Blender: Character Modeling Online Course

Character modeling is a crucial aspect of 3D animation, game development, and visual effects. Creating realistic or stylized characters requires a combination of artistry and technical skills. While many traditional art schools offer character modeling courses, the rise of online learning platforms has made it easier than ever to access high-quality training. There are many options available for aspiring character modelers seeking to enhance their skills or start a career in the field. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of the best character modeling courses available online, highlighting the key features and benefits of each.

Here’s a look at the Best Character Modeling Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

Blender: Character Modeling Online Course

1. Character Modeling: Master the Anatomy of 3D Characters by Abdelilah Hamdani (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

Course Title: Character Modeling: Master the Anatomy of 3D Characters

Course Instructors: Abdelilah Hamdani

Course Short Description: This course will provide you with a step-by-step guide to creating 3D characters in Blender.

Course Long Description: If you are struggling with character anatomy and finding yourself creating weird shapes, this course is for you. You will learn the right way to create all face parts, including the mouth, chin, eyes, and nose. Once you master this, you will be able to create any character you desire.

The course is divided into the following sections:

1. Introduction: This section will provide an overview of the course and its objectives.

2. Character Anatomy: In this section, you will learn the anatomy of 3D characters and the importance of understanding it.

3. Creating the Mouth: You will learn the step-by-step process of creating a realistic mouth for your character.

4. Creating the Chin: This section will provide you with the tools and techniques to create a well-defined chin.

5. Creating the Eyes: In this section, you will learn to create realistic eyes for your character using Blender.

6. Creating the Nose: You will learn the process of creating a realistic nose that will enhance your character’s appearance.

By the end of this course, you will have a solid understanding of character anatomy and the skills to create realistic 3D characters in Blender.

2. Character Modeling in Blender. Create your 3D character by Riddick D. Character Blender Modeling (Udemy)

The Character Modeling in Blender course teaches students how to create their own 3D characters. The course is led by Riddick D. and is designed for individuals who have little to no experience in 3D modeling. However, even those with some experience can benefit from the course by learning about the tools and techniques available in Blender.

The course is broken down into several sections, beginning with an introduction to Blender’s user interface, navigation, and selection technique. From there, students learn about modeling tools and techniques, including how to model complex details using Blender. Students also work with modifiers in Blender to enhance their character models.

Throughout the course, students use a step-by-step approach to create a 3D character project. The tools and techniques are introduced in a practical way, so students can apply them to their own projects later. By the end of the course, students will have a strong understanding of how the entire process fits together and the ability to create outstanding characters for all media using Blender. Additionally, students will have developed strong Blender skills that can be applied to any 3D project, character-related or not.

3. Character Modeling & Rigging in Blender- Character Design by Riddick D. Character Blender Modeling (Udemy)

The Character Modeling & Rigging in Blender- Character Design Course is a comprehensive course that provides an introduction to modeling techniques and the user interface of Blender. The course is designed to help learners achieve certain tasks quickly, while also providing tips and tricks to improve their workflow.

The course is divided into several sections, including introduction, Blender, face modeling, and rigging. Beginning with the fundamentals of modeling, learners progress through tutorials that show them how to use tools, materials and the interface to their full advantage. By the end of the course, learners will have the skills to model, pose and rig a character that can work in game engines as well as in Blender.

Learners will have full lifetime access to the course for a single one-off fee. The course provides a thorough introduction to Blender and its tools, as well as techniques for character design.

The curriculum covers various topics such as the user interface, modeling techniques, materials, and rigging. Learners will gain a solid understanding of how to create 3D characters using Blender.

The course is taught by Riddick D. Character, an expert in Blender and character design. Learners will benefit from his experience and expertise, as well as from the course’s practical, hands-on approach.

Overall, the Character Modeling & Rigging in Blender- Character Design Course is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning how to create 3D characters using Blender. Its comprehensive curriculum and practical approach make it a valuable tool for learners of all skill levels.

4. Realistic Character Modeling For Game In Maya and Zbrush by Nalini Kanta Jena (Udemy)

The Realistic Character Modeling For Game In Maya and Zbrush course is an in-depth course designed for beginners to intermediate level learners. The course is taught by Nalini Kanta Jena, an experienced 3D modeling and texturing artist, who has been teaching since 2008.

The course is designed to teach learners how to model and sculpt realistic human characters from scratch step by step. The 21+ hours of video content cover 15 modules, including an introduction, Maya basics for beginners, character body modeling in Maya, and Zbrush basics for beginners.

