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REALISTIC 3D FEMALE FACE
32 students

REALISTIC 3D FEMALE FACE

3D SCULPTING, 3D TEXTURING, 3D RENDERING, 3D MODELLING
Created bykelechi John
Last updated 7/2025
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Alighing reference in Photoshop for sculpting
  • Exporting models from ZBrush and importing them into Substance Painter
  • Setting up Smart Masks for an efficient workflow
  • Using baked masks in Substance Painter
  • Building a Realistic White Skin Textures
  • Perfect Facial Anatomy
  • Creating eyebrows, eyelashes and long hairs with Xgen for Maya
  • Working with marvelous Designer
  • Retopology in Marvelous Designer
  • Texturing the jacket in substance painter
  • Skin shading in Arnold
  • Capture Realistic Eye Renders
  • Learn the Knowlegde To Enhance Your Observation Skills

Course content

1 section62 lectures33h 49m total length
  • 01 ALIGHING REFERENCES IN PHOTOSHOP21:08

    Learn to import and align reference images in Photoshop for front-facing views, enabling precise ZBrush likeness sculpting with nose, eyes, mouth, and jawline alignment.

  • REFERENCE COLOUR ADJUSTMENT22:41

    Apply camera raw color adjustments to reference images to accentuate facial landmarks, depth, and shadows, then build a base mesh and import into ZBrush to sculpt a realistic female likeness.

  • 03_ PRIMARY FORMS_011:20:18

    Import a reference image, set up a primary forms layer, and sculpt a realistic female face using spotlights, multiple subdivisions, to align features with anatomical references.

  • 04_ PRIMARY FORMS_01:48:47

    Block and refine a realistic 3d female face across subdivision levels, using standard and clay buildup brushes, and symmetry with reference images to shape eyes, nose, lips, and jawline.

  • 05_SECONDARY FORMS10:14

    Develop depth and realism in a 3d female face by sculpting brow, cheek, and nose geometry using symmetry, standard brush, and clay tools, guided by reference lighting and iterative smoothing.

  • 06_SECONDARY FORMS (EARS)34:47

    Refine the secondary forms of a realistic 3d female face, focusing on the ears and eyes with symmetry, using subdivision and standard, move topological brush, and clay brush.

  • 07_BREAKING SYMMETRY42:16

    Break symmetry in a realistic 3d female face by adding asymmetrical details, wrinkles, and refined features through layered sculpting, brushwork, and subdivision workflows.

  • 08_SKIN PORES1:17:30

    Create realistic skin pores on a female face by layering base skin, applying tileable alpha maps and noise, baking the results into the mesh, and layering texturing xyz maps.

  • 09 LIPS DETAILING41:57

    Develop realistic lip detailing on a realistic 3d female face by sculpting on a dedicated lips layer, using lip alpha maps, adjusting subdivision levels, and refining volume and symmetry.

  • 10 CLOTH CREATION _0132:01

    Model a jean jacket and t shirt for a character in Marvelous Designer, starting from a base t shirt, merging seams, and simulating to refine fit and sleeves.

  • 11 JACKET CREATION _0131:20

    Design the jacket for a realistic 3D female face model by outlining the first steps of jacket creation.

  • 12 JACKET CREATION _0218:23

    Learn to add pockets to a jacket by outlining and extracting a pattern, cloning as pattern, applying symmetry, and refining with simulations, uniform splits, and precise internal lines.

  • 13 RETOPOLOGY IN MARVELOUS DESIGNER18:39

    learn retopology inside Marvelous Designer, optimize garment simulations with particle distance, and create and edit topology with symmetry for consistent, exportable high and low poly models for Maya and ZBrush.

  • 14 FIXING RETOPOLOGY IN MAYA23:39

    Convert high-poly geometry to quads in Maya, export with weighted points, create corresponding points on UV shells, and merge vertices to craft clean retopology for a realistic 3d female face.

  • 15 TRANSFER HIGH POLY DETAILS IN MAYA5:45

    Transfer high-poly face details to a low-poly Maya model using mesh transfer attributes, including UV transfer, layout settings, and vertex position adjustments to preserve detail.

  • 16 JACKET DETAIL TRANSFER AND FIXING UNWANTED ISSUES1:00:34

    Learn to transfer UVs from high poly to low poly jackets, fix UV seams and topology issues, troubleshoot transfer failures, and add thickness before exporting to ZBrush for sculpted details.

