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Introduction To 3D Sculpting In Blender - Model A Dragon

GameDev.tv Team, Grant Abbitt, and Rick Davidson

Ready to make the mother of all Dragons? In this course, you'll create your own awesome dragon from start to finish.

The course is created at a "real time" pace, allowing you to follow along and create your dragon at the same time as the instructors without needing to stop and start the video. Nothing is skipped or speeded up, so you get to see the entire workflow.

You also get two, yes two, instructors. Working together, they discuss every step of the process and dig deep into why production artists make certain decisions. These valuable insights will be extremely useful for future projects you undertake.

Read more

Ready to make the mother of all Dragons? In this course, you'll create your own awesome dragon from start to finish.

The course is created at a "real time" pace, allowing you to follow along and create your dragon at the same time as the instructors without needing to stop and start the video. Nothing is skipped or speeded up, so you get to see the entire workflow.

You also get two, yes two, instructors. Working together, they discuss every step of the process and dig deep into why production artists make certain decisions. These valuable insights will be extremely useful for future projects you undertake.

The course covers blocking out, sculpting, brushes, automatic retopology, textures, painting, lighting and all the steps in between. You’ll learn to rig and pose your dragon to create an impressive final render. And, you’ll create a high poly model to make a great looking game-ready asset.

What you'll learn in the course...

  • Find and organise reference images

  • Insert background images

  • Block out the main shape

  • Join all the blocks into one mesh

  • Sculpt a basic shape with some structure

  • Learn the basics of Retopologizing a mesh

  • Add the Multi-resolution Modifier

  • Sculpt the fine details on object

  • Bake & Paint textures

  • Create a basic rig and pose the model

  • How to set up lighting and render the model

All students have access to the Q&A where our Instructors, Teaching Assistants and Community are ready to help answer your questions and cheer on your success.

So come and create your dragon now.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • The fundamentals of sculpting creatures
  • The workflow behind making characters for games, animations or film
  • How to use sculpting brushes
  • How to quickly texture, rig and pose a creature

Syllabus

Creating A Dragon
Welcome and Introduction To The Course

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We start the process of finding reference images and blocking out our shape.

Read more

In this video (objectives)…

A quick guide to the updates t the sculpting workspace in blender 4.3

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We explore the sculpting brushes and start to add large scale details to our dragon

In this video (objectives)…

  1. At this stage we retopologise our dragon to create a cleaner mesh

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Let's add more detail to our dragon with some more sculping

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We'll create new brushes to add texture and detail to the skin of our dragon

In this video (objectives)…

I rundown of all the updates to the texture painting workspace

In this video (objectives)…

  1. Our dragon needs colour so lets paint some textures to bring it to life

In this video (objectives)…

  1. In this lecture we'll set up a rig so that we can move our dragon and pose it so that it looks cool

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We need to parent our bones to the mesh so that the mesh moves properly when the bones move

In this video (objectives)…

  1. We've finished creating our dragon and in the process learned a ton about how to sculpt, rig, pose and paint objects in Blender

