Stylized Character Arts for Games

An 8-week course on creating 3D characters with hand-painted textures

OVERVIEW

INSTRUCTORS

VIDEO

PRICING

GALLERY

BENEFITS

COURSE OVERVIEW

Create Hand-Painted Characters

In this course students will learn how to model and texture a stylized, hand-painted model from Weston Reid, a Lead Character artist at Blizzard Entertainment. Over 8 weeks students will learn the principles and workflows to model and texture a bust using Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Photoshop, and Marmoset Toolbag. Topics covered include dynamic subdivision, Zmodeler, Substance Painter greyscale generation, 3DCoat and photoshop painting, and rendering/ presentation in Toolbag. Students will learn about shape and silhouette, value range, and color theory among other principles. The course will also cover how to use a combination of zmodeler/dynamic subdivision with dynamesh/z-remesh workflows to make a clean stylized model. Students will learn how to interpret stylized concepts into 3D and how to problem-solve/improve areas in 3D; how to utilize bake maps to expedite the texturing process; and how to hand paint texture and the concepts of value, gradients, color theory, and light. Finished work will be a stylized bust from concept in both Zbrush and as a low-poly game art model using a flat unlit texture.

Course Format:

Standard

Duration:

8 weeks

Materials:

Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Marmoset Toolbag and a 3d modeling package of choice ( maya, max, modo, etc etc )

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Deadlines each week

Skills Level:

Intermediate

Feedback:

Individual recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Strong foundation in digital painting, moderate knowledge of Zbrush/Photoshop and Maya/Modo/3DMax/blender, basic knowledge of Substance Painter/ 3D Coat and Toolbag.

Course Format:

Standard

Duration:

8 weeks

Materials:

Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Marmoset Toolbag and a 3d modeling package of choice ( maya, max, modo, etc etc )

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Deadlines each week

Skills Level:

Intermediate

Feedback:

Individual recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Strong foundation in digital painting, moderate knowledge of Zbrush/Photoshop and Maya/Modo/3DMax/blender, basic knowledge of Substance Painter/ 3D Coat and Toolbag.

Course Format:

Standard

Duration:

8 weeks

Materials:

Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Marmoset Toolbag and a 3d modeling package of choice ( maya, max, modo, etc etc )

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Deadlines each week

Skills Level:

Intermediate

Feedback:

Individual recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Strong foundation in digital painting, moderate knowledge of Zbrush/Photoshop and Maya/Modo/3DMax/blender, basic knowledge of Substance Painter/ 3D Coat and Toolbag.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Course Trailer

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

EXPAND ALL COLLAPSE ALL

The more you know, the better.

Week 1 | Introduction / ZBrush Blockout

Discuss workflow overview using Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Photoshop | Review production requirements (naming conventions, file size, format, etc.) | Principles of good stylized modeling ( silhouette, exaggeration ) | Zmodeler basics | Blockout Modeling using Zmodeler, Dynamic Subdivison, Crease Edge, Dynamesh

Week 2 | ZBrush Secondary Pass / Polish

Cleanup shapes from blockout pass | Secondary Shapes using Zmodeler and Dynamic Subd; Crease Edge for clean shapes | Secondary Shapes using Dynamesh/Zremesh | Detail work and exporting to toolbag

Week 3 | Low-poly Retopologizing and UV Creation / Baking

Retopologize the high-poly model | Principles of good topology | UV generation of the low-poly model | Texture baking the low-poly model

Week 4 | Hand Painting Basics and Theory

Art theory involved in hand painting textures | Overview of prop models and the material types they represent | Material type descriptions and properties | Evaluate our concept and identify material types for study | Material study demo of 4 common material types (skin, hair, worn metal, clean metal)

Week 5 | Grayscale Texture Pass 1

Overview of Substance Painter grayscale stack generation using bakes, generators, filters, and masking | Texturing workflow and philosophy | Light/shadow and value ranges | Material types and reflection | Export greyscale base texture (in preparation for 3DCoat next week)

Week 6 | Grayscale Texture Pass 2

Continued refinement of grayscale in 3DCoat and Photoshop | Texture export and reimport to Substance Painter | Levels adjustment and correction | Applying color gradients to grayscale in Painter | Exporting color diffuse back to 3DCoat

Week 7 | Color Texture Pass

Color pass texturing in Substance Painter, 3DCoat, Photoshop | Shape and value cleanup | Special material types texturing

Week 8 | Final Polish and Posing for Render

Model and texture polish | Render scene setup | Render images, turntable, and viewer export | Optional rig and animation

Stylized Character Arts for Games

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Instructor

Bringing out the best in talent

Weston Reid

/Moonshot Games

LECTURES BY Weston Reid

Weston Reid is currently the Lead Character Artist for Moonshot Games. He has over 14 years of professional experience in videogame development. In those years he's worked on many types of games, with various art styles to match. That range of experience has helped mold him into the artist and game developer he is today.

As a lead character artist over the last 6 years, he's learned and experienced much about what studios look for in character art. Now he wants to share some of that with you. His passion for stylized art focuses on core art principles like shape language, silhouette, value range, and color theory. His students will leverage workflows inside of Zbrush, Substance Painter, 3DCoat and more to maximize quality and efficiency. When not making art, he loves to hike, take road trips with the top down, barbeque some grub, and play videogames

INSTRUCTOR'S GALLERY: