Making Film-Quality Characters as a Student

I catch up with my friend and former coworker Greg Strangis, a veteran character artist who’s worked at Rockstar Games, Naughty Dog, and Turtle Rock Studios on projects including Red Dead Redemption, GTA V, and Back 4 Blood.After years of working on AAA games, Greg is pursuing a longtime dream: creating his own game.His latest project, Black Tides: Draga’s Wake, is an ambitious maritime horror game being developed by a small, independent team working remotely across seven countries.We talk about how the project began, the challenges of assembling a team, developing a clear creative vision, pitching publishers, and building a game that can compete visually with much larger productions.We also dive into Greg’s character art process, exploring the design and creation of the game’s protagonist, Draga, and one of its grotesque creatures. Greg shares insights into his ZBrush and Substance Painter workflow, character design, sculpting, texturing, and building production-ready assets for Unreal Engine.Beyond the technical details, this conversation is really about creative independence, taking risks, and what it takes to turn a personal passion project into something much bigger.Check out Greg’s work and support the game:Black Tides: Draga’s Wake — Steam / Wishlist:https://store.steampowered.com/app/4810650/Black_Tides_Dragas_Wake/Watch the Official Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_aDU8NWTAGreg Strangis — Portfolio:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/NrqmK5Learn Character Art:Course:https://www.characterclass.comMentorship:https://www.characterclass.com/mentorship

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with character artist Leandro Leijnen to break down the creation of Alvida, one of the main characters from the animated short Au-delà des mots (Beyond Words).Leandro takes us through the full production process behind the character, including design, modeling, texturing, grooming, cloth simulation, rendering and presentation. We also take a deep dive into the Houdini system he built to automate hair and cloth simulations across shots and make the character work within an actual animation pipeline.We talk about working as part of a team, building characters for production instead of just a final render, learning new tools under a deadline, and the amount of work that goes into taking a character all the way from an initial idea to the screen.Au-delà des mots went on to win Best Student Project at SIGGRAPH 2026, and Leandro is now working as a Character Modeler at Illumination Studios Paris.Leandro’s Alvida project:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/NqDRn5Watch Au-delà des mots / Beyond Words:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRGPqWgPY4&t

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with Swann Valenza, one of three artists behind the French creative collective Coup de Foudre, to break down their incredible animated project La Nuit Rouge.We dive into how a tiny team developed a unique style that mixes low-poly 3D, hand-painted textures, Grease Pencil, matte painting and cinematic filmmaking techniques—all while designing the pipeline to be fast enough for a small independent team.Swann walks us through their Blender scenes, character workflow, 2D/3D facial setup, camera-projected environments, procedural tears, animation, and the creative decisions that helped La Nuit Rouge reach millions of viewers online.We also talk about building an independent animation studio, prioritizing emotion over technical perfection, working with friends, and why small teams can create things today that would have once required a much larger studio.Watch La Nuit Rouge and see more from Coup de Foudre:https://www.coupdefoudrecollectif.com/lanuitrougeHope you enjoy the conversation!— J

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with veteran sculptor and character artist Rishikesh Nandalaskar to break down his incredible painterly Wolverine “Sculpketch.”With more than 20 years of experience working at studios like Rhythm & Hues, Framestore, and Sideshow Collectibles, Rishikesh shares the workflow he’s developed to create expressive “3D paintings” that blur the line between digital sculpting and concept art.We dive into his ZBrush-only workflow, painting directly on the model, creating expressive brush strokes, rendering entirely inside ZBrush, and why personal projects continue to be one of the fastest ways to grow as an artist. Along the way, we also discuss trusting the creative process, time management, and how quick sculpt sketches have influenced his professional career.You can see more of Rishikesh’s work here:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9892VaIf you’d like to learn his workflow yourself, check out his Wolverine Sculpketch ZBrush Tutorial:https://www.artstation.com/a/52218122Use code SCULPKETCH_J_40 for 40% off.I hope you enjoy the conversation!

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with senior character artist Anna Smirnova to break down her incredible Samurai character project—a piece she originally created while taking Character Class.https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qJoywPWe dive deep into her workflow, from blockout and design decisions to Marvelous Designer, ZBrush, hair cards, Unreal Engine lighting, and the artistic choices that elevated the project into something truly special.Anna shares how she balanced stylization and realism, solved difficult design problems, and why iteration and experimentation became some of the biggest lessons she carried forward.If you’re interested in character art, presentation, texturing, or building portfolio projects that stand out, there’s a lot to learn from this conversation.Topics covered:• Choosing the right concept• Designing missing elements from the concept art• ZBrush and Marvelous Designer workflow• Micropoly techniques for repetitive details• Hair cards and FiberShop textures• Face sculpting and VFace textures• UDIMs and Substance Painter workflow• Lighting and presentation in Unreal Engine• Creating cinematic renders• Iteration, experimentation, and career advice

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I talk with Omid Moradi about the relentless work it takes to stand out as a character artist today.We cover portfolio building, artistic identity, online visibility, taking risks to grow faster, and the mindset required to build a long-term creative career in the game industry.A conversation about discipline, momentum, and the years of effort behind artistic breakthroughs.Use code JHILL20 for 20% off Gnomon Workshop http://bit.ly/3IAnkE0🔗 Omid's Work here🔗 Character Class

In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with character artist and art director Claudiu Tanasie to break down his striking painterly 3D style.We take a deep dive into his piece Broken Faith, exploring how he blends sculptural brushwork, stylized textures, and experimental rendering techniques to create characters that feel like living illustrations. Claudiu shares insights into his workflow—from simplifying scan data and sculpting expressive forms, to building complex hair systems with XGen and pushing Arnold far beyond its typical use.We also talk about the bigger picture: developing a personal style, why great work often looks effortless (but isn’t), and how personal projects can shape your career more than client work ever could.If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out as an artist—or how to make 3D feel more like painting—this one’s for you.

Rodrigo Paulicchi shares how he created this awesome stylized 3D character with Zbrush and Blender. View the finished work here - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lGWn45 ► My Game Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com ► Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join _________________________________________ 💬 Join the Discord community: https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ 📓 subscribe to my character art notes https://www.characterclass.com/newsletters/character-notes 🤝 Become a member https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/artofjhill 🌐 My website: https://www.jhill.com 🔗 ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/jhill ◆ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@artofjhill ◆ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artofjhill ◆ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artofjhill/ ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup _________________________________________

Dev Mehta shares how he created this detailed Elf Knight game model. view the full work here - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OvlJk6 ► My Game Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com ► Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join _________________________________________ 💬 Join the Discord community: https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ 📓 subscribe to my character art notes https://www.characterclass.com/newsletters/character-notes 🤝 Become a member https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/artofjhill 🌐 My website: https://www.jhill.com 🔗 ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/jhill ◆ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@artofjhill ◆ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artofjhill ◆ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artofjhill/ ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup _________________________________________

Check out Byungwhee's awesome work here - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nJPxzK ► Join Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com ► Free Character Art Starter Pack - https://bit.ly/character-pack ► Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join _________________________________________ 💬 Join the Discord community: https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ 📓 subscribe to my character art notes https://www.characterclass.com/newsletters/character-notes 🤝 Become a member https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/artofjhill 🌐 My website: https://www.jhill.com 🔗 ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/jhill ◆ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@artofjhill ◆ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artofjhill ◆ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artofjhill/ ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup _________________________________________