Continuing Your GameDev Journey
Bonus Lecture

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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 Introduction To 3D Sculpting In Blender - Model A Dragon with these activities:
Brush Familiarization
Familiarize yourself with Blender's sculpting brushes before the course begins. This will allow you to focus on the dragon creation process rather than learning the tools.
Browse courses on Brushes
Show steps
  • Open Blender and switch to the Sculpting workspace.
  • Experiment with each brush type (Clay Strips, Draw, Smooth, etc.).
  • Adjust brush settings like size, strength, and falloff.
  • Try creating basic shapes and textures using different brushes.
Sculpting Basic Shapes
Practice sculpting basic shapes (spheres, cubes, cylinders) in Blender. This will improve your hand-eye coordination and familiarity with the sculpting tools.
Show steps
  • Create a new Blender file and add a sphere.
  • Use sculpting brushes to deform the sphere into different shapes.
  • Repeat with cubes and cylinders.
  • Focus on achieving clean and smooth surfaces.
Mastering Blender
Use this book as a reference to deepen your understanding of Blender's tools and features. This will help you troubleshoot problems and customize your workflow.
View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Mastering Blender'.
  • Read the chapters related to sculpting and texturing.
  • Refer to the book when encountering difficulties in the course.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
ZBrush Digital Sculpting Human Anatomy
Study human anatomy to improve your understanding of form and structure. This knowledge will help you create more realistic and believable dragons.
View ZBrush Creature Design on Amazon
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'ZBrush Digital Sculpting Human Anatomy'.
  • Study the chapters on muscle and skeletal structure.
  • Apply the principles of anatomy to your dragon sculpting.
Dragon Scale Texture Study
Create a small patch of dragon scales using Blender's sculpting tools. This will help you practice creating detailed textures and understand how scales overlap and interact.
Show steps
  • Create a new Blender file and add a plane.
  • Subdivide the plane to increase its polygon count.
  • Use sculpting brushes to create individual dragon scales.
  • Vary the size, shape, and orientation of the scales.
  • Add fine details like ridges and bumps to the scales.
Personalized Dragon Accessory
Design and sculpt a unique accessory for your dragon (e.g., a saddle, a necklace, a weapon). This will allow you to apply your sculpting skills to a creative project and personalize your dragon.
Show steps
  • Brainstorm ideas for a dragon accessory.
  • Sketch your design on paper or in a digital painting program.
  • Sculpt the accessory in Blender, paying attention to detail.
  • Texture and paint the accessory to match your dragon.
  • Attach the accessory to your dragon model.
Dragon Pose Variations
Create three different poses for your dragon model. This will help you practice rigging and posing, and showcase your dragon's personality.
Show steps
  • Create a basic rig for your dragon model.
  • Experiment with different poses, considering the dragon's anatomy and personality.
  • Save each pose as a separate Blender file or scene.
  • Render images of each pose from different angles.

