Are you ready to take your first steps into modeling 3D characters? In this beginner-friendly Blender course, you’ll create an adorable 3D panda bear while learning the fundamental tools and techniques used by professionals in the animation, gaming, and VFX industries.

Welcome to "Introduction to Character Modeling in Blender for Beginners" a hands-on, project-based class where you’ll build your first 3D character from scratch using Blender—one of the most powerful (and free!) 3D software programs available today.

Whether you’re curious about 3D character creation, building a portfolio, or just want to try something fun, this course will guide you step by step through the process of modeling a simple but fully-formed character.

This course will cover different modeling methods to create each part of the body and I will guide you through the whole process, I’ll teach you different modeling methods and I’ll give you some of my personal tips that can help you model more efficiently.

Once we've finished the model, we'll use some parenting techniques to pose the bear, we’ll add some materials and learn about adding UVs and creating textures, as well as add some lighting and a camera to render a final image.

What you’ll learn

You will be able to create your first 3D character following proper techniques.
You will understand how to start from simple primitives and shape them into all the different body parts.
You will comprehend how to place reference images correctly and how to follow a visual guide accurately.
You will learn useful modifiers such as subdivision surface, mirror, and shrinkwrap, and identify when to use each one.
You will learn how to add UV’s and paint textures inside Blender and connect them into the materials you create.
You will understand how to place a light and a camera to establish a shot.
You will know what rendering is and what are the necessary properties to keep in mind when you export an image.

You’ll be creating

A cute panda bear
Textures to apply specific color to the panda.
A high-resolution image exported from the rendering of the panda bear.

Course requirements

You should be familiar with the Blender interface and basic modeling techniques. If you’ve never used Blender before, I recommend you check my other classes first: Introduction to Blender 3D: Complete beginner’s guide to 3D modeling and 3D Modeling for Beginners with Blender: Create a Chess Set using Professional 3D Modeling Techniques
You need to be able to work with a computer that can run Blender version 2.9 or higher. You can check the hardware requirements that Blender suggests here: Blender requirements.
It's recommended to work with a three-button mouse, but it's not mandatory.

Who this course is for

Anyone who is curious about the world of animation, visual effects and games, and has the desire of learning how to create 3D characters with Blender.
Anyone who is understands the very basic concepts of 3D modeling and wants to learn how to apply those concepts for modeling a character.
Anyone who feels confident moving around the Blender interface and wants to get more in depth about 3D character modeling specifically.
This course is not intended for someone that is proficient with the 3D character modeling and sculpting.

Erica Skeels

Digital Illustrator

--

7