2D & 3D Modeler
Study Program Courses

This course is designed to equip students with the foundational and advanced skills necessary for creating professional-level 2D and 3D models. Throughout the course, students will explore the key concepts, tools, and techniques used in the industry for both 2D design and 3D modeling. Emphasis is placed on understanding the workflow from concept to execution, focusing on software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Blender, and Maya. By the end of the course, students will develop a portfolio showcasing their abilities in creating compelling visual assets for games, films, virtual reality, architecture, and more.

Learning Details and Options

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Key Areas:

  1. Introduction to 2D & 3D Modeling

    • Overview of the industry and its applications
    • Difference between 2D and 3D modeling

  2. 2D Design Basics

    • Understanding shapes, lines, textures, and colors
    • Vector vs. raster graphics
    • Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and similar platforms

  3. 3D Modeling Fundamentals

    • Understanding the 3D space (X, Y, Z coordinates)
    • Basic geometry and topology
    • Creating basic shapes and structures

  4. Advanced 3D Techniques

    • Texturing, lighting, and shading
    • Sculpting techniques for more detailed models
    • UV mapping and material application

  5. Animation and Rigging Basics

    • Creating rigs for animation
    • Keyframe animation and timeline control
    • Understanding motion and physics in 3D space

  6. Rendering and Exporting Models

    • Rendering for various platforms and outputs
    • Optimization techniques for game engines, films, and AR/VR

  7. Industry Practices & Project Pipelines

    • Workflow management in a production setting
    • Collaboration with other departments (e.g., animators, developers)

Assessment & Project Types:

  • Project 1: 2D Asset Creation
    Design a 2D asset for a game or film, showcasing proficiency in shape manipulation, color theory, and texture application.

  • Project 2: 3D Model Development
    Create a 3D model of an object, character, or scene, focusing on basic geometry and topology.

  • Project 3: Texturing & Lighting
    Apply textures, lighting, and shading to a pre-modeled object to create a photo-realistic render.

  • Final Project: Full 2D/3D Pipeline Project
    Develop a complete project (either game asset, animation, or scene) utilizing all elements of 2D or 3D design. The final deliverable includes a portfolio-ready presentation, which will be peer-reviewed and assessed based on industry standards.

  • Quizzes & Written Assignments
    Assess theoretical knowledge of concepts such as geometry, topology, UV mapping, and rendering principles.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing this course, students will be able to:

  1. Understand and apply fundamental principles of 2D and 3D modeling.
  2. Utilize industry-standard software to create 2D and 3D assets.
  3. Develop complex models with detailed textures, lighting, and shading.
  4. Design and execute animation and rigging for 3D models.
  5. Render models for various outputs including games, films, and VR environments.
  6. Manage a complete design pipeline from concept to final render.
  7. Create a professional portfolio that demonstrates mastery in 2D and 3D modeling techniques.

This course serves as an excellent foundation for careers in game development, film production, virtual and augmented reality, and more.

Regular & Intensive Learning Option

  • Class Schedule:
    Morning Students – Monday to Thursday, 09:00 am – 03:00 pm
    Afternoon Students – Monday to Thursday, 03:30 pm – 08:00 pm
  • Teaching Method: Online & Offline / Online only (eg. Google meet video call)
  • Course Duration: 5 sessions (15 months)
  • Session Length: 1 session = 3 months
  • DWTA Qualification: Academic Diploma
  • CTVET’s National TVET Qualification Framework (NTVETQF): Higher National Diploma
  • Tuition & Guidance Fees:
    • Ghc 2570 per session or
    • Ghc 890 per month

Slow-Paced & Relaxed Learning Option

  • Class Schedule:
    Weekend Students – Saturday, 09:00 am – 05:00 pm
  • Teaching Method: Online & Offline / Online only (eg. Google meet video call)
  • Course Duration: 5 sessions (15 months)
  • Session Length: 1 session = 3 months
  • DWTA Qualification: Academic Diploma
  • CTVET’s National TVET Qualification Framework (NTVETQF): Higher National Diploma
  • Tuition & Guidance Fees:
    • Ghc 2570 per session or
    • Ghc 890 per month
Apply Now

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Outline: 1st Session (1 – 3 Months)

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical backend development skills and hands-on experience, ready to embark on a career as a backend developer.