Career center

Learners who complete Introduction To 3D Sculpting In Blender - Model A Dragon will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Digital Sculptor
A digital sculptor uses software to create 3D models with a high level of detail and artistic expression. Often, digital sculptors work on projects for movies, video games, and other media. This course provides direct instruction in digital sculpting using Blender. You will learn to use various sculpting brushes, add fine details, and create textures. These skills will help you as a digital sculptor as it provides practical experience in creating complex 3D models.
See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Sculptor
Character Artist
A character artist designs and creates the visual representations of characters for video games, film, television, and other media. A character artist often starts with concept art or descriptions and then uses 3D modeling software to create the character. This course helps with character design and creation, specifically sculpting a dragon in Blender. You will learn how to block out shapes, sculpt details, retopologize a mesh, and add textures. You will also learn how to rig and pose your dragon, which are all essential skills for a character artist.
See salaries and explore the career path for Character Artist
3D Modeler
A 3D modeler creates three-dimensional models of objects, characters, and environments. As a 3D modeler, you may work in various industries, including video games, film, architecture, and product design. This course provides a solid foundation in 3D sculpting using Blender, specifically focused on creating a dragon. It covers the entire modeling process, from blocking out the initial shape to adding fine details and textures. Learning to sculpt, rig, and pose a complex creature like a dragon will hone your skills as a 3D modeler and makes this course particularly useful.
See salaries and explore the career path for 3D Modeler
Game Artist
As a game artist, you will create the visual assets for video games, including characters, environments, and props. A game artist collaborates with designers and programmers to bring the game's world to life. This course helps you develop skills in 3D sculpting, texturing, rigging, and posing, all of which are directly applicable to creating game-ready assets. The course emphasizes creating a high-poly model suitable for game development, making it a very useful and applicable course for a game artist.
See salaries and explore the career path for Game Artist
Texture Artist
Texture artists create the surface details and colors of 3D models, adding realism and visual interest. Texture artists work closely with modelers to develop the final look of characters, environments, and props. This course covers texture painting, allowing you to bring your dragon model to life with color and detail. You will learn how to bake and paint textures in Blender, which are essential skills for any texture artist.
See salaries and explore the career path for Texture Artist
Creature Designer
A creature designer is responsible for conceptualizing and creating original creatures for various media, such as film, video games, and books. This career often requires a strong artistic vision and technical skills in 3D modeling. This course directly addresses creature design through the project of modeling a dragon. The course demonstrates the workflow from initial reference gathering and blocking to detailed sculpting, texturing, and rigging. This course's focus on a specific creature makes this very useful.
See salaries and explore the career path for Creature Designer
Visual Effects Artist
A visual effects artist creates special effects for film, television, and video games. Visual effects artists use various software and techniques to composite CGI elements into live-action footage. This course's coverage of 3D sculpting, texturing, rigging, and posing will provide a strong foundation for creating compelling visual effects. The course may be useful, as the ability to model and animate creatures like dragons is particularly beneficial for visual effects artists.
See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Effects Artist
Animator
As an animator, you will bring characters and objects to life through movement. Animators work in various fields, including film, television, video games, and advertising. While this course focuses on sculpting, it also covers the fundamentals of rigging and posing, which are crucial for animation. Learning to create and pose a dragon model is very valuable for aspiring animators, especially those interested in creature animation. This course may be useful as it provides an introduction to essential animation-related skills within Blender.
See salaries and explore the career path for Animator
Rigger
A rigger creates the skeletal structure and controls that allow animators to move 3D models. Rigging is a technical art that requires a strong understanding of anatomy and animation principles. This course includes a section on creating a basic rig for the dragon model. This course may be useful, because learning to rig and parent bones to a mesh, even in a simplified context, can help you build a foundation for more advanced rigging techniques.
See salaries and explore the career path for Rigger
Technical Artist
A technical artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, creating tools and workflows to improve the art production pipeline. Technical artists often have a strong understanding of both art and technology. Learning about rigging, posing, and creating game-ready assets in Blender may be useful for aspiring technical artists. This course helps you understand the challenges and processes involved in character creation.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist
Concept Artist
Concept artists create visual representations of ideas for various projects, including video games, films, and television shows. The role often involves sketching, painting, and 3D modeling. Although this course focuses on the 3D creation of a dragon, the initial stages of finding reference images and blocking out the main shape align with the early processes in concept art. The course may be useful, particularly for concept artists interested in creature design.
See salaries and explore the career path for Concept Artist
Illustrator
Illustrators create images for various media, including books, magazines, and websites. While primarily focused on 2D art, illustrators are increasingly incorporating 3D elements into their work. This course may be useful if you are an illustrator looking to expand your skillset into 3D modeling. Learning to sculpt and texture a dragon in Blender can add a new dimension to your illustrations.
See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator
Product Designer
A product designer designs and develops new products, considering both aesthetics and functionality. While seemingly unrelated, the skills learned in this course, such as 3D modeling and sculpting, can be applied to product visualization and prototyping. This course may be useful as it provides hands-on experience with 3D modeling software, which may enhance your ability to create compelling product designs.
See salaries and explore the career path for Product Designer
Architectural Visualization Artist
An architectural visualization artist creates images and animations that showcase architectural designs. While this course focuses on creature design, the skills and understanding of 3D modeling can be transferable. You may find this course useful if you are an architectural visualization artist looking to improve your 3D modeling. The course may be useful in gaining a hands on understanding of Blender's tools.
See salaries and explore the career path for Architectural Visualization Artist
Dental Technician
A dental technician constructs dental prosthetics such as crowns, bridges, and dentures. Modern dental technology increasingly relies on digital modeling and 3D printing. This course may be useful as it introduces the fundamentals of 3D sculpting in Blender. The course is useful, because the ability to manipulate and refine 3D models may translate to creating more precise and aesthetically pleasing dental prosthetics.
See salaries and explore the career path for Dental Technician

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Introduction To 3D Sculpting In Blender - Model A Dragon.
Cover image
Putting Knowledge to Work
Save
Mastering Blender comprehensive guide to all aspects of Blender, including sculpting. It provides a solid foundation in Blender's interface, tools, and workflows. While not specifically focused on dragon sculpting, it offers valuable insights into the software's capabilities. useful reference for understanding the underlying principles behind the techniques taught in the course.
Putting Knowledge to Work
Paperback
Check
Putting Knowledge to Work
Kindle Edition
Check
Cover image
ZBrush Creature Design
Save
While this book focuses on human anatomy and uses ZBrush, the principles of form, muscle structure, and skeletal structure are transferable to creature design. Understanding anatomy will help you create more believable and realistic dragons. is more valuable as additional reading to deepen your understanding of form and structure.
ZBrush Creature Design
Paperback
Check
ZBrush Creature Design
Kindle Edition
Check

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Effort
7 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructors
GameDev.tv Team
Grant Abbitt
Rick Davidson
Language
English
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