This is how I achieved this image using Blender 2.7 animation software (3d)…This is the beginning before you start animating or making the image move through time…!

The following chunk is actually what buttons to press while within Blender 3d animation software which by the way is FREE…

Sculpt Mode:Toplogy, enable Dynamic, Optimize, sculpt using snake tail brush & blob brush…
Open second window, set to UV view, New, name it…
Edit Mode in first window:UV Unwrap, smart Uv unwrap choose…
Go to Texture Paint:File, User preferences, Add Ons, Paint, select Paint Layers add on…(check box)
Go to Texture Paint: Choose under Display in properties panel, GLSL, solid textured, then click Color…Paint at will…
Click Bump, go to texture new, choose colours you just painted selection, paint bump map…
Render to see how it looks like…
Go Back to Object Mode, choose object modifier, subdivision surface…
Go to World, choose Paper Sky, go to Textures, Image or Movie file, Open, Open a picture you have on your computer…
Render…

Ok, confused?

Here is a Screencast of actual real time character creation…Once the character is built, you can then move on to making it move, or animating it…My workflow here is a quick way to get something going…Really…

If you write down the steps as you watch, then it will be easier to recreate…Stop & start the video to write things down…

Important tip not to forget: After painting in texture Paint, go to your second window that is set to UV mode…Click on the word “image” then choose “Pack as PNG”…This packs your texture painting layers, so that when you “save As” your “Blend” file, the texture paint layers will be recreated when you go later to work some more on your movie…This is CRUCIAL…If you don’t Pack as PNG, then when you save your blend file, later reopen, your image will just be ALL Black…Nothing of texture paint will have been saved…

Ok…Part two is coming:

Ok, this is about Animating your character that you have created in Part one of this post…

In object Mode, go to Vertex Groups, scroll down to Shape Keys, click +, then click + again & this time type in a name for your shape key…(the first plus activated the word Basis, this is the basic stance)…

In Edit Mode, choose Edges as your mode of editing…

Now for example, select all the edges along the top of an eye…(right click to select one edge then Shift & right click to select more edges at the same time)…

Now Grab that bunch of edges & bring it downwards to make the eye close…

Do the same with the bottom eyelid…

Now the other eye…

Now go back into Object Mode…

Ok, now go to the slider under your shape key that you have named…If you slide the slider the eyes will close…Slide back & they will open…

To ANIMATE: Click on the record all keyframes red thingy to record all keyframes…(bottom of screen)…

Hover over the slider with your mouse arrow & press “I”…This records your first keyframe…

Move the green timeline to say frame 10…

Move your slider to make the eyes close…Hover over with mouse arrow…Press “I” again…This records a frame at frame 10…

Keep going…

RENDERING TIPS:

Increase Bitrate to 10000 for a smoother animation…

Render as PNG first into a folder, then after images are saved in a file, go back into VIDEO EDITING, click ADD, then add image, hit “A” to select all images you have rendered, then Accept…

Now back in Default Mode, Choose H.264, Quicktime , Bitrate slide to 10000…Click ANIMATION…

You now have a Movie clip…

EXTRA: Drop your clip into SIMPLE MOVIE, choose copy & paste several times…This adds several repeats to your clip, loops…File export as Quicktime…

Drop this looped file into Garageband to add sound loops…(Hit Control, show loop browser to show loops…)

Share this to Disk…You now have a Movie with Sound…

Upload to Youtube, WordPress VideoExpress, Vimeo, Flickr…Write a Post about it & embed from the code they give you…You are now a filmmaker!