Texturing Clothing and Props

Utilising Substance Painter

The Complete Modern Guide

Texture mapping is more than “icing on the cake” for your clothing or props since it can make or break 3D models. You can have a well defined and accurate model, but average or poor texturing negates the value of these assets, making them more difficult to sell or use in a render.

Luckily tools for texturing have improved and provide that all important photo-realistic look, BUT only once you’ve learned the software and figured out an efficient and complete workflow –  essential for content creators.

Are you in one or more of these situations?

• I don’t know where to begin when creating textures for clothing or props.
• I find it frustrating to try and create a material that matches my needs
• I’m challenged with creating seamless patterns
• I want to learn how to create professional level texturing with modern tools but I’m unsure how to use them efficiently.

Professional Texturing is Attainable!

In this new coaching group, Sabine Hajostek (Esha) will provide a complete guide to texturing clothing and props so that you can…

• Create realistic textures reflecting real world material properties
• Train your eyes to notice and build detailing
• Bring unique texture ideas to the market
• Show you a streamlined modern workflow for increased productivity

Esha will show you how to texture clothing or props to a professional level even if you…

• Have never created textures for clothing or props before.
• Have never used Substance Painter

Without having to….

• Learn the deeper technical aspects of shaders
• Spend hours on adding little details, for example…stitching!

What you’ll Accomplish

This is for you if you want to accomplish…

1. Confidence in creating fresh texture designs
2. The creation of realistic clothing or prop materials that shows good detailing as well as wear and tear.
3. A solid system for texturing that will work for your content creation
4. Incorporating merchant resources into a modern workflow.
5. How to tweak existing materials to match your vision.

Curriculum

Session 1

• Intro & Welcome
• Shader basics
• How to use texture maps in a shader (example: Iray Uber Shader)
• Which materials are you likely to use in your work?
• Which maps will you need to create them?

Assignment 1:
Familiarize yourself with the shader you’re going to use in your target application.

Session 2

• A few words regarding UVmapping with SP in mind
  •             Projection vs UV space
  •             Planning for the final map
• Substance Painter Basics:
  •             Interface
  •             Basic settings
  •             Lighting and other controls
  •             Installing substances
• Sources for getting substances (other than Adobe)

Assignment 2:
Select a few obj files you want to be working on, check their UVmapping.
Build yourself a library of substances.

Session 3

• Preparing the Mesh
  •             Groups & Surfaces
  •             “Pose”
  •             HD mesh
  •             Triangulated mesh
• Setting up a project in SP
• Baking maps
• Getting materials onto the mesh: 2 methods
• Advantages of using layers with masks
• Creating more complex masks in a 2D program

Assignment 3:
Create one or more masks you want to use on your mesh.

Session 4

• Importing mask files into SP
• Other auxiliary maps for details
• Using Generators for special effects
• Using “Anchors”
• Tweaking the generated effects

Assignment 4:
Play with Generators to create different effects.

Session 5

• Adding irregularities and subtle variations
• Tweaking colors: 3 ways
• Exporting the maps and plugging them into the Iray Uber shader
• Establishing a naming convention
• Creating extra maps for overlays

Assignment 5:
Create maps for your chosen obj file(s).
Set up the shader in your target application

Session 6

• Texturing clothing: applying the techniques we have discussed so far
• Sewing and embroidery
  •             Painting stiches in Photoshop
  •             Customizable layer setup in Substance Painter
• Combining substances and merchant resources
  •             Using imported color maps
  •             Preparing special patterns/prints/borders in Photoshop (smart objects & warp tool!)

Assignment 6:
Create textures for a clothing item.

Session 7

• Special considerations regarding dirt & discoloring on clothing
• Opacity maps (sheer fabric and lace)
• Using the features of the Iray Uber shader:
  •             Silk/Satin
• Special effects (e.g. Metallic Flakes)

Assignment 7:
Set up the shader for your clothing item in your chosen target application.

Session 8

• Any overflow teaching points from previous sessions
• Q&A
• Student projects and course review

Software tools used in this course

In this course, Sabine teaches Substance Painter, which you can either still buy outright or rent as you need it from Adobe. We require for you to have SP installed before the course begins. We’ll also use Photoshop, so we would expect you to have a grounding in Photoshop or GIMP.

