Josh Herman brings extensive cross-industry experience from major studios to this character concept art workshop. His iterative, multi-software approach reflects real-world production practices used in both film and gaming. He outlines how his workshop will offer practical insights from someone who has worked on some of the entertainment industry's biggest franchises, making it valuable for aspiring concept artists in both fields.

Duration: 3m 21s

This lesson effectively demonstrates an exploratory, iterative approach to character design that prioritizes flexibility and frequent evaluation over linear progression. Josh's willingness to drastically change direction (from an elderly woman to a younger character, from witch-like to ceremonial cult leader) shows the value of keeping options open during early development. He explains why rough exploration through quick sculpts and paint-overs can efficiently establish mood, composition, and design direction without committing excessive time to any single idea, ultimately leading to stronger final concepts.

Duration: 35m 4s

This lesson emphasizes an efficient, concept-focused approach to character design in ZBrush. Josh prioritizes exploration and iteration over perfection, using techniques such as constant undo/redo comparison and material toggles to evaluate design choices. He explains why it's important to work smart by focusing effort where it matters most, while using time-saving techniques like mesh duplication for costume creation and limiting the brush palette to maintain workflow efficiency.

Duration: 41m 1s

This lesson demonstrates the value of separating the posing, modeling, and composition phases when creating complex character illustrations. By using mannequins for pose exploration, layering costumes onto posed figures, and conducting regular lighting tests, Josh maintains flexibility and avoids committing too early to elements that may need revision. His approach emphasizes efficiency and iteration, which allows artists to make informed decisions about proportion, balance, and composition before investing time in final details.

Duration: 16m 38s

This lesson showcases a practical problem-solving approach to 3D lighting and composition, emphasizing experimentation and iteration. Josh's willingness to troubleshoot, simplify his approach, and move between 3D software and Photoshop demonstrates a flexible workflow focused on achieving the desired visual result rather than adhering to a single method. His iterative process of rendering, compositing, and refining helps inform decisions about character presentation and prepares for the next phase of costume resculpting.

Duration: 5m 43s

This lesson demonstrates a comprehensive character design workflow that emphasizes exploration, frequent evaluation, and methodical refinement. Josh shows how sculpting is an iterative process that requires constant assessment of design choices, particularly when working without references. By establishing clear design intentions and polishing forms before breaking them into separate components, he demonstrates an efficient pipeline for the detailed work ahead.

Duration: 22m 28s

This lesson showcases how modern ZBrush tools have evolved to make hard-surface modeling faster and more intuitive than traditional methods. By combining panel loops, Z-Remesher, and ZModeler with sculpting techniques, artists can learn how to efficiently transform concept sculpts into clean, detailed components while maintaining creative flexibility throughout the process. Josh explains why the key lies in finding your preferred settings early and in maintaining organizational discipline to avoid the complexity that often plagues hard-surface work in ZBrush.

Duration: 20m 1s

The final posing stage requires patience, anatomical knowledge, and a willingness to continuously refine rather than seeking perfection in a single adjustment. Josh's iterative approach of constantly toggling undo/redo, checking silhouettes, and making small tweaks demonstrates that successful character posing is as much about sculpting as it is about rotation and translation. By working gradually, especially on challenging poses like overhead arm positions, and maintaining flexibility about preserving original geometry, artists can learn how to achieve natural, balanced character poses that effectively convey weight, gesture, and personality.

Duration: 13m 41s

This lesson presents a practical hybrid workflow combining Marvelous Designer's cloth simulation capabilities with ZBrush's sculpting tools for concept art development. While Josh encounters several technical challenges, particularly with mesh complexity causing simulation issues, his demonstrated problem-solving approaches (DynaMesh, decimation, freezing elements) provide valuable lessons for working efficiently. He explains why, for concept work, perfect technical execution matters less than achieving visually appealing results quickly, and knowing how to blend procedural simulation with manual sculpting creates flexible, efficient workflows for adding realistic cloth elements to character designs.

Duration: 19m 35s

This lesson showcases an iterative, experimental approach to 3D rendering that balances efficiency with creative exploration. By building on previous work while remaining open to testing new techniques, Josh demonstrates how familiarity with software tools enables faster decision-making without sacrificing quality. His multi-pass rendering strategy demonstrates a professional workflow that separates rendering from final compositing, enabling greater flexibility in post-production adjustments.

Duration: 11m 17s

The final lesson showcases Josh's hybrid 3D-to-2D workflow that leverages the strengths of both rendering and digital painting. His key philosophy is that, once you have your renders, you should treat the image as a traditional painting, freely adjusting elements to achieve the best visual result rather than being constrained by 3D accuracy. His process is highly flexible — artists can stop at whatever stage matches their skills and deadlines, whether that's basic renders or extensively painted illustrations. By combining efficient techniques such as clown passes and layer masks with traditional painting fundamentals, artists can create polished concept art that is both technically solid and artistically expressive.

Duration: 27m 21s