Creature Design and Sculpture for Film
A course by Jordu Schell , Sculptor
A professional approach to creating fantasy and horror characters out of Sculpty clay
- 100% positive reviews (67)
- 4283 students
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
A professional approach to creating fantasy and horror characters out of Sculpty clay
Jordu Schell has always had a passion for monsters. From a young age, he obsessed over fantasy films of the 70s and 80s, and woke up wide-eyed on Saturday mornings, excited to spend his free time brainstorming all sorts of creatures. Since Schell got his big Hollywood break at the ripe age of 20 on a budget film in Los Angeles, he’s worked on some of the most recognizable fantasy films of his time, from Edward Scissorhands, Men in Black, to the X-Files. He also was a key sculptor in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning movie, Avatar. In his work, he endeavors to imbue as much personality as possible, combining aspects of the human species with different earth creatures.
In this online course, learn how to design, sculpt and color a hyperrealistic fantasy character of your own, guided by one of the best in business. Schell takes you through the steps used by the pros, from early conceptualization to the final product, using accessible methods and materials, such as polymer clays.
What will you learn in this online course?
28 lessons & 20 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (67)
- 4283 students
- 28 lessons (6h 29m)
- 20 additional resources (3 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a hand-painted creature sculpture based on a drawing.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone wanting to make fantasy or horror characters. A background in animal and human anatomy is helpful.
Requirements and materials
You’ll need an armature wire, Sculpey, sculpture tools, loop tools, kidney, various rakes, a detail tool, ball tool, castor oil, isopropyl alcohol, heat gun, glass eyes, 18”X18” board (1” thick), galvanized flange and short 2” pipe (1” diameter of the pipe), screws, air brush gun and compressor, and F&W Acrylic or Liquitex Acrylic Inks.
Reviews
A course by Jordu Schell
Jordu Schell is a U.S.-based fantasy artist with decades of experience under his belt. Inspired by fantasy films of the 70s and 80s, designing creatures has always been the most exciting thing in the world for Schell. He got his big break in Hollywood in 1989 when he was hired to assist on a low-budget movie called “The Bride of Re-Animator.” From there, his career took off; he worked as a sculptor and designer on “Edward Scissorhands,” “Predator 2,” “Men in Black,” “Alien: Resurrection,” “The X-Files Movie,” and many others. Notably, he masterminded Neytiri, the lead heroine in the Oscar-winning film, Avatar.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Creating Your Workspace
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Tools and Materials
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Comparative Anatomy
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Getting Inspired
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U3
Making a Monster
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Sketching and Designing 1
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Sketching and Designing 2
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Preparing the Sculpey
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Creating the Armature 1
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Creating de Armature 2
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U4
The Sculpture
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Blocking the Sculpture 1
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Blocking the Sculpture 2
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Secondary Forms 1
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Secondary Forms 2
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Secondary Forms 3
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Adding Details 1
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Adding Details 2
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Creating the Head 1
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Creating the Head 2
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Creating the Head 3
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Refining and Baking
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U5
Bringing the Character to Life with Paint
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Hand Painting 1
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Hand Painting 2
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Airbrushing 1
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Airbrushing 2
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Airbrushing 3
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Finishing Touches 1
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Finishing Touches 2
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FP
Final project
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Creature Design and Sculpture for Film
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
marina
What an outstanding artist and teacher! Mr Schell is really all in, the course is highly informative and very inspiring. Hearty recommendation!
annettenaghavi
Toller Kurs, macht viel Spaß !
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cpv235
Me gustó mucho. Bien explicado
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moseth98
Muy bueno, de lo mejor que he visto.
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studioszam
Interessante.
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