Stylized Characters in 3D by Hannah Kang

This 8-week course is all about bridging the gap between cartoony stylization and comic-book realism. You’ll start by picking a favorite 2D concept and then build it out in 3D, focusing on the core forms that make a character feel appealing and solid. It’s a practical, hands-on class designed to take you from a rough blockout to a finished, portfolio-ready model.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• How to translate a 2D concept into a 3D character.
• The workflow for building primary and secondary forms.
• Techniques for sculpting appealing facial features, hands, and feet.
• How to block out and clean up costumes and props.
• A final polish pass including polypainting and posing for presentation.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Strong knowledge and skill in modeling stylized characters.
• Tools: ZBrush and Maya (3Ds Max is acceptable, but the instructor uses Maya).
• Hardware: A 3-button mouse and a drawing tablet are recommended.

📝 Description

This isn’t just a “watch me sculpt” course. Hannah Kang breaks down the entire process of creating a stylized character into a logical, repeatable pipeline. You’ll start by gathering reference and blocking out your character with simple primitive shapes—thinking in broad strokes before getting lost in the details.

The real focus is on form. You’ll learn how to build primary forms, then layer in secondary forms to create that sense of volume and appeal that makes stylized characters pop. The course dedicates specific weeks to tricky areas like facial features, hands, and feet, giving you targeted practice on the parts that often make or break a design. By the end, you’ll have a clean, posed, and polypainted character ready to show off.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Intermediate 3D artists who already have a solid grasp of modeling fundamentals.
• Artists looking to specialize in stylized character art for games or film.
• Anyone who wants a structured, project-based approach to building a character from start to finish.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Hannah Kang is a Digital Sculptor and Designer at Dreamworks Animation, where she has worked on films like Bad Guys, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Ruby Gilman: Teenage Kraken. Before that, she honed her craft at Legacy Effects Studio, contributing to blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Pacific Rim 2. Her personal style is often described as “bleedingly cute,” and she brings a real-world, industry-tested perspective to her teaching.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully realized, posed, and polypainted stylized character model.
• A strong portfolio piece demonstrating your ability to translate 2D concepts into 3D.
• A solid understanding of the form and appeal that defines professional stylized character art.

📢 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.