Digital Sculpture: Inside the Sculptor's Studio
In this ongoing course, students will follow along with a wide range of topics and techniques in digital sculpture. Students will have the opportunity to select from a variety of subjects as well as request ones that interest them.
Nathaniel Edmunds
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(2)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
Digital sculpture is the practice of 3D modeling through the use of a pressure-sensitive pen or drawing pad. This course is designed as an ongoing set of modular lessons in Blender, a free, open-source, digital content creation package. For the best experience, students can download and install Blender in advance and follow along during the demonstration. A link to the Blender website and competing software products is available in the Sources section below. Students are welcome to use these other sculpting software in the course if they prefer but I cannot guarantee that my expertise will be up to date on those packages and I do not anticipate dedicating class time to extensive troubleshooting. No experience is necessary here, as every session will always review and integrate the basic skills necessary for sculpting in Blender. This is an intuitive skill development process with very few technical barriers. This calm and mindful process is well-suited to anyone who enjoys drawing or painting and is especially satisfying for those with an interest in real-world sculpture. Digital sculpture boasts the twin benefits of never running out of material and never needing to clean up. This hybrid medium blends two-dimensional drawing practice with three-dimensional thinking. It has consistently opened up creative doors for emerging artists over the past decade and a half of its existence and is widely used in content creation pipelines for games and film. Every session will have something new and every artist will be empowered to practice their own creative direction, integrating what they are learning in the course with other practice in hand-eye coordination and graphical literacy that they may be getting elsewhere. Students are invited to request topics in the comments. While I cannot guarantee that we will be able to address every request directly, all such requests will be taken into consideration while developing the topic calendar. The following session descriptions will be updated weekly to reflect upcoming opportunities in all sections: 01.17~01.23 - Parts of the human head: the eyes 01.24~01.30 - Parts of the human head: the mouth 01.31~02.06 - Sculpting from a base mesh: raven skull 02.07~02.13 - Creature Corner: Dragon head 02.14~02.20 - Planes of the Face
Learning Goals
Students will be able to …
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to develop 3-dimensional forms
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to study natural forms
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to increase resolution of sculptural forms
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to create textured surfaces and detail
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to create representations of natural forms
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to advance a sculptural composition from simple, abstract shapes into dynamic, representational forms
Use Blender’s sculpting tools to modify and expand on existing 3-dimensional models, including base meshes designed for that purpose and 3D scans of real-world objects
Use Blender’s material and lighting system to render simple, dramatic images of sculptural work
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Parents should be advised that, while we do study anatomy in this course, all humanoid subject matter is focused on the head and hands. Some sessions will address blocking out sculptural poses but figures in such cases will have drapery added, in line with traditions in European figure sculpture and painting. This technique allows artists to focus their time and attention on the most expressive parts of the body, saving valuable time and energy, while retaining the added benefit of keeping things age-appropriate.
Supply List
The best course experience will be if learners can download and install Blender in advance, on a computer with a touchscreen or drawing pad attached. Many affordable drawing pads are available for purchase online and some second-hand stores have fully functional versions for under $10. A touchscreen device is acceptable but may not have pressure-sensitive control, unless equipped with a pen that provides that function. Blender is one of the most reputable free, open-source software projects ever produced and boasts a massive following of amateur and professional artists alike. For its use in this course and digital sculpting in general, there is no need for a high-end computer - anything from the past 10 years should suffice (with the exception of Chromebooks, which were designed in such a way that software installation options are extremely limited). Feel free to reach out with questions on hardware and related issues.
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Blender is the software used in this course. It is free and open-source. This software is available at www.blender.org and benefits from a considerable international following. Other sculpture programs to consider include ZBrush, Sculptris, and Mudbox. Students are welcome to use whatever software they like but all instruction will be done in Blender.
Joined July, 2021
5.0
2reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have received professional fine arts training in traditional and digital media through a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Maine College of Art, with additional tutoring in the Russian Academy style while volunteering with Peace Corps Ukraine.Reviews
Live Group Class
$12
weekly1x per week
55 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-18
4-18 learners per class
