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Course

Stylized Character Workflow

insert_drive_file Course Overview
Intro keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Introduction

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Introduction Update

    lock_open
1 - Preparation & Head Sculpting keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Defining Goals

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Research

  3. 03

    Blender Setup

  4. 04

    Sculpting a Primitive Head Shape

  5. 05

    Sculpting a complete Planar Head

  6. 06

    Smoothing the Planar Head

  7. 07

    Stylising the Head Sculpt

  8. 08

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rain's Head

    lock_open
  9. 09

    Timelapse: Vertex Painting

  10. 10

    Timelapse: Sculpting Hair

  11. 11

    Timelapse: Head Design Variations

  12. 12

    Timelapse: Finishing Rain's Head Design

2 - Full Body & Outfit Sculpting keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Creating a Primitive Body

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Sculpting the Planar Torso

  3. 03

    Sculpting the Planar Arms & Legs

  4. 04

    Sculpting the Planar Hands & Feet

  5. 05

    Smoothing & Stylising the Body

  6. 06

    Creating Clothing Basemeshes

  7. 07

    Update: Optimal Clothing Basemesh

  8. 08

    Modelling additional Basemeshes

  9. 09

    Stretching vs Compression

  10. 10

    Sculpting Wrinkles & Folds

  11. 11

    Polishing the Surfaces

  12. 12

    Finishing the additional Elements

  13. 13

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rains Body

  14. 14

    Timelapse: Rains Autumn Outfit

  15. 15

    Timelapse: Adjusting Proportions and the Outfit

  16. 16

    Timelapse: Rains Summer Outfit

    lock_open
  17. 17

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rains final Outfit

3 - Expression Testing keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Fast & rough Retopology for the Head

  2. 02

    Modelling the inner Head & transferring Details

  3. 03

    Adding the teeth, gums & tongue

  4. 04

    Basic Expression Shapekeys

    lock_open
  5. 05

    Sculpting an Expression

  6. 06

    Breakdown: Expression Guide Part 1

    lock_open
  7. 07

    Breakdown: Expression Guide Part 2

  8. 08

    Breakdown: Design Adjustments

  9. 09

    Breakdown: Adding extra Appeal

4 - Clean Retopology keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Retopology Introduction

  2. 02

    Creating & Guiding Topology

  3. 03

    Planning the Facial Retopology

    lock_open
  4. 04

    Retopology Setup

  5. 05

    Facial Retopology - Edge Flow & Articulation

  6. 06

    Update: Strategic 2-Poles

  7. 07

    Facial Retopology - Patches & Poles

  8. 08

    Facial Retopology - Creases & Tweaking

  9. 09

    Timelapse: Head Retopology

  10. 10

    Timelapse: Body Retopology

    lock_open
  11. 11

    Timelapse: Inner Body & Transfering Volume

  12. 12

    Timelapse: Head Objects & Tweaking

  13. 13

    Timelapse: Hair Retopology

  14. 14

    Timelapse: Shirt & Pants Retopology Pt.1

  15. 15

    Timelapse: Shirt & Pants Retopology Pt.2

  16. 16

    Timelapse: Shoe modeling & additional Tweaking

  17. 17

    Timelapse: Scarf Retopology & Finishing Touches

Bonus Videos keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Youtube Version: Stylized Character Workflow in Blender 2.81

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Sculpting Fundamentals

    lock_open
  3. 04

    Preventing/Fixing Boolean Errors

Assets keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Final Render

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround (Clay)

    lock_open
  4. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround (Wire)

    lock_open
  5. 05

    Rain - Turntables

    lock_open
Course Resources keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Matcap: Gradient

    lock_open
Course Lesson .blend files keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    File 1: Head Sculpting Lessons

  2. insert_drive_file

    File 2: Body Sculpting Lessons

  3. insert_drive_file

    File 3: Topology Examples

  4. insert_drive_file

    File 4: Facial Topology & Planning

Cheat Sheets keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Killing/Directing Loops

