The Top 23 Gnomon Workshops of 2023 Revealed

While we may have waved goodbye to 2023, we can now celebrate the wealth of knowledge and creativity shared by the brilliant minds at The Gnomon Workshop over the last 12 months. Enjoy this roundup of the most-watched tutorials of 2023!

In the list below, we've gathered the top 23 stand-out tutorials that captivated Gnomon Workshop subscribers throughout 2023. These sessions span diverse subjects, from modeling and rigging to expressive facial animation, savvy coding, and cutting-edge real-time workflow tutorials in Unreal Engine.

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#1: Introduction to ZBrush 2022, A Comprehensive Guide to Learning ZBrush

Instructor: Madeleine Scott-Spencer
Software covered: ZBrush, KeyShot, Maya, Photoshop
Disciplines covered: Lighting & Rendering, Modeling, Painting, Sculpting, Texturing & Shading, UV Layout
Duration: 21 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

Guess who's back at the top? It's Maddie, of course! Her workshops are always a hit at The Gnomon Workshop (she’s come in at number one for three years running), mixing invaluable sculpting insights with her exceptional teaching skills. Her latest course tackles the latest ZBrush features, guiding you through a full ZBrush sculpting workflow, from the interface and menus to detailed and intricate anatomy sculpting. With many project files included, you can successfully level up your ZBrush skills. Plus, don't miss Gnomon’s exclusive chat with Maddie for more insights!

#2: Large-Scale Water FX in Houdini, Simulate & Render a VFX Shot using Houdini & Nuke

Instructor: Miguel Perez Senent
Software covered: Nuke, Houdini
Disciplines covered: Compositing, Effects Animation, Lighting & Rendering, Visual Effects
Duration: 7 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate–Advanced

Given his work on Avatar: The Way of Water, it’s safe to say Miguel knows a little about water FX! In this workshop, he provides a deluge of FX tips and advice around creating a cinematic water FX shot, using the dramatic moment a sea creature breaches the ocean as an example. Miguel explores Houdini's advanced tools, revealing how to create lifelike fluid simulations via the nuances of the FLIP Solver, mesh blending, and bespoke whitewater effects. It’s an immersive journey through cinema-grade water effects, all under the guidance of a VFX maestro. (Did you know Miguel’s workshop went viral on TikTok? Be sure to check out his workshop to uncover why it’s so impressively popular!)

#3: Introduction to ZBrush 2021 – The Ultimate Guide to ZBrush 

Instructor: Madeleine Scott-Spencer
Software covered: ZBrush, Keyshot, Maya, Photoshop
Disciplines covered: Lighting & Rendering, Modeling, Sculpting, Texturing & Shading, UV Layout
Duration: 51 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

Maddie has over a decade of experience at prestigious studios like Weta and DNEG and is the author of several acclaimed ZBrush guides – so it’s not surprising she appears twice in the top five! Her extensive ZBrush 2021 workshop is another Gnomon Workshop gem, offering a vast reservoir of knowledge across its 65-chapter, 51-hour journey. Maddie's workshops are always a treasure trove for digital sculpting enthusiasts, perfect for beginners, pros, or anyone aiming to get nifty with ZBrush.

#4: Real-Time Filmmaking in Unreal Engine 5 – THE EYE: CALANTHEK The Making of the Award-Winning Short Film 

Instructor: Aaron Sims
Software covered: Adobe Premiere, Unreal Engine
Disciplines covered: Character Animation, Character Design, Cinematography, Compositing, Creature Animation, Digital Sets, Environment Design, Game Engines, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Visual Effects
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Join Aaron Sims – a superstar in creature and character design, with an amazing 30-year journey in VFX spent alongside legends like Rick Baker and Stan Winston – in a fantastic Gnomon Workshop title that reveals the power of storytelling with Unreal Engine 5. Using his award-winning short, THE EYE: CALANTHEK, as an example, Aaron explores the potential of the real-time storytelling revolution, where Unreal Engine 5 promises to usher in an exhilarating new era of cinematic artistry.

#5: Creating Procedural Environments in Houdini 

Instructor: Wojtek Piwowarczyk
Software covered: Houdini
Disciplines covered: Effects Animation, Environment Design, Lighting & Rendering, Modeling, Texturing & Shading, Visual Effects
Duration: 8 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Discover efficient and dynamic environment creation with Wojtek Piwowarczyk in this 10-chapter Houdini workshop. Together, you'll use a charming old castle nestled in a natural landscape as your canvas to learn Wojtek's flexible, non-destructive, procedural workflow. For anyone eager to craft stunning, photorealistic full-CG environments, this workshop is your gateway to doing so via an efficient, high-quality workflow – one that will come in handy in the fast-paced and ever-evolving realm of digital art and entertainment.