A full 3-month course in 2D and 3D modeling will likely cover a wide range of skills, tools, and techniques, preparing you to work in fields like animation, game design, architecture, or visual effects. While specific curricula can vary by school or instructor, here’s a breakdown of what you can expect to learn in each phase of the course:

Fundamentals of 2D Modeling & Design

The first month will typically focus on foundational design principles and mastering basic 2D modeling techniques.

Introduction to 2D Design

  • Tools: Introduction to software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or Clip Studio Paint.
  • Basic Drawing and Sketching: Understanding basic shapes, lines, and how to combine them into more complex objects.
  • Digital Painting: Learn about color theory, shading, lighting, and texture painting.
  • Basic Composition: Layout and design principles, such as the Rule of Thirds, leading lines, and focal points.

Introduction to 2D Vector Art and Animation

  • Vector Drawing: Learn the basics of vector-based illustration (using tools like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape).
  • Basic 2D Animation: Start with simple animations such as moving objects, creating loops, and keyframe-based motion.
  • Typography: Understand how to work with type, including font selection and design for projects.
  • Storyboarding: Introduction to storyboarding for animations, games, and other media.

Introduction to 3D Modeling & Animation

The second month focuses on transitioning into the 3D world, building more complex assets, and getting into the basics of 3D animation.

3D Modeling Fundamentals

  • Software Introduction: Learn industry-standard 3D modeling software like Blender, Autodesk Maya, or 3ds Max.
  • 3D Basics: Learn to create basic geometric shapes and objects (cubes, spheres, etc.) and modify them.
  • Extrusion & Subdivision: Learn how to extrude shapes, subdivide surfaces, and work with polygonal modeling.
  • Viewport Navigation: Understand how to move around 3D space, zoom in/out, and rotate the camera.
  • Topology & Edge Loops: Understand the importance of clean mesh structure, and learn to work with edge loops for smooth, deformable models.

Intermediate 3D Modeling & Texturing

  • Advanced Modeling Techniques: Learn more advanced modeling like hard surface modeling (mechanical parts) and organic modeling (characters, creatures).
  • UV Mapping: Introduction to unwrapping 3D models and applying 2D textures.
  • Texturing: Work with materials, shaders, and basic texturing techniques.
  • Lighting & Rendering: Understand how to set up lighting for 3D models and render scenes.
  • Introduction to Animation: Simple object animations, such as rotating, moving, or scaling an object.

Advanced Techniques in 3D Modeling & Animation

In the final month, the focus will shift toward polishing your skills and applying your knowledge to more complex projects.

Character Modeling & Sculpting

  • Sculpting Basics: Introduction to digital sculpting in programs like ZBrush or Blender.
  • Character Design: Learn how to design and model 3D characters with proper anatomy.
  • Rigging & Skinning: Understand how to set up a skeleton (rigging) for your 3D models and bind it (skinning) for animation.
  • Advanced Texturing: Learn to create and apply more complex textures (normal maps, bump maps, etc.) to your models.

Advanced Animation & Final Projects

  • Advanced Animation Techniques: Learn more sophisticated animation principles, including keyframe animation, rigged character animation, and facial rigging.
  • Camera Animation: Work with camera rigs to animate camera movements for cinematic shots.
  • Final Project: Apply everything you’ve learned to create a complete 2D or 3D project. This could be a short animation, a character model, or a detailed environment.
  • Portfolio Creation: Build a portfolio showcasing your best work to present to potential employers or clients.

Optional Add-ons:

  • Game Asset Creation: Learn to create 3D models optimized for game engines (like Unity or Unreal).
  • Motion Capture: Introduction to motion capture techniques, using pre-recorded data to drive 3D animation.
  • Post-Production: Basics of compositing, visual effects, and video editing using tools like After Effects.

Key Skills You’ll Gain:

  • 2D Design: Drawing, vector art, and basic animation skills.
  • 3D Modeling: Hard-surface and organic modeling, topology, UV mapping.
  • Texturing: Application of textures, UV mapping, and shaders.
  • Animation: Keyframe-based and rigged animation, with a focus on character animation.
  • Software Proficiency: Mastery of industry-standard software like Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, and Adobe Suite.
  • Portfolio Development: Create a professional portfolio showcasing your 2D & 3D modeling and animation work.