Reviews by course students are overwhelmingly positive, with many praising Nalini’s teaching style and deep understanding of the subject. Some students noted that his accent and pronunciation may be a challenge for some learners, but overall, the course comes highly recommended for anyone looking to improve their character modeling skills.

The course is ideal for those who lack confidence in realistic character modeling or struggle to make their characters look realistic. By the end of the course, learners will be able to model realistic human characters for their portfolios and apply for their dream jobs. Freelancers can also add character modeling as a new earning method.

The course curriculum covers various aspects of character modeling, including modeling tools for the body, jacket, pant, hat, gloves, accessories, and gun. Zbrush is used to sculpt the head, hand anatomy, skin detailing, hair with fibermesh, and various clothing items such as jackets and pants. The course also covers shoe sculpting with Zmodeler in Zbrush and gun holster detailing.

The course is designed for beginner to intermediate level 3D modeling students and artists who want to model photorealistic characters. The 30-day money-back guarantee means there is no risk involved in enrolling in the course.

In conclusion, the Realistic Character Modeling For Game In Maya and Zbrush course is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their character modeling skills.

5. Blender Character Modeling For Beginners HD by Riven Phoenix (Udemy)

The Blender Character Modeling For Beginners HD course, instructed by Riven Phoenix, offers a step-by-step formula-based system to teach art students how to create a high-quality 3D human character model from scratch without using any reference. The course starts by teaching the basics of Blender 2.7x and using a simple cube as a starting point to model the human figure. Students will learn special modeling techniques and formulas to create a realistic 3D human figure model quickly and accurately. The course covers various sections, including modeling the human head, basic human body form, surface anatomy of neck and peck muscles, and more. Students will also learn how to use different Blender tools while building their human figure model.

The course is designed to teach art students how to use Blender 3D and become more confident in developing their own character designs from scratch. The formula-based system makes it easy for any person to follow along and achieve the same results. Students will also become very familiar with the design of the human figure by building out the surface anatomy. The course content is explained clearly, and Riven Phoenix guides students step-by-step to achieve the same exact results with ease.

Overall, the Blender Character Modeling For Beginners HD course offers an excellent opportunity for art students to learn how to create a high-quality 3D human character model from scratch. The course provides a formula-based system that is easy to follow and achieve accurate results quickly. Students will learn various modeling techniques and become confident in using Blender 3D to develop their character designs from scratch. The course is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their Blender 3D modeling skills.

6. Complete Game Character Workflow 01 Character Modeling by Udemy Instructor (Udemy)

This course titled Complete Game Character Workflow 01 Character Modeling is taught by a Udemy Instructor. It is geared towards individuals who wish to learn how to create modern, next-generation game characters using various tools such as Zbrush, Mari, Maya, and Substance.

The course is designed to provide a complete solution for game character modeling, covering topics such as sculpting, topology, UV mapping, and baking. Additionally, it will introduce solutions for hair card creation, cloth simulation, and other technically challenging issues that arise during character production.

The course is structured to walk students through the entire workflow, preparing them to create game engine-ready characters. The course is divided into various sections such as Body Sculpting, Body Retopology, Hair Creation, Garment Creation with Marvelous Designer, and ZBrush_Garment_Refine.

Other sections of the course include creating boots, extra modeling and detailing, waist pack and utilities, extra Zbrush detailing techniques, skin detailing techniques with Mari and ZBrush, garment retopology, baking high-res detail to low-res, making hair cards, modeling eyeball, and final touches.

7. Blender Character Creation for Games and Animation by Darrin Lile (Udemy)

The course Blender Character Creation for Games and Animation led by Darrin Lile provides learners with the skills required to create their own 3D characters for animation and video games using Blender. The course will cover topics such as 3D modeling, UV mapping, texturing, character rigging, and more.

The course will commence by creating a base mesh of the character, including the head, body, hands, and feet. Then, the course will cover modeling clothes and accessories in Blender and using Blender’s sculpt tools for creating creases and folds in clothes. The course will also teach how to UV map the character in Blender, and create texture maps in external paint programs like Krita. Additionally, learners will learn how to keep the high resolution sculpt detail by creating and applying a Normal map in Blender while baking.