  2. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Poles & Edge Flow

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Stretching & Pinching

  4. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Hiding Stretching

  5. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Strategic 2-Poles

  6. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Hard-Modeling Creases

  7. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Edge Flow

  8. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Landmarks

  9. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Articulation

    lock_open
  10. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Patches & Poles

  11. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Creases

  12. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Deformations

  13. insert_drive_file

    Retopology Setup

    lock_open
  14. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Seperate Limbs

  15. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Joint Loops

  16. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Finishing Touches

Addons keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Screencast Keys

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    Magic UV

    lock_open
Rain - Character Development keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    1 - Head Exploration

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    1 - Head Polish

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    2 - Body Iterations

    lock_open
  4. insert_drive_file

    2 - Outfit Variations

    lock_open
  5. 05

    3 - Expression Tests

    lock_open
  6. insert_drive_file

    4 - Retopology

    lock_open
  7. insert_drive_file

    4 - UV unwrapping

    lock_open
  8. 08

    5 - Turntable Renders

    lock_open
  9. insert_drive_file

    6 - Pose Exploration

    lock_open
  10. 10

    6 - Pose Polishing

    lock_open
Rain .blend files keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 1: Head Sculpting

  2. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 2: Body & Outfit Sculpting

  3. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 3: Expression Tests

  4. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 4: Retopology & UV mapping

  5. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 5: Shading & Texturing

  6. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 6: Posing

  7. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 7: Lighting & Composition

Course

Stylized Character Workflow

insert_drive_file Course Overview
Intro keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Introduction

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Introduction Update

    lock_open
1 - Preparation & Head Sculpting keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Defining Goals

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Research

  3. 03

    Blender Setup

  4. 04

    Sculpting a Primitive Head Shape

  5. 05

    Sculpting a complete Planar Head

  6. 06

    Smoothing the Planar Head

  7. 07

    Stylising the Head Sculpt

  8. 08

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rain's Head

    lock_open
  9. 09

    Timelapse: Vertex Painting

  10. 10

    Timelapse: Sculpting Hair

  11. 11

    Timelapse: Head Design Variations

  12. 12

    Timelapse: Finishing Rain's Head Design

2 - Full Body & Outfit Sculpting keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Creating a Primitive Body

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Sculpting the Planar Torso

  3. 03

    Sculpting the Planar Arms & Legs

  4. 04

    Sculpting the Planar Hands & Feet

  5. 05

    Smoothing & Stylising the Body

  6. 06

    Creating Clothing Basemeshes

  7. 07

    Update: Optimal Clothing Basemesh

  8. 08

    Modelling additional Basemeshes

  9. 09

    Stretching vs Compression

  10. 10

    Sculpting Wrinkles & Folds

  11. 11

    Polishing the Surfaces

  12. 12

    Finishing the additional Elements

  13. 13

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rains Body

  14. 14

    Timelapse: Rains Autumn Outfit

  15. 15

    Timelapse: Adjusting Proportions and the Outfit

  16. 16

    Timelapse: Rains Summer Outfit

    lock_open
  17. 17

    Timelapse: Sculpting Rains final Outfit

3 - Expression Testing keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Fast & rough Retopology for the Head

  2. 02

    Modelling the inner Head & transferring Details

  3. 03

    Adding the teeth, gums & tongue

  4. 04

    Basic Expression Shapekeys

    lock_open
  5. 05

    Sculpting an Expression

  6. 06

    Breakdown: Expression Guide Part 1

    lock_open
  7. 07

    Breakdown: Expression Guide Part 2

  8. 08

    Breakdown: Design Adjustments

  9. 09

    Breakdown: Adding extra Appeal

4 - Clean Retopology keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Retopology Introduction