#6: Introduction to Ziva VFX: Volume 1, Soft Tissue Simulation Using Ziva VFX, Maya & Wrap3D 

Instructor: Madhav Shyam
Software covered: Maya, Ziva VFX
Disciplines covered: Character Animation, Character Rigging, Creature Animation, Scripting, Visual Effects
Duration: 8 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Explore the art of muscle tissue simulation with Madhav Shyam, a seasoned Rigging Lead and Creature Supervisor. With Madhav's guidance, you'll get hands-on with the Sorceress Supreme model, with which you’ll learn Python scripting in Maya, asset wrapping, and how to simulate lifelike tissue in Ziva VFX. Whether you're just starting out or looking to add new skills to your repertoire, this workshop could be a massive boon to your soft-tissue skills – and your ability to build digital creations with unmatched realism.

#7: Character Rigging in Maya for Game Production – Build a Production-Ready Character Rig 

Instructor: Taylor Whitsett
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Character Rigging
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner–Intermediate

Embark on a journey to mastering character rigging in Maya. Alongside Taylor, you’ll learn everything from the basics to creating flexible rigs, including how to build a character pipeline, set up skeletons, and make automated rigging systems – all with an aim to build rigs that make animators’ lives easier. Taylor is all about teamwork, so this workshop is also great for anyone keen to develop soft skills that will make them a great collaborator in a professional studio environment.

#8: Creating Assets & Architecture for Game Environments, From Maya & ZBrush to Unreal Engine 5 

Instructor: Giovani Magana
Software covered: Maya, Substance Painter, Unreal, ZBrush
Disciplines covered: Digital Sculpting, Environment Design, Game Engines, Look Development, Modeling
Duration: 4 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Join Giovani, a talented environment artist with experience on hits with gorgeous, striking worlds, like God of War: Ragnarök and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Giovani loves building fantasy and sci-fi landscapes – he shows how he does it using the example of a Chinese-style environment in Unreal Engine 5. He’ll guide you through his professional techniques, emphasizing efficient asset creation with a focus on modular design. It’s a rare opportunity to gain insight into the world of environment design from a seasoned game dev pro!

#9: Master Rigging & Python Scripting in Maya – Create Helper Scripts & a Python Limb Rig

Instructor: Nick Miller
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Character Rigging, Scripting
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner–Advanced

Discover rigging and Python scripting in Maya with the ever-knowledgable Nick Miller. Even if you’re entirely new to scripting, Nick makes this workshop accessible and graspable, starting with the basics and slowly working up to the more complex concepts. Of course, understanding scripting isn’t necessary for rigging at every studio, but it can be your secret weapon to speed up your work and stand out from the crowd. With Nick’s advice, you can be well on your way to boosting your rigging efficiency.

#10: Creating a Monolithic City in Unreal Engine 5, An Environment Generalist Workflow

Instructor: Jianfeng Li (Allan)

Software covered: Unreal, Speed Tree, Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Gaea, Photoshop, Substance Painter, ZBrush
Disciplines covered: Compositing, Digital Sets, Environment Design, Game Engines, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Modeling, Painting, Sculpting, Texturing & Shading, Visual Effects
Duration: 9 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Allan is passionate about teaching artists about the intricate world of environment creation – and his passion shines in this Unreal Engine 5 tutorial. As a Senior Environment Artist at DNEG, Allan is a wellspring of knowledge in this area, and he shares it all here, from the basics of gathering references right through the entire process of crafting a massive, cinematic cityscape complete with slick animations. Taking on his expertise in Unreal Engine 5 will empower you all the more to succeed in your future environment projects. 

#11: Creating Creature Hair & Fur Grooms in Houdini – Advanced Grooming Techniques

Instructor: Kristin Farrensteiner
Software covered: Houdini
Disciplines covered: Grooming, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Visual Effects
Duration: 8 hours
Proficiency level: Advanced

Master the art of crafting realistic hair and fur with a purrfectly furry cat in this 19-chapter, comprehensive guide from Avengers: Endgame artist Kristin.

#12: Introduction to Maya 2023: Volume 2 – Building & Animating 3D Models in Maya With Eric Keller

Instructor: Eric Keller
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Effects Animation, Modeling, UV Layout
Duration: 4 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

Want a comprehensive introduction to Maya? Be sure to start with Eric’s volume 1 (next on this list) before diving into this second volume – and don’t miss Vol 3 when you’re ready to move on!

