We will be using tricks and optimizing techniques so that we can keep our banner within “Standard Flash” specifications: Under 40kb, 18fps, and under 15 seconds in length. Along the way we'll look at workflow and file organization tips and tricks.

Along the way we will be encountering topology issues and learn new ways of troubleshooting those. We will be focusing on less of a traditional tools that are used today for modeling, and rather explore creative ways of application for the news onces. Upon completing our model, we will look at basics of V-Ray material setup for Maya, where we explore various options and what effect they have, look at couple of a rendering tips to improve the quality of our final image, and touch a few basic steps on compositing of our final image.

Throughout these lessons we will use a combination of Maya, After Effects and Photoshop to do everything from the modeling, animating, texturing, lighting and rendering of an animated title sequence. By the end of this tutorial you'll have an understanding of the knowledge required to create a robotic title sequence from start to finish.

Throughout these lessons we will focus on creating an exterior visualization. We will go through several different stages including modeling and preparing vegitation models like grass and trees so we can use them in our scene as proxy. We also go through lighting, texturing and post-production when you will learn couple of techniques about how to make our renders looks better and more appealing.

Rather than focusing on the higher-end scale that is commonly seen in other tutorials, with this tutorial we will be limiting ourselves to just a few thousand polygons. We will begin, not by sculpting a high detail model in ZBrush or Mudbox, but by focusing on the character's actual low polygon in-game model. Once that's built and optimized, we will then focus on adding a good set of UVs before we move onto painting diffuse, normal and specular texture maps. By the end of this tutorial we will have taken a look at numerous tips, techniques and shortcuts all geared towards saving precious time by simply focusing on the actual game model itself.

We will begin these lessons with the final result from the Creative Development: Modeling a Cowgirl Character in Maya and Silo with Antony Ward tutorial. We will continue on with our cowgirl character and take her to the next level. By adding color, light and texture we will bring her to life all while sharing some essential time-saving tips. Starting in Maya, we will explore how to light the scene before we apply and adjust a series of shaders to add a splash of color. We will then output the various render passes we need to move into Photoshop and enhance the overall image. Finally, we will work in some finer details as we apply layers of texture before we complete her look by painting in her hair and adding a background. By the end of this tutorial you will have a good understanding of lighting and rendering in Maya, along with working with render passes and image-based lighting. You will also be confident in taking a render into Photoshop to enhance its look without the use of UVs or complex shaders.

Throughout these lessons we will focus on creating a polished image of a cartoon nature. Doing still images for your personal portfolio is important because this builds a library of techniques that can be used later for production. By the end of this tutorial we will have gone through all the steps required to learn the importance of each part so that our image is appealing in the end.

We will start by referencing our game document, which will be our guide through the process of creating our Unity game. We can find information on the look of our models but also on the desired resolutions of the models and textures. We will concentrate on creating game topology for our two characters and two weapon models. We will also cover map generation and texture painting as part of the process. In the end we will have models ready to be rigged and animated or plugged directly into the game engine. We will use a variety of software packages from Maya, to TopoGun, to ZBrush and Mudbox in order to prepare our assets so there will be a lot of back and forth. This course references some pre-made assets and covers methods for modifying and prepping those assets for this particular game. In most of these cases, if you'd like to learn to build these assets from start to finish, there is a tutorial that will fill your need. For instance, in this course we look at the steps we went through to modify the biker character from Creating High Resolution Characters in ZBrush 4 and Creating Game Characters with Maya 2011 and ZBrush 4. So if you'd like to build the character from scratch, those two courses will take you through the process. The same goes for the enemy tick creature, which is from the Introduction the Mudbox 2011, and the assault rifle from Creating Next-Gen Game Assets in Maya.

Throughout the tutorial, we'll cover all of the hidden details that are needed to use HDR imagery for lighting in Maya. We'll start with physically based lighting, world scene scale, color management, proper render preview and verification of valid floating point linear color images. Once the rules for using HDR images are clearly laid out, we will take a look at how you can create your own HDR images at home using a DSLR camera, tripod, nodal head and software. Lastly, we'll go over examples of using and editing