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Creating 3D Characters and Animation

You will create a series of objects and characters, texture and animate them. Your final result will be a completed video portfolio showcasing your own developments.

Recruiters from Ukrainian and international companies will appreciate your showreels.

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Class schedule:

3 hours
2 times per week

Period of study:

6 months
48 lessons

Form of study:

offline
online

Student age:

16–60
years

You will get to know:

In this course, you will start with the basics of 3D modeling and retopology in Autodesk Maya. You will learn how to create and optimize models for animation.

We will proceed with sculpting in Zbrush to add detail to your creations, and then move on to painting original textures in Substance Painter and adding clothing in Marvelous Designer. We will conclude the course by creating real-time animated character videos in Marmoset Toolbag.

Each tool and program you encounter will play a crucial role in the process of creating digital content, from the initial sketch to the final visualization.

WORKS OF SCHOOL STUDENTS
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Course «Creating 3D Characters and Animation»

  • Familiarization with the Maya interface.
  • Creating simple 3D objects like cubes, spheres, and cylinders.
  • Creating a simple character using transformation and deformation tools.
  • Modeling tools
  • Deformation tools
  • Pivot, Freeze Transformation, Delete History
  • Designing a lantern (or another model) with our own design.
  • Understanding UV unwrapping.
  • Creating textures and applying them to models.
  • Unwrapping and texturing the created model.
  • Learning Rigid body motion animation.
  • Using physics simulation for objects.
  • Creating complex animation of object movement.
  • Introduction to ZBrush and exploring its interface and tools.
  • Basic Brush panel and importing brushes from the internet.
  • Creating a custom relief for the model.
  • Model import
  • Baking maps
  • Creating a unique texture
  • Rendering in the program and exporting maps
  • Familiarity with Marmoset Toolbag tools for rendering and visualization.
  • Adjusting lighting and materials.
  • Object visualization in Marmoset Toolbag.
  • Creating a polygonal model of a book and its pages.
  • Unwrapping textures for the book.
  • Finalizing the book model and its texturing.
  • Types of animation. Examples. Keyframe animation.
  • Creating page-flipping animation.
  • Automatic or selective animation.
  • Introduction to the Create Joints tool.
  • Principles of skeleton construction. Creating controls and a soft shell.
  • Realistic book animation.
  • Setting up rendering for the book in Marmoset Toolbag.
  • Working with materials and lighting for realistic rendering.
  • Realistic rendering of the book.
  • Learning the principles of animation using expressions.
  • Creating smooth animation of jellyfish movement.
  • Setting up lighting and rendering in Marmoset to display the animated jellyfish.
  • Short video clip with motion animation.
  • Introduction to ZBrush and familiarization with the interface and tools.
  • Creating the basic form of a fish character using modeling tools in ZBrush.
  • Working on establishing the basic body structure of the fish.
  • Detailing the fish body in ZBrush using sculpting tools.
  • Alpha textures for the relief of the fish body.
  • Learning effective methods of working with textures and materials in ZBrush.
  • Introduction to retopology, the process of converting a high-polygon model into a low-polygon one.
  • Using the Quad Draw tool in Maya to create an optimized version of the model.
  • Basic UV unwrapping for texturing a simple character.
  • Retopologizing your 3D model using Quad Draw and UV unwrapping.
  • Introduction to Substance Painter and its interface.
  • Preparing the 3D model for painting: import, normalization, and texture setup.
  • Painting the 3D model in Substance Painter using various textures and materials.
  • Learning the process of creating facial expressions using the Blend Shape technique in Maya.
  • Body animation using Nonlinear Deform.
  • Motion Path animation.
  • Creating a fog effect to simulate a water layer.
  • Adjusting lighting and materials to achieve realistic rendering.
  • Final video reel of the model.
  • Creating a unique skeleton for a simple character.
  • Rigging character controls.
  • Straightforward or path-based movement.
  • Preparing your own character for animation.
  • Exploring the Paint Effects tool in Maya to create grass and algae in the scene.
  • Creating a natural environment for your project.
  • Working on the movement and behavior of the caterpillar on the scene.
  • Caterpillar animation in Maya.
  • Types of constraints and their applications.
  • Creating a gyroscope. Group animation.
  • Object of own design with materials and lighting.
  • Introduction to the ZSphere tool in ZBrush and the initial stage of character creation.
  • Working with blocking the basic form of the character.
  • Initial construction of the entire character using ZSphere in ZBrush.
  • Continuing character creation in ZBrush: creating and detailing the character’s hand for convenient skeleton construction and subsequent animation.
  • Analysis of the anatomical structure of the entire body.
  • Understanding the process of retopology in ZBrush using the ZWrap tool.
  • Creating a model with optimized low-polygon topology.
