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Please note that our evening courses will be running live online in 2021 as access to our campus is limited in line with government guidance. For more information, please visit our live online learning page or contact our Admissions team.

Character Creation for Games and VFX (Evening - 18 weeks)

Visualise your own character designs and bring them to life

Over 18 weeks of evening classes, you’ll design, model, texture and pose your own character. Everything you need to bring your character ideas to life!

This course will allow you to explore different character design techniques, create 3D models using Maya and ZBrush and then paint and texture your character to give it a distinct look. This course is jam-packed but is designed for beginners - to take you through every stage of the process.

There will be a focus on creating characters for visual effects and video games but the basics are the same for all types of characters so don't let that put you off if you are looking for more traditional animation or motion picture character creation.

Location: Live online
Start dates: TBC
Tuition fees: £1,046
Mode of study: Evening (Part time)
Programme duration: 18 weeks (Monday Evening: 7pm - 10pm)
Entry requirements: Aged 18 or over, a good understanding of written and spoken English

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Why choose this course

Create your own character - from concept to final render

Learn from award-winning tutors - our tutors have not only been behind some of the best new talent in their field, but have an impressive array of achievements from their time practicing what they preach.

Get hands-on experience in design, modeling, texturing, rigging and animation.

Small class sizes - we keep our class sizes small to ensure that we deliver a personalised, student-led approach to learning.

Study in a creative environment - we’re the leading digital arts academy in the UK and you’ll study alongside other creatives and be part of the Escape community.

Module information

Week 1: Introduction to course – photo-bashing/concept art for characters
Week 2: Introduction to ZBrush – sculpting/basics – how to use brushes, interface
Week 3: Sculpting in ZBrush – dragon head
Week 4: Blocking out a character’s pose – using Zspheres
Week 5: Rigging a character for posing in ZBrush
Week 6: Sculpting cloth, cloths, hair, fur
Week 7: Hard surface sculpting in ZBrush – making an armour
Week 8: Hard surface sculpting continues – making assets and an armour
Week 9: Introduction to Maya – modelling basics
Week 10: Maya modelling continued – modelling assets for characters, import assets to ZBrush
Week 11: Blend shapes for facial expression
Week 12: UVs – exporting models and maps from Zbrush, UVing in ZBrush, Zremesher, Retopo in Maya
Week 13: Making high and low poly in ZBrush continued – importing and baking in Substance Painter
Week 14: Introduction to Substance Painter and texturing painting
Week 15: Procedural texturing
Week 16: Projection mapping for characters
Weeks 17 & 18: Finalise projects

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Where will this get me?

This course is designed for beginners and it will give you a taste of the different roles within VFX and animation. You’ll be able to try the different aspects of character creation to see if this could be a future career path for you. Plus you’ll finish the course with a character that you’ve designed, created and animated - a fantastic asset to add to your showreel.

Our students go on to work in many areas of the industry as highly creative professionals. You'll find our alumni, dubbed Escapees, in many of the world's top VFX studios, behind many Oscar and BAFTA-nominated films, 100s of award-winning films and television shows and 1,000s of award-winning commercials. See some of our Escape Studios success stories.

In addition to the soft skills that you will learn and enhance, working in a professional studio environment will give you the edge when applying for jobs in a highly competitive industry.

Fees and funding

Fees: £1,046

Payment plans

Please contact Admissions to discuss a possible payment plan. Call on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or email admissions@escapestudios.com.

Funding for international students

We recommend you visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs website. The Council doesn’t provide funding directly, but it will give you all the information you need about studying and living in the UK, including visas and funding.

We do our best to find funding solutions for overseas students. For example:

If you’re from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Burma, you may be able to get funding from the Charles Wallace Trust, to help towards your living costs and educational development in the UK. Find out more at wallace-trusts.org.uk.

Get in touch

We can help with any problems or questions you have with course fees and funding. Speak to one of our Applicant Advisors via phone or email today! Call us on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or email admissions@escapestudios.com.

Next steps

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Try before you buy and get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us.

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For a one-to-one chat or a personal tour of our industry-like studios, contact our Admissions team.

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Meet our tutors

Our tutors have all sculpted their own careers in successful studios in the industry and are now sharing their expertise in the classroom. Packed with everything from Thor: Ragnarok, Black Mirror and Black Panther to the original Lion King and multiple PlayStation titles, their CVs don't get much cooler! They know exactly what skills you need – teaching you real-world tips and tricks, as well as the latest industry software and techniques to kick-start your career.

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Industry partners

Industry partners and advisors influence everything we do, from the curriculum we teach and how it's delivered to our webinars and events.

We work alongside an impressive list of VFX, Games and Animation studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, Blue Zoo, MPC, Jellyfish Pictures, PlayStation London Studio and Creative Assembly and many more across all our courses at Escape Studios.

With exclusive professional feedback, intensive software training and much more, our industry-led courses give you up-to-the-minute, inspirational knowledge and experience, tailored to the work you’re passionate about. Our Escape Studios Alumni (Escapees) can be found working at a variety of studios including Pixar, MPC, Industrial Light & Magic, DNEG, Rockstar Games and Electric Theatre Collective.

Find out more about our industry partners

Why Escape Studios?

Learn industry-relevant techniques from the experts, in a studio-like environment.

Industry-experienced tutors. Our tutors have worked at studios including DNEG, Walt Disney Animation, EA, Rebellion and Framestore and their credits include Captain America, Black Mirror and Bond: Spectre. They speak at international conferences, like B’Ars (Spain) and VIEW Conference (Italy), write for industry-recognised blog Befores&Afters, and are authorised trainers for software like Unreal Engine, Autodesk or Houdini.
State-of-the-art facilities. Our central London campus is surrounded by world-leading studios and fully equipped with high-end hardware and the latest software.
Industry partners. Our studio partners, including DNEG, Framestore and PlayStation London Studio, help design and develop our courses to make sure that what we teach is relevant to the current industry practices. You’ll also have access to events and webinars ran by our Student Experience team with industry speakers.

Live online learning

Character Creation for Games and VFX (Evening - 18 weeks)

Next steps

Open events

Taster courses

Meet us

Meet our tutors

Industry partners

Why Escape Studios?

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