  • 17 IMPORTING TO ZBRUSH AND DETAILING1:04:17

    Export jackets and shirts as OBJ, import into ZBrush, arrange garments, and sculpt details using transpose, symmetry, polygroups, and seam-line creation to achieve realistic folds.

  • 18 JACKET DETAILING54:44

    Master jacket detailing for a realistic 3d female by sculpting seams, pockets, and collar across subdivision levels using standard and elastic band brushes with symmetry.

  • 19 EYEBALL AND MINISCUS37:53

    Align the eyes and refine the meniscus on a realistic 3d female face, then optimize topology and prepare for baking displacement, normal, and painted maps.

  • 20 ADDING BUTTONS54:48

    Apply an alpha map to create jacket buttonholes, model six buttons in Maya with extrusion and bevels, then export low-subdivision geometry and unwrap UVs.

  • 21 EXPORT AND INNER EYES29:26

    Export the model at targeted subdivision levels, bake materials, and refine the inner eyes by adjusting iris and eyelids before texturing in Substance Painter and checking in Maya.

  • 22 BAKING MAPS21:24

    Explore baking normal and displacement maps from ZBrush at 4K, export and verify PNG textures in Photoshop, and prep head, jacket, and shared model for Substance Painter.

  • 23 MODEL PREPPING FOR TEXTURING5:51

    Prep a model for export to Substance Painter by assigning unique materials to eyes, buttons, jacket, and head. Export as FBX and import into Substance Painter to bake normal maps.

  • 24 BAKING MAPS IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER10:10

    Bake textures in Substance Painter by enabling UVs, exporting dual FBX, and adjusting the camera to 85mm to create curvature, normal, and roughness details.

  • 25 TEXTURING REALISTIC T-SHIRT IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER29:20

    Texture a realistic t-shirt in Substance Painter by applying 4K fabric base, adjusting UV alignment, layering patterns and dirt details, tuning normal and height maps, and refining color and lighting.

  • 26 TEXTURING REALISTIC JEAN JACKET IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER1:16:27

    Texture a realistic jean jacket in Substance Painter by layering fabric textures, normal and displacement maps, anchor points, smart masks, ambient occlusion, and color tweaks to enhance detail and depth.

  • 27 TEXTURING REALISTIC SKIN (UNDER TONE)39:13

    Texture the head skin by starting with a darker base, layering lighter tones, and building three tone groups—undertone, mid tone, and blend tone—using albedo maps and procedural veins for realism.

  • 28 TEXTURING REALISTIC SKIN (MID TONE)19:07

    Master midtones by tiling cloud textures and adjusting roughness to reveal realistic skin; then hand paint using curvature and thickness maps to define undertones and lips.

  • 29 TEXTURING REALISTIC SKIN (TOP TONE)1:03:32

    Texture realistic skin on a 3d female face by applying the top tone, selecting colors from a reference image, and refining undertones, freckles, and symmetry with layered brush work.

  • 30 TEXTURING REALISTIC SKIN FINISHING TOUCHES45:20

    Balance skin tone by adjusting midtones and undertones to reduce redness, then texture the lips and refine the skin with blending and color painting for a realistic 3d female face.

  • 31 ROUGHNESS MAP23:29

    Learn to build a proper roughness map for a realistic 3d female face by layering base roughness, a curvature map, and a t-zone pass.

  • 32 TEXTURING REALISTIC SKIN (VARIATION 2)55:16

    Create two realistic skin tone variations for a 3d female face by texturing albedo and roughness maps, adjusting brightness, and applying undertones and vascular details from a reference image.

  • 33 SKIN BUMP IMPERFECTIONS9:28

    Apply layered textures to a realistic 3d female face, creating skin bump imperfections like pimples and indentations with grunge shapes, cloud textures, and triplanar tiling for realism.

  • 34 TEXTURING JEAN BUTTON20:37

    Texture the pocket buttons on the realistic female face by updating UVs, unwrapping layouts, and baking maps in Substance Painter. Export the FBX and apply metal textures with alpha stamps.

  • 35 FIXING ISSUES IN THE EYE TEXTURES24:08

    Fix eye texture issues by correcting UVs, separating and aligning inner and outer eyes, bake textures with normal map, ambient occlusion map, curvature map, height map, and export the FBX.

  • 36 EYE TEXTURING20:43

    Texture eyes by duplicating eye textures, painting veins and redness, adding color and height variation, then apply a glass material to the outer eyes and refine with curvature maps.

  • 37 ADDING STITCHES22:50

    Learn to create realistic stitches on a jacket in Substance Painter using a stitches brush, with precise size, spacing, color, and layered setup. Tweak angle with lazy mouse.

