ABOUT US

ZBrushWorkshops is a new digital sculpting studio founded by Ryan Kingslien. Ryan trained as a traditional artist at the Pennslyvannia Academy of Fine Art and as a digital artist at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Ryan was the very first Product Manager for ZBrush at Pixologic. During this time he developed the curriculum that is now the standard in schools across the globe and consulted with companies such as ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Bungie Studios, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts to integrate digital sculpting into their production pipelines. To put it another way, Ryan's the guy who put the Rake brush in ZBrush.

At ZBrushWorkshops, our goal is to combine traditional artistic principles with practical digital sculpting workflows and train artists for the game and film industry. Learning ZBrush is more than learning what buttons to push. Learning ZBrush is learning how to sculpt.

A few of the places we have trained at:

What The Professionals Say About Ryan:

There is no ZBrush artist working today who has not benefited from the educational materials and techniques of Ryan Kingslien. Since his time as director of training for Pixologic Ryan has taught ZBrush with a depth of understanding about the program that is unmatched. His style is never simply a technical guide, Ryan will take you much further and deeper into understanding how the program works as well as how to use the program to create beautiful art. Ryan has created an educational community I am excited to take part in myself. This may well be the first digital sculpting atelier!

- Scott Spencer, Digital Sculptor @ Weta Workshop

I first met Ryan five years ago while supervising at Meteor Studios in Montreal. Ryan came to give my modeling team a through shake down of Zbrush. I quickly understood that this was a very talented individual and we became friends instantly. What I didn't know at that time was just how dedicated and prolific of an artist he was. Ryan has a knack for not only understanding the technical side of the business, but also understanding classical art. This foundation serves him well as he tackles anatomically correct sculptures. His veracity for knowledge is equaled only by his passion for sculpture. This is a man that if you spend any time with, you'll come out a richer individual and artist.

-Cesar Dacol Jr.

Ryan's involvement with the development of ZBrush coupled with his deep understanding of anatomy and traditional sculptural techniques make him the ideal teacher of the emerging art of digital sculpting. I am immediately amazed and impressed with the quality and extent of the video tutorials on ZBrushWorkshops, I know I will be spending a lot of time here!

-Eric Keller, Author of Introduction to ZBrush

Ryan was an important part of the success of ZBrush 3. His blend of a traditional artistic background and technical prowess was key in helping us shape the next generation of digital sculpting software.

- Jaime Labelle, COO Pixologic

I can't think of anyone who is more qualified to present this information than Ryan. During his time as product manager at Pixologic, he was always the first person I'd contact when I needed to find the best work flow for any aspect of ZBrush.

- Zac Petroc, Zac Petroc Studios

What His Students Say About Ryan:

Ryan is a phenomenal teacher, and he challenges all his students no matter their skill level. With a balance art and technological skill, he taught us more than how to use ZBrush. I learned more about sculpting techniques and anatomy from Ryan than any of my other teachers and this skill served me well in all my classes and ultimately in my current job. My greatest strengths as an artist are a direct result of the work and time spent with Ryan.

-Jessica Johnson, Associate Cinematic Artist, Blizzard Entertainment

More comments below:

My name is Filipe Pieruccetti, I'm a freelancer 3d artist from Brazil. Before Ryan's Character Sculpt class I used to struggle a lot with Zbrush, Things simply went wrong all the time, it was always a big fight to get something done, it was very stressful to work with Zbrush. Now I feel that I have taken control back to my hands, my sculpts go easy, I'm able to identify problems and find solution without any stress. Thanks a lot Ryan !!!!

Great teacher!! I have learned so much from Ryan. Highly recommended for the aspiring Zbrush artist.

Great class, encouraging an artistic and sculptural approach to the process of building a character and exploring the extensive possibilities Zbrush offers in the production pipeline.

Ryan's in depth knowledge of anatomy and extensive experience with Zbrush makes him an exceptional teacher. His method of teaching and sharing information will develop you as an artist at any stage in your career. I would recommend this class to anyone who wants to expand there knowledge of Zbrush.

