About Game Character Creation

In this 10 week course i will take you through the entire process of making a humanoid game ready character from scratch.

We will start with some basic design rules and gathering references to help you sketch your character in your favorite 2D program or in the one suggested for this course ( Clip Studio Paint ) or you could find a good concept, for this i will provide a template with good proportions that will fit the rest of the process.

Next i will show you a solid workflow in ZBrush and provide a 3D template for correct proportions to model the high poly version of the character.

We will retopologize, UV and texture the model in 3D coat after which we'll take it it Maya where we will rig and skin the character on the provided skeleton.

In the bonus week we'll use Unreal Engine 4 where you will learn how to import, program, set up the materials for the character and have it walking, running, jumping and I'll even show you how to program the logic for crouching.

By the end of this course you will have a solid understanding of the character creation pipeline and a great portfolio piece to show to potential employers or you could use the skill set you just learned on your own projects.

Learning Outcomes

  • Know some character design basics

  • Learn about rapid concept for production

  • Be able to model, texture and prepare your character for a game engine

  • Know how to work with a basic unreal engine 4 project (3rd person)

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

  • 2

    Design and Concept

  • 3

    ZBrush Basics

  • 4

    Modeling in ZBrush - Part 1

    • Working with the Mannequin

    • Modeling in ZBrush - Part 1

    • Resources

    • Homework
  • 5

    Modeling in ZBrush - Part 2

    • Polishing in ZBrush

    • Dynamesh

    • Homework
  • 6

    Preparing the Model

    • Retopology with Zremesher

    • 3D Coat Retopology Basics

    • 3D Coat UV Basics

    • Retopo and UV

    • Resources

    • Homework
  • 7

    Painting the Model

    • Baking Normals in Knald

    • Material Editor

    • Texture Basics

    • Layer Management

    • Resources

    • Homework
  • 8

    Texturing - Part 1

    • Texturing - Part 1

    • Homework
  • 9

    Texturing - Part 2

    • Exporting Textures

    • Emissive

    • Wear and Tear

    • Secondary Color

    • Details

    • Texturing - Part 2

    • Depth Details

    • Resources

    • Homework
  • 10

    Rigging & Export

    • Rigging Your Character

    • Fixing the Skin Weights

    • Exporting the Character as FBX

    • Resources

    • Homework
  • 11

    Bonus: Becoming Unreal!

    • Creating the Unreal Engine 4 Project

    • Importing the Character in Unreal

    • Setting Up the Material

    • Retargeting Character Animations

    • Setting Up Your Character Blueprints

    • Setting Up Camera Zoom

    • Setting Up Sprint Controls

    • Setting Up Extra Crouch Animations

    • Resources

    • Final Words

    • Homework

Register Today!

What are you waiting for?

What Exactly is This Course?

In the first week we will be discussing some design fundamentals and explore some designs, here you can either concept / photobash or just gather some reference so we can build an idea about how your character should look like. The next four weeks (2, 3, 4, 5) you are going to learn a workflow and create the model in Zbrush. In the next 3 weeks (6, 7, 8) after you learn to bake the the normals in Knald, you will be introduced to the basics of 3D coat where you will uv and texture the character In The next week (9) you will learn to skin your model to the default biped rig for unreal engine 4, how to export it and how to set up the textures you did in 3D coat. In The last week you will learn to set up your character inside unreal engine 4 so you can control it with basic [WASD] [Space] controls

Pricing options

Software Requirements

  • ZBrush
  • 3D Coat
  • Graphics Tablet (Wacom or similar)
  • Knald
  • Unreal Engine 4 (Free) 
  • 2D Sketching program (Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Sketchbook, or even pen and paper)

Bonus Content

Over 1 Hours Worth!

In this amazing bonus module, Ad will guide you through the process of taking your game ready character and putting it into Unreal. He will take you step-by-step through project setup, importing, material setup, animations, blueprints, cameras, controls, and more! This module could be a course by itself!

Meet Your Instructor

Adrian Martuneac

Instructor

From what I've experienced and learned, I think discipline and a well thought out plan is the key to approaching anything. I'm passionate about concept art in general, game design, character design, creature design, prop design, space ship design, I like thinking about the world around my creations and how well they fit in the context. I believe consistency is the key in any entertainment media for the viewer to be immersed in, but I also like to push the designs sometimes in order to get across a certain mood or personality aspects of what I'm trying to visually express.

Register Today!

Are you ready to take the leap?

Course Features

  • Unlimited Life-Time Access to the course!

    As an XMD Academy member, you get unlimited Life-Time access to the course. Every time the course is updated with new content, it is yours to keep!

  • Join an Evergrowing Community

    Join 1000s of artists in an online massive community where you can show your work, get insight, and critiques from fellow industry professionals.

  • Q&A Live Sessions

    You will have the opportunity to be a part of Q&A Live Sessions with the instructor. Each live session will be scheduled on the course calendar and recorded for your viewing later if you happen to miss it.

  • Login 24/7

    All content is digital and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to feed your continuous learning appetite.

  • XMDSource.com Included!

    A FREE Membership to XMDSource.com is included with your course purchase.

  • 10 Complete Modules

    There are 10 action packed modules for several weeks worth of learning.

Users of XMD

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