If you are an aspiring 3D character artist and you want to get good as fast as possible, this post is for you.
This is a one-year training plan for learning to make 3D character art. Aimed at people in their first or second year of making characters, especially if you have not finished your first full character yet.
If I were just starting to learn 3D character art, knowing what I know now, this is exactly how I would approach it. The goal is simple. Make the best character art you can in one year and learn as much as possible along the way.
Not for a job yet.
Not for a portfolio yet.
Just to build real skill.
This is what I'd do.
The Challenges
If you are early in learning 3D character art, the first thing to deal with is expectations.
Thinking too far ahead about careers, money, or “making it” is not useful. It usually just creates pressure, frustration, and dissapointment. The only expectation that really matters at this stage is personal growth.
You want to:
make cool characters.
understand the process.
get better.
Another big challenge is direction. Most people start learning character art without a real plan. You usually just gravitate towards big, epic projects inspired by a game or character you love.
That instinct makes sense. I did the same thing.
The problem is that big character projects are overwhelming, especially when you're new. There is so much to learn that it is easy to get stuck, lose momentum, or burn out completely. But we want to do them.
A lot of aspiring character artists fall off because these projects inevitably become way bigger than imagined and that initial drive and passion can only last so long.
This plan is designed to address these challenges. This also is using my Bricks & Pillars ideology which you can read more about here
The One-Year Plan
If I had just one year, I would allow myself to work on one large character project, because that's what we want to do. You want to make a real character. A full one.
But I would not rely on that project alone.
Instead, I would run two parallel tracks at the same time:
-
One long-term character project
-
A series of small, focused character art projects
This makes learning more enjoyable, more flexible, and much more effective.
The Roadmap
Want a simple way to organize this yourself?
I made a free Notion template that’s built around this exact system.
It lets you plan long-term character projects while stacking small, focused projects alongside it, without overthinking things.
You can grab it here if you want to follow this plan step by step.
The Big Character Project
You get one big character project for the year.
This is your long-term project. The character you slowly build over time as you learn. There is no strict deadline other than the year itself.
This project is about quality, not speed. You want to let it develop naturally. You want to care about it.
But here is the key point. This should not be your only project.
If you only work on one big character for a full year, you only get one long learning experience. And if you get stuck halfway through with nothing finished, it becomes very easy to give up.
That is why the second track matters.
The Small Character Art Projects
Alongside the big project, you work on small character art related projects.
Small projects are not random. You choose them strategically.
Any time you are worried about a part of the big project, that becomes a small project first.
Worried about anatomy?
Do a small anatomy study.
Never done UVs before?
Do a small UV project.
Unsure about topology, hair, clothing, materials, or lighting?
Do a small project focused on just that.
The goal is that when you finally hit those stages on your big project, it is not your first time.
Not your first time doing topology.
Not your first time unwrapping UVs.
Not your first time doing hair.
That alone removes so much stress.
Aim for small projects that take less than a week. Give them a deadline and stick to it. These projects are about finishing, not perfection.
Why This Training Plan Works
This approach is based on the fact that finishing projects is how you improve.
Small projects give you repeated practice across the full character art workflow. Modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, and presentation. You get to practice finishing.
Your big project is where you apply everything you're learning.
By the end of the year, you will have:
• Finished many more projects
• Practiced every part of character creation multiple times
• Built confidence through repetition
• Created a much stronger full character
Instead of one drawn-out experience, you get many learning cycles. That compounds fast.
Example Projects
Here is just a little collection of small projects to serve as examples. all of which took less than a week to complete.
A few more for good measure:
- Hand anatomy study
- Facial expression sculpt
- Metal Smart Material
- Fabric Texturing study
- Hard Surface modeling exercise
- 3 Point Lighting
- Lighting Experiments
- Body part sculpt study
- Cloth sculpt exercise
- Photorealistic still life
- Character Bust
- Game Hair study
- Rendering exercise
- Donut Tutorial
and so on....
How to Start
Start simple.
First, make a list of ideas. Things you think are cool. Styles, characters, themes, anything that excites you.
Next, pick your big project. Don’t overthink it. This is not a magnum opus. It just needs to be something you care about enough to stick with for a year.
Then pick a small project to start with. Something you can finish quickly and get momentum.
From there, go back and forth.
Any time you feel stuck or overwhelmed, start and finish a small project. Let those wins fuel you.
Your big project is where you apply what you’re learning. Your small projects are how you learn it.
That’s the plan.
Simple. Flexible. And effective.
Just start.
If you think you need a little help getting started and getting everything organized in your head, I put together a free Notion template that already has everything laid out. It's the same structure I use to plan projects and stay consistent - Click HERE to Download
And... If you haven't watched it yet. Check out my latest youtube video 👇👇👇
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