I have been watching Ryan's tutorials from Gnomon, and since then he is my favourite. I started learning ZBrush through his tutorials, and in 2010 came to know about ZBW through facebook. Signed up for all workshops and artistic anatomy class and I, myself can see the difference in my sculpts before and after. Ryan, has this great ability to teach very complex things, e.g. anatomy, in a very simple and planned way. He also shares his knowledge of traditional sculpting which helps in many ways, specially understand the underlying basic form of a complex shape like muscles. I never had enough questions to ask (except technical issues), because most of the questions are already well answered in class videos. Each video is very informative, simple to understand and the whole class structure is built in a very planned manner which takes you from scratch to finish without much struggle. The best part of ZBW is, you get a very dedicated teacher who puts all his efforts to make your sculpting better. Thanks -Himanshu

The Artistic Anatomy Class was an amazing experience. The class was much more in depth than I would ever have imagined and even with the almost non-existent anatomy knowledge I possessed prior to the class I was still able to follow along nicely. Ryan is simply a phenomenal teacher and I can't recommend this class highly enough for anyone wanting to learn more about human anatomy!

The workshops provided a great platform for growth, if you're serious about sculpting, here's your chance to prove it, no excuses.

If you've hit a stopping point and do not know what could be wrong with your sculpts, the Artistic Anatomy course is the class for you. You'll not only learn the placement, measurements as well as points of origin and insertion of all the bones and muscles of the human body, but you'll also get to sculpt your own ecorche figure based on the knowledge you'll gain throughout the course.

Seeing Ryan's masterful control of zbrush's tools combined with his extensive knowledge of human anatomy makes for a truly educational learning experience. He approaches each task at hand confidently and does not worry too much over tiny mistakes, a problem I constantly suffer from. Instead, he sculpts on and fixes things as he goes allowing him to efficiently create beautiful works of art. It is obvious that Ryan has put a lot of time and effort into creating the content for this class. In particular the section on facial anatomy is some of the most detailed that I have seen, going so far as to use a little bit of forensic science to roughly determine the thickness of the skin on the skull.

I liked the analogies you use to explain things. Also the cadence of your voice, no hurries, taking the time to make everything crystal clear. P.S. I really enjoyed the "valley of suck".

I would highly recommend ZBrush Workshops to anyone interested in or already active in learning digital sculpture. I signed up to ZBW's Introduction to ZBrush 4 which is the best and most informative ZBrush tutorial I've followed. Ryan Kingslien is a very good and likeable teacher and the tutorial material itself is very well created and presented. I've experienced good contact and support from ZBW whenever it's been needed.

Ryan is a very gifted teacher! He is excellent at clearly demonstrating and explaining how to do very complex things in ZBrush. He makes learning fun, and it's always a treat when I get the chance to learn from him!

Good teachers impart good education. Great teachers groom their students to become leaders. Ordinary teachers direct us along the right path, but great teachers inspire us to seek our own path. They encourage us to discover our talents.

i'd be more than happy and willing to give a testimonial after the course work. so far after viewing many of your tutorial videos, checking out the website and seeing how you prepare and get ready for a new session i can say i feel very confident and extremely excited to be a student of yours. i can tell you're passionate and care deeply about your work and training methods. this isn't a fly by night class.....this is something more, and i'm very excited to be part of it. im happy you've decided to share your knowledge and passion with all those you care to learn.

The training has a good foundation in anatomy and is helpful in breaking things down into manageable chunks.

I wish I had skipped art school all together and just followed my dream of sculpting professionally by taking classes from ZBrushWorkshops/Ryan Kingslien in the first place... I'd be in much less debt, and much farther along in my abilities! Better late, than never.

Ryan offers a calm and logical teaching method. He teaches you the tools, techniques and the tricks of the trade but also why things are the way they are which is vital to fully understanding the sculpting process that will help you create the best models possible!

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Ryan, I would walk through the Valley of the Suck, Anytime with you.

Artistic approach combined with software knowledge resulting in simple and effective teaching, which is easy to understand.

Perfect for all digital artists who wants to evolve in zbrush and sculpturing. Huge inspirational source and professional sight. Really an artistic master class!

