principalcharacterartist,westonreid2 Details
Weston Reid is a Principal and Lead Character Artist with 20 years of professional experience. Over the years he has also taught aspiring artists and professionals alike for CGMA and in private mentorships. Weston has led character art for several studios including Blizzard Entertainment, Hi-Rez Studios, Moonshot Games, and Lost Lake Games.
In this course, Weston shares his workflow and process for creating stylized, production-ready characters within a real-time pipeline—covering everything from ZBrush sculpting and modeling, to clean topology, UV creation and baking, and developing stylized PBR textures using Substance Painter. The course also extends into rigging, skinning, and animation to ensure each asset is fully functional and ready for use in a game environment. The tools, workflows, and thought process demonstrated throughout are shaped by professional experience and real production standards.
[Current] - Principal Character Artist at Lost Lake Games [Previous] - Lead Character Artist at Moonshot Games - Lead Character Artist at Blizzard Entertainment [Notable Projects] Projects: - Smite - Paladins - Wildgate - Killing Floor 2 - Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad - Unreleased title – Blizzard Entertainment - Unreleased title – Carbine Studios - Unannounced project – Lost Lake Games Press: - 3D World Magazine – Tutorial, Issue 312 - 3D World Magazine – Feature, Issue 300
[Current] - Principal Character Artist at Lost Lake Games [Previous] - Lead Character Artist at Moonshot Games - Lead Character Artist at Blizzard Entertainment [Notable Projects] Projects: - Smite - Paladins - Wildgate - Killing Floor 2 - Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad - Unreleased title – Blizzard Entertainment - Unreleased title – Carbine Studios - Unannounced project – Lost Lake Games Press: - 3D World Magazine – Tutorial, Issue 312 - 3D World Magazine – Feature, Issue 300
What led you to choose this topic or theme?
I’ve always been drawn to bubbly, fun stylized shapes, and this concept from Tooth Wu really stood out to me. The design feels very readable and full of personality, while also offering enough complexity to challenge both myself and the students. It allows us to explore the entire process, from modeling and texturing all the way through to rigging, while maintaining a strong visual direction.
What kind of industry developments to do you foresee, and how does this class prepare students for that future?
AI is a major topic right now, and more studios are beginning to explore how it fits into their workflows. Some are using it as a tool, while others see it as a way to reduce headcount. For artists entering or advancing in the industry, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop strong interpretation and problem-solving skills.
This course focuses on translating a concept into 3D, not just making it look accurate, but also understanding the technical requirements behind a production-ready model. Students will gain insight into my decision-making process, including when and why to deviate from a concept. These are skills that go beyond tools and highlight areas where human judgment and experience still play a critical role.
What are some essential skills or "must-have" tools in this industry, and why?
At a fundamental level, every character artist needs a strong foundation, including anatomy knowledge, experience working with different material types such as metal, leather, and hair, and a solid understanding of topology and UVs.
Equally important are the less-discussed soft skills. Being able to receive and respond to feedback, developing a critical eye for your own work, and having the willingness to step outside your comfort zone are all essential. Professional habits also matter, such as keeping files clean, naming assets properly, and presenting work clearly. These are the kinds of skills that make a meaningful difference in a production environment.
From 2D to 3D: Analyzing Character Concepts
Students will learn how to better evaluate and analyze a concept, identifying both macro shapes and finer details. They will train their eye to observe key elements and critically assess how a 2D concept translates into a 3D model.
Modeling a Character for Animation and Rigging
Beginning with the initial blockout, students will learn what makes an ideal T-pose (bind pose) for a character intended for a full production workflow. They will understand how modeling decisions impact rigging, ensuring joint placement and rotations are set correctly early on to avoid issues later in the process.
Clean High-Poly Modeling and Sculpting
Using base primitives, along with Dynamic Subdivision and ZModeler, students will build a clean model that accurately matches the concept. From there, they will use DynaMesh and more traditional sculpting tools to refine organic forms and add detail, achieving a high-quality representation of the original design.
Efficient Retopology for Rigging and Skin Weighting
Proper topology for deformation is essential. Students will learn where to place edge loops and how to consolidate geometry in areas without visual or technical impact. The course covers when and why to merge elements, along with more complex considerations such as handling overlapping forms to ensure successful rigging and skin weighting.
Stylized PBR Texturing and Material Development
Creating stylized textures and materials in a PBR environment requires understanding the foundational rules of PBR and how to bend them while maintaining consistency across different lighting conditions. Students will explore color theory, hand-painting techniques, and the key differences and limitations between PBR and non-PBR workflows.
Rigging and Animation Basics for Character Presentation
While not a dedicated rigging and animation course, students will build a functional rig using mGear for Maya and learn how to customize controls to suit their character. They will then skin weight the model and create a simple idle animation, bringing their character to life for presentation.
- Section 01
OT
01. Orientation - Instructor introduction - Course overview and learning objectives - Concept analysis and planning for ZBrush blockout
- Section 02
Model Blockout
02. Blockout 01- Establish primary mesh blockout - Set bind pose and begin Dynamesh - Head sculpting and likeness development
03. Blockout 02- Body refinement and initial clothing blockout - Additional clothing elements blockout
04. Blockout 03- Final clothing elements and gloves blockout - Clothing refinement and pet blockout
- Section 03
Model Polish
05.Model Polish 01- Clothing sculpt refinement pass - Jacket detailing and tertiary sculpting
06.Model Polish 02- Pet, hair, and remaining elements refinement - Character posing for Marmoset testing
- Section 04
Retopology
07. Topology Basics- Breakdown on good vs. bad examples of topology - Edge flow principles and deformation strategy
08. Retopology 01- Character export from ZBrush - Initial retopology in Modo - Head and facial topology
09. Retopology 02- Hair and brain retopology - Hands, dog, and tertiary elements retropology
- Section 05
UV Unwrap and Bake
10. UV Unwrap 01- Texture set breakdown and material grouping strategy - Initial UV unwrapping of the model
11. UV Unwrap 02- UV refinement and packing optimization
12. Marmoset Bake Intro- Introduction to Marmoset baking workflow - Character texture baking in Marmoset Toolbag
- Section 06
Texturing
13. Substance Painter Overview- Interface walkthrough and workflow introduction - Project setup and texture set configuration - Export preparation
14. Texturing 01- Material folder creation - First character texture pass - Initial roughness and specular development
15. Marmoset Scene Setup- Scene, camera, and lighting setup for texture evaluation
16. Texturing 02- Roughness, specular, and SSS refinement - Clothing detail texturing pass
17. Texturing 03- Hand-painted detailing - Metalness and albedo refinement
18. Texturing 04- Eye and dog texturing - Texturing and material polish
19. Texturing 05- Hair flow map creation
- Section 07
Rigging and Animation
20. Rigging 01- Initial Maya scene setup - Base skeleton placement
21. Rigging 02- Bone refinement and initial control rig creation
22. Rigging 03- Advanced bone setup and control development - Rig troubleshooting and refinement
23. Skinning- Head and eye skin-weighting - Body and clothing skin-weighting
24. Animation 01- Initial keyframe posing for idle animation - Idle refinement and pet animation
25. Animation 02- Animation polish and export to Marmoset Toolbag
- Section 08
Render and Presentation
26. Rendering 01- Scene preparation for final animation render
27. Rendering 02- Lighting refinement and material adjustments
28. Rendering 03- Camera adjustments and final output renders
This course will use ZBrush, a general 3D software (e.g. Maya, Blender), Marmoset Toolbag, Substance Painter, and mGear.
Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.
*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.