  2. 02

    Creating & Guiding Topology

  3. 03

    Planning the Facial Retopology

    lock_open
  4. 04

    Retopology Setup

  5. 05

    Facial Retopology - Edge Flow & Articulation

  6. 06

    Update: Strategic 2-Poles

  7. 07

    Facial Retopology - Patches & Poles

  8. 08

    Facial Retopology - Creases & Tweaking

  9. 09

    Timelapse: Head Retopology

  10. 10

    Timelapse: Body Retopology

    lock_open
  11. 11

    Timelapse: Inner Body & Transfering Volume

  12. 12

    Timelapse: Head Objects & Tweaking

  13. 13

    Timelapse: Hair Retopology

  14. 14

    Timelapse: Shirt & Pants Retopology Pt.1

  15. 15

    Timelapse: Shirt & Pants Retopology Pt.2

  16. 16

    Timelapse: Shoe modeling & additional Tweaking

  17. 17

    Timelapse: Scarf Retopology & Finishing Touches

Bonus Videos keyboard_arrow_down
  1. 01

    Youtube Version: Stylized Character Workflow in Blender 2.81

    lock_open
  2. 02

    Sculpting Fundamentals

    lock_open
  3. 04

    Preventing/Fixing Boolean Errors

Assets keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Final Render

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround (Clay)

    lock_open
  4. insert_drive_file

    Rain - Turnaround (Wire)

    lock_open
  5. 05

    Rain - Turntables

    lock_open
Course Resources keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Matcap: Gradient

    lock_open
Course Lesson .blend files keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    File 1: Head Sculpting Lessons

  2. insert_drive_file

    File 2: Body Sculpting Lessons

  3. insert_drive_file

    File 3: Topology Examples

  4. insert_drive_file

    File 4: Facial Topology & Planning

Cheat Sheets keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Killing/Directing Loops

  2. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Poles & Edge Flow

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Stretching & Pinching

  4. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Hiding Stretching

  5. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Strategic 2-Poles

  6. insert_drive_file

    Topology Guides - Hard-Modeling Creases

  7. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Edge Flow

  8. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Landmarks

  9. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Articulation

    lock_open
  10. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Patches & Poles

  11. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Creases

  12. insert_drive_file

    Facial Topology - Deformations

  13. insert_drive_file

    Retopology Setup

    lock_open
  14. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Seperate Limbs

  15. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Joint Loops

  16. insert_drive_file

    Body Topology - Finishing Touches

Addons keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Screencast Keys

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    Magic UV

    lock_open
Rain - Character Development keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    1 - Head Exploration

    lock_open
  2. insert_drive_file

    1 - Head Polish

    lock_open
  3. insert_drive_file

    2 - Body Iterations

    lock_open
  4. insert_drive_file

    2 - Outfit Variations

    lock_open
  5. 05

    3 - Expression Tests

    lock_open
  6. insert_drive_file

    4 - Retopology

    lock_open
  7. insert_drive_file

    4 - UV unwrapping

    lock_open
  8. 08

    5 - Turntable Renders

    lock_open
  9. insert_drive_file

    6 - Pose Exploration

    lock_open
  10. 10

    6 - Pose Polishing

    lock_open
Rain .blend files keyboard_arrow_down
  1. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 1: Head Sculpting

  2. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 2: Body & Outfit Sculpting

  3. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 3: Expression Tests

  4. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 4: Retopology & UV mapping

  5. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 5: Shading & Texturing

  6. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 6: Posing

  7. insert_drive_file

    Rain - File 7: Lighting & Composition

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1 - Preparation & Head Sculpting

Research

15th August 2019

info License: CC-BY
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Author

Julien Kaspar

In this video we'll follow up on the previous lesson by looking up different types of references & inspirations, as well as giving the reasons why. Afterwards we'll create a collage of references to always be available on the side while you create the character.

Links mentioned in the video:
  • 02:00 - Anatomy for Sculptors: Anatomy book for human anatomy, demonstrated for 3D recreation
  • 02:00 - Anatomy of Facial Expressions: Anatomy book on facial structure & muscle movement to create believable expressions
  • 04:00 - PureRef: Software to arrange, adjust and display a collage of images
Other helpful links:
  • Polycount Wiki: A vast collection of helpful technical articles and more. Mainly targeted towards game assets but still helpful for movie character creation as well.
  • Articulation Theory: Great reference on topology for moving joints and facial articulation.

