisor who has done the work.

Over 20 years in VFX and CG, across high-end blockbusters, TV series, commercials, and international advertising,
with major studios like DNEG, MPC, Mill Film, Framestore, and Pixomondo, among others.

Unlike a lot of the “courses” taught by people with no real production experience, I have supervised the work that ships.
I will make a professional out of you, someone studios actually want to hire.
No gimmicks, no false promises.

On AI: I use it where it genuinely helps the pipeline and I teach it honestly,
as a tool that sits on top of strong fundamentals, never as a shortcut around them.

Clients & Productions
Disney PlusApple TV PlusNetflixParamount Plus20th Century Studios
Studios I’ve worked at
DNEGMPCFramestoreMill FilmPixomondoL'Atelier AnimationMels StudiosMokko Studio
Technology Partners & Tools
ReallusionFaceform3D.skVolingaXGridsJangaFXLightcraftDash
On AI

AI enhances you. It does not replace you.

AI is reshaping how the industry works and how we work day to day. That part is real, not hype.
But it does not replace the artist, it amplifies the one who already knows what good looks like.
The fundamentals are what turn a fast tool into a sharp result.

If you know your craft, AI gives you a superpower. If you don’t, it just confuses you.

Without fundamentals

AI just confuses you

You get a result in seconds and no way to judge it. Wrong reads, off proportions, broken continuity, and you cannot tell. So you guess, and the tool multiplies the guessing.

With fundamentals

AI becomes a superpower

You move faster and sharper because you know what right looks like and what to reject. The tool does the heavy lifting, you stay in control of the shot.

Pre-production

AI for ideation, generative concepting, and previs, so you explore more directions before a single asset is built.

Production

AI-assisted asset work, roto and cleanup, and upscaling or denoising, folded into a real pipeline instead of bolted on.

Post / Visual

Comp assists, generative fill and cleanup, and look-dev and finishing, used where they genuinely serve the shot.

The message has not changed. Fundamentals first, then the tools that sit on top of them.
AI is now built into every mentorship I run, one-to-one and group, not a separate track, so you use it on your own shots from the start.
And a dedicated AI course is on the way at courses.pxlmentor.com, covering all three: pre-production, production, and post.

Your path with me

How it works.

No mystery, no funnel tricks.
Four honest steps from where you are now to a reel studios actually respond to.
Tap any step to see what it really means.

01

Book a free call

We talk about where you are and where you want to go. No pitch, just honest guidance.

This is not a sales call. It is thirty minutes, one on one, with a working VFX and CG Supervisor who has actually shipped the kind of work you want to make.

You tell me where you are, what you are stuck on, and where you want to end up. If you have work, I look at it and tell you honestly what is holding you back and what would move the needle fastest.

Even if we never end up working together, you walk away with an honest read on your level and a real sense of direction. Most people have never had someone from inside the industry look at their work and tell them the truth, and that alone is worth the half hour.

02

We map your path

The right format for you, 1-to-1, group, or courses, and a plan built around your goals.

There is no fixed syllabus you get slotted into. Once I understand your discipline, your goals and your timeline, we design the route together, a fully tailored plan built around you.

That means choosing the right format, one to one, group, or courses, and then shaping exactly what we cover around your real gaps, not a generic curriculum. A modeler and a compositor do not need the same plan, and neither does a total beginner and someone prepping a reel for a studio application.

You leave this step knowing what we will work on, in what order, and why, so every session after it has a clear target and none of your time is wasted.

03

You do the real work

Live sessions, assignments on your own files, and direct feedback the way a supervisor gives it.

This is where it gets real. You do not just watch me work, you work, on your own files, on the kind of shots and assets you actually want to be hired for.

In the live sessions I walk you through the thinking, the why behind every decision, then you apply it during the week. You bring back what you made and I review it the way a supervisor reviews a shot on a real production: direct, specific, and held to a professional standard.

That loop, doing the work then getting real notes on it, is the single thing that closes the gap between hobby work and hireable work. It is also the one thing no tutorial or pre-recorded course can ever give you.

04

You become hireable

Production-level standards, a professional mindset, and a reel studios actually respond to.

The goal was never just to finish a project. The goal is to make you someone a studio genuinely wants to hire.

By the end you think like a professional, you work to production-level standards, and you have a piece, or a reel, that clearly shows what you want to be hired for. You also understand how the industry actually reads work, so you can present yourself with confidence in an interview or an application.

I make no false promises, the work is still yours to do. But you will be aimed in the right direction by someone who reviews and hires artists at exactly that level, and knows precisely what the target looks like.

Real artists. Real results. No fakes, no paid reviews.

What mentees actually say.

Their words, and the work they finished with me. Some have gone on to roles like Asset Supervisor, 3D Artist, and FX Artist in film. I do not pay for reviews and I do not fake them.