  • 38 EXPORTING TEXTURES IN SUBSTANCE PAINTER11:49

    refine a realistic 3d female face by adjusting stitches, eye placement, and jawline, aging textures, then export 4k textures in substance painter using open gl normal maps.

  • 39 SCULPT CORRECTIONS36:12

    Master 39 sculpt corrections to enhance realism in a 3d female face, refining anatomy, symmetry, and expression for lifelike digital portrait modeling.

  • 40 HAIR BASE GUIDE 0113:24

    Create a base hair mesh in Maya to guide realistic hair on a female character, importing and exporting it, and refine with symmetry, Dynamesh, and reference images.

  • 41 HAIR BASE GUIDE 0222:46

    Develop a realistic hair base guide for a female face by sculpting the guide mesh from reference images, adjusting flow, mass, and ponytail details, and exporting the updated head model.

  • 42 PREPPING FOR XGEN31:39

    Prepare a clean Maya scene for XGen by importing the ZBrush head, creating a separate scalp mesh for eyebrows and lashes, and organizing materials and project folders.

  • 43 PLACING GUIDES AND FIXING SYMMETRY44:39

    Learn to place guides and fix symmetry for eyebrows and eyelashes on a head mesh, manage UVs and shading with Lambert, and prepare hair guides in Maya.

  • 44 PAINTING DENSITY MASKS UN XGEN39:06

    Paint density masks to define eyebrow hair growth with symmetry, save and assign textures to UVs, and refine density maps, guiding future modifiers for clumping and noise.

  • 45 ADDING MODIFIERS IN XGEN15:01

    Apply modifiers in XGen by starting with a clump modifier, generate and adjust density maps, then add noise and additional clump modifiers, and save progress.

  • 46 PLACING GUIDES AND PAINTING DENSITY MASKS23:16

    Learn how to create and place eyelash guides, sculpt top and bottom lashes, mirror to the opposite eye, paint density maps, and apply textures to achieve realistic eyelash geometry.

  • 47 MODIFIERS FOR EYE LASHES IN XGEN9:26

    Learn to apply 47 modifiers for eye lashes in xgen by generating clones from guides, adjusting density with clumping, and refining with noise and other edits.

  • 48 CREATING HAIR GUIDES CURVES FROM BASE HEAD MESH32:01

    generate hair guides from a base head mesh by applying uvs, using paint effects to draw on the surface, converting to curves, and aligning guides to the scalp for growth.

  • 49 CURVES TO GUIDES AND PAINTING DENSITY MASKS37:05

    Learn to convert curves to guides and paint density masks on a realistic 3d female face, refining guides with subdivision and brush controls for accurate hair shaping.

  • 50 MODIFYING GUIDES AND DENSITY MASKS38:49

    Refine realism by modifying guides and density masks to shape hair around a 3d female face, using sculpt tools, clump modifiers, and wireframe checks for smooth edges and accurate volume.

  • 51 CLUMP AND COIL MODIFIERS15:53

    Explore realistic hair clumping modifiers for a 3d female face, adjust density, maps, and color shaders, and troubleshoot auto updates to ensure hairs follow guides.

  • 52 COIL, CLUMP, NOISE, CUT AND STRAY HAIRS24:56

    Experiment with coil, clump, noise, and stray hairs on a realistic 3d female face, tweaking offset, magnitude, and distribution while previewing under directional lighting.

  • 53 BABY AND TEDDY HAIRS GUIDES32:03

    learn how to create realistic baby hairs on a 3d face by adjusting hair clump parameters, building and mirroring guides, and sculpting the mesh with reference images.

  • 54 BABY AND TEDDY HAIRS DENSITY MAP15:59

    Paint and refine a density map for baby and teddy hairs on a realistic 3d female face using xGen, adjusting colors, symmetry, and saving textures.

  • 55 BABY AND TEDDY HAIRS MODIFIERS34:12

    Explore baby and teddy hair modifiers for a realistic 3d female face, using clump modifiers, density maps, and brush tools with symmetry to shape roots and blends, then save textures.

  • 56 SETTING UP SHADERS AND LIGHTNING28:21

    Set up look development for a realistic 3D female face by shading and lighting with Arnold standard surfaces, a dome light, and environment textures; tune render settings for a preview.

  • 57 SETTING UP NORMAL AND DISPLACEMENT MAPS34:46

    Develop realistic 3D female face by setting up normal and displacement maps, painting density maps for hair, and integrating them in Maya Hypershade shader network with raw color space.

