Hi everyone,
I have just successfully completed my first course, 'Blender Basics'. It was a great start, and I now understand the fundamental tools of the software.
My ultimate goal is to become a specialist in Character Design. I want to create high-quality 3D cartoon characters (like SpongeBob) that can blink, talk, and have full facial expressions. Additionally, I aim to export these characters to Roblox.
Since I have finished the basics, I am a bit confused about the next path. Should I move toward Character Modeling, Sculpting, or Rigging? Which specific course on this platform should I take next to start building my first real character?
Looking forward to your expert advice!
It depends on your skill level. Sculpting is the common next step when it comes to Character creation, but Poly modeling is more in the realm of Roblox. You may want to check out some of the Character creation modules or even the CONCEPT course. I'd probably Start with Concept then move to Character Design Process. I haven't watched the second one yet. Although I did like the Piero - Animated Character Concept. Two others that are on my list to watch are Creating Character - Where to start and Creature Concept Design. Rigging and Animation I'd wait until you are comfortable with modeling first since you want to specialize.
***Edit*** Just saw that Kent created a playlist: https://cgcookie.com/playlists/5911-track-character-creation-with-blender
BASEMESH would also be a good one to check out. It starts with a basemesh, but shows you how you can create your own characters quickly. (The blender hair system might not be able to be used for roblox stuff though, but maybe the "proxy mesh" hair stage could be adapted or maybe there's a way to convert Blender's hair to hair cards or the styles could be done with curves that could be made into a mesh that would work with Roblox stuff)
Also... some of those courses Dwane mentioned are based on older versions of Blender... the techniques are still valid, but there's probably differences in how things look/operate/are used. BASEMESH Is also a version of Blender or two back, but will be more up to date, relatively, as far as interface.