Where to begin with anime 3D modeling!?

I am an aspiring 3D artist who wants to make character models in anime/manga style for games. I am currently a comic artist and after seeing games like Final Fantasy, Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, etc… I have been inspired to try out character 3D modeling. I have heard very good things about Blender and was taken to this site. I know that the road in 3D modeling takes a lot of time, and depends a lot in my determination and patience.

So, I was wondering if could get some pointers or websites with tutorials, or anything really that could help me get started. Any help will be appreciated =D

You can start with blender cookie… There are many great sites out there. Do a search with anime in your search. You will find many great things out there. Also check youtube. Welcome, and stick with it!!!

Ok, I will check it out. I want to grasp the basics first on how blender works and how to use the main modeling tools before starting. Also, I WILL stick with it =D

Hi uchiha007,

Might I also suggest you check out this anime/manga character from blendswap.com, it’ll give you some idea of topology for that style of character.
http://www.blendswap.com/blends/characters/hito-nami/

Good luck on your adventure. :wink:

For the basics you might try http://gryllus.net/Blender/3D.html.
The basics apply to Blender 2.6x as well.

For modeling a manga character from scratch this might be handy

And you could visit the tutorial section on Blender Artists to find some other tutorial gems.

Getting started:
http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/content.php?223-Blender-Fundamentals
http://gryllus.net/Blender/3D.html
Then for more advanced
http://cgcookie.com/blender/
http://blendernerd.com/
http://www.blenderguru.com/

Don’t worry about the manga part too much in the beginning. If you learn to model good generally, you can then apply any style you want. If manga is your comics drawing style, that’s even less of a problem.
If you know that you specifically want to model for games, it’s more important that you take that into account. A lot of modeling tutorials are more aimed at producing models for movie use.
But yeah - start with the blendercookie stuff. It’s generally well produced and easy to follow, so it’s a good way to get comfortable with the basics.

@jay-artist: thanks for sharing the link. I was checking out the website and found this model( http://www.blendswap.com/blends/characters/aika-thompson/ ). That is exactly what I am aiming for.

@Ulf: Thanks a bunch for the links, they will come in very handy. Although, the tutorial for the anime model seems like it uses an older version of Blender. Are there any major changes regarding hot keys?

@Richard: Hey! lol my name is Richard too =P I really appreciate the links =]

@encn: Really? Since I saw a lot of Blender discussions in the Unity forums, I thought Blender was more aimed for games lol. Also, I will take that advice into account. I will try to focus on developing modeling skills and later on I’ll focus on style. Thank you for the reply =]

Nope, the basic keys should be the same.