Whether you are interested in VFX for film, video game asset creation, character design or simply want to sharpen your ZBrush skills, you can learn from the best in the business with this special opportunity.

Saturday, September 28th

  • 9:00 - 1:00

    Concept Design for Large Scale Artwork

    8 Seats Left

    This workshop is an invitation to ZBrush artists who have a desire to elevate their work into the world of public art and monumental sculpture. In it, we will explore how to use your fine arts, game and character creation skills to craft a large scale work of art ready for output as a 3D print or large scale CNC form. We will cover composition in the round, visual story telling, design context, sculpting and scaling in ZBrush, rendering and procedural material creation in Keyshot and elements of fabrication. In addition, we will be reviewing the breakdown of an artist call, the creation of a presentation package and the submission process to have your work considered for selection. All level of users are welcome.

    "This in depth look into the world of public art and monumental sculpture is a unique opportunity to expand into a new field of design and creativity. Figurative or Modern, sculptural works of art are story telling tools. They can connect us to our past, inspire us, drive us forward or anchor us in an emotional moment in time. With ZBrush you can be the architect of those stories. I hope to see you there." - Cameron Farn

    A Canadian sculptor born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Cameron began his carrier as a traditional sculptor and illustrator before transitioning to digital in 2006 . He has been working in the art and entertainment industry for 22 years developing sculpture from 1:1 scale dinosaur reproductions, character and creature exploration, to public art and iconography.

    As a concept and consulting artist with Carvel Creative he assists in the development of artwork ranging in scale from the very small to the monumental for both national and international public artists. Cameron has been developing his own public art practice which relies heavily on the power of ZBrush. His works are designed to be manufactured using 3D milling as well as traditional foundry work in bronze, aluminum and composite materials.

  • 9:00 - 1:00

    Gesture sculpting

    SOLD OUT!

    We will be sculpting an asymmetric posed character in an artistic way. Learn how to show movement and flow through anatomy, where to focus, how to prioritize gesture and composition over everything else. I will help you achieve strong readable shapes, not over-smoothed, not wobbly. Will explain how to use brushes to have natural material feel.

    To attend the workshop you should be confident enough in ZBrush interface. We will taking a look at how to convert a 2D concept image into a ZBrush sculpt. I will be bringing images that you may choice from or you can prepare your own 2D concept. If you are to bring your own 2D concept I would recommend concepts with sketchy line drawings.

    A self-educated character artist based in Moscow, Russia, Maria started to use ZBrush in 2011. Since then she has worked on a wide varity of projects in animation, games, cinematics and collectible figures production.

    Her client have included ArenaNet, Unity, Axis Studios, Sideshow Collectibles, Rascals and more.

    She has always had a passion for sculpting fantasy characters, creatures and animals. She also loves to continue developing her artistic skills and knowledge, as well as sharing it with the community.

  • 3:00 - 7:00

    Introduction to ZBrush

    SOLD OUT!

    This workshop is designed to get you up and running with ZBrush so that you can start digitally sculpting with confidence. The class is a hands-on approach that starts with an exploration of the sculpting tools which forms the heart of ZBrush. Eric will guide you through the process of starting a character based project with an emphasis on techniques that you can take to whatever style and subject interests you most.

    The class will focus on how to start a digital character sculpt. You'll learn about using and customizing the sculpting brushes. You'll be introduced to dynamic topology workflows using Dynamesh, ZRemesher, and Sculptris mode. How to paint models interactively. How to use the polygon modeling tools for hard surface subjects and how to export the model in various formats for use in animation programs and 3D printing.

    Eric has been a professional CG artist for over 20 years and a devoted ZBrush user since 2004. He has authored numerous books and video series for The Gnomon Workshop, Lynda.com and Pixologic. He has taught ZBrush at the Gnomon School for 10 years. He has worked in scientific visualization and the entertainment industry. Projects include feature films, television, and interactive content. Film projects include Aquaman, John Wick 3, Star Trek: Beyond, Power Rangers, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

    Eric has worked for Imaginary Forces, Bad Robot, Otoy Inc., Filmograph and Digizyme Inc. He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Medical School and is currently working on "Signs of Life," the upcoming planetarium show at Griffith Observatory.

Sunday, September 29th

  • 9:00 - 1:00

    Dynamic Figure Sculpting

    SOLD OUT!

    During this workshop I will engage with participants to help them better grasp the concept of using the human form to create compelling, exciting and emotionally powerful sculptures. Wether you want to sculpt Hulk in full rage mode or a quiet, pensive, personal figure, I can share with students my approach to tackling this exciting subject.

    We will start by discussing the basic theory behind this, it's relevance in your personal or professional work and its history within sculpture.

    From there we will proceed to build a figure in a simple and straight forward manner using primitives and dynamesh in ZBrush. I will encourage participants to leave symmetry at the door and trust their eyes and minds to find accurate proportions througout the process. We will maintain our focus on the emotion we want to convey by using form language and rhythm without burdening ourselves with overly complex anatomical terms. I will show you how to construct the figure using critical landmarks and retain vitality in your compositions all the way through.

    I hope we will end the workshop with a greater appreciation of dynamics, composition, form, and the enduring, powerful beauty of the human body.

    Hi! My name is Ehren Bienert. I am a sculptor with 16 years of professional experience in the collectibles and statue industry. I started my career at McFarlane Toys back in 2003 sculpting in wax. In 2010 I began teaching myself ZBrush in order to stay relevant in a quickly evolving industry. I began to use 3d printers in 2014 and was hired at a small studio where I was completely immersed in digital sculpting, engineering and rapid prototyping. Working in this high pressure environment 60 hours a week taught me an incredible amount. This helped my career to expand immensely and in 2016 I was invited to join Blizzard Entertainment as an artist on their Creative Development team. I now spend every day in ZBrush creating collectibles for all of Blizzard's intellectual properties.

    I also still make time to pursue my personal figurative work, continue my experiments with 3d printing and I teach anatomy in ZBrush at the Laguna College of Art and Design.

  • 9:00 - 1:00

    Hard-surface techniques: Efficiency versus Quality

    SOLD OUT!

    A lot of people ask me those 2 questions: "Do you really make all your hard surface models entirely in ZBrush?" and "How do you work so fast?". Well the answer to both is "Yes, and let me show you!" During the workshop we will work on a modeled prepared for the purpose of practicing a few of my hard surface tricks and workflows.

    My goal will be to show you in details the techniques I have been using for a while but really focusing on the intentions and mostly the efficiency of them. You will try some techniques that are quicker, and some techniques that are cleaner, and in the end you will have the tools and knowledge of when to use which one is the best in order to gain a considerable speed as a production 3D artist!

    From the time he was a kid Marco wanted to be an artist for video games. At the age of 21 he realized that he couldn't ignore this desire and quit his government job to learn 3D arts. He studied during a one year program at Campus Ubisoft in order to become a character artist.

    He worked days and nights, then was hired at THQ. There he worked days and nights before being hired at Bioware. This led to working days and nights before being hired at Eidos. Working there days and nights he then decided to create Keos Masons with Cédric Séaut where he worked days and night to see their company flourish

    He still works days and nights -- because he just likes it!