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An Online Masterclass in Creating Appealing 3D Characters
Want to learn how to capture the magic of an appealing 2D design or concept, and transfer it into your 3D work? We'll show you how in our new class taught by animation professional, Dylan Ekren.
By combining 2D character design fundamentals and principles with 3D tools, you will learn to think like a designer while you sculpt, and build up a set of mental tools to help you create appealing characters with confidence!
"...I was looking for direction and found it on this course. Everything I learned here I'll take for life. Dylan is a great artist and instructor. I'm thankful he took his time and effort to provide us with this valuable material and share his experience. And thankful for Mold3D to make it available for us. Confidence restored, off to new projects! "
Rayza Alvarez
"It was great having the lecture put into such a hands-on method, and then having a simple idea evolve over time into something that was fundamentally growing into my conscious creativity. Dylan was able to explain topics with clarity and then execute them proficiently, so that they were easily graspable. "
Thomas Dreyer
"...it was a great class. Highly recommended!"
Christopher Dean
"I just want to thank Mold3D and Dylan for this class! At first I was hesitating whether to enroll or not, because I'm new to 3D and haven't made characters before (only one head in Zbrush). But Dylan's explanations were so descriptive that I was able to cope with making my first full-body character and make it to the very end, creating a finished posed model that looks appealing! This class also helped me to improve my drawing skills in 2D, because there was a lot of useful information about character design principles in general. It was a huge step forward for me and an amazing experience! Thanks so much!"
Yulia Sokolova
"Dylan is one of the best teachers I've ever had."
Sebastian Blanco
Meet Your Instructor
Dylan Ekren is currently working as a character modeling supervisor at Walt Disney Feature Animation. He has been a core member of the team since 2010 working on animated feature classics like Wreck it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and most recently Zootopia.
Dylan started his career in CG as an illustrator, storyboard artist, and 3D generalist before landing at Disney Feature Animation. Drawing on exceptional skills with high end CG software such as Maya and Zbrush, Dylan is known for his ability to bridge design and modeling to bring life to his characters. Dylan is a serious artist and a respected adult. One time he stayed up all night and wasn’t even tired.
Lesson Plan
Dylan teaches how to think like a designer which is one of the most important aspects of creating appealing 3D characters. 2D design principles are covered and how they apply to 3D design.
Learn how to block out an effective character before diving into the details. Dylan also teaches you his ZBrush tool set.
Dylan continues to lecture about what makes a great character, as well as going into more detail regarding anatomy and topology workflows.
Sculpting appealing heads is arguably one of the hardest skills to master. Dylan teaches you his method for creating appealing heads using techniques he's learned throughout his career.
Dylan shows you how to approach expressive hands and feet. Learn construction, how to create variation and expressiveness.
Learn how to approach additional details like hair, clothing and accessories.
You will learn advanced techniques for clothing such as folds, wrinkles and seams. Dylan also goes over Posing concepts in detail.
You are almost there! Learn how to put in the final touches on your model to create a polished, portfolio ready 3D Character.
Class Overview
What You'll Learn:
- 2D Design principals and how they translate to 3D using ZBrush.
- Modeling large to small, focusing on broad strokes before details.
- Project based assignments geared towards developing your eye.
- Finding and improving appeal in your sculpt.
- Posing and presenting your character.
- How to keep the appeal of a 2D concept design in your 3D sculpture.
Who should take this class?
- Character Artists who have some experience in ZBrush and want to take their skills to the next level.
- Experienced traditional sculptors who need to improve their ZBrush skills to increase their productivity.
- People who want to develop characters for toy design, figurines and maquettes.
- 3D modelers who want to develop a portfolio geared towards the Animation industry.
