ZBrush is an amazing digital sculpting tool when it comes to 3D modeling, texturing, and painting. Thanks to its high-quality features, it is possible to put your creativeness into practice and build inspiringly realistic art pieces.
After professionalizing in ZBrush, you can create your own characters and games with significant structures! And once you come to that place in using ZBrush, the only remaining obstacle in your way will be your own imagination’s limits! However, as you can imagine, reaching that point is the hardest part. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t be intimidated by the work ahead of you, as you know, starting is the biggest step that you will take!
When it comes to learning something from the basics, I find it most effective to learn it from the professionals, and this is how I learned using ZBrush - by taking online courses. I know that there are enormous numbers of courses available, so, if you are having trouble deciding which one to choose I am here to help you! Check out my top 10 ZBrush classes list below, and choose the best fit for yourself!
Note: If you are an intermediate-level user, rather than a beginner, please check out the last 3 suggestions below.
1. Learn ZBrush - Ultimate Course 4 Beginners/Intermediate 🔗
If you would like to start learning ZBrush from an instructor who has a studio where he gets involved in the field actively along with being a seasoned professional, you should check this course out. The course is suitable for a range from complete beginners to intermediate users. So even if you wouldn’t define yourself as a beginner, there is a lot that you can learn by completing this course.
However, don’t get intimated by the word “intermediate” in the name of the course as this is one of the most fun and easy classes out there! Also, if you decide to start off with this one, don’t forget to join the course’s Facebook group, where you can meet other students, get help from them & maybe even answer their questions too!
2. Absolute Beginners ZBrush Course 🔗
This one is also designed for people who have zero experience with ZBrush but are willing to take a step on this path, and start learning. In this course, you will be guided through all the necessary ZBrush features and menus, to start sculpting your desired characters. And while you are working on your characters, you will be able to learn the important functions of the software as well!
At the end of the course, you will be amazed by your own results, and how far you have come! If you would like to start designing your first character with various features -like horns, torso, armor, etc.- go ahead and check this course out!
3. Introduction to ZBrush 🔗
This one is a course series that includes 6 different classes. The first one starts off with the most basic stuff, like the fundamentals of the software, its structure, and its main tools. Then, it gets more and more advanced in each class. The best part about this system is that you can easily check all of them and start from the one that fits your level.
Nevertheless, even if you are a complete beginner, you can start from the very first course and build your foundations up to the 6th class. At the end of this course series, you will be created your first project, including your very first character!
4. ZBrush Course for Absolute Beginners 🔗
This course is for absolute beginners only and is one of the most easy-to-understand courses you can find online. Thanks to the instructor’s beginner-friendly teaching techniques, you will be over the beginner phase in the blink of an eye! First, you will start with covering the basic topics, then you will move on to creating your first character, and finish your course by learning how to make posture and lighting adjustments.
At the end of the course, most of the topics -sculpting principles, DynaMesh, subdivisions and topology, ZRemesher, hard surface tools, polypaint, and materials&render- in ZBrush will be covered. Also, once you finish this course, you can showcase your certificate of completion as well!
5. 3D Character Creation: Sculpting in ZBrush 🔗
This course is relatively shorter than my other suggestions but as effective as them. Even though the course is short, the instructor does not skip any important parts and provides a step-by-step guide for creating a realistic character.
You will be amazed at how you have created this detailed and believable anatomy and muscle structure of your character along with the small details in its clothes too -like wrinkles and folds- once you finish the course and complete your project! Also, you will get familiar with the most-used tools like Dynamesh, extract tool, layers, deformation, panel loops, polygroup, masking, and transformation tools.
6. ZBrush 2020 Essential Training 🔗
If you are starting the ZBrush for the first time, and you like to learn things in detail&depth, then this course will be a great fit for you! It has an amazing instructor who makes even the hardest parts easier to understand and perform.
You will start with how to create basics forms with meshes, sculpt details with brushes, paint and texture models, and render the results using professional-level project pipelines. Once you have completed the course, you will be amazed by how far you have come!
Also, you will receive a certificate of completion once you complete the course which you can add to your portfolio!
7. Sculpting in ZBrush: From Concept Art to the Final Creature 🔗
If you are an intermediate user, rather than a beginner, and would like to expand your skills by modeling a humanoid creature starting from an already designed concept art, this course is the one for you! Although you will be working on one specific creature in this course, once you finish it you will be comfortable with almost any type of creature for miniatures, video games, or movies.
If you are a beginner, even though this course is aimed at more experienced users, I would highly suggest you take a note of this course and come back to it once you finish another course that is suggested in the list which is appropriate for beginners as it is one of the greatest courses to improve your character/creature modeling!
8. Male Character Creation in ZBrush 🔗
Just like the previous suggestion, if you have the knowledge about the basics of the ZBrush, and are willing to improve your character modeling skills, this is one of the must-check-out courses here.
After you’ll get familiar with the concepts of male anatomy, weapons, accessories, posing, hair&beard, clothes, poly painting, rendering, and many others; by the end of the course, you’ll be able to model advanced male characters as you wish!
Along with improving your character creation skills, thanks to the tips given by the instructor, you will also be able to speed up & smooth your workflow in ZBrush.
Please keep in mind that, as I said in the previous suggestion too, if you are a complete beginner at ZBrush, the most beneficial way to go would be starting off with another suggested course, and then come back to this one to improve yourself.
9. ZBrush: Hard Surface Sculpting for All Levels 🔗
If you are interested in advancing your skills in hard surface sculpting, this topic-focused course is a great option. At the end of the course, you will have a strong foundation in not only hard surface sculpting tools but also all of the other ZBrush tools as well. And the best part of this course is you can start learning it whenever you feel like you need it, regardless of your level!
Even though you are not really interested in hard surface sculpting, once you start off with using ZBrush you will notice the need for such skills, hence, if you are planning to push your limits about your ZBrush skills, this course is a must-add to your checklist!
10. ZClassroom 🔗
Here you can find original courses and tutorials provided by the ZBrush. This is one of the websites you will need to keep under your hand in your ZBrush journey. You will be able to find the course that will meet your needs completely as there are various options available for all kinds of topics and all user levels!
If you feel like you need help while working on your ZBrush project on your own, keep in mind to check out here first to see if you will be able to find what you are looking for - small spoiler: you probably will!
One more small note, you don’t need to get overwhelmed and stressed because there are too many options. ZBrush is quite fun-to-learn software and if you focus on one of the courses above, you can start producing results in no time!
If you liked the list of courses we gathered and found this article helpful, you can check out more content about ZBrush here.
