Hey everyone,
Before we wrap up the year, I wanted to take a moment to look back at everything we built together. This is the inaugural Character Class recap.
This wasn’t just another year of running a course or posting videos. This was a year of growth.
So here’s our 2025. The numbers, the wins, and the things that mattered most.
🌱 The Year, by the Numbers
More than 400 new students joined Character Class this year across the cohort, evergreen. Bringing the student total to over 1000! Artists from all over the world. With different backgrounds, different experience levels. All coming in with curiosity, ambition, and the willingness to put in the work.
Across the board, the amount of growth I’ve seen has been unreal.
Thousands of hours of lessons watched.
Hundreds of WIPs posted.
Countless breakthroughs in sculpting, texturing, lighting, grooming, and storytelling.
Some of my favorite highlights:
• Students landing their first studio jobs. Sometimes at dream studios
• Students finishing their first ever character.
• Dozens of final projects turning into portfolio centerpieces
Seeing those wins happen this consistently never gets old. Every time a student messages me saying “I got the job” or “I finally finished something I’m proud of,” it hits me all over again why I love doing this.
🎥 Content Created
This was one of my most consistent years ever on YouTube.
When you include Members/Patreon videos and Pixel Peeps episodes. I was able to release over 37 videos. Pixel Peeps quietly had a strong second season with 11 new episodes featuring awesome artists that share their workflows.
Some of you even told me Pixel Peeps played in the background while you sculpted, and as someone who lives off that kind of stuff myself, that means a lot.
💬 The Discord Community
If the class is where the teaching happens…
Discord is where the real growth happens.
Inside the server this year:
• Thousands of critiques were given
• A wave of new WIPs and progress posts filled the channels
• Technical issues were solved so fast I sometimes didn’t even get the chance to respond
• And late-night breakthroughs became a normal part of the routine
And three members showed up so consistently, with so much support and energy, that they became the heartbeat of the server:
@blankiris
@raytraced3d
@spykespiegel
These three are the definition of what makes this community special: thoughtful feedback, encouragement, without ego, and a genuine desire for everyone to succeed.
Huge shoutout to them, and everyone who was in the discord.
🎁 My First Physical Products
I’ve never released merch before, so I wanted to keep this first drop simple and intentional.
Three products. Each connected to the work and the ideas behind Character Class.
Spider-Man Members Shirt
This tee commemorates a Spider-Man personal project I worked on in 2025 and the members who supported that work along the way. The artwork on the back comes directly from the project, with names printed alongside it to represent the people who were part of that journey. It isn’t a recurring design or a general release. It exists to mark a specific moment in time.
FLEX Mini Arm
A 3D printed model kit based on the Flex Arm I sculpted, printed, and finished on YouTube. The mini version is modeled directly from that build and comes as a kit you can assemble, customize, and paint yourself.
Wireframe Shirt
A tribute to the wireframe and the fundamentals underneath every finished character. The head on the shirt is my actual basemesh, used across hundreds of characters. The design includes small easter eggs and references pulled from tools and games that influenced my work.
3 things I genuinely wanted to exist and share with the community. You can find them all here: JHill.com
🚀 What’s Coming in 2026
Next year is a big one.
We’re moving into Character Class 2.0. The curriculum is getting an upgrade. The workflows are getting sharper. We’re building new demos, new breakdowns, and a new hero character, who will anchor everything.
This next version is aiming to be even better.
More structure. More accountability. More support.
And ultimately, more artists finishing their best work.
Everyone that has already enrolled will get this update for FREE.
Thank You
Whether you joined the class, watched a video, listened to Pixel Peeps, shared your WIPs, commented, or just lurked quietly in the Discord…
Thank you.
Thank you for the comments, the questions, the effort, and the final renders. Thank you for your time.
This community means the world to me.
I can’t wait to see what you build in 2026.
Keep creating,
J
