Realistic Dinosaur Sculpting & Texturing in Zbrush for Film (Udemy.com)
Sculpting, Poly Painting, Posing & Rendering a Realistic Dinosaur For Film | Intermediate students.
Created by: Nalini Kanta Jena
Last updated November 2022
Our take
Based on the ratings of 236 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in November 2022. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a single-project ZBrush course. Nalini Kanta Jena, a 3D artist who has taught at several art institutes, builds one V-Rex from scratch across about 10.6 hours and 57 lectures. The syllabus runs from a Zsphere base shape through primary and secondary anatomy, skin detailing, poly painting, then posing and rendering. It is pitched at intermediate students, and the page is blunt that absolute beginners who have never opened ZBrush should look elsewhere. About 1,400 students have enrolled, and the rating is 4.7 from 236 reviews.
Reviewers mostly praise the teaching. They call it detailed and easy to follow, and say the reasoning gets explained, not just the clicks. One student liked learning when DynaMesh makes sense and why scales are built by hand before alphas are layered on. Another still replays it during other projects. Of 236 ratings, 162 are five stars and only three are two stars or below. The complaints are about support. One reviewer says the Q&A has no replies, and a recent two-star review says a question sat unanswered for 18 days.
The last update was November 2022, which is old for software that keeps changing. One reviewer also wanted advice on checking a model is ready for rigging, which the course does not cover. Skin detailing takes up the largest share of the runtime, about 4.6 hours, which suits anyone who wants realism over speed. For someone with basic ZBrush skills and a reptile or paleoart project in mind, it looks like a solid pick. Just don't count on the instructor for help.
Pros
- One full V-Rex build, from Zsphere blockout to a posed, rendered piece
- Skin detailing gets the most time, about 4.6 hours across 23 lectures
- Explains the why, such as when to use DynaMesh and how subdivision levels relate to detail
- Reviewers find it easy to follow, and one returns to rewatch it on later projects
Cons
- Instructor rarely answers questions; one reviewer waited 18 days with no reply
- Last updated in November 2022, which is old for software that keeps changing
- No guidance on checking or exporting the model for rigging in other 3D software
Great course! Nalini goes into great detail about every step of the modeling process and what to think about when trying to achieve a believable creature.
Basic ZBrush knowledge is required, and the page says it is not for people who have never opened the software.
What you will learn
- Dinosaur Anatomy
- Skin Sculpting Technics
- Poly Painting
- Posing for Presentation
- Rendering for Portfolio
Course content
8 sections · 57 lectures · 11 hours of video 2 articles
- 1Introduction 3 free previews5 lectures · 19 min
- 2Making V-Rex Basic Shape5 lectures · 53 min
- 3V-Rex Anatomy and Primary Forms Sculpting5 lectures · 1.2 hours
- 4V-Rex Secondary Forms Sculpting6 lectures · 1.1 hours
- 5V-Rex Skin Detailing23 lectures · 4.6 hours
- 6Poly Painting the Dinosaur8 lectures · 1.4 hours
- 7Posing and Rendering4 lectures · 1.1 hours
- 8Conclusion1 lecture
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Intermediate level student who wants to improve their ability to create hyper realistic creatures.
- This course is not for absolute beginners who never have opened Zbrush software.
What you need before you start
- Basic knowledge of Zbrush is required.
How it compares
Against the other 545 rated Udemy courses in 3D Modeling on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 75% of them
- Reviews236#279 of 546 by number of reviews
- Length10.6 hourslonger than 69% of them
- Last updatedNovember 2022more recently than 51% of them
Course Description
Here’s what folks are saying about the course:
Paul Redmond says : Very in depth . Have learned a lot with this one.
Jon Moore says : excellent course, learned a lot, looking forward to the next one. P.S. I thought your English was great I understood everything.
Mik Nie says : Fantastic course!
Welcome and Instructor Intro
Hi, Welcome to Realistic Dinosaur Sculpting & Texturing in Zbrush for Film. In this course you will be learning to create a photo realistic Dinosaur from scratch step by step.
Do you find it difficult to make your creature or dinosaur looks photo realistic life like ?
Is your creature looks cartooni and unrealistic ?
If so then this is the perfect course for you.
About Instructor : My name is Nalin, I am a 3d Modelling and Texturing Artist com Educator.
I have been teaching since 2008 at various Institution such as ZICA, Reliance Education and Arena Animation. I have also worked as a Character Modelling and Texturing Artist at Lakshya Digital and Dhruva Interactive.
Why you should Enroll
At the end of the course You will be able to sculpt & texture highly realistic creatures and dinosaurs for film using Zbrush.
List of Major Components
Dinosaur Base Mesh Blocking with Zsphere
Anatomy & Muscle Sculpting
Skin Detailing
Poly Painting
Posing
Rendering
Ideal Students
I designed this course for basic Zbrush users & freelancers who wants to create realistic creatures and Dinosaurs for film but struggles with making the model look life like realistic and believable.
No Risk|Enroll Now
There is a 30 days money back guaranty. Which means if you aren’t satisfied with the course then you can refund it within 30 days.
