3D After 30

Andrew_Ermakov

First reaction 

My name is Andrew, I'm 33 years old, and I've been a 3D character artist for about 2 years. In this thread, I want to document my journey of learning and, hopefully, finding the job I'm aiming for. I'm doing this mainly for my own growth, but I'd be very happy if my story interests someone—or even better, inspires someone.  

My journey in 3D started with Blender. I was trying to find my path, so in a short period of time I experimented with stylized characters, simple cartoons with basic animations, and props in different art styles.

Naturally, most of it was pretty average because I was trying a little bit of everything. But there was also a big advantage to that—I found the field I really want to grow in.

And now I'd like to show you my conscious journey in 3D, which began with studying anatomy.

I can already create characters through the entire pipeline, but I've mostly worked with indie developers through 3D marketplaces. I'd really like to work at a good studio on large AAA projects, so please don't judge me too harshly.

I know the technical side of character creation quite well, relatively speaking, but recently I decided to fill in all the gaps I still have.

So I started with anatomy

My portfolio:
https://www.artstation.com/andyhey

Feel free to throw tomatoes at me. I'll be happy to hear from everyone.

Andrew_Ermakov

I started studying anatomy. I began with the skeleton and modeled some of the body parts that were the hardest for me to understand.

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After that, I finally understood the skeleton. For some reason, the parts that had always been the hardest for me to understand were the clavicle, the scapula, and how they connect.

At that point, I moved on with anatomy. The next step was to build the muscles on top of the entire skeleton.

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Before I started studying the muscles, I decided to learn the overall form of the human body. I created a planar anatomy model and posed it like Michelangelo's David.

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Then I made my first anatomy sculpt of the main body parts. I didn't sculpt the hands, forearms, or feet yet - that will come later.

I was in a hurry, absorbing tons of information, and I wanted to finish studying anatomy as soon as possible. After that, I planned to learn Marvelous Designer and XGen properly, and then start a complete character project based on a concept.

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My second anatomy sculpt.

What I realized is that anatomy is an art you can study forever. The important thing is to find the right balance - to be an artist, not a surgeon.

Andrew_Ermakov

I think I finished studying anatomy not long ago. I finally closed that chapter for myself, so now I understand how the anatomy of humans, animals, and creatures is put together in general. Now it's all about practice. I'll try to sculpt every day to keep improving

Andrew_Ermakov

By the way, I’m also making characters for the FAB marketplace by Unreal Engine in parallel, so I can learn more freely. One of my characters was selected by FAB for a free giveaway in August 2025. Thanks to Epic Games for this opportunity.

PS: the model has been downloaded more than 160,000 times.

PS: I also think you should choose your profession around 16 years old. For that, you probably need to move out from your parents as soon as possible, at least partially, and stop listening to everyone. Just lock yourself in for half a year and focus. And one more thing - good friends (or at least one good friend) are important, people who actually want something from life besides just wasting it.

Andrew_Ermakov

By the way, this is actually my first character, which I made pretty much at the very beginning of my journey and following some tutorial. It’s stylized, though.

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then I textured it in Substance Painter.

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This is my second 3D character, also made very early in my learning process. It was very low-poly. I even rigged it and skinned it to the Unreal Engine skeleton. I also used a set of free animations and then edited individual frames.

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I kind of stepped away from the learning timeline with these two characters, but after I learned anatomy (at least I think I did ), I started doing speed sculpts, and this is one of the ones I liked.

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At that point I had to pause my studies for a bit. I was making all kinds of monsters. I was in a rush because I wanted to go back to focusing on my “gaps” (studies) again.

I put my studies on hold so I wouldn’t starve and started making characters for 3D stock marketplaces instead.

Then I ended up at a fork in the road: texturing / animation. This comes after high-poly baking. Both paths don’t really interfere with each other, so I just switched depending on my mood.

The colors in Maya are just placeholder colors so I can see during animation when the body passes through clothing. It makes it easier to read the motion.

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And here is the result with textures and finished animations. The skeleton is from Unreal Engine.

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And recently I decided it’s time to make a strong piece that will improve the quality of my portfolio, so I took a concept by Stanislav Lunin as a base.

My goal of getting into a game dev studio and working on large AAA projects feels quite realistic right now (at least there might be a chance? )

Andrew_Ermakov

I also practiced in Marvelous Designer before starting this project, making different types of clothing. Here is one of them

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And here is the finished character blocking.

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And just yesterday I finished the high poly of character, and I still need to complete the weapon, the lantern in his hand, and the backpack.

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I also have some news. In June, I was rejected for an unpaid one-month internship at Sperasoft. I was almost sure I would get in and eventually be able to work at their office as a 3D Character Artist, but luck wasn't on my side this time this time.

Maybe I missed a good opportunity so that an even better one can come along in the end?

Eric Chadwick

This is great, love seeing your progress. This is good for 2 years' worth of study and effort. Keep going, and I think that your anatomy studies should never really "end" since there's always something more to learn!