Character Creation for Games and VFX (evening - online)

• Overview of course objectives and structure.
• Introduction to photo-bashing techniques for creating concept art in Photoshop.
• Understanding design principles for character creation.
• Practising ideation and sketching for unique character designs.

• Introduction to the ZBrush interface and tools.
• Basic navigation and sculpting workflows.
• Exploring brushes and their applications.
• Creating simple shapes to understand ZBrush’s 3D environment.

• Fundamentals of anatomy for character creation.
• Exploring proportions, form, and structure.
• Developing a process for sculpting organic shapes.
• Practising basic techniques to achieve clean and cohesive designs.

• Creating a base mesh for the character.
• Understanding silhouette and major shapes.
• Refining primary and secondary forms.
• Working with symmetry and asymmetry.

• Introduction to detailing techniques and tools.
• Adding skin pores, wrinkles, and other fine details.
• Using alphas and custom brushes for surface texture.
• Maintaining balance between detail and form.

• Analysing drapery and fabric behaviour.
• Sculpting realistic cloth folds and wrinkles.
• Using layers for iterative refinement.

• Introduction to hard surface sculpting tools.
• Techniques for creating clean, sharp edges.
• Sculpting armor, props, and mechanical details.
• Using Booleans, Dynamesh and ZModeler for hard surface workflows.

• Introduction to the Maya interface and tools.
• Overview of polygonal modelling principles.
• Box-modelling simple assets and understanding topology.
• Basic transformation and manipulation of geometry.

• Exporting and importing models between Maya and ZBrush.
• Preparing sculpts for retopology.
• Understanding the importance of clean edge flow.
• Creating a low-poly base for detailed sculpts.

• Advanced retopology techniques.
• Optimising edge flow for animation and deformation.
• Resolving complex topology issues.
• Using Maya’s Quad Draw tool for precise retopology.

• Introduction to UV mapping and its importance.
• Creating efficient and clean UV layouts.
• Projecting high-resolution details onto low-resolution meshes in ZBrush.
• Preparing models for texturing workflows.

• Overview of Substance Painter’s interface and features.
• Setting up a project for texturing.
• Importing assets and baking maps (normal, AO, curvature, etc.).
• Fixing common baking issues.

• Using smart materials and masks.
• Hand-painting textures and adding detail.
• Layer management and blending techniques.
• Exporting textures for use in rendering.

• Arnold Shader Creation and texture inputs.
• Basics of lighting for 3D scenes.
• Setting up 3-point lighting - key, fill, and rim lights.
• Introduction to Arnold for rendering.
• Adjusting render settings for optimal results.

• Overview of creating and rendering hair and fur.
• Setting up XGen or similar tools for hair systems.
• Optimising Arnold settings for realistic hair rendering.
• Balancing performance and quality in renders.

• Understanding character posing and storytelling.
• Using ZBrush’s Transpose tool or Maya for posing.
• Refining final renders for a professional presentation.
• Preparing a portfolio-ready showcase of the character.

During these weeks, you will focus on your final projects, applying the skills and techniques learned throughout the course. This is an opportunity to create a fully realised character, complete with detailed sculpting, texturing, and rendering. Tutors will be available for support, providing guidance on creative decisions, technical challenges, and workflow optimisation. These sessions are designed to help you refine your work and prepare a polished portfolio piece for presentation. This time might also be utilised, on request, to cover content beyond the scope of this course that might be of interest to you.