Finish a Portfolio-Ready Character
in 8 Weeks

Join Shane Olson's mentorship and get 8 weeks of art direction help
to turn one concept into a professional, portfolio-ready character.

For intermediate to advanced character artists. Seats are limited.

APPLY NOW

Sculpted By Mentor: Shane Olson - Design by Josh Black

Matching the Design Is the Key

When you’re hired as a character artist, you’re expected to match the design in 3D as closely as possible while adding appeal. The closer you can match that design, the more valuable you become as a character artist.

It sounds simple, but hitting that mark is difficult. That’s why it’s valuable.

Sculptor’s Blindness

Most intermediate character artists aren’t being held back by their software. They struggle because they can’t always see what’s off in their sculpt. If you can’t see what’s wrong, you can’t fix it.

I call this Sculptor’s Blindness.

This is where an experienced second pair of eyes can help guide you through Cringe Canyon and get the character to a level you're proud of.

The more you learn how to see, the better your characters become.

"I made this stylised version of Frank Zappa during Shane's mentorship. Honestly, I can't recommend it enough. Shane has an incredible eye for design, and every week I'd come away with a better understanding of character design, simplification, exaggeration, and what makes a stylized character actually work. He also has a ton of experience with collectibles and 3D printing, so even a newbie like me managed to sculpt and print my first character. That alone was worth it." - Nikita Bidyuk

One Character Away

I created One Character Away as an eight-week guided mentorship to help you learn how to see what's off and how to fix it.

The goal is to finish one strong, portfolio-ready character that matches the concept, demonstrates appeal, and represents the level of work you want to be hired to create.

You could be One Character Away from attracting better clients, proving you can work at a professional level, or launching your own collectible or 3D-print business.

How the Mentorship Works

The mentorship is structured like a real freelance character assignment. I act as your client and art director while guiding you through the creation of your character.

You can sculpt in ZBrush, Blender, Nomad Sculpt, or another sculpting program you already know.

Plan to invest at least 10–15 hours per week. Eight weeks gives you enough time to complete the character while still allowing room for feedback, revisions, and polish.

"I joined the mentorship to take my character sculpting beyond just a hobby and turn it into a career. Shane's Incredible feedback helped me not only level up my sculpting, but also taught me how to design characters that are both visually appealing and practical for 3D printing. Thanks to Shane and the community, I found the confidence to keep pushing myself and not be afraid to try." - Johnathan Rosman

Sculpted by Mentor: Shane Olson - Original Design: Johannes Helgeson

You'll receive:

A private 1-on-1 kickoff call to review and approve a concept that fits the 8-week timeframe without sacrificing quality.
Eight weeks of professional milestones and deadlines
A live art-direction and feedback call every Sunday
Midweek check-in for whenever you get stuck
Discord Community for posting questions and getting help any time
You may also ask questions about the character industry
Live Demos
Continued access to the alumni Discord community and past mentorship calls and interviews
Certificate of Completion

Hello, I am Shane!

I’ve been sculpting professional characters for almost thirty years. I spent ten years at Disney and was the lead character sculptor on Disney Infinity. I currently create characters for companies including Disney Consumer Products, Super7, and Ronin Arts Workshop.

I’ve also mentored hundreds of character artists over the years and taught live workshops at studios like Disney, Pixar, Lego, and others.

The thing I enjoy most is helping an artist see the difference between their work in progress and the target they are aiming at.

I love hearing them say, “I see it now,” and watching their skills level up.

Many of my students have gone on to sculpt characters for companies like Funko, Disney Consumer Products, McFarlane Toys, and Big Shot Toys. Others have built their own businesses selling 3D-printable characters.

"Shane's instruction helped me to develop a solid grasp on the fundamentals needed to sculpt stylized 3D characters. Shane is such a great teacher who really cares about his students' success and is willing to go the extra mile to help them get where they want to be." - Ian Marshall

Is This Mentorship for You?

This is a good fit if:

You already understand your sculpting software, but your characters keep missing the mark. You want direct feedback, stronger concept matching, professional deadlines, and help finishing a portfolio-worthy character.

