BUILD AN EPIC CHARACTER WITH STYLISED TEXTURING

Two artists team up to explore a hand-painted texturing workflow for their formidable Viking

- Gerard Martínez Sánchez

This is Björn, our fearsome character inspired by Nordic culture, and in this workshop, we'll explain how we brought him to life. First up is Gerard Martínez Sánchez, a pro 3D character modelling artist, who will guide you through the initial creative process, from sculpting in ZBrush right the way through to optimising in Maya for animations and renders.

But what will truly make our Viking character stand out is the magic of texturing, which is where concept artist Eliant Elias will reveal his painting process. As you can see, the character is given his unique look through hand-painted textures, and in this tutorial, we'll place special emphasis on this aspect. You'll discover surprising techniques and the key elements to creating textures in the style of series like Arcane, adding in depth and realism to every detail.

Once the texturing process is complete, we'll then jump into Blender to assign our materials and play with the lighting. This is where the Cycles render engine will be our ally to help us achieve an impressive, detailed final image. We'll carefully adjust the lighting and materials to capture the stylised appearance that characterises our Viking, giving him both a magnetic presence and a one-of-a-kind personality that will set him apart from other digital characters.

This tutorial won't only set you up with the necessary skills for sculpting, texturing, lighting and rendering, but will also allow you to breathe life into all of your 3D creations, staying faithful to the original concept while adding your own distinctive touch. We'll discover how texturing work can transform your character into a captivating piece of digital art.

Get ready to take your art to the next level, giving your characters the presence and personality to make them memorable, while having fun along the way!

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