Tutorial: Claymation in ZBrush
The Gnomon Workshop has released Claymation in ZBrush, a ground-breaking guide to creating claymation-style animation in CG, recorded by artist Alexander Lee.
The intermediate-to-advanced-level workshop provides over five hours of video training in ZBrush, Maya, and Blender.
Discover how to create claymation digitally, using a frame-by-frame sculpting workflow
In the workshop, Lee demonstrates his workflow for creating claymation-style animation digitally, using ZBrush to sculpt each frame individually to achieve a handcrafted result.
The workshop covers the entire pipeline, including character setup in ZBrush and Maya, frame management with Lee’s own UltraClay software, frame-by-frame animation in ZBrush, and final lighting, rendering, and compositing in Maya and Blender.
As well as providing technical details, Lee breaks down his thought process for creative problem-solving, from initial concept and inspiration to final renders.
Artists will learn tips and techniques spanning character sculpting, rig setup, keyframe animation, frame sculpting, lighting and rendering, and compositing.
Although the workshop uses Maya for animation, and the tools provided are Maya-specific, the fundamental concepts can be transferred to other applications, like Blender or Houdini.
As well as the tutorial videos, viewers of the workshop can download Lee’s UltraClay animation tool, and a custom ZBrush menu is included in the project files, for quick access to key features.
About the artist
Alexander Lee is a freelance Senior Technical Artist who has been working in the videogame and VFX industries since 2012, as a technical artist, animator and sculptor.
He has worked on projects for Apple, Survios and Pure Imagination Studios, on projects including Alien: Rogue Incursion, Alien: Descent, and The Walking Dead: Onslaught.
Price and availability
Claymation in ZBrush is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.
Subscriptions cost $57/month or $499/year. Free trials are available.
Read more about Claymation in ZBrush on The Gnomon Workshop’s website
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