
This course offers a two-part, 3d tutorial on realistic character creation—Koba character and M4A1 rifle—covering research, ZBrush sculpting, Blender retopology, UV mapping, Substance Painter textures, look dev, and final renders.
Join the Discord community to access the resources folder and the resources pdf, unzip the downloaded zip to view videos, textures, and other products.
Block out a realistic three-dimensional character using spheres and dynamesh, focus on bony landmarks, major muscles, and silhouette, while keeping detail minimal and refining eyes, ears, and mouth anatomy.
Block ape hands and feet with arced palm shapes and fat pads. Sculpt nails, creases, and tendons using cubes and Sculptris Pro, then study hand anatomy in ZBrush.
Block out the mouth and teeth early to shape Koba’s expression, then sculpt gums and teeth with Sculptris Pro for a believable likeness.
Sculpt a realistic face by carving creases, adding surface noise, and forming tube-like structures, while managing subdivision levels and zero-meshing for teeth, gums, and scars.
Learn to sculpt realistic facial forms by breaking up primary, secondary, and tertiary shapes, using subdivisions, clay buildup, and confident brushwork. Observe references to add scar details and achieve realism.
Decimate the model while preserving UVs, then import to Substance Painter. Build the base color with layered color, roughness, and curvature maps to achieve realistic shading.
Refine a realistic ape-like character in zbrush by adjusting proportions, sculpting muscles and scars, and adding skin detail with alphas, subdivision levels, and custom eyes.
Apply sculpting techniques to add alphas across the face and body, creating pores and wrinkles with directional variation, using alpha layers, while refining lips and eyes.
Refine a character’s texture and shading in painter by layering scars, color maps, and breakup brushes, then adjust lips, teeth, and gums with subsurface scattering in blender.
Add war paint to the character using layers and masks, apply dirt and cracks for realism, adjust proportions in ZBrush, and export to Blender with alpha textures.
Refine the fur by adding face guides and shaping the eyebrows. Shrink guides for smoother skin-to-hair transitions, adjust the density map, and test lighting with hdris.
Prepare for posing by exporting and joining Blender models, including the rifle and eyes, to avoid ngons. Import into ZBrush and place leaf textures on the fur for believability.
Refine the mouth with breakup and color variation in Painter, then adjust gums and teeth in ZBrush to add realism, and bake a new displacement map for Blender renders.
Welcome to Realistic 3D Creature Creation! This course is designed to give intermediate artists the knowledge & guidance to create a stunning portfolio piece. I have spent months packing as much value as possible into this course so you can waste no time learning the in-depth process.
I believe that a community is a HUGE part of growth as an artist. I’ve personally seen the most growth as an artist once I began joining and interacting in artist communities, so I want to provide that to anyone taking this course through a Discord Server.
WHAT YOU GET:
- 70+ HD Video Lessons that walk you through the entire process of creating our character
- 15 hours of Video Lessons
- Lifetime access to the Artist Growth Discord server (link in resources PDF upon purchase)
- Resources (Reference files, Textures, Images, & The Resources PDF which also includes extra recommended video & resource links)
YOU'LL LEARN:
- How to Create a realistic character from scratch
- A good understanding of the muscle and bone structure of the body
- Sculpt realistic skin forms, wrinkles, & folds
- Texture & render realistic skin
- Create a full hair groom with Blender's hair system
- Render out a full character for a stunning portfolio piece
FAQs:
Do I need to purchase any external products?
The FlippedNormals Face Kit, Skin Kit, and Eye Kit are highly recommended. Although any other pore alphas can be used for the skin detailing. However, I do not cover how to create the eyes from scratch. The eyes are completely from the FlippedNormals Eye kit.
We also use some free external resources such as HDRI Haven & CC0 Textures (these resources are provided in the course).
Do I need Zbrush?
While it is possible to do all the sculpting with another software like Blender or Mudbox, however, Zbrush is recommended for artists who want to fully maximize their results. Also if you’re a student interested in Zbrush, I recommend getting a Zbrush student license.
Is this a beginner course?
This course is NOT meant for complete beginners. I created this course for artists who are closer to an intermediate or advanced level. I do not teach the basics of the software, rather I focus on teaching technique fundamentals. So I recommend having at least a year of experience under your belt.
How long will I have access to the course?
FOREVER! You will have lifetime access to Realistic 3D Creature Creation and all it's resources upon purchasing.
Credit: HDRI Haven, CC0 Textures, Pexels
Special Thanks to Noggi & Aryan for their YT resources
Artist Credit (Music): Keys of the Moon, MaxKo Music, Alex-Productions, Scott Buckley