Low Poly Characters: Blender Bitesize Course from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

The fundamentals of the blender interface.
Basic modelling techniques.
How to follow character references.
How to create and build your own characters (with different styles, hair and clothing).

Texturing characters.
An introduction to rigging & animation (to use in your game engine or animations).
Adapt asset pack characters that you've downloaded, to create new and different characters.

The fundamentals of the blender interface.
Basic modelling techniques.
How to follow character references.
How to create and build your own characters (with different styles, hair and clothing).
Texturing characters.
An introduction to rigging & animation (to use in your game engine or animations).
Adapt asset pack characters that you've downloaded, to create new and different characters.

Syllabus

Introduction & Setup

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Intro

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How to download blender and find experimental versions

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Navigating Blender

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Adding objects in Blender

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Adding and moving objects around to make a simple character

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Adding materials to our character

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Changing and adapting our character

Block Man

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intro

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How to import reference images to use as a guide

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Using edit Mode to edit the shape of objects

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Using the extrude tool to make extra geometry

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Using the mirror modifier to make modeling faster and more precise

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Using the mirror modifier to mirror based on other objects pivot points

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Using collections to organise your work

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Consolidating our skills by creating the block female characters

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Continuing your practice by creating and adapting the characters

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Further practice by creating a cyborg character.

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Adding a metallic material and glow to our cyborg using the shader editor and the render settings

Full Character

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Section Intro

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Creating the torso of a full character without any gaps

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Creating the head of the character

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An overview of topology and why its important to give it some thought when modelling characters

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Building up our skills in modelling through making hte arms and hand of hte characters

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Continuing your skill development by modifying the shape of the character into a low poly female

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Moving and importing objects from one scene to another

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Creating two unqiue characters of your own

Detailed Character

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Adapting the base male character to create a stylized big muscly man

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Using the knife tool to add new geometry and detail

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Learn how to merge vertices using auto merge

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Learn how to texture your more detailed characters to make them easier to adjust and more compatible with game engines

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Learn how to make the smaller details of the character such as the clothing

Basic Rigging

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section Intro

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Learn the basics of human rigs

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Learn how to use pose mode to pose your characters

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Using weight painting to correct any errors in the parenting

Female Character

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Creating the base mesh for the female characters

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Creating the detail for the female character

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Adding and downloading Mixamo animations

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Adding textures using UV mapping and a simple colour table

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Congratulations

Continuing Your GameDev Journey

Bonus Lecture

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Taught by instructors with expertise in game development and 3D modeling

Provides a solid foundation for beginners in 3D character modeling

Includes practical exercises to reinforce learning and improve skills

Covers the basics of character modeling, including topology, UV mapping, and texturing

Utilizes industry-standard software, Blender, making the skills transferable to professional settings

May require additional learning resources for advanced character modeling techniques

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Low Poly Characters: Blender Bitesize Course with these activities:

Review 3D modelling basics

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Brush up on the fundamentals, and review the interface of Blender.

Browse courses on 3D Modelling

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Locate and review the official documentation for Blender.
Watch tutorial videos on general 3D modelling techniques.
Complete a few basic exercises in Blender.

Find a mentor to guide your character modelling journey

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Connect with an experienced character modeller who can provide personalised guidance.

Browse courses on Mentorship

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Identify experienced character modellers.
Reach out to them and express your interest in mentoring.

Follow tutorials to create your first character

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Gain hands-on experience by following along with a tutorial and creating a simple character.

Browse courses on Character Creation

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Search for a free online Blender tutorial that walks through the creation of a simple character.
Follow the instructions in the tutorial carefully.
Don't be afraid to experiment and make your own variations on the character.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Create a detailed plan for your character's design

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Lay out a comprehensive plan to guide your character creation.

Browse courses on Character Design

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Consider your character's backstory, motivations, and personality traits.
Sketch out some different design ideas.
Choose a design and start creating a detailed character model.

Practice modelling different shapes and objects

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Build your modelling skills by practising the creation of different shapes and objects.

