Courses for sculpting realistic face (hesitating)
polycounter lvl 3
I want to get better at modeling faces and aside from pure practice with references I really want to try a course by a professional. I am hesitating between likeness sculpting with Frank Tzeng (charactere artist for the last of us and uncharted and yes, I use Zbrush) andthis book about facial expressions which was recommended to me.
There is another book that is about to come out next month which will be more suited to me (I feel I lack fundamentals for sculpting the face (here is pictures of the 4 last sculpt I made)) (make ultra realistic characters)
Replies
That Anatomy 4 Sculptors book is probably going to be the best foundationally given your current skill level.
So I think as I'll wait for it I'll buy this other course so I can exercise my eyes to see special subtle features that define "who's the face".
And I believe that's the other main skill to developpe, to train one observation skill to be able to spot each details that define the whole "physical identity".
I believe this is your wheelhouse.
Have you happened across any mateerials breaking down all the pore shapes, styles, and location/zones on the facee in ONE learning resourcee/website?
I'm working a contract right now where I couldn't use scan data for speed reasons, but realized I had very little reesourcecs on hand about what and where to place which type of pores from ALL the skin brushes I downloaded over the years.
Like I said on the other thread, I'm a beginner as well. So I may be way off. But It seems that getting a likeness is more akin to using the sight-size method in drawing. There's no real secret sauce, except tons of practice. Which is why I suggested getting trials so you don't end up feeling like you unnecessarily spent money.
Having said that, there's always the chance that even if the overall tutorial isn't what you hoped for, there's some 30 second comment or technique that changes how you look at things,
In that spirit, maybe this has some bits and bobs that could help?
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/w8yrQO
https://www.artstation.com/dazp/blog/o49/using-lighting-to-help-with-capturing-a-human-likeness
There's also Julian Khor on YT who has an entire playlist for sculpting a Bruce Lee likeness.
The trouble is, unless someone has specifically watched the course by Frank Tzeng, it's difficult to say. The YT comments on his trailer aren't very encouraging. No doubt, he's a fantastic artist. But is he a good teacher?
Sorry if this is all unnecessary blabbering, & not what you sought when you posted the thread. Cheers!
And about the video course, I bought it, and it is absolutely not that bad, indeed it show how a professional does to materialize mandatory detail that allow a recognition of a particular face. I haven't finished the course yet (it is 16 hours long), I am just starting the level 2 subd but this really train your observation muscle. This course allow to work hard confidently.
And again thanks for all the golden learning links you provided, I haven't gone through all of them but I certainly will when I am done with the frank tzeng course.