Character Facial Sculpting by Dmitrij Leppee

A 10-week deep dive into the human face. You’ll start with a digital ball of clay and build the head from the inside out—first the skull, then the muscles, fat, and finally the skin. The goal isn’t just to copy a reference, but to understand why a face looks the way it does, so you can sculpt portraits that feel alive and tell a story.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• The complete anatomy of the skull, neck muscles, and facial fat compartments.
• How to build a realistic portrait from scratch without a base mesh.
• Techniques for retopology, polypaint, and sculpting realistic hair.
• How to sculpt facial expressions and create a final, portfolio-ready pose.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Intermediate sculpting or drawing knowledge. Familiarity with ZBrush UI is recommended.
• Tools: A graphics tablet with a digital pen.
• Hardware: A computer capable of running ZBrush smoothly.

📝 Description

This isn’t a “copy this reference” course. It’s about building a mental model of the face. You’ll start with the skull, learning the landmarks that define every head shape. Then you’ll add cartilage, glands, and the eyes, understanding how they sit in the sockets. From there, it’s on to the muscles and fat compartments—the stuff that actually creates the unique topography of a person’s face.

The teaching method is hands-on and iterative. You’ll spend each week layering a new anatomical system onto your sculpt, getting individual video feedback from the instructor. By the time you reach the skin layer, you won’t be guessing where a wrinkle goes; you’ll know exactly which muscle is pulling underneath. The final weeks focus on polish, retopology, polypaint, and sculpting an expressive pose to create a final image that shows off your new understanding of the face.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Intermediate 3D artists who want to move beyond generic face sculpts.
• Character artists looking for a structured, anatomy-first approach to portraiture.
• Modelers who want to understand the “why” behind facial forms for more believable work.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Dmitrij Leppee is a Senior Character Artist at Hidden Path Entertainment. His work spans both film and games, with contributions to projects like Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Call of Duty Vanguard. He has experience across the entire character pipeline, from concept and modeling to texturing, look dev, and groom. He brings a practical, industry-focused perspective to teaching, emphasizing the foundational knowledge that allows artists to solve problems on their own.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully sculpted, retopologized, and polypainted human head.
• A final rendered image of the character with a dynamic expression and pose, ready for your portfolio.

📢 Guys, this is a Group Buy campaign, check the GBC forum thread to get access

You can find the course preview in the download section below.