Final project by Michele Rocca
★★★★★
He didn't just point out what to improve, he literally went into my files to show me how to approach the work more effectively.
Michele Rocca Michele Rocca 3D Artist, Automotive CGI
Final project by Federico Sgroi
★★★★★
Cristian gives you the right tools to evaluate your work critically and understand how to achieve results using the fastest and most efficient industry-standard workflow.
Federico Sgroi Federico Sgroi 3D Character Artist, Freelance
Final project by Simone Ferrante
★★★★★
Working with Cristian truly felt like being part of a real production environment.
Simone Ferrante Simone Ferrante
Final project by Alex Cuesta
★★★★★
He doesn't just tell you what to change, he explains why it matters and how a supervisor or a client would see it.
Alex Cuesta Alex Cuesta FX Artist, FilmMaker
Final project by Martina Boscolo
★★★★★
Cristian's patient guidance took me from the fundamentals of 3D modelling to an advanced understanding of production pipelines and workflows.
Martina Boscolo Martina Boscolo 2D/3D Artist, Wargaming
Final project by Stefano Critelli
★★★★★
Beyond the necessary technical and practical acquisition, the course helped me tremendously in gaining autonomy and developing problem-solving skills.
Stefano Critelli Stefano Critelli Asset Supervisor, Al-One
Final project by Margherita Golfetto
★★★★★
His structured approach made even complex concepts accessible, and I quickly gained confidence in understanding the core aspects of the CG pipeline.
Margherita Golfetto Margherita Golfetto 2D/3D Artist
Final project by Toni Mambro
★★★★★
Everything I've achieved so far in my journey as a 3D Artist is thanks to his guidance.
Toni Mambro Toni Mambro 3D Artist
Final project by Davide Covallero
★★★★★
It allowed me to discover new productive approaches and develop a professional mindset, things that are unfortunately not taught in most standard school programs.
Davide Covallero Davide Covallero 3D Artist & CEO, Setpoint Studio
Final project by Marco Massignani
★★★★★
He showed me some lifesaving hacks that helped me improve tremendously my working efficiency, and therefore I now have more time to produce better results for my clients.
Marco Massignani Marco Massignani Motion Designer & Art Director, Setpoint Studio
★★★★★
I have just started my journey in CGI, so I definitely still have a lot to learn, but now, thanks to the review session with Cristian, I feel more confident about myself and my abilities.
Lorenzo R. CG Student
Straight answers, before you book

Everything people actually ask.

Answered honestly.
If your question is not here, that is what the free call is for.

A tutorial shows you how one person solved one specific shot. It does not teach you why they made those choices, so when your shot is different, and it always is, you are back to guessing. Mentorship is the opposite. I teach you the reasoning behind the work, the foundations that hold up no matter what software or project you are on. You also get something no tutorial can give you, real feedback on your actual work from someone who has supervised productions. That feedback loop is what closes the gap between hobby work and professional work.

Because tutorials teach steps, not thinking. You can memorize a hundred workflows and still not understand why your results look amateur. That is a foundations problem, not a tutorial-count problem. More tutorials will not fix it. Understanding will. That is exactly what mentorship is for, we find the gaps in your fundamentals and rebuild them so your work holds up under professional scrutiny.

No. A course is a fixed library you watch alone. Mentorship is live, it adapts to you, and you get direct feedback on your own work. I do go into your files to show you, not just tell you. The point is not that you finish something. The point is that you become good enough to get hired. Those are very different goals.

That is the whole point. I do not train you to finish a project, I train you to become someone studios want to hire. That means production-level standards, a professional mindset, and a portfolio that shows what you actually want to be hired for. Some of my mentees have gone on to roles like Asset Supervisor, 3D Artist, FX Artist in film, and studio founder. No guarantees, no false promises, this job still takes work from you. But you will be aimed in the right direction by someone who knows what the target looks like.

Schools teach a broad curriculum to a room, on a fixed timeline, often by instructors who have not worked on the floor in years, or ever. Mentorship is built around you, by someone actively working as a supervisor. You are not one of thirty students following a syllabus. You are one artist, getting guidance aimed at your specific goals and your specific weaknesses. Schools also cost far more and take far longer. That is not a knock on every school, it is just a different thing.

It is the most intensive and most tailored way to work with me. Everything is built around you, your discipline, your goals, your pace. Sessions are live, 3 hours each, split between technical and practical work. You get weekly assignments so you are actually applying what we cover, and at the end there are two extra 2-hour review sessions to consolidate everything. Nothing is off the shelf.

A live cohort where you learn alongside other serious artists. It runs weekly 3-hour sessions over about 10 weeks, roughly 30 hours of live guidance, at the same production-level standard as the 1-to-1, with the added energy of a group. You get real feedback and the momentum that comes from not doing it alone.

The courses are a self-paced library of 100+ pre-recorded videos you can start today and rewatch as often as you want, with a certificate on completion. They live at courses.pxlmentor.com. Courses are solo and on your own schedule. Mentorship is live and personal, with direct feedback on your actual work. Many people start with courses and move into mentorship later when they want someone to push their work to a professional level.

Yes, honestly and without hype. AI is a tool that sits on top of strong fundamentals, it does not replace them. I show you where it genuinely helps a real pipeline and where it does not, so you use it like a professional rather than lean on it as a shortcut. If your foundations are weak, AI will not save your work, and I will tell you that straight.

The standard tracks are priced on the cards above, so you can see the shape of it straight away. The 1-to-1 is built around you, so the final figure depends on how long we run and how the sessions are balanced, and we settle that together on the free call. Courses are listed at courses.pxlmentor.com. I never run fake discounts and I never pressure you.

Last thing

Still deciding?
Let us just talk.

Thirty minutes, free, no pressure.
Tell me where you are and where you want to be, and I will tell you honestly whether I can help and which path fits.
If it is not a fit, I will say so.

Book a free call