Learning any new application can seem overwhelming and daunting at first, but Ryan's teaching style is completely approachable and it's obvious that he really wants students to enjoy the process of learning ZBrush by presenting it in manageable portions. He's soft voice and calming mannerisms quickly puts students at ease.

I am a big fan of your work. I like how loose yet detailed and accurate your sculpts are and that really influences my work a lot. Your explanations are usually crystal clear. That might sound silly but your English is easy to understand so it helps a lot when its not your native language.

Well-paced and thorough training which builds knowledge and confidence.

The teaching is very informative. It gave me more insight on sculpting and as an artist. Immediately my work flow improved.

I think Ryan can divide that "artistic feeling" into easy steps that anyone can follow up.

From what I have seen so far Ryan has a knack for delivering techniques through training videos that are easy to follow. His methods are understandable at any level of expertise. And have produced major changes in my ability to model characters in a very short amount of time. Other training videos I have purchased aren't really about teaching as much as they are conversations with animators and modelers as you watch video of them working at 2x or 3x speed. Those videos make better portfolios for the artist than they do training videos for learning anything. I feel ripped off everytime I purchase one of them. Ryan on the other hand teaches at a pace you can follow. He explains what he is doing, why he is doing it, and how that leads to a much better sculpt. So far, I am very impressed with Ryan's work.

I like the direct personal approach you have taken in this ZBrush adventure.

I find your teaching method works with me the best because you explain points so well and simple that the information you give me sticks and your demonstrations reinforce this. I have learned more from your teachings more quickly and easily than anyone else I have been taught from before.

Ryan Kinslien's one of the best instructors I've had the pleasure of following via Gnomon Workshop ZBrush tutorials. He explains in great detail not just his favorite method but other possible ways of going about your work. He also explains the all important 'why' of what is you're being instructed to do. Often teachers neglect that and I find his explaining the why not just the how to be beneficial to learning. I would suggest to anyone seeking to improve their sculpting ability to take a Ryan Kingslien course!

Ryan's teaching style is smooth and precisely to the point. He knows the best way to show you how to accomplish a task in Zbrush. Even a seasoned prpfessional will pick up a few golden nuggets of information with these lectures. I am very pleased with my purchase!

Easily the best Zbrush training I have seen.

Your teaching is excellent and i like all your workshops

I've watched your free topology workshop which answered a lot of questions I'd had about topology and simplified what I had seen as a pretty daunting job. I haven't gotten the chance to put it into practice yet, but I'm certainly more confident that I'll able to work through a re-topology without too many hiccups now. Thank you.

In this class, I learned simple ways to make anatomic forms complex! The best class ever!

Learning from Rayn's workshops, I've found his teaching very informative on all levels. It isn't just about Zbrush or sculpting. Many teachers just give you the technical idea but not the why. Ryan gives you both so that when something happens or your working on a lizard's eye instead of a human's you have the information to solve it and accomplish the task. He is also very good at letting you know that it isn't easy but you can do it. Ryan has always been there to assist me in any questions I had and tried to help or found out where I might find further assistance. I've been to MANY classes and tutorials on subject of art. I have never had this great of an experience or felt I received so much more for my money. If you want to be taught by a man who's a master at his craft, will answer your questions, and you receive double your money worth of information then take the classes or workshops. You'll would be hard pressed to find a better deal.

Ryan is one of the few people who can make the daunting task of explaining the technical aspects of digital sculpting seem so easy . He really gets into the detail of not only how to do what we do in Zbrush , but also most importantly why we do it. . Hes got the perfect balance of technological knowhow and artistic skill , No class with him ever gets boring and theres something new to learn no matter what your skill level. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to get into digital sculpting with Zbrush . David Chung .

I have found the training very informative and structured. I have seen the training tutorials on Zsketch and found them very helpfull.

I would highly reccommend Ryan Kingslien's teaching methods at ZBrushWorkshops. Noobie, medium or pro everyone will benefit from the chilled out teaching of Ryan and the brilliant community inside.

Ryan you are a awesome teacher . you know how to make people thinks positive and be progressive to their goal . I am really thankfull to you for providing us such a good knowledge of sculpting.