Creature Sculpting and Topology for VFX 2025

Learn how to create an industry-standard creature sculpt and retopologised model with UVs.

Course Schedule
19.05.2025 - 11.07.2025
Tutor
Jonathan Reilly
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Explore and learn how to create a CG character sculpt and model

Creature Sculpting and Topology for VFX is a live/online course where will take you through the process of creating an industry-standard creature sculpt and model, ready to be rigged and textured.

For those that cannot make the live/online sessions, they will be recorded and uploaded to the CAVE platform, so you’ll be able to work through the teaching at your own pace.

The course will begin by taking a concept that has been designed by Paul Mellender for the course, Creating Creature Concepts for VFX, and our internal short film being created here at CAVE: Second Date (SCD).

Once we’ve discussed the purpose of the asset and how it will be used for the short film, we’ll look to gather additional supporting reference to ensure our creature is grounded in reality.

We’ll then look at creating a concept sculpt in ZBrush before moving on to fitting our CAVE base mesh to the sculpt. We’ll continue to refine the sculpt and modify the topology and UVs to suit the requirements of the asset. Finally, we’ll set up some production-quality turntables to make our asset ready for review and sign off.

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Course Details

  • Type: Online
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Format: Online Zoom meetings
  • Term 2: Summer
  • Schedule: 19th May 2025 - 11th July 2025. Date TBC
  • Workshop Session: 3hrs. Date TBC
  • Feedback Session: 2hrs. Date TBC
  • Tools: Maya, ZBrush, Faceform, Nuke, Arnold
  • Prerequisites: Introduction to Maya 1001
  • Course Access Time: Lifetime

Learn the tools and techniques to create a realistic creature model

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Lessons in this course

  • Week 01. Analysing the Concept and Gathering Additional Reference

    In this lesson, we'll break down the concept provided by Paul Mellender, start gathering additional supporting reference reference, and look at how we'll approach the creation of our creature.
    Available on: 2025.05.19 10:00 am

  • Week 02. Blocking out the Primary Forms

    This lesson will cover how to go about blocking out the primary forms in ZBrush, with a focus on proportion and anatomy.
    Available on: 2025.05.26 10:00 am

  • Week 03. Sculpting Secondary Forms

    With the main forms blocked out, let's start layering in the secondary forms.
    Available on: 2025.06.02 10:00 am

  • Week 04. Refining the Primary and Secondary Forms

    In this lesson, we'll continue to refine both the primary and secondary forms to complete our sculpt.
    Available on: 2025.06.09 10:00 am

  • Week 05. Wrapping the CAVE Base Mesh to the Sculpt

    Here, we'll wrap our CAVE base mesh to the sculpt and transfer the details from sculpt to the mesh.
    Available on: 2025.06.16 10:00 am

  • Week 06. Modifying the Base Mesh to Better Suit the Sculpt

    Here, we'll push the topology of our CAVE base mesh to better match the shape and form of our sculpt. This will ensure our model is more suited for deformation.
    Available on: 2025.06.23 10:00 am

  • Week 07. Adding Tertiary Details and Refining the UVs

    With the major forms in place and our topology good to go, let's now add some tertiary detail and update our UVs to ensure they are production ready.
    Available on: 2025.06.30 10:00 am

  • Week 08. Finalising the Model and Creating Turntable Renders

    This lesson will go through the steps of finalisting the model, so it is ready for surfacing and rigging. We'll ensure the asset completes the initial design brief, fix any outstanding technical issues, and finally, we'll create a series of production-quality renders.
    Available on: 2025.07.07 10:00 am

Course Information

  • Course Type: Live, Online Zoom meetings
  • Schedule: 19th May 2025 - 11th July 2025. Date TBC
  • Workshop Session: 3hrs. Date TBC.
  • Feedback Session: 2hrs. Date TBC.

Tutor: Jonathan Reilly

Character Art Director

With a professional career spanning roughly 2 decades, Jon is a well-established and versatile character artist. His roles have found him working on some of the most iconic characters in cinema such as Shere Khan for the Jungle Book, and Proxima Midnight for Avengers: Inifinity War. Jon has also sculpted numerous Street Fighter favourites for collectibles, and has also worked on multiple award-winning video games. Jon has been a guest speaker for both higher education institutes and industry shows and continues to share his experience and knowledge to the next generation of artists. So, if you want to know how to sculpt a character, Jon is your guy.

Early Bird Offer: save 20%

Enrol before 01st May: £224.99 (Standard Course Fee: £279.99)

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