  • Rules for building a model for later use in animation and other projects.
  • Avatar. Using models from the program and adding custom ones.
  • Learning the basics of working with fabric and clothing in Marvelous Designer for subsequent creation of character clothing.
  • Unwrapping the model in Maya and preparing for texturing.
  • Continuing work with Marvelous Designer: creating realistic clothing for the character.
  • Working on texturing and coloring clothing in Marvelous Designer.
  • X-Gen – a professional tool for creating fur and hair of any complexity.
  • Stages of creating eyebrows, eyelashes, hairstyles, or fur all over the body for animals.
  • Hair animation.
  • Creating a simple animated object with hair.
  • Exploring techniques for creating low-polygon hair for characters.
  • Creating a custom brush in ZBrush.
  • Creating a hairstyle for your own character in ZBrush.
  • Automated tools for unwrapping hair strands.
  • Creating UV maps and preparing for texturing.
  • Hairstyle modeling and its unwrapping.
  • Learning the process of coloring hair and fur in Substance Painter.
  • Working with tools and textures to achieve a realistic look of hair.
  • Working with normal, lighting, height, and other maps to achieve the desired model appearance.
  • Working with normal maps, lighting, height, and others to achieve the desired look of the model.
  • Introduction to the process of painting the character’s face in Substance Painter.
  • Use of tools to create facial textures and add details.
  • Working on facial expressions and features to achieve the desired character appearance.
  • Introduction to the process of creating a skeleton for animation in Maya.
  • Creating automatic skeletons.
  • Making changes to the skeletons of your own characters.
  • Adding ready-made animation to your character.
  • Blending clips together, merging movements into a film.
  • Third-party script for the Advanced Skeleton tool. Types of skeletons.
  • Building a skeleton and flexible adjustments using the tool.
  • Proper construction of a polygonal face, checking.
  • Placing markers for facial expressions.
  • Configuring various facial expressions or interactions of the character in Maya and a short animation demonstrating the results.
  • Introduction to the concept of soft skin binding in character animation.
  • Understanding the process of setting weights and joint influence on the skin and soft tissues.
  • Working with tools to assign weights to the body shell and adjusting for realistic quality animation.
  • Short animation demonstrating the results.
  • Introduction to the process of animating clothing for characters in Marvelous Designer.
  • Creating an animated character cache.
  • Animation and export to Maya.
  • Tools for consistent interaction of the character with an object.
  • Examples of using locators and constraints in animation.
  • Animation of complex and realistic movements of objects or characters in Maya.
  • Object animation to create realistic movements.
  • Learning techniques for synchronizing animation with sound or reference.
  • Repetitive movements and synchronization with sound or video reference.
  • Creating commonly used character movements in animation, such as steps, various types of walking, running.
  • Timing and detailing.
  • Creating a realistic or cartoonishly exaggerated walk cycle.
  • Adding a character to the trajectory.
  • Jumping along a trajectory.
  • Landing on an object.
  • Hyperbolizing movements.
  • Interaction of the character with an additional object.
  • Parent and Constrain Parent tools. The difference between them.
  • Interaction of the character with an additional object.
  • Parent and Constrain Parent tools. The difference between them.
  • The importance of a portfolio and analysis of commercial works.
  • Portfolio structure and design.
  • Preparation and adding work to the portfolio.
  • Intermediate review of the progress of project work.
  • Discussion of any difficulties or questions that arose during the project work.
  • Working on corrections and improvements to your projects based on received feedback.
  • Final review and discussion of project work.
  • Preparing projects for public demonstration and presentation.
  • Strengthening presentation skills and showcasing results.
  • Each student presents their project and demonstrates the results of their work.
  • Defense of projects before the teacher and the group of students.
  • Evaluation and discussion of projects.
  • Awarding certificates of successful course completion.

WHAT YOU WILL GET IN THE «Creating 3D Characters and Animation» COURSE

Programs

Autodesk Maya
Pixologic Zbrush
Substance Painter
Marvelous Designer
Marmoset Toolbag

Portfolio

7–12 independent projects.
Creation of showreels

Studio pipeline

Work principles.
Freedom of choice of technologies and methods

Final project

A short cartoon/game character with a set of moves. Presentation of course work

Graduates who complete the «3D VISUALIZATION» courses receive a certificate.

Each certificate has a unique number by which a potential employer can check its validity and see basic performance indicators.

Olga Romanchuk. Course Mentor
3D generalist, teacher of courses “3D visualization”, “Creation of 3D characters and animation” for adults and courses of 3D modeling, “Motion Design”, “Digital sculpting”, “Creation of a game character”, “Your first cartoon” for children.
More details about Olga Romanchuk >>

COST OF EDUCATION

Monthly payment

400 € + VAT(19%)
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