How to Learn Without Just Watching a Sculpting Course

The days when a painter only painted are long gone.

Now, painters also dabble in sculpting, and conversely, sculptors often paint as well.

If you only do one part of the process without understanding the full workflow, your work risks becoming self-indulgent. But often, there’s no one around to teach you sculpting. You might find specific tutorials on YouTube, but rarely will you find videos that cover the entire process.

That’s exactly why I became convinced that Coloso’s video courses are incredibly useful for people in this situation.

Reviewing a Course from Memory for Better Retention

After finishing one video course, I decided to write a review entirely from memory. The purpose was to help the information stick.

Research shows that actively recalling information and testing yourself is extremely effective for transferring what you’ve learned into long-term memory. Writing this blog is essentially my way of doing that.

Courses That Make You Feel You Can Actually Do It

As the heading says, after watching one full Coloso course, I became convinced: “Yes, I can definitely do this myself.”

That might be partly because the course I took was structured that way. I had just finished Fortnation’s intermediate-level ZBrush course yesterday, which skipped over basic ZBrush operations.

Instead, it was full of case-by-case explanations—when to use a specific brush, when to apply ZModeler, how to use the Gizmo tool—woven seamlessly from start to finish. People who like to anticipate “What should I do if X happens?” will find this reassuring.

As someone who often explains things myself, I could tell this level of detail comes from a lot of trial, error, and experience.

Anatomy Only When Needed

When sculpting a figure character, anatomy knowledge is essential. But the course didn’t dump all the anatomy at once—it only introduced what was necessary at each step.

That approach makes the process both efficient and practical.

One of my personal highlights was seeing how to divide parts and create alignment pins (dowels). The process hasn’t changed much since Sakaki-san’s 2016 book, but hearing detailed explanations is invaluable.

Lessons on Work Approach from the Workflow

Fortnation’s 27-hour course showed the entire sculpting process without cuts, which made it incredibly instructive. Here are some takeaways I remembered:

1. Add Keremmi (Visual Punch)

Throughout the course, he emphasized visual impact.
For example, in the original Azur Lane Kearsarge (Spring Monitoring) illustration, the twin tails hang with a slight outward curve. In the course, he adjusted them for a more dynamic, space-filling flow.

The goal is to avoid empty spaces and make the figure interesting from every angle. This principle applies to posing as well—adding twists can change how clothing, accessories, muscles, fat, and wrinkles appear.

While “keremmi” can sometimes sound like cheap crowd-pleasing, reframing it as “creating a visually engaging piece” gives it a positive meaning.

2. Keep the S-Curve in Mind

Whether in hair or body, maintaining an S-curve makes the figure more dynamic. This is a common principle in illustration as well—following the flow of the body naturally leads to S-curves, not just in the torso but also in the legs.

The difference between a “good” and a “boring” sculpt often lies in whether you capture the structural flow from bones and muscles, not just surface fat.

3. Always Think About the Next Step

For beginners, it’s easy to focus only on the current task. But in ZBrush, anticipating the next step is crucial.
For example:

• Build the face from the best angle first.

• Pose before adding fine details (to avoid distortion at joints).

• Design alignment pins so they’re not reverse-tapered, considering output and duplication.

4. Enjoy the Process

Finally, he stressed enjoying the work. If something feels unpleasant, you won’t keep doing it. Neuroscience backs this up—dopamine makes you want to keep going without effort.

The modern problem is that social media gives you instant dopamine, making it harder to stick with “boring” but important work.

Many high-achievers don’t even think about “effort” or “hard work”—they just enjoy what they’re doing, their body moves naturally, it becomes a habit, and results follow automatically.

Active Recall: The Best Way Not to Waste a Course

This brings us back to the title—whatever you’re learning, actively recalling it is extremely effective.

Think of those quizzes in school: if you reviewed, you could write the answers easily. If you didn’t, you’d draw a blank.

The trick is to recall without looking at your notes.

I wrote this blog entirely without re-checking materials. Of course, I forgot some things from the beginning of the course, so I’ll rewatch or practice in ZBrush to reinforce them.

Even when I get painting questions on Patreon, I usually reply from memory without checking references—another example of active recall at work.

If you plan to take a Coloso course, I recommend actively recalling what you learned and keeping a daily work log. This helps cement the knowledge in your memory.