Outline: 2nd Session (4 – 6 Months)

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical backend development skills and hands-on experience, ready to embark on a career as a backend developer.

After completing the first 3 months of your 2D & 3D modeling course, you’ll have built a solid foundation in both 2D and 3D modeling, as well as animation techniques. The next step will focus on refining your skills, mastering advanced techniques, and applying them to real-world projects. Here’s an outline of what you could expect in months 4 through 6 (if you continue for another 3 months) to deepen your expertise:

Month 4: Advanced 3D Modeling Techniques & Workflow Refinement

This month will focus on taking your 3D modeling skills to the next level and refining your workflow for professional use.

Week 1-2: Advanced Hard Surface Modeling

  • Mechanical Models: Learn how to create complex hard surface models (e.g., vehicles, buildings, tools) with a focus on precision and functionality.
  • Modular Modeling: Understand how to create reusable assets, which is essential for environments and game assets.
  • Booleans and Complex Shaping: Use Boolean operations and modifiers to create intricate details and complex shapes.
  • Detailing: Adding high-resolution details such as bolts, screws, and small features to make your models more realistic.

Week 3-4: Advanced Organic Modeling and Sculpting

  • Character and Creature Modeling: Advanced techniques for modeling detailed characters, creatures, and organic forms with attention to anatomy and natural detail.
  • Sculpting Workflow: Dive deeper into digital sculpting (using ZBrush, Mudbox, or Blender) for highly detailed models.
  • Dynamic Detailing: Learn how to add skin folds, wrinkles, and finer anatomical features for a more lifelike result.
  • Topology for Animation: Improve your understanding of edge flow and topology to make models that are ready for animation.

Month 5: Mastering Texturing, Shading & Lighting for Realism

This month focuses on elevating your texturing and shading skills to create realistic materials and lighting for your models.

Week 1-2: Advanced Texturing Techniques

  • PBR Texturing: Learn the principles of Physically-Based Rendering (PBR) for realistic material creation (metal, fabric, skin, stone).
  • Substance Painter: Get hands-on with tools like Substance Painter and Substance Designer to create complex textures and materials.
  • Baking: Learn how to bake textures (normal maps, ambient occlusion maps) from high-poly models to low-poly models.
  • Procedural Textures: Explore procedural texturing, where you generate textures based on parameters rather than painting them manually.

Week 3-4: Advanced Shading & Lighting Techniques

  • Shading Networks: Master the creation of complex shaders in software like Blender, Maya, or Unreal Engine.
  • Lighting for Realism: Learn how to set up realistic lighting using HDRi maps, three-point lighting, and advanced techniques like ray tracing.
  • Environment Lighting: Work on lighting environments, such as outdoor scenes with sunlight and atmospheric effects (fog, clouds).
  • Rendering Techniques: Learn how to optimize your render settings for photorealistic results, with an emphasis on render engines like Arnold, Cycles, or V-Ray.

Month 6: Advanced Animation, Rigging, and Special Effects

By now, you should have a solid grasp of modeling, texturing, and basic animation. This month will focus on making your models move convincingly and adding advanced effects.

Week 1-2: Advanced Rigging & Skinning

  • Character Rigging: Learn how to set up advanced rigs for characters, with more complex bone structures and control rigs.
  • Facial Rigging: Focus on facial rigging to create expressive animations for characters.
  • Automated Rigging Tools: Get hands-on with auto-rigging tools like Mixamo or Rigify in Blender, which can speed up the rigging process.
  • Skinning Techniques: Refine your skinning skills to ensure natural deformations during animation.

Week 3-4: Advanced Animation & Motion Capture

  • Keyframe Animation: Learn advanced principles of keyframe animation, such as secondary motion, squash/stretch, and anticipations.
  • Character Animation: Focus on animating characters with more complex movements—running, walking, and interacting with the environment.
  • Motion Capture Integration: Learn how to use motion capture data to animate characters, either by integrating Mocap data or manually applying it.
  • Dynamics & Simulations: Work with physics simulations for realistic cloth, hair, and soft body deformations. Understand how to simulate natural environments like cloth fluttering or hair movement.

