In this episode of Pixel Peeps, I sit down with character artist and art director Claudiu Tanasie to break down his striking painterly 3D style.

We take a deep dive into his piece Broken Faith, exploring how he blends sculptural brushwork, stylized textures, and experimental rendering techniques to create characters that feel like living illustrations. Claudiu shares insights into his workflow—from simplifying scan data and sculpting expressive forms, to building complex hair systems with XGen and pushing Arnold far beyond its typical use.

We also talk about the bigger picture: developing a personal style, why great work often looks effortless (but isn’t), and how personal projects can shape your career more than client work ever could.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out as an artist—or how to make 3D feel more like painting—this one’s for you.

Subscribe to Siamak - https://www.youtube.com/c/siamakcgm

The Discord - https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ ►Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join ► Join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill/membership My Skin Brushes - https://www.artstation.com/a/1551330 My Work - https://www.artofjhill.com My Website -https://www.Jhill.com CONNECT: ◆ Website: https://artofjhill.com ◆ Instagram: https://instagram.com/artofjhill ◆ Twitter: https://twitter.com/artofjhill ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

Dev Mehta shares how he created this detailed Elf Knight game model. view the full work here - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OvlJk6

► My Game Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com

► Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join

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💬 Join the Discord community:

https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ

📓 subscribe to my character art notes

https://www.characterclass.com/newsletters/character-notes

🤝 Become a member

https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join

https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill

Subscribe to the channel:

https://www.youtube.com/artofjhill

🌐 My website: https://www.jhill.com

🔗 ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/jhill

◆ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@artofjhill

◆ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artofjhill

◆ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artofjhill/

◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

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Hand-Painted 3D Portrait by Ulysse here - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lGKeeV

► Free Character Art Starter Pack - https://bit.ly/character-pack

► My Game Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com

► Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join

_________________________________________

💬 Join the Discord community:

https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ

📓 subscribe to my character art notes

https://www.characterclass.com/newsletters/character-notes

🤝 Become a member

https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join

https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill

Subscribe to the channel:

https://www.youtube.com/artofjhill

🌐 My website: https://www.jhill.com

🔗 ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/jhill

◆ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@artofjhill

◆ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artofjhill

◆ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artofjhill/

◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

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Lucrezia's artwork - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EzgdyK

►My Game Character Class - http://www.characterclass.com

Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join

The Discord - https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ

My Skin Brushes - https://www.artstation.com/a/1551330

My Work - https://www.artofjhill.com

CONNECT:

◆ Website: https://www.jhill.com

◆ Instagram: https://instagram.com/artofjhill

◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

Chapters

00:00 Project Decision

03:22 Started From Sphere

06:32 Main Tools/Software

09:53 Behind the Scenes

12:49 Adding Clothing

15:58 Simulating Shoes

18:59 Lighting Scenario

22:16 Max Choice Reason

25:30 UV Unwrapping

28:27 Texturing Effects

31:43 Lines & Scars

35:28 Evolution of Renders

38:39 Color Noise

42:45 Wiggle Plugin 🪡

45:56 Lighting Setup

49:51 HDR & Key Lights

53:35 Putting her in Unreal

57:28 Keep Improving

Check out Marco's channel https://www.youtube.com/@KeosMasons

The Discord - https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ ►Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join ► Join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill/membership My Skin Brushes - https://www.artstation.com/a/1551330 My Work - https://www.artofjhill.com My Website -https://www.Jhill.com CONNECT: ◆ Website: https://artofjhill.com ◆ Instagram: https://instagram.com/artofjhill ◆ Twitter: https://twitter.com/artofjhill ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

Check out more of Ian's amazing work at https://ianspriggs.com

The Discord - https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ ►Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join ► Join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill/membership My Skin Brushes - https://www.artstation.com/a/1551330 My Work - https://www.artofjhill.com My Website -https://www.Jhill.com CONNECT: ◆ Website: https://artofjhill.com ◆ Instagram: https://instagram.com/artofjhill ◆ Twitter: https://twitter.com/artofjhill ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup

How Pablander creates his graphic art with Zbrush. Find his work and resources at https://pablander.com

The Discord - https://discord.gg/NqdhCBJ ►Join the Character Art Team: https://www.youtube.com/c/artofjhill/join ► Join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/jhill/membership My Skin Brushes - https://www.artstation.com/a/1551330 My Work - https://www.artofjhill.com My Website -https://www.Jhill.com CONNECT: ◆ Website: https://artofjhill.com ◆ Instagram: https://instagram.com/artofjhill ◆ Twitter: https://twitter.com/artofjhill ◆ Setup: https://kit.co/artofjhill/my-setup