Hi
I’m Sidney, a 3D character artist, and this knowledge pool is for me, you, and everyone else.
More about this handbook
I’m a self-taught artist, and I know just how difficult it can be to piece together a variety of snippets from various sources in an effort to get a complete picture. So, I made this handbook to cover the entire workflow, as well as other things, like composition, character design theory, anatomy, and more. I’m not saying that this is the end-all-be-all, but it can definitely be your main support line, which you can compliment with a bit of your own research.
My goal with this handbook isn’t to cover entry level stuff. Rather, the methods and workflows I explore are mainly industry standard; following them will yield great results. A perfect example of this would be the baking page, in which I demonstrate how even amazing studios, like Riot Games, don’t always have the best approaches to difficult problems.
This is probably best suited for intermediate and advanced 3D artists. If you’re a 2D artist, then you might find something interesting here. My 3D workflow mostly consists of the following software: Blender, ZBrush, Marmoset Toolbag, Substance Painter, Photoshop and Unreal Engine. Therefore, this handbook will cover workflows in the software listed above, but many of the concepts are universal and can be applied to other software, as well.
If you don’t understand a term, give the glossary a visit.
Handbook's features
Learn more about this handbook’s features on the GitHub.
I’m happy to hear any feedback and requests on things to improve or add, just message me on Discord (username: epicrex)
Some parts of this handbook are still a work in progress, and those parts are denoted with the 🚧 symbol.
Explorer
⬅️ This explorer is always visible on the left side (if not, try pulling your browser window wider).
Theory
📑 Glossary
🌆 Composition
👩🏽💻 Technical Side of Character Design
🧠 Artistic Side of Character Design
📐 Topology & Retopology
📊 Optimization
🎨 Color
🗺️ Texture Maps
🖼️ Image Extensions
Art SoftwareMesh
🧊🗿 Organic Sculpting & Hard Surface Sculpting & Modeling
🌀 Workflow between ZBrush & Blender
🟠 Sculpting in Blender
💇🏽♀️ Hair
Anime Style CharactersTexture
🎁 UV Mapping
🧭 Baking & Texturing Preparations
🎛️ Baking
🖌️ TexturingPresentation
🦴 Rigging
🎭 Posing & Animating
💡 Lighting
🌀 Blender to Unreal PipelinePost
🎥 Rendering
🪄 Compositing
🔗 SharingSoftware Specific Knowledge
⚪ ZBrush
🟠 Blender
🔮 Blender Add-ons
🔮📑 Blender Add-ons GuideExtra
Anatomy
Unreal Engine
All Things from This Handbook Relevant for 2D Artists
- 🌆 Composition
- Anatomy
- 🎨Color
- 🧠 Artistic Side of Character Design
- ⌨️ Photoshop Hotkeys
- ⌨️ Clip Studio Paint Hotkeys
- ⌨️ Procreate Hotkeys
- Art Courses
- 2D Art Resources
Awesome Blender GitHub by Mdsanima
A treasure trove of links to all kinds of places.