Optional Specializations or Add-Ons:

During the final months of the course, you may also want to explore some specialized areas based on your interests:

Game Asset Creation (Optional)

  • Game Engine Integration: Learn how to import your 3D models into a game engine like Unity or Unreal Engine, optimizing models for real-time performance.
  • Asset Optimization: Focus on low-poly modeling techniques for game-ready assets, using normal maps and baking details.
  • Game Animation: Learn how to animate characters and objects for real-time use in games, dealing with frame rates and animation states.

Environmental Design (Optional)

  • Environment Modeling: Specialize in creating entire environments (natural landscapes, buildings, etc.) with advanced landscape modeling tools.
  • Advanced Materials: Focus on creating realistic materials for nature scenes (terrain, water, rocks).
  • World Building: Learn to build cohesive worlds for games, films, or animations, from architecture to vegetation and atmospheric lighting.

Visual Effects (Optional)

  • VFX Creation: Learn to add visual effects to your scenes, like explosions, smoke, fire, or water, using particle systems and fluid simulations.
  • Compositing & Post-Processing: Work with compositing tools (like After Effects or Nuke) to integrate your 3D models into real-world footage and adjust lighting, shadows, and color.

Portfolio Building & Industry Application

Throughout the last month or two, you’ll focus heavily on applying everything you’ve learned to complete a portfolio project that showcases your newly refined skills. This may include:

  • Creating a Fully Animated Character: From modeling to rigging, animation, and final render.
  • Realistic Environments: Modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering a complete scene.
  • Client Projects: Simulating real-world workflows by taking on a mock “client project” with requirements to meet (such as designing a character or environment).
  • Final Portfolio: Assembling a polished portfolio with your best work to present to potential employers or clients, including both personal and project-based pieces.

Key Takeaways by the End of the Extended Course:

  • Advanced 3D Modeling: Mastery in both hard surface and organic modeling techniques.
  • Texturing & Shading: Ability to create high-quality textures and materials, and optimize them for different use cases (game engines, film).
  • Animation: In-depth understanding of character animation, rigging, and motion capture.
  • Lighting & Rendering: Expertise in creating photorealistic lighting and rendering for both still images and animated sequences.
  • Portfolio Development: A comprehensive, industry-ready portfolio with finished, polished projects.
  • Specialized Skills: Optional skills like game asset creation, VFX, or environmental design based on your interests.

Outline: 3rd Session (7 – 9 Months)

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical backend development skills and hands-on experience, ready to embark on a career as a backend developer.

After completing the first 6 months of your 2D & 3D modeling course, you’ll have gained proficiency in a wide range of foundational and intermediate techniques. By the end of the second phase, you should be confident in creating complex models, textures, animations, and integrating them into game engines or film pipelines. The next 3 months (Months 7-9) would be about honing your skills to a professional level, diving deeper into specialized areas, and preparing you for real-world challenges.

Here’s what you’ll likely cover in Months 7-9:

Month 7: Professional Workflow & Industry Practices

At this point, you’re expected to start working like a professional. This month focuses on enhancing your workflow efficiency and applying industry-standard practices for modeling, texturing, and animation.

Week 1-2: Professional 3D Modeling Workflow

  • Industry Pipeline: Learn how to work in a professional pipeline, with collaboration in mind (from pre-production to post-production).
  • Asset Management: How to organize and manage 3D files, textures, and assets within a team setting.
  • Non-Destructive Workflow: Learn techniques for working with non-destructive workflows, where changes can be made without affecting the original model.
  • Reference Gathering: Understand how to collect reference images and blueprints to base your models on (e.g., orthographic views for character modeling).
  • Real-World Model Reproduction: Practice creating 3D models from real-world objects or environments, focusing on proportion and accuracy.