Whether your end goal is to use these textures in DAZ Studio, Poser, the Unreal game engine or other platform- 95% of the course will count since we’ll be spending most of the time in the above two mentioned applications.

We will be using DAZ Studio for the demonstration of rendering and checking textures, so general knowledge of DAZ Studio and a basic understanding of Iray would be advantageous.

 

Proven Experience

Paul Bussey : Coaching Group Facilitator

I have been inspiring, promoting, educating and connecting digital artists since 2010. I’ve published over 110 issues of our magazines 3D Art Direct, Digital Art Live and VISNews, with in-depth interviews of fantastic artists that inspire others with their work. I’ve hosted and organised over 200 live events to connect and educate digital artists, with many events having a focus on 3D figure based software such as DAZ Studio or Poser.

Esha : Lead Teacher

Esha lives in Austria and has been creating 3D products for nearly 15 years!

In the past she has created content for Smith Micro and now for DAZ 3D, being one of the leading vendors at daz3d.com.

When DAZ released the Developer Tools for DAZ Studio in 2008 she integrated them into her workflow and has been working with Daz Studio, alongside Poser, ever since. In recent years she has been focusing on DS for product development.

Esha’s favourite tools include DAZ Studio, Poser, ZBrush, Wings3D, Xfrog, Marvelous Designer, UVLayout, Substance Painter and Photoshop. In all of these she is a self-taught artist, basing her skills on years of experience with building 3D content.

Esha also has several years of experience in teaching adults. She firmly believes that the best way to learn is to actively do something yourself, so she favours a hands-on approach in teaching.

Knowing only too well how tiresome it is to gather scraps of information all over the web she wants to provide comprehensive content that really offers solid information. Moving from the basics to advanced procedures she takes care to make sure that her audience will be able to follow her courses smoothly.

In her spare time Esha loves listening to classical music, baking muffins and collecting cat photos.

The Rigging in Daz Studio series with Esha, Paul, and Tiffanie has been terrific. The weekly webinars are supplemented by a private active forum. It has been great to see how other class members have chosen projects, applied the rigging lessons, and overcome issues and problems. Trying to answer other people’s questions reinforces lessons. Getting answers from my peers reinforces teamwork. The pace of the class has been perfect – accelerating when the class understands quickly, and slowing down when there is confusion. The private forum is a great way to get feedback on individual projects. I look forward to similar series on additional topics. I give Esha and the rigging series my highest recommendation.

Ted Murphy from Esha’s Rigging Coaching Group (2020)

Here’s How it Works

A Carefully Selected Coaching Group

We invite candidates to apply for joining the group so you can rest assured that this will be a dedicated and creative set of people for you to grow with.

Eight weeks of Support and Training

The group will run from Sunday the 21st of November with a break for Christmas.

Each week we’ll have a meeting (up to 1.5 hours) composed of training , coaching and follow up.

The topics of these training sessions will be based on the needs of the group. Esha will share solutions, strategies and techniques to help you get results where you need them.

This is where everyone will share wins, goals, and challenges to get support, accountability, and feedback from the group and guidance from us.

Private online forum to interact with the group between calls

Any time you need some input or encouragement, you can turn to the private group to connect with other group members.
This extends the benefits of the group beyond the live webinar sessions.

Weekly Assignment for Learning Progression

Each week you’ll receive an assignment to complete and be reviewed on the next week. You can gain help from Esha and other group members in the private forum.

Adventure Hunt OBJ Bundle

The OBJ set of the popular prop and clothing set by Esha for practice exercises

VIP Add-On

If you would like additional resources, there’s a VIP add-on option that gives you the following in addition to everything above:-

• One to one call with Esha for private tuition
• Three months of email support and guidance on topics from this course
• Modern Chinese bedroom set and furniture pack by Esha
• Iray Expert Guide (worth $125) : three set searchable tutorials on Iray shaders and lighting by Esha
• Content Creation Mastery bundle (worth $200) – exclusive searchable edition