  • 58 SETTING UP ALBEDO AND ROUGHNESS MAPS31:50

    Set up albedo and roughness maps for a realistic 3d head in Maya. Export the roughness map without oil surface and wire it into the shader for specular roughness.

  • 59 SETTING UP EYE SHADER25:04

    Set up the eye shader by applying color texture mapping to the eye base color, then enable subsurface scattering and plug in a normal map and displacement map for realism. Preview with adjusted render settings, refine the outer eye with a glass shader, and tweak iris, eyelashes, and transmission to achieve a convincing close-up.

  • 60 SETTING UP SHADER FOR GARMENTS37:55

    Set up shaders for garments by wiring base color, roughness, normal, and displacement maps in Substance Painter and Hypershade, then refine jacket and shirt textures for realistic render previews.

  • 61 EYEBROW AND EYE LASHES SHADER19:53

    Explore creating a realistic eyebrow and eyelashes shader by adjusting materials, melanin, and density, while refining lighting and render settings to achieve lifelike facial details.

  • 62 MAIN HAIR SHADER15:23

    Create a realistic main hair shader for a 3d female head using Arnold standard. Transfer textures to the baby head and render with variations from blonde to red and brunette.

Requirements

  • ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
  • AUTODESK MAYA
  • MAXON ZBRUSH
  • XGEN FOR MAYA
  • ADOBE SUBSTANCE PAINTER
  • MARMOSET TOOLBAG

Description


PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

In this realistic female face, you’ll learn how to turn a base mesh into a realistic face in maya! Learn the full workflow from the first brush stroke in zbrush to the final realistic render in maya. By the end of this course, you’ll be able create your own characters vfx/game character from reference to finished 3d model, using simple and powerful techniques.


We'll be focusing on the face and clothing of the character but particularly the face since it's commonly the most complicated and important part. It'll allow us to talk about topics such as facial anatomy, micro detailing, garment retopology, and how to solve common texturing challenges you'll encounter in your work.


Covering the Full Process

We’re starting talking about how to align reference in photoshop


Facial Anatomy

Then prepping our model in maya and importing it zbrush, covering all specific steps and settings. From there we’ll give the character skin details using tileable maps in combination texturingxyz maps, you’ll learn powerful techniques using Smart Masks to significantly speed up texturing. Once our skin details are done, we’re starting on the color map using fill layers, creating the color map one layer at a time. You’ll also understand how to create simple and powerful roughness maps to make your characters pop.


Skin Shading Made Simple

Having done the first pass on all the base maps, we’re bringing the textures into Arnold, where we’ll set up the skin shader. Skin shading can be an incredibly complicated process, so we’ll be sure to make it simple and easy to understand. With a first pass of the skin shading done, this is the step where the character is coming together. We’re also using the FlippedNormals Eye kit, to make the character feel truly alive.


Professional and Tested Texturing Workflow

You'll learn a professsional way of sculpting likeness,exporting maps in zbrush, texturing in substance painter, working with xgen in creating hair and look develop for skin and hair in arnold, covering both texturing in Painter as well as skin shading in Arnold. This is a fast and industry-proven way of working, giving you a solid framework for all your future characters.


Skill Level

Character Face creation is perfect for 3D artists with an intermediate understanding of zbrush, Maya, and Substance. And who are interested in taking their character design to the next level! We recommend that you know how to use both Substance Painter, Maya and zbrush, as we're focusing on texturing and shading workflows, instead of going through features A-Z.



What You'll Learn

Alighing reference in Photoshop for sculpting

Learning some anatomy structure of the head

Exporting models from ZBrush and importing them into Substance Painter

Setting up Smart Masks for an efficient workflow

Using baked masks in Substance Painter

Building a color map step by step

Making a roughness map

Exporting maps from Substance Painter

Exporting displacement maps from ZBrush

Creating eyebrows, eyelashes and long hairs with Xgen for Maya

Skin shading in Arnold

How to use a tested and simple texturing workflow

Working with marvelous Designer

Create jacket and t-shirt

Retopology in Marvelous Designer

Importing to zbrush and sculpting details

Texturing the jacket in substance painter

Look dev in Arnold


62 Video Tutorials

scene files (Maya)

34 hours ( video  content)



SOFTWARE USED

Adobe Photoshop

Maxon zbrush

Substance Painter

Marvelous Designer

Maya 2019

Who this course is for:

  • INTERMEDIATE
  • ADVANCED