Week 3-4: Advanced Character Design & Modeling

  • Stylized vs. Realistic Characters: Learn the differences between modeling stylized and realistic characters, including proportions, facial structures, and expressions.
  • Character Workflow: Develop characters from concept to completion, considering silhouette, pose, anatomy, and character traits.
  • Character Clothing & Accessories: Master clothing modeling, from hard to soft surface clothing. Focus on details like folds, seams, and fabric texture.
  • Hair & Fur Simulation: Learn techniques for modeling hair, fur, and even feathers using hair particles, strands, or physics-based systems.

Month 8: Advanced Animation, Rigging, and Motion

By this stage, you will want to refine your animation and rigging skills further, exploring more complex techniques and focusing on professional-level motion design.

Week 1-2: Complex Animation Techniques

  • Character Animation Principles: Master the principles of animation, such as overlapping action, follow-through, exaggeration, secondary motion, and anticipation.
  • Body Mechanics: Work on animating realistic movements such as running, walking, jumping, lifting, and even facial expressions. You’ll need to focus on muscle, skin deformation, and realistic movement.
  • Complex Action Sequences: Learn to animate complex scenes like combat, stunts, or emotional scenes with a focus on the timing and motion of characters.

Week 3-4: Advanced Rigging & Facial Animation

  • Advanced Character Rigging: Delve into rigging complex characters with advanced features like dynamic muscles, rigging for cloth simulation, and facial rigging for nuanced expressions.
  • Facial Animation: Learn how to create facial rigging systems (like blendshapes or bone-based rigs) for detailed facial expressions, lip-syncing, and emotion animation.
  • Inverse Kinematics (IK): Understand the differences between IK and FK (Forward Kinematics), and how to use them in character rigging for more realistic limb movements.
  • Procedural Animation: Use software like Houdini or Maya to create procedural animations (e.g., automatic muscle deformations, clothing simulation, or crowd simulations).

Month 9: Real-Time Rendering, Virtual Production, and Specializations

In this final stretch, you’ll focus on integrating your skills into a professional workflow, and mastering cutting-edge techniques for the gaming and film industries.

Week 1-2: Real-Time Rendering (Game Engines)

  • Unity/Unreal Engine: Learn to import and optimize 3D assets for real-time engines, with a focus on performance and rendering quality for games or VR experiences.
  • Lighting & Shading for Real-Time: Develop expertise in real-time lighting techniques, dynamic shadows, and shader creation for interactive environments.
  • Optimizing Assets for Games: Learn to create low-poly models, LODs (Level of Detail), and optimized textures for real-time applications, all while maintaining high visual quality.
  • Interaction Design: Create interactive objects and models (e.g., animated doors, vehicles, destructible objects) for game mechanics.

Week 3-4: Virtual Production & Visual Effects

  • Virtual Production Techniques: Learn how to combine 3D modeling and animation with live-action footage using virtual sets, motion capture, and LED screens for realistic, in-camera effects.
  • Particle Systems & Effects: Dive into creating particle effects like explosions, smoke, fire, and rain using tools like Houdini, Blender, or Unreal’s Niagara system.
  • Fluid & Cloth Simulations: Master the simulation of realistic fluids (water, liquids, explosions) and cloth (e.g., draping, folds, wind effects) for cinematic or game environments.
  • Compositing: Learn the basics of compositing your 3D renders with live-action footage using tools like Nuke or After Effects.

Portfolio & Professional Development

Throughout the last three months, your focus will be on real-world application and developing a professional portfolio that reflects your expertise in both 2D and 3D modeling. You’ll also cover industry standards for presentation and client-facing skills.

Creating a Final Portfolio

  • Personal Projects: Develop a final personal project that combines all the skills learned in the course, including character design, environment modeling, rigging, animation, and texturing.
  • Collaborative Projects: Engage in team projects to simulate real-world collaboration, mimicking what you might experience in a studio or freelancing environment.
  • Portfolio Polishing: Ensure your portfolio is diverse, including stylized and realistic models, complex animations, and high-quality renders. Work on a clean presentation for potential employers.
  • Showreel Creation: Create a professional showreel that showcases your best work (with a focus on high-quality animations, models, and rendering).

