Substance 3D Painter is an industry-standard tool that allows for efficient, high-quality texturing—essential for creating realistic and detailed game assets. Inside Painter, Niels will guide you through the process of developing high-quality custom smart materials and smart masks. You’ll gain hands-on experience with texturing and layering principles, mastering techniques that are essential for creating professional-quality assets.
Throughout the course, you will learn how to texture various material types such as rust, wood and metal. Niels will share the knowledge he’s gained over the years, along with valuable tips and tricks to help you work more efficiently and effectively—so you can create realistic textures and carry that expertise into future projects.
Additionally, you’ll learn how to use various tools to support your texturing workflow and know how to deliver optimized workfiles with packed maps. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to render your assets in Omniverse, showcasing your work in a polished, presentation-ready format with strong storytelling elements.
This course is perfect for artists with beginner to intermediate knowledge of texturing and who want to strengthen their skills and take their texturing skills to the next level.
BENEFITS
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Acquire a wide understanding of the base principles of texturing and layering
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Learn to create custom 3D materials
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Master techniques essential for creating professional-quality assets
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Further your knowledge and skills with Substance 3D Painter
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Learn from a top artist at Sierra Division
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Course content and Miro board access for 1-year
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Learn alongside your peers on a shared Miro board - see the feedback they receive to gain insights, spark new ideas, and refine your own creations
COURSE FORMAT
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Pre-recorded lessons
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Live Q&A sessions with instructor
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Personalized feedback on assignments
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Certificate of Completion delivered by Sierra Division
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
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Adobe 3D Painter
- Photoshop or similar software (free online version: Photopea)
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Rendering, either software works, both are covered
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Paid: Marmoset Toolbag 5 (older version works too)
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Free: Nvidia Omniverse USD Composer
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- Any 3D Modeling software (moving around assets for the final renders)
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PureRef or Miro (Provided) or any other reference software
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.
Week 2 - Establishing a rust smart material
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.
Week 3 - Creating a base realistic wood material
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.
Week 4 - Going over the other assets & Establishing the base layers for the toolbox
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.
Week 5 - Establishing the imperfections layers for toolbox
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.
Week 6 - Export preset and Rendering in Nvidia Omniverse
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.
COURSE GOALS
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Students will be able to create their own materials from scratch
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Students will have a selection of ready to use smart materials and will be able to create their own
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Students will be able to create their own smart masks
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Students will have a wide understanding of the base principles of texturing and layering
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Students will be able to use external software to aid in the texturing process
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Students will be able to deliver an optimised workfile
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Students will be able to create their own export presets with packed maps
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Students will be able to render out their assets in Omniverse
WATCH NIELS' PORTFOLIO FEEDBACK SESSION
- Teacher: Niels Couvreur