Finally, the course will cover character rigging and the adjustment of weights, so the character deforms believably during animation. The course offers an opportunity to use open-source software, Blender and Krita, to create a character ready for character animation in Blender and for import into any 3D game engine, such as Unity and Unreal.

The course has ten sections, starting with an introduction followed by modeling the head, body, and creating the clothes. Later, the course will cover UV mapping, baking a texture map, texturing the character, character rigging, and conclude with a summary. The course provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide to create characters in Blender for games or animation.

8. Ultimate character creation in Blender: From beginner to pro by Monica Chavez Trochez (Udemy)

The course titled Ultimate character creation in Blender: From beginner to pro is a comprehensive guide on how to model, texture, and rig professional 3D characters using Blender. The course instructors are Monica Chavez Trochez. The course has over 30 hours of content, more than 200 videos, and covers the basics of Blender, box modeling, polygon modeling, curves modeling, UV mapping, texturing, rigging, and animation.

The course begins with an overview of the Blender interface and an explanation of all the tools needed for the course. The basics include navigating around the viewport, manipulating objects, and using shortcuts to improve efficiency.

The course covers three major projects; the first is creating a Robot using the box modeling technique, followed by creating a Mouse using the polygon modeling technique, and finally modeling a human character using both polygon and curves modeling methods. The human character includes the face, body, hands, feet, hair, clothes, and shoes, all modeled from scratch with proper edge flow for animation.

The course also covers unwrapping parts of the character, creating UV maps, and texturing using different methods such as painting textures in other digital painting software, applying textures found in the internet, creating and applying PBR maps, creating procedural textures, and using Blender’s own Texture Paint tool.

The rigging section includes creating a facial rig using shape keys, bones with drivers and constraints, and a body rig using forward and inverse kinematics with controllers that let us pose the character. The course also includes painting weights manually with the Weight Paint tool within Blender to change the influence of the bones according to our needs.

Upon completion of the course, attendees will have all the necessary skills to build their own characters in Blender for animation purposes.

9. Stylized Cyberpunk girl in Zbrush course by NIkolay Naydenov (Udemy)

The Stylized Cyberpunk girl in Zbrush course, taught by 3D character artist NIkolay Naydenov, focuses on creating a stylized female cyberpunk character using Zbrush. The course starts with two free preview videos on customizing the Zbrush UI and creating a custom menu for efficient and fast workflow. The course covers creating the head, eyes, mohawk hair, torso, hands, feet, fingers, clothing, and accessories, as well as hard surface modeling for the weapon. The course is primarily aimed at intermediate Zbrush users, but beginners can also attempt the course. The final output is a game-ready high poly mesh, with a pose and a beauty render achieved through Photoshop.

The course instructor, NIkolay Naydenov, has been a 3D character artist for over 11 years and has created over 20 stylized characters in the last 2 years.

10. Zbrush, Blender, Substance Painter 3D game character course by NIkolay Naydenov (Udemy)

The Zbrush-Blender-Substance Painter full 3D game character course is designed for beginners who want to learn how to create 3D characters for games using Zbrush, Blender, and Substance Painter. The course instructor, Niko, is a 3D character artist and teacher who has worked in the game industry for 14 years. The course covers the entire workflow, from creating high-poly models in Zbrush, retopologizing and unwrapping in Zbrush, fixing the mesh and preparing it for baking in Blender, and finally, creating textures in Substance Painter. As a bonus section, the course teaches how to pose and render the character in Blender for better presentation.

The course starts with the basics of Zbrush and teaches how to sculpt by creating a female head. The instructor then introduces the main brushes and shows how to bring a concept into Zbrush and sculpt it from a sphere. The course covers all the required sculpting methods and techniques to create the character. After coloring and refining the character, the instructor teaches how to pose the superhero in Zbrush and make render passes, which are combined in Photoshop for a portfolio render.

The course continues with manual retopology and UV unwrapping in Zbrush. The instructor provides insights into the reasons for doing retopology in Zbrush and the process of unwrapping the character. Next, the course moves to Blender, where the instructor introduces the interface and features and shows how to fix problems on the mesh, resize and arrange UVs to prepare it for texturing.

The course then moves to Substance Painter, where the instructor shows how to import the model, bake necessary maps, and make materials. The course covers exporting textures out of Substance Painter. The bonus and experiment section of the course covers importing the textures into Blender and getting a ready skeleton for the meshes from vintage Blender. The instructor also shows how to adjust the skeleton to the model and attach the model to the bones.