Industry Practices & Freelancing

  • Freelancing Tips: Learn how to start working as a freelance 3D artist—how to price your work, manage clients, and market your skills.
  • Networking & Job Search: Understand how to approach potential employers or clients, including how to present your work effectively, and tips on building a professional network (via LinkedIn, ArtStation, Behance, etc.).
  • Industry Tools & Software: Stay updated on the latest software and tools, ensuring you’re working with the same industry standards used in major studios.

Key Takeaways by the End of the Full 9-Month Course:

  • Advanced 3D Modeling: Mastery over both organic and hard-surface modeling techniques, as well as real-world asset creation.
  • High-End Animation: Professional-level animation and rigging skills, including character animation, facial rigging, and procedural animation.
  • Real-Time Rendering & Game Design: Full proficiency in creating assets for real-time environments (games, VR) using Unity or Unreal Engine.
  • Visual Effects: Ability to create realistic visual effects and integrate them into a production pipeline for both games and films.
  • Portfolio & Industry Readiness: A polished, professional portfolio that demonstrates your technical expertise and creativity, ready for both freelance and studio work.

By the end of this comprehensive 9-month course, you’ll be ready to enter the industry as a skilled 2D/3D Modeler with the ability to work on a variety of projects, from game development and film production to VR experiences and virtual production. You’ll also be well-prepared for the competitive job market or even to start working as a freelance artist.

Outline: 4th Session (10 – 12 Months)

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical backend development skills and hands-on experience, ready to embark on a career as a backend developer.

After completing the first 9 months of your 2D and 3D modeling course, you’ll already be at an advanced level with solid technical proficiency, industry-standard workflows, and a professional portfolio. In the final 3 months (Months 10-12), the focus will shift to specialization, cutting-edge technologies, and preparing you for leadership roles in the industry. You’ll refine your skills to an expert level and gain insight into some of the most advanced topics in modeling, animation, and production.

Here’s an outline of what you could learn during these final 3 months:

Month 10: Specialization in Advanced 3D Techniques & Digital Sculpture

Now that you have mastered the basics, you’ll focus on becoming an expert in specific areas of 3D modeling, such as high-end sculpting, detailed texturing, and other advanced techniques used in AAA games and high-end films.

Week 1-2: Advanced Digital Sculpting

  • High-Resolution Sculpting: Learn how to sculpt extremely detailed models, focusing on micro-details such as pores, wrinkles, and skin imperfections. This is crucial for film-quality characters.
  • ZBrush Mastery: Deep dive into ZBrush for sculpting with more advanced brushes, techniques like Dynamesh, ZRemesher, and Surface Noise to create realistic, production-ready models.
  • Creature and Organic Modeling: Specialize in creating creatures, characters, and organic forms using advanced sculpting and detailing techniques.
  • Anatomy for Artists: Further study of human and animal anatomy to perfect sculpting in a realistic and artistic manner.

Week 3-4: Advanced Texturing & Material Creation

  • Advanced Substance Suite: Go beyond basic texturing with Substance Painter and Substance Designer, creating complex materials and textures for high-quality 3D models.
  • Texture Painting: Master texture painting and fine detailing, learning how to paint intricate details directly onto your 3D model using tools like Mari or Blender.
  • Advanced Shading Techniques: Dive into more complex shaders, such as subsistence scattering, car paint, skin shaders, and reflection/refraction models.
  • Mastering UV Mapping: Become an expert in UV unwrapping to prepare models for realistic texturing, working with multi-UDIM setups for high-res textures.

Month 11: Advanced Animation Techniques & Motion Design

By now, you’ve learned the fundamentals of animation and rigging. In this month, you’ll focus on more sophisticated and nuanced animation techniques, motion design, and integrating motion capture into your workflow.

Week 1-2: Complex Motion and Expression

  • Facial Performance Animation: Focus on realistic facial animation, including advanced lip-syncing, emotional expression, and character-driven performance animation.
  • Advanced Body Mechanics: Refine character animation with focus on motion capture, secondary animation, and human physics. Work on natural body movements such as complex gestures, action scenes, and character interactions.
  • Gesture Animation: Master dynamic poses and gestures for characters, particularly for scenes involving high action or emotional intensity.
  • Motion Capture & Cleanup: Learn how to clean up and enhance motion capture data, integrating it seamlessly with character rigs for high-quality animation.

