Cartoon character with a sword on a green background, promoting an Art Heroes Toony Character Course.

toony characters in zbrush

This 6-day beginner-friendly course is designed to take you from zero to a finished toony character with no prior experience required.

Course overview

Skill level
Beginner
Software used
Software 1 Software 2 Software 3
Number of lessons
6 days
Duration
5h
Teacher
Ben Courtenay
Course format
Pre-recorded (Access anytime)

course by

Who is this for?

  • You installed Zbrush and bought a tablet, but YouTube tutorials have created a mess in your head and you need a step-by-step guide that delivers results.
  • You’ve already learned Zbrush basics but you don’t feel confident in creating something worthwhile on your own.
  • You already know the Zbrush basics well, but you constantly fail to complete your projects and you want to finally create a piece you’re proud to put in your portfolio.
  • You know how to create characters, but you don’t understand how to create them quickly, and you’re looking for an A to B to C formula.
  • You are already an experienced artist in another field, but you want to create cartoon characters, try your hand at a new style and explore a new niche.

Course day-by-day

Day 1 - Introduction + Primary Blockout

Focusing on body and limbs

Day 2 - Secondary Blockout

- Work on the head, body plates, wings and props

Day 3 - Refining

Dig into the details of body, head and props

Day 4 - Polypainting

- Master the basics of UV and Poly Painting

Day 5 - Texturing

Texture your creature to give it that extra shazam!

Day 6 - Posing

- Work on a pose to bring your character to life

Day 7 - Rendering

- Render in ZBrush
Silver beetle icon on a brown background

Day 1–2: Strong Foundations & Blockout

Start with a clear introduction and learn how to build a solid base for your toony character. You’ll block out the body and limbs first, then move into secondary forms like the head, body plates, wings, and props. The focus is on proportions, silhouettes, and readable shapes — setting your character up for success from the start.
Gray beetle-like creature with large wings on a brown background

Day 3: Refinement & Shape Clarity

With the main forms in place, you’ll begin refining your sculpt. This stage focuses on improving the body, head, and props by sharpening shapes, enhancing stylization, and adding secondary details while keeping everything clean and appealing.
Collection of fantasy-themed figurines on a brown background

Day 4: Polypainting Basics

Learn the fundamentals of UVs and Polypainting in ZBrush. You’ll explore simple, beginner-friendly techniques to add color, variation, and visual interest to your character without overcomplicating the process.
Toy figure of a creature on top of a snail with a gradient green background

Day 5: Texturing for Impact

Take your character to the next level with texturing. Learn how to enhance surfaces, materials, and color balance to give your creature that extra “shazam”, making it feel more complete and visually striking.

Day 6–7: Posing & Final Rendering

Bring your character to life by creating a dynamic pose that adds personality and storytelling. Finish the course by rendering your character in ZBrush and preparing portfolio-ready renders using Marmoset Toolbag and Photoshop.
Ben Courtenay

Ben Courtenay

3D Artist

Learn from an industry expert

Ben teaches entire character creation workflow with ZBrush Mentor students to achieve a greater level of artistery

Select the perfect plan for your needs

Choose your plan

Popular

Basic

$ 19
One time payment
  • Full access to the complete course
  • Download all course files and materials
  • Access to the private Discord community
  • Learn at your own pace
  • LIFETIME access!
Get started

Frequently asked questions

Find answers to common questions below

  • The bulk of the program is offered as pre-recorded HD-quality videos. In addition to pre-recorded content, you will have access to live Q&A sessions, forum feedback, and small group peer-to-peer feedback.

  • Yes. You will get an invoice as soon as you complete the checkout, and if you need a business invoice for reimbursement, email us and we'll be happy to provide this too

  • We estimate about 3-4 hours of work per week during 12 weeks.
    If you're a beginner artist, plan extra time to master your sculpting skills

  • The program is beginner-friendly because we all start with a sphere. You need to know ZBrush fundamentals, to be successful, but we don't have any further requirements.

  • You can pick any human face, better if it's a recognizable celebrity. No limitations here.

  • ZBrush is the main tool. We use Marmoset and Marvelous Designer for presentation and a couple of other plugins that you will get access to as a student.

  • This course is designed to be fully self-paced, so you can learn and progress at your own speed, on your own schedule.

    If you’d like feedback or have questions along the way, you can always join our Discord community, where you can share your work, get guidance, and connect with other students.

  • You can always access the course anytime. Is life time access

What our students say

Real reviews from real students

Marlon gave very good advice and the pace of the course was just right. I learned lots and faster way to learn than just looking around random Youtube by myself.
Momoko Okabe
Canada
The best part is the simple way that Marlon approaches a difficult character, and the way he breaks it into simple steps to achieve an awesome character! Because the course gives you exactly what it offers, you can learn a cool workflow and how to tackle a character from point A to Z.
Martin Carrillo
Ecuador
I learned a lot, so I think it is super recommendable. The workflow and the constant correction of the mentor has given me another view of my work process.
Julio Padula
Argentina
The feeling of improvement the course gives to you - it's the best thing for me. Thanks to the overall organization and Marlon's human and technical skill the process of trial and error was not frustrating but funny and challenging. I've never stayed up so long at night having so much fun in "making 3D".
Francesco Gianfreda
Italy
I loved the length of the videos, it covered enough for me and then let me go off and figure stuff out for myself. The character I had was not the same as in the videos and there was a lot of room to go my own way. For me that was good as I had done enough step by step courses and some things don't stick that way. But using what I was taught in the videos on my own character brought up new challenges and locked a few things into place.
Sean Olsen
Ireland
Outstanding quality and value. The instructors are experts in their field and make complex topics accessible to everyone.
Michael Chen
Singapore

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