Mari Creature Texturing Tutorial

Happy to present this Creature Texturing Tutorial, made in Mari.

This course has been tailored to teach you all aspects needed for the design; texturing and lookdev of your own creature. During each step, I will first give you an overview of what I am going to do, then do it in real time and comment as I am doing it. The goal behind this tutorial is for you to be able to apply it to any reference or concept. I go through the process as a general idea that you can then apply to anything, not just for this particular case.

Full Presentation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUgWpSgys9o

Extract 1 from the Tutorial : https://youtu.be/DI51bafBmv8

Duration : 15h

Language : English

Subtitles : Yes (English)

Texturing Software : Mari 7.0 (Required minimum 3.0 for the Node Graph)

Texturing Method Used : Node graph (Not layers)

Rendering Software : Maya & Arnold

Dinosaur Model : Included


This course is divided in 6 chapters :

1. CHAPTER 01 : Creation of a new project and overview of my Mari workflow.

2. CHAPTER 02 : Skin Colour Blockout and how to unlock your imagination with the creation of skin variations.

3. CHAPTER 03 : Pushing your skin details and creation of all the different maps. Including SSS Scale - Roughness and Bump.

4. CHAPTER 04 : Texturing of the teeth and inner mouth.

5. CHAPTER 05 : Creation of the lighting and lookdev Setup.

6. CHAPTER 06 : How to review your own work and improve it day by day.
   
   

If you have any question that I am not answering in the FAQ, please do not hesitate to get in touch at :
nicolas.morel.sch@gmail.com

FAQ :

• What is included in this tutorial package?
  -15h of narrated and carefully edited videos of my concept ; texturing and lookdev process, with English Subtitles. This is not a simple voice over. I give a detailled explanation of each step of the process. Then do it in real time as I explain it.
  -The dinosaur lowPoly model.
  -The displacement map and all the utility maps that you will need to follow this course.
  
  

• I am using a non-Commercial License of Mari, can I still follow this tutorial?Yes. The Dinosaur model (included) has 6 UDIMS, which will fit within the limitations of the license. You will still be able to export in 16bit .tif (Instead of .exr in the tutorial) in 4k resolution (instead of 8k in the tutorial). But you will have split the teeth and eyes and import them as different objects.

• Which version of Mari is required to be able to follow this course?I used Mari 7.0 for this tutorial. The Node graph is available since Mari 3.0. However, I will often use two nodes called "teleport broadcast" and "teleport receiver" that are only available since Mari 6.0. This two nodes are not mandatory. But they will help us keep our workspace clean.If you want them but you are using Mari 3 ; 4 or 5 ; You will need the extension pack that has a similar node called "Radio node"

• Will I be able to follow this course if I am still learning Texturing?Yes, of course! It will probably take you a few iterations before you feel confident with all aspects mentioned in this course. But there are a lot of notions taught that will help you improve your texturing and lookdev skills.

• Will I be able to follow this course if I've never used Mari Before?It is possible, yes. But you might get overwhelmed by some technical aspects of it. I definitely recommend you watch Michael Wilde - Learn Mari - Beginners Tutorial Series first on YouTube. He explains the foundations of the software, like the paint buffer & the UI. That I will only briefly go through.
  
  

• You mentioned Substance Painter in your presentation video, does it means I will also need it?If you are using the Dinosaur Model, no. Because all the Utility maps are included. But If you want to use your own asset, then you will need it, as Mari doesn't have baking tool as powerful as Substance. There is a 30 days free trial for the Adobe Suite that you can use to bake all the maps needed to be able to follow the course.

• I am not Using Maya & Arnold. Does it means I won't be able to lookdev my asset, using your tutorial?You definitely will. The way I teach lookdev can be applied to any rendering software. There are some technical parts specific to Maya that won't apply to you. But the methodology I use to calibrate my lighting scene and my maps will still apply, regardless of the software used.