LEARN 3D CHARACTER ANIMATION FROM SCRATCH

discover how to download and install Blender from blender.org on your operating system, and learn how Blender works with Substance Painter for texturing in 3d character animation.

Explore the Blender user interface, learn to navigate top bars, workspaces for general, 2D animation, sculpting, and rendering, and customize preferences and add-ons for efficient character creation.

Navigate the 3d viewport by selecting objects, rotating around them with the middle mouse button, and moving, rotating, and scaling with g, r, and s, using x y z snapping.

Learn Blender modeling basics: switch between object and edit modes, work with vertices, edges, and faces, and master extrusion, bevel, and edge loops for character geometry.

Master Blender modeling by building a table with extrusion, bevels, edge loops, and a solidify modifier, while handling pivot points, individual origin, and texturing for precise geometry.

Master 3d texturing in Blender cycles by adding materials, applying PBR textures (albedo, normal, roughness), using environment textures, and UV unwrap for realistic surfaces.

Master blender 3d rendering by setting up a camera, practicing three-point lighting, and rendering with cycles, denoising, and compositing for clean, shareable 3d shots.

Explore Blender sculpting fundamentals, mastering brushes like draw, clay, and smooth, symmetry and brush direction, and learn to add geometry with multiresolution, remesh, and dynamic topology.

Block out a 3d character by starting with a cube, subdividing, sculpting, and using sculpt-mode switches to refine brush size and vertex positions for blocking.

Sculpt a stylized character in blender, using sculpt mode with symmetry, then refine with grab, inflate, draw sharp, crease, and smooth brushes, followed by remesh and mask to define features.

Define facial landmarks such as the eyebrow line, jaw, cheekbone, nose, nostrils, and lips, then refine with smoothing and crease brush techniques to shape a realistic face.

Learn to sculpt a stylized character face by extracting a mask and refining eyes, nose, and moustache with crease, smooth, draw, and mask brushes, plus matcap shading.

Learn to sculpt eyebrows and facial hair using masking, clear masks with alt m, and dynamic topology with crease and inflate brushes for lips and details.

Sculpt the eyeballs with a mirror modifier, adjust with grab and mask brushes, refine symmetry with symmetrize, and finalize with vertex paint for a natural eyelid and lashes.

Mask the head in sculpt mode, refine the ear area with dynamic topology, push inward with the draw brush to shape the antihelix, then smooth and adjust with grab brush.

Finalize the character sculpt by merging head and body, refining the neck and musculature with dynamic topology, and preparing your model for retopology.

Apply facial topology in Blender using retopology loops around the eyes, nose, and mouth, enable the snap tool and mirror modifier, and refine vertex flows to create clean facial geometry.

Build nose retopology with a clean facial loop and vertex placement. Use extrusion and fill operations to shape the nostrils and loops, then apply subdivision and shrinkwrap to preserve details.

Complete the head topology by extruding and aligning vertex loops, adding center points, and filling faces while managing subdivision and mirror modifiers for clean, even topology.

Master ears and neck topology in a 3D character by retopology, building clean edge loops, extruding faces, aligning vertices, and preparing for subdivision and deformation.

Master body retopology for a 3d character by building clean topology around the torso and legs using extrude, loop cuts, bevel, snapping, and shrinkwrap to ensure proper deformation.

Create the inner mouth by editing the mesh with wireframe extrusion, duplicating, hiding, and shaping via proportional editing, then join with the mirror modifier and fill it.

learn to fix hair topology using blender’s quad remesh and symmetry, retopology steps, remodel brows with modifiers, boolean operations, and sculpting before unwrap and texture.

Learn to model character accessories in Blender with retopology, auto mirror, loop cuts, subdivision and multi‑resolution workflows, sculpting, vertex painting, and seam sharpening for clothing.

Learn retopology and uv unwrap to project textures with the mirror modifier, seams, and island-based layouts, using smart uv projection and exporting for texture painting in Substance Painter.

Model character accessories using auto mirror, edit mode, and loop cuts; refine with subdivision and multi-resolution sculpting, apply materials and seams, and import external assets to complete the outfit.

Learn to texture a 3D character in Substance Painter: create materials for eyes, tongue, skin, and clothes, bake maps, adjust roughness, ambient occlusion, and export 4K PBR textures.

Set up subdivision and materials, apply principled shader textures to skin, eyes, and clothes, enable node wrangler, and configure environment lighting and subsurface scattering to render a polished character image.

Generate the rig from this armature for the character to enable animation, append sneakers, and bind the character to the rig for fluid motion with Rigify 2.

Learn to rig a character in Blender with the Auto Rig add-on, from installation to binding mesh and adding eye and mouth controls. Explore IK and FK for animation.

Learn to build and apply pose libraries in Blender to create facial expressions and lip-sync poses, using auto rig workflows and expression palettes for efficient character animation.

Explore the 12 principles of animation, from squash and stretch to timing and appeal, and learn how to apply them to make believability and presence in 3d character animation.

Apply timing, squash and stretch, and weight to bouncing balls to build believability in animation. Adjust origins, keyframes, and frame intervals across football, bowling ball, beach ball, basketball.

apply pendulum principle to capture follow-through and overlap in animation by offsetting keyframes, refining timing, and showing hair and clothing respond believably.

Learn to create a basic 3d character walk cycle in Blender using reference poses and 30 fps, with FK for arms and IK for legs.

Learn to build a progressive walk cycle in Blender by manually creating key poses with the dopesheet and action flow, translating the root forward.

Learn to build a basic run cycle in Blender by mastering body mechanics, key poses, and in-place motion, then create a progressive run cycle with independent head focus.

simulate a jump using body mechanics in blender, starting from reference, building key poses, timing, anticipation, squash and stretch, and IK/FK switching with auto key.

Learn to create a weight lift and build gym equipment with basic 3d modeling steps. Explore constraints, origin, and IK vs FK for realistic lifting animation.

Learn to use constraints, specifically the child of constraint, to connect a control hand to a rig, adjust influence, and blend manual parenting with auto stretch for believable lifting animations.

Master weight mechanics by adjusting timing and offsetting keyframes to create believably lifted poses, emphasizing spine, torso, and head arcs, overlap and anticipation to avoid simultaneous actions.

Learn to work with animation data by importing motion with auto rig, retargeting to your character using Mixamo, and refining via interactive tweaks.

Block out the scene by establishing the character's key poses to form a silhouette from the reference, adjust the root bone, and switch from IK to FK.

Master the second blocking stage by building primary and secondary poses, refining timing with offsets, and shaping subtle head, shoulder, and hand moves for future lip-sync and IK/FK transitions.

Master lip sync and facial polish for a 3d character by using the pose library, keyframes, and face controls to match what you hear.

Render the animation by switching to rendered view, lighting the scene, and coloring walls and props, then export as a png image sequence and finally as an mp4 video.