Creating Realistic Textures in Substance 3D Painter

Realism in texturing is more than detail; it is about creating materials that feel alive. In this course, Sierra Division Environment Artist Niels Couvreur will guide you through Substance 3D Painter to achieve that level of authenticity.

Enrollment Open

What You'll Learn

Course Overview

Realism in texturing is more than detail; it is about creating materials that feel alive. In this course, Sierra Division Environment Artist Niels Couvreur will guide you through Substance 3D Painter to achieve that level of authenticity. Niels will share the knowledge he has gained over the years to help you work more efficiently and develop a stronger eye for realism, so you’ll be able to create convincing textures and apply that expertise to future projects.

Through hands-on practice, you’ll learn to texture various material types such as rust, wood, and metal, build custom smart materials and masks, and master layering techniques. You’ll see how subtle texture choices can elevate your game assets and make them feel real. Niels will also demonstrate how to use supporting tools to enhance your texturing workflow and deliver optimized workfiles with packed maps. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to render your assets, presenting your work in a polished, professional format that highlights both realism and storytelling.

THIS COURSE IS IDEAL FOR

  • Artists with beginner to intermediate texturing experience who want to strengthen their skills, develop greater realism in their work, and take their texturing to the next level.

Course GALLERY

Course Goals

  • Students will be able to create their own materials from scratch
  • Students will have a selection of ready to use smart materials and will be able to create their own
  • Students will be able to create their own smart masks
  • Students will have a wide understanding of the base principles of texturing and layering
  • Students will be able to use external software to aid in the texturing process
  • Students will be able to deliver an optimised workfile
  • Students will be able to create their own export presets with packed maps
  • Students will be able to render out their assets in Omniverse

Prerequisites

Adobe Substance 3D Painter Photoshop / Photopea Marmoset Toolbag 5 Nvidia Omniverse USD Composer Rendering Software 3D Modeling Software PureRef or Miro

Assignments

Open metal toolbox 3D render with chisels, cigarettes, a brass lighter and rusty hardware on a light background created with Substance 3D Painter
Open

Learn Together on Student Boards

Collaborative workspaces where students submit weekly assignments, receive feedback, share WIPs, and learn from the progress of their peers.

PAINTOVERS & FEEDBACK

Get clear visual feedback through paintovers and detailed comments that help you understand exactly what to improve.

LEARN FROM EVERY PROJECT

Follow the progress of other students and discover new techniques, workflows, and creative solutions through their WIPs, project breakdowns, and mentor feedback.

SHARED KNOWLEDGE BASE

From references and workflow tips to paintovers, everything is organized in one place for easy access throughout the course.

STAY MOTIVATED

Learning alongside other artists helps keep you inspired, accountable, and committed to your goals.

COURSE CONTENT

1
Week 1 Introduction and Foundations. References and Building a base metal smart material
In week one, students will get the chance to learn about the course structure, expectations and goals. Students will learn how to set up a Painter scene correctly to resemble Unreal Engine. Students will also learn how to look for reference and analyze them correctly, ultimately setting up their own organized reference board. A base texturing workflow will be established by analyzing our references.

Students will learn different chemical reactions that can appear on a metal. Students will have an understanding of how to make a base metal look interesting using different techniques such as; gradient filter and using tools and filters that Adobe 3D painter has to offer. Students will learn how to ‘lookdev’ their material by adjusting layer properties and filters.
2
Students will learn how to create a visually compelling rust smart material with all the knowledge they’ve gained so far. The students will learn about rust in general from real life reference, and learn how to apply it in Painter. Students will have an in-depth understanding of the Anchor Point system within Adobe 3D Painter. In the end, students will have a customisable rust smart material to be used on the tool box. Students will see how to apply the created smart material to a mesh, and will be explained why creating a material on a basic sphere is not advised, they will also learn how to fix any issues that might appear with different projection methods. Students will also learn how to create a leaking rust effect.
3
Students will learn how to create a tiling texture from an image using Photoshop, delighting an image and making it tile seamlessly.

Students will be taught how to texture different types of wood meshes. Including different types of wooden handles using a variety of different projection methods to get the desired result. They will also have a better understanding of how to set up a wood material for future projects, keeping in mind the direction of the wood grain.
4
Students will learn how to apply the metal smart material to other meshes within the project, and explore additional techniques, including scratches, height maps, and other editing techniques for the metal smart material.

Students will set up the base materials for the toolbox.
5
Students will learn how to take their base texture to the next level by adding a layer of imperfections and storytelling elements. They will learn how to set up a dust layer, how to create stains, dirt and grime. Students will learn how to create a rust peeling effect. They will learn how to create stencils from images in Photoshop to be used on our toolbox.
6
Students will learn how to create their own export presets and how to pack ORM maps. They will learn the basics of both Marmoset Toolbag 5 and Nvidia Omniverse to render their assets in. They will learn a basic lighting setup, and we will go over render settings and a basic sequencer setup.

Learn From The Best

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Niels Couvreur is an Environment Artist and Instructor at Sierra Division. Specializing in realism, he brings multiple years of experience creating game assets for AAA clients, always striving for the highest standards in quality.

One of his proudest achievements is his YouTube tutorial for Sierra Division that guides artists through the process of designing CAD game assets. This experience helped shape his teaching style and strengthened his commitment to sharing his knowledge within the game development community.

His regular interactions with aspiring artists inform his approach to teaching. Understanding the technical and creative challenges faced by industry newcomers, Niels combines his professional experience with practical teaching methods. This approach helps students build both the technical skills and artistic confidence they need to kickstart their careers in game development.

Student SHOWCASE

Learn at your Own Pace

All options include the complete course. Choose the amount of time that best fits your learning style.

6
Weeks Access
$550
or $137.50 × 4 installments
  • Full 6-week course content
  • 6 weeks to complete 6 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
  • 1-year course content & Miro board access
  • Exclusive Academy Discord access
  • Monthly live Q&A sessions
  • Downloadable project files
  • Certificate of completion
Get Started
14
Weeks Access
$675
or $168.75 × 4 installments
  • Full 6-week course content
  • 14 weeks to complete 6 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
  • 8 extra weeks for review & polish
  • 1-year course content & Miro board access
  • Exclusive Academy Discord access
  • Monthly live Q&A sessions
  • Downloadable project files
  • Certificate of completion
Get Started

Installment plans on all options where available

Ask a qUESTION

Have questions about the course, prerequisites, or anything else? Drop us a message and we'll get back to you shortly.

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In this group mentorship course, expert environment artist Alex Beddows from That’s No Moon shares industry insights and provides personalized feedback you won’t get from self-paced tutorials. Through in-depth video lessons and live Q&As, you’ll receive clear guidance on working within a professional production pipeline and how to improve your skills.

Learn to think and work like a Senior 3D Artist with Sierra Division’s Robin Mariančík.

In this in-depth game art texturing masterclass, Robin will take you through the complete 3D texturing pipeline used in AAA game production. You’ll learn how to organize your workflow, create optimized textures, and understand how each step connects to professional studio standards.

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