Browse courses on Modelling

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Start with simple shapes like cubes, spheres, and cylinders.
Gradually move on to more complex objects like furniture, vehicles, or characters.

Practice posing and animating your characters

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Enhance your characters by learning to pose and animate them.

Browse courses on Character Animation

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Learn the basics of rigging and animation in Blender.
Practice posing your characters in different ways.
Try animating your characters to create simple animations.

Create a portfolio of your 3D character models

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Prepare a portfolio showcasing a range of character models you have created.

Browse courses on Character Design

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Choose your best character models to include in your portfolio.
Create high-quality renders of your models.
Write up descriptions of each model, explaining your design choices and the techniques you used.

Career center

Learners who complete Low Poly Characters: Blender Bitesize Course will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

3D Modeler

3D Modelers design and create 3D models for a variety of industries, including video games, film, and architecture. A good foundation in 3D modeling is crucial to this role, and this course can provide you with that. You will use many of the same skills you learn here on the job, such as using a 3D modeling program to create characters and other objects.

See salaries and explore the career path for 3D Modeler

Character Designer

Character Designers create the visual appearance of characters for video games, movies, and other media. In this role, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which is an essential skill for a Character Designer. You will also learn the basics of animation, which will help you bring your characters to life.

See salaries and explore the career path for Character Designer

Technical Artist

Technical Artists combine artistic and technical skills to create assets for video games and other digital media. Creating 3D models is a big part of this role, and this course can teach you the essential skills you need to get started. You will learn the basics of 3D modeling, character design, and animation in this course, all of which are in-demand skills for Technical Artists.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist

Animator

As an Animator, you design, create, and manipulate digital models to produce animation sequences. The ability to build and pose your own character models will help you in the field of animation. Designing characters in 3D and learning how to add animation is essential to the field, and this course can set you up for success in this career.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animator

Rigger

As a Rigger, you create the underlying framework that allows animated characters to move realistically. This course will help you develop essential skills for this role by teaching you how to create and pose 3D characters. By creating characters, you will learn how to build the framework for them to move.

See salaries and explore the career path for Rigger

Art Director

Art Directors oversee the visual aspects of video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling is essential for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as an Art Director.

See salaries and explore the career path for Art Director

Game Developer

As a Game Developer, you will work on many types of games, from mobile to console titles. Creating characters is essential to a vast number of games, and the skills to design in 3D you will learn in this course will be highly applicable to the role. Learning Blender will give you the opportunity to grow as a developer by learning how to create assets to place in a game engine.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Developer

Environmental Artist

Environmental Artists create the environments for video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling is essential for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as an Environmental Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Environmental Artist

Game Designer

Game Designers create the overall concept and design of video games. Knowing the technical side of game development can be a strong advantage in this role. Designing characters is a large part of game design, and learning how to create 3D characters can give you an edge over other candidates in this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer

VFX Artist

VFX Artists create the visual effects for video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a VFX Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own visual effects.

See salaries and explore the career path for VFX Artist

Concept Artist

Concept Artists create visual concepts for video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. This course will teach you the basics of 3D modeling, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a Concept Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own concept art.

See salaries and explore the career path for Concept Artist

Texture Artist

Texture Artists create the textures for video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a Texture Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own textures.

See salaries and explore the career path for Texture Artist

Lighting Artist

Lighting Artists create the lighting for video games, movies, and other media. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a Lighting Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own lighting.

See salaries and explore the career path for Lighting Artist

Motion Capture Artist

Motion Capture Artists use motion capture technology to capture the movements of actors and other performers. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a Motion Capture Artist. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own motion capture data.

See salaries and explore the career path for Motion Capture Artist

3D Printing Technician

3D Printing Technicians operate and maintain 3D printers. A strong understanding of 3D modeling can be helpful for this role. In this course, you will learn how to create 3D characters, which will give you a solid foundation for a career as a 3D Printing Technician. You will be able to use the skills you learn in this course to create your own 3D models for printing.

See salaries and explore the career path for 3D Printing Technician