17 Comments

Join to comment publicly.

David OB

1st October 2019 - 04:24

Great video Julien I knew you were creative but this is mesmerizing.

Mark Stephen Gasoey

2nd February 2020 - 18:34

Summary of what kind of reference you should use. made this for myself as I think it's helpful in just any future project :)

Style Reference: (3D Animation School Characters, Movie Characters, Sculpts from movies)

Design Reference: (Actor Photos, Concept Art, Hairstyle, Clothing, etc.)

Technical Reference: (Polycount, Topology, Material Set-up)

Real Life Reference: (Expression Sheet, Fabric Behavior Anatomy Books, Take Real life photos of yourself)

David Kintu

27th March 2020 - 09:15

*@Mark Stephen Gasoey* what is a polycount reference?

Julien Kaspar

27th March 2020 - 10:19

*@David Kintu* It's how dense your topology needs to be. It refers to the total number of polygons (faces).
Here's an interesting example of 2 extreme opposites. We'll try to hit something in between for the course ;) alt text

Abdul Fahim

18th April 2020 - 11:54

I am an animator by day and I always wanna learn sculpting as its so intuitive whenever I try to take ref from online or photos to learn and match but in the end its sucks. My real concern is when I take ref from online its always not the same parts of the same person in a different angle example am trying to learn how to do nose and I search online there are a lot of noses and from a lot of people how my suppose to learn with those different shapes??

Julien Kaspar

20th April 2020 - 11:10

*@Abdul Fahim* Even though there are various shapes to almost every human feature, there are always common elements between them. I can really recommend some anatomy books like these: https://anatomy4sculptors.com/collections/books?gclid=CjwKCAjwkPX0BRBKEiwA7THxiPOdnQAiI8zOPc3aaVgfSlrS4mIBXcCTAt7mqCi0GDxXQ-rbtjRgyRoCe64QAvD_BwE

They show a lot of simplified geometric shapes for how the body is commonly build.

Abdul Fahim

22nd April 2020 - 08:13

*@Julien Kaspar* thanks

keraatona

9th August 2020 - 17:18

i was able download pureref for free but then they said that they would be happy if donated so i gave them the last 1.5$ i got in my credit card and they started to thank me guys i feel so proud of my self

Julien Kaspar

10th August 2020 - 11:16

*@keraatona* Well done man! Always great to support the developers :D

keraatona

10th August 2020 - 11:59

*@Julien Kaspar* btw thanks for your great tutorial

and may i ask 2 things first i know that you said these characters will not work with vidio games is that because they are not riged? for me that is no proplom because i know how to rig characters but if that is not the reason then may i know what is it? seacond is there any advise for creating an anime styled character? agein thanks a lot for this tutorial it is great

Julien Kaspar

10th August 2020 - 16:55

*@keraatona* The character can work for video games but they are not going to be optimised for them. There are differences in the workflow, mainly in retopology & texturing. More about that in the retopology introduction.

I already saw some other people making anime characters and I can recommend not to make them too undefined. Anime characters are often pretty anatomically accurate except for the exaggerated eyes, nose & mouth, so don't let the flat coloring fool you :)

keraatona

10th August 2020 - 20:14

*@Julien Kaspar* thanks for anwsring me :)

Yermek Zakariyah

1st April 2020 - 22:12

PureRef is not free anymore

Julien Kaspar

2nd April 2020 - 00:55

*@Yermek Zakariyah* It is. You just have to set the price to 0.

Afolabi Samuel

11th April 2020 - 10:35

please i am having a problem downloading the pureref

Julien Kaspar

11th April 2020 - 12:11

*@Afolabi Samuel* I can't help if I don't know what the problem is ;)

shirtsdesignpro

11th April 2021 - 16:44

HI, is there a way to watch your course in one shot (not just in 5 minutes part or so, like a playlist with automatic play maybe? Great stuff anyway!Ty!

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