Is This Mentorship Not for You?

This is not yet a good fit if:

You’re still learning the basic tools and buttons in your software. Build your foundations first, then come back when you’re ready for direct art direction.

If this sounds like you, you can find beginner and intermediate training in my course store.

There is an application process to see if you are a good fit.

Apply Now

"Shane Olson is an outstanding mentor. He pushed me to complete my projects and provided detailed feedback that genuinely elevated my work. His guidance helped transform my entire workflow, giving me clearer structure, better habits, and a more confident approach to character creation. Highly recommended. The before shane and after shane sculpts files are super noticeable for me haha." - Wilberth Contreras

Shane is such an incredible teacher! He has taught me everything I need to know to get a job in the toy industry (which is no small feat). His wealth of knowledge in the field is a gold mine for both beginners and advanced students! - Josh "Jazzy" Carver

The investment

The investment is $1,800 USD for the eight-week mentorship.

You can pay in full or make three monthly payments of $600

Limited Seats

Seats for One Character Away are limited, which allows me to give every artist real weekly art direction and personal feedback instead of generic notes lost in a crowd.

Apply now, and if you qualify, you’ll be added to the waitlist. If accepted, when a seat opens, you will be notified.

The mentorship is done through Discord. Please include your Discord name.

You could be One Character Away from finally finishing the character you keep restarting.

To apply, please fill out the form below.

Sculpt by: Shane Olson Original Concept By: Shafi Ahi

Sculpted by Mentor: Shane Olson - Design By: Shafi Ahi

More Student Examples and Testimonials

"Before Shane’s mentorship, I had plenty of moments where I was stuck, frustrated, and needed answers fast. Whenever I reached out, Shane and his team were on it, usually helping me the same day. When people are relying on you to get it done, having that kind of support matters. If you’re serious, Shane and his team have you covered" - Brad Lamey

"When I started my 3d modeling journey, I watched tutorial after tutorial trying to push myself to be a better 3d artist, but something was missing. Shane's mentorship was the missing element. The feedback and instruction Shane provided was essential in helping me grow artistically, at my own pace. The community Shane has built within the workshop has also been a great experience, I would encourage anyone with interest to learn from Shane." - Edwin Spencer

As an artist, I was struggling with my 3D character sculpting journey and felt that the tutorials I could find online were not enough, so I began looking for more of a mentorship. I came across a ZBrush live stream with Shane Olson. I really liked his sculpting method and joined his online 3D Character Workshop program. Shortly after joining, I found out that he was offering mentorships and I didn’t hesitate to reach out. I am so glad I did! What an amazing experience! He had such a wealth of knowledge. His kindness, patience, and amazing eye for design helped strengthen my sculpting skills. It was truly one of the best mentorships that I have had and I can’t say thank you enough. - Kenya Marshall

"Shane is not only an incredibly talented teacher, but he's a true mentor. He truly cares about the successes of his students, and always makes the appropriate time for help, tips, and guidance. His program is top notch, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. I am a confident, skilled character artist - largely due to Shane Olson." - Sarah Paschkewitz

"Thank you for everything, I’m very happy with it. I signed up cause I was losing sense of what I was doing artistically and this really helped me focus again. Showing up each week made a big difference. Working during the week with or without your feedback was night and day." - Aina Pujals

Before Shane’s mentorship, there were mad moments where I would be like “What do I do? Why isn’t this working? I needed this done like yesterday ago.... When those moments happen I would ask Shane & his peoples for help. And not for nothing, they really be on it. I got help usually on the same day. Suddenly I am no longer on my rawr rawr no more lol. Hear me out if you got people relying on you, to get it done but you are unsure how to do that. If you serious Shane and his peoples got you fr - Tristian Graham

Finish a Portfolio-Ready Character
in 8 Weeks

Join Shane Olson's mentorship and get 8 weeks of art direction help
to turn one concept into a professional, portfolio-ready character.

Sculpted By Mentor: Shane Olson - Design by Josh Black

Matching the Design Is the Key