So literally there isn’t any risk at all, so go ahead and click on the enroll button. I can’t wait to see you modelling & texturing realistic dinosaurs and creatures..
This is Nalin, I thank you for enrolling to the course and I will see you in the first lesion.
Thank you
Nalini kanta jena
Instructor Details
- 4.7 Rating
236 Reviews
Nalini Kanta Jena
When I was 10 years old everybody discover that I am a gifted artist because at a very early age of 10 I was doing clay modeling of indian goddess without taking any training. I was a famous boy in our village and near by area because of my art.
I did that till my tenth grade then I joined B.K college of art and crafts, Bhubaneswar for my BFA degree in Applied art department. I competed that in 2008. Then I started my professional career.
Since then i have never look back, My art has grown mature. I have worked for many educational Institution such as ZICA, Reliance Education and Arena as a 3d Faculty. I have got lots of love from my students from those institution.
Then I have worked in game production as Game Artist at Lakshya Digital and Dhruva Interactive in Bangalore.
Final words....I don't just teach, I believe in converting a student into production ready artist. I know, it's a huge task but I love this task. This is Nalini kanta Jena hope I will teach you soon the beauty of game art creation and make a solid career as an game artist. This vastly growing profession is waiting for you.
Last but not the list DON:T JUST PLAN, TAKE ACTION.
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Reviews
By K C on 11/16/2022
Great course! Nalini goes into great detail about every step of the modeling process and what to think about when trying to achieve a believable creature. I did this course a while ago but I often come back for another listen when working on other projects. If you want to know how to sculpt a realistic dinosaur, look no further.
By Justin Lowrie on 7/29/2021
This is/was a great course. I just wish the instructor would be a little more proactive answering questions, possibly create a facebook group. All the Q&A I looked up had zero replies. I've taken other courses here on Udemy with fantastic feedback and a community. Great course, clear instruction, but feels a bit abandoned.
By Nigam Machchhar on 2/24/2021
This is one of the best course, it is 5 start though I gave 4 and half because only thing I guess missing is How do we know that our model is perfect for rigging? If we get knowledge on that how to export model ready for other 3d software there we can do rigging. Really wants to know what should be check and make sure that our .OBJ or .FBX file is good for rigging later. Please share that knowledge if possible may be with updated additional video.
By Christian Rehrmann on 12/29/2020
I can definitely recommend this course. Here I am shown by an expert how to create a really realistic dinosaur with ZBrush step by step. The teacher is an expert in the use of this software. You can tell at what pace and how flawlessly he uses each tool. Thank you for this exceptionally great tutorial. Sorry for my bad English (the text was translated with the DeepL translator).
By Paolo Battiloro on 10/25/2020
Ottimo per Principianti. L'istruttore non si perde in teoria e passa direttamente al pratico. Forse la parte di scultura dei dettagli della pelle poteva essere più concisa ed essere spalmata su meno video. D'altronde il processo è pressappoco identico per ogni parte del corpo. Cmq un buon corso.
By Dana Acciavatti on 6/29/2020
This is a well-designed course that takes the student step by step through the entire process of sculpting a dinosaur in ZBrush, and all in in real time. This course is thorough, and takes some dedication to stick with it from beginning to end, but is well worth it. I have purchased three courses by this instructor, and I am looking forward to starting the next one right after I finish this one!
By Andrei Bittencourt on 6/20/2020
Pra mim o curso foi excelente, voltei a usar o software e aprendi muitas técnicas, o instrutor foi muito responsável com as informações do curso, especialmente a preparar o aluno para a realidade da complexidade dos detalhes a serem inclusos nos modelos para dar mais realismo, o que refletiu num modelo maravilhoso que consegui criar, estou muito feliz com o resultado que atingi. O valor do curso também me proporcionou concretizar um sonho. Muito obrigado Nalini Jena e a Udemy por essa oportunidade.
By Thomas Harrison on 8/13/2019
This was such a fantastic course, I've learnt so much about what it takes to take a creature from start to finish including rendering out a solid portfolio piece at the end. This course is such good value for money and would recommend this to anyone wanting to create characters/ creatures for games, films, or television. Thank you for creating this V-rex course and everything that you've taught me, I really look forward to your upcoming animal course.
By Ricardo Gavilanes on 6/23/2019
Increible tutorial... lo unico que sabia antes de verlo era instalar Zbrush jajaja muy completo, lo recomiendo , seria bueno si hubiese una segunda parte con el mismo T-Rex y crear uvs, projeccion de texturas,retopologia para poder llevarlo a un progama de 3d sea 3ds max o maya con el objetivo de animarlo y aplicar las texturas Displacement etc...gracias por el tutorial....
By Evgenia Kalyabina on 5/22/2019
Great course, interesting subject, everything's explained and shown properly but not going into hidious little basic things that you should already know when you start this course. Personally, I hate when tutors go on and on about the basics but skip the interesting more advanced stuff when you do an intermediate level course. This one got it just right!
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 94 / 100