#13: Introduction to Maya 2023: Volume 1 – Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started in Maya With Eric Keller

Instructor: Eric Keller
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Effects Animation, Lighting & Rendering, Modeling, Visual Effects
Duration: 3 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

This workshop may have placed 13, but it comes first for any hopeful Maya artists seeking a thorough deep-dive into everything Maya, right from A to Z.

#14: Unreal Engine Complete Material System Overview – Fundamental and Advanced Techniques

Instructor: Charleston Silverman
Software covered: Unreal Engine
Disciplines covered: Effects Animation, Game Engines, Look Development, Texturing & Shading
Duration: 4 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner–Intermediate

Get a material advantage in Unreal Engine 5, with insight into the basics and advanced techniques behind creating efficient objects for your real-time environments.

#15: Creating Stylized Facial Rigs for Production in Maya – Master Convincing Character Expressions

Instructor: Hector Abraham Torres
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Character Animation, Character Riggin
Duration: 4 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate–Advanced

Explore the secrets behind creating facial rigs that make cartoon characters pop from the screen, from anatomy and topology to expressive animations.

#16: Creating a Sci-Fi Hallway in Unreal Engine 5, Texturing Pipeline Using UE5, Blender & Substance Painter

Instructor: Dominique Buttiens
Software covered: Blender, Unreal, Photoshop, Substance Painter
Disciplines covered: Environment Design, Game Engines, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Modeling, UV Layout
Duration: 3 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner–Intermediate

Of all the hallways, the sci-fi hallway has to be one of the best! Here, Dominique reveals techniques for texturing environments and turning everyday architecture into a vision of the future.

#17: Creature Rigging for Production

Instructor: Perry Leijten
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Character Rigging, Scripting
Duration: 8 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate–Advanced

Following on from the basic blockout ZBrush model created in Ben Erdt's Creative Modeling for Production tutorial, you can learn how to create a lifelike alien rig that feels believable while supporting animators in their game-dev process.

#18: Modeling a Stylized Character for Games, From 2D Concept to Unreal Engine 5 Render

Instructor: Kat Unsworth
Software covered: Unreal, Maya, Marmoset Toolbag, Substance Painter, ZBrush
Disciplines covered: Character Design, Digital Sculpting, Game Engines, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Modeling, Texturing & Shading, UV Layout
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

From initial sketches to a polished piece, Kat unravels the art of blending anatomy, form, and flow into a strikingly realistic yet stylized masterpiece for your portfolio.

#19: Introduction to Ziva VFX: Volume 2, Soft-Tissue Simulation using Ziva VFX, Maya & Wrap 3D

Instructor: Madhav Shyam
Software covered: Maya, Redshift
Disciplines covered: Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Texturing & Shading
Duration: 9 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate

Go deeper into soft-tissue simulation in this follow-up to Madhav’s workshop (see #6). Here, the focus is refining the Sorceress character using machine learning and more advanced anatomy wrapping.

#20: Introduction to Creating Facial Blendshapes in Maya – A Complete Guide to FACS Blendshapes Using Maya & ZBrush

Instructor: Derrick Sesson
Software covered: Maya, ZBrush
Disciplines covered: Character Animation, Character Rigging, Lighting & Rendering
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner-Intermediate

This 5-hour journey into facial blendshape modeling demystifies the technique of creating key facial shapes to animate expressions, revealing how even beginners can animate lifelike faces.

#21: Creating a Sci-Fi Pistol for Games, Weapon Modeling & Texturing Techniques 

Instructor: Sean Marino
Software covered: Maya, Marmoset Toolbag, Substance Painter, ZBrush
Disciplines covered: Digital Sculpting, Lighting & Rendering, Look Development, Modeling, Prop Design, Texturing & Shading, UV Layout
Duration: 2 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner

Take aim on game production – learn how to design a sci-fi pistol, starting from a concept and shooting for a finished look. This workshop will level up your virtual armorer skills in no time.

#22: Unreal Engine 5 Lighting Fundamentals: A Complete Walkthrough of the UE5 Lighting System 

Instructor: Charleston Silverman
Software covered: Unreal Engine
Disciplines covered: Game Engines, Lighting & Rendering
Duration: 3 hours
Proficiency level: Beginner-Intermediate

Light up your UE5 scenes! Charleston Silverman guides you through UE5's lighting system, covering dynamic techniques like RTX and Lumen that will help make your scenes shine.

#23: Animating a Complex Fight Action Sequence in Maya, Advanced Body Mechanics

Instructor: Peter Dang
Software covered: Maya
Disciplines covered: Character Animation
Duration: 5 hours
Proficiency level: Intermediate–Advanced

Jump into action with Peter Dang from Walt Disney Animation Studios – he tackles a range of Maya animation techniques while also imparting how to keep your scenes clear, readable, and tidy.

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