Character Rendering
Learn advanced rendering and painting techniques to render both stylized and realistic looking characters!
Teacher Artwork by Zach Cohen
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Character Rendering
In this course, you will learn the entire process of creating beautifully rendered character paintings. Starting with learning how to pose and sketch your characters in poses that depict personality and with the illusion of weight and three-dimensionality. You will then progress to learning painting techniques and tricks for rendering various textures such as skin, hair and clothing. You will also be taught the most effective painting methods and work processes so you can get your character from sketch to finished concept without hassle.
By the end of this class you will have new portfolio-worthy character illustrations and, what's more, you will have learned how to render your character concepts to a stunning degree of polish, detail and realism!
- Course Type Online Concept Art Classes
- Duration 10 weeks
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Skill Level
Level 3 Level 3
These courses are for people who can already draw and paint realistically and can create complete digital illustrations.
Level 3 classes will help students to give a new edge to their images, properly render their digital work, and bring them closer to a professional level.
- Language English
Schedule
Note: This class will be offered online only
Term: TBD
Class Timings: TBD
Date of first class: TBD
Duration: 10 weeks
If you are unable to attend the class during the times listed above, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor.
It should be noted that students should set aside a minimum of 3 hours per week to complete assignments for this class. Students may even require a bit more time (4-5 hours per week) depending on how quickly they can work through assignments.
*Please note that this class' duration is subject to change (to either 1.5 hours or 2 hours) depending on the number of enrolled students.
These shorter class formats are conducted with more of a personalized mentorship style, allowing students to have more time devoted to their assignments' critiques and the ability to ask more questions in class, while still maintaining all of the theory and planned curriculum for the regular class length.
Prerequisites
Skill requirements
To enroll in this course you should have:
- Intermediate drawing and digital painting skills (use of proper perspective, proportions, shading and colour).
- Proficiency with all basic Photoshop tools.
- Ideally completed Digital Painting, in addition to drawing classes such as Analytical Sketching, and Drawing the Human Form (or have equivalent practice/experience).
If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.
Language and age requirements
You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. *Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Minimum Artistic Skills Required
Your current skill level should roughly be on par with the artwork featured here before taking this class. If you are still unsure, please send an email to [email protected]; we will be happy to assess your artwork!
Required Materials
Material List:
- A desktop computer or laptop with Photoshop installed*
- A graphic tablet with pressure sensitivity (from brands such as Wacom, Huion, or Xencelabs), OR a tablet-laptop hybrid (also with Photoshop installed) with pressure sensitivity (such as the Wacom Cintiq Companion or Microsoft Surface Pro).
Important note:
Please note that the vast majority of our digital classes are taught using Adobe Photoshop and that this is also the recommended program for students to use. You may consult our FAQ for more information on other software which may be potentially used for class, however, please note that no technical assistance will be provided by instructors on the use of alternative painting software as they may not be familiar with the program.
Please ensure that all of your hardware and software are functioning properly before the start of the term; there will not be any time to resolve technical issues in class.
*Please consult our Tech Requirements below for more precise computer specifications.
Tech Requirements for Attending Syn Studio Online Classes
Minimum Requirements
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
- A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
- Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome
- Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10
Syn Studio Recommendations
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
- Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
- High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
Course Outline
*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Rendering the face and head is covered throughout the course, while other topics are covered as follows:
Weeks 1 and 2: Develop your ability to pose your characters and to work with shape and volume.
Weeks 3 and 4: Understand the subtleties of colour and learn to use them to create more captivating character illustration.
Weeks 5 and 6: Learn a powerful step-by-step method for rendering light and shadow. Become proficient in rendering clothing and folds.
Weeks 7 and 8: Acquire the best techniques for materials indication, painting believable skin, hair and reflections.
Weeks 9 and 10: Bring your rendering to production level under the guidance of the instructor.
Testimonials
Questions and Assistance
Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625
Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]