CREATE A 3D CHARACTER FROM A 2D CONCEPT

Learn how Gerard Martínez Sánchez turns a cartoon illustration into a unique render

- Gerard Martínez Sánchez

ZBRUSH | MAYA | BLENDER | SUBSTANCE 3D PAINTER | ARNOLD

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to convert a 2D concept into a stunning 3D render that captures the essence of the original. The character I’ve chosen here is the famous hobbit Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings, based on a concept by Spanish artist Javier Burgos.

With the techniques in this tutorial, you’ll learn to create characters that are faithful to the concept while adding your own personal touches. You’ll gain valuable skills and experience in sculpting, texturing, lighting and rendering that you can apply to your future projects.

We’ll start by using ZBrush to sculpt the character, before diving into Maya for retopology and UVs, which will optimise the model for animation and renders. The next step will be texturing. For this, we’ll use Substance 3D Painter to give our character the look we want, with the details and textures desired.

Once we’ve finished texturing, we’ll return to Maya to assign the materials and add lights. Arnold will serve as our render engine to deliver an impressive final image, as it enables us to create detailed, photorealistic renders.

To give our character the presence that he deserves, I’ll show you how to adjust the lighting and materials to get the cartoon style we’re after. With these tweaks, we can give our rendition of Bilbo a strong appearance alongside his own unique personality.