3D Animation & Digital Art
A practical 3D production program covering modeling, sculpting, texturing, materials, lighting, rendering, and production workflows.
Course overview
3D Animation & Digital Art is a practical 3D production program that follows the workflow used in games, film and digital art studios.
You will model hard-surface and organic assets in Autodesk Maya, sculpt detailed forms in ZBrush, texture them in Substance 3D Painter, set up materials and lighting, render with Arnold and finish your images in Adobe Photoshop. You will also learn the fundamentals of animation in Maya.
Each stage produces a portfolio piece, and the program closes with a complete production project presented as turntables and final renders.
Course at a glance
What you will learn
- Understand the 3D production pipeline
- Navigate and work confidently in Autodesk Maya
- Model hard-surface and organic assets with clean topology
- Unwrap UVs for texturing
- Sculpt characters and props in ZBrush
- Retopologise and bake high-poly detail to low-poly models
- Texture assets with PBR materials in Substance 3D Painter
- Light and render scenes with Arnold
- Apply the principles of animation to keyframe animation
- Present your work with turntables and portfolio renders
Course curriculum
Module 1: Introduction to 3D Production3 lessons
Module 2: Autodesk Maya Fundamentals3 lessons
Module 3: Polygon Modeling: Hard Surface3 lessons
Module 4: Organic Modeling & Topology3 lessons
Module 5: UV Mapping3 lessons
Module 6: Digital Sculpting in ZBrush4 lessons
Module 7: Retopology & Baking3 lessons
Module 8: Texturing in Substance 3D Painter4 lessons
Module 9: Materials & Shading3 lessons
Module 10: Lighting4 lessons
Module 11: Rendering & Post-Production3 lessons
Module 12: Animation Fundamentals in Maya4 lessons
Module 13: Production Workflow & Portfolio3 lessons
Practical projects
A detailed prop modelled in Maya with clean topology.
A sculpted character bust created in ZBrush.
A complete Maya → ZBrush → Substance 3D Painter asset with baked maps and PBR textures.
A small environment scene lit and rendered with Arnold and finished in Photoshop.
Bouncing ball, pendulum and walk-cycle animations in Maya.
Presentation renders and turntables of your best work.
Tools & software
Who is this course for?
- Students who want to enter 3D animation, games or VFX
- Graduates from art, design or animation backgrounds
- Digital artists moving from 2D into 3D
- Freelancers creating 3D assets
- Beginners passionate about 3D art
Career applications
The skills from this course can be applied to roles and projects such as:
- 3D Modeler
- 3D Generalist
- Texturing Artist
- Lighting and Rendering Artist
- Junior Animator
- 3D assets for games, product visualisation and freelance projects
Requirements
- A laptop or desktop with a dedicated graphics card and 16 GB RAM recommended
- Autodesk Maya, ZBrush, Substance 3D Painter and Adobe Photoshop (student/education licences are available from some vendors for eligible learners)
- A three-button mouse; a drawing tablet is strongly recommended for sculpting
- No prior 3D experience required
Certificate
Certificate of Completion
On successfully completing the course requirements — lessons, practical projects/assignments and assessments — you receive a Vector Tech Academy Certificate of Completion. Every certificate carries a unique certificate ID and a QR code that anyone (a client, an employer or an institute) can verify on our website. The certificate recognises that you completed this course and its projects; it is not a university degree or a government-recognised qualification.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need drawing skills for 3D Animation & Digital Art?
What computer do I need?
Is the software free?
Ready to start 3D Animation?
Build skills, create projects and earn a verifiable certificate.