Week 3-4: Advanced Simulation & Dynamics

  • Cloth Simulation: Learn to create realistic cloth simulations with tools like Marvelous Designer or Blender’s Cloth Sim. Animate clothing and fabrics interacting naturally with your characters.
  • Hair & Fur Simulation: Delve into advanced techniques for hair and fur simulation using XGen, Blender Hair Particles, or Yeti.
  • Fluid & Particle Systems: Learn to create realistic fluid dynamics, including water, lava, and complex particle systems like fire, smoke, and explosions using tools like Houdini or Blender’s Physics Simulations.
  • Soft Body & Rigid Body Simulations: Work with soft-body physics (e.g., organic deformation of materials) and rigid-body simulations for destructible objects, using tools like Houdini and Blender.

Month 12: Mastering Virtual Production & Cutting-Edge Technologies

In the final stretch of your course, the focus will be on virtual production, real-time rendering, and advanced tools used in AAA games and high-budget films. You will also learn about emerging trends in the industry.

Week 1-2: Virtual Production for Film & TV

  • Virtual Sets: Learn how to create virtual environments that interact with real-world footage using Unreal Engine or Unity.
  • LED Wall Technology: Understand the use of LED walls and motion capture to create seamless in-camera VFX, like in The Mandalorian series.
  • Interactive Environments: Master techniques for creating fully interactive virtual environments, including camera movements, lighting, and actors within the virtual space.
  • Motion Capture & Real-Time: Learn to use motion capture data in real-time for performance-driven scenes, adding more depth and authenticity to animations.

Week 3-4: Cutting-Edge Tools and Emerging Techniques

  • Real-Time Ray Tracing: Understand the principles of real-time ray tracing and how it improves lighting, reflections, and global illumination in both games and films.
  • AI-Assisted Modeling & Animation: Get introduced to AI tools and plugins that speed up modeling and animation processes, like AI-driven rigging or automated animation generation.
  • Procedural Generation: Learn how to use procedural generation tools like Houdini for creating complex environments, terrains, and simulations that can be used in games or movies.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR): Get an introduction to AR/VR workflows for 3D modeling, learning how to create models that will work in immersive environments.

Portfolio & Final Project (Throughout the Final 3 Months)

In the final months, you’ll focus on crafting your final portfolio and showreel, showcasing your best work with a professional touch.

Building Your Final Portfolio

  • High-Quality Character Models: Create highly detailed, professional character models with accurate textures and rigging. This is often the most impressive part of any portfolio.
  • Full Animation Sequences: Include complete animation sequences for your models, showcasing your ability to animate with realistic movement, expression, and timing.
  • Interactive Game Assets: If you’re pursuing a game design focus, include real-time assets optimized for use in game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine.
  • Virtual Production & VFX: Showcase your understanding of advanced VFX and virtual production by combining 3D assets, VFX, and motion capture with live-action footage in a short demo.
  • Personalized Projects: Include personal, creative projects where you applied your own unique vision. These could involve stylized modeling, complex environments, or cutting-edge techniques like procedural design.

Key Takeaways by the End of the Full 12-Month Course:

  • Expert-Level 3D Modeling & Sculpting: Mastery of high-end sculpting techniques for characters, creatures, and environments, along with advanced texturing and material creation.
  • High-End Animation: Expertise in complex animation, facial performance, and body mechanics, including motion capture integration and advanced simulation techniques.
  • Virtual Production & Real-Time Techniques: Proficiency in creating assets for virtual production, including using Unreal Engine for interactive environments, and understanding real-time ray tracing.
  • Industry-Ready Portfolio: A polished portfolio showcasing your best work with a range of complex, production-ready assets, animations, and simulations.
  • Cutting-Edge Technologies: Knowledge of the latest tools and techniques in the 3D modeling industry, from AI-driven animation to augmented reality.

By the end of these 12 months, you’ll have honed your skills to an expert level, prepared to tackle complex challenges in AAA game production, high-end animation, virtual production, and VFX for feature films. Your portfolio will be ready to impress top-tier studios, and you’ll be well-prepared to jump into the competitive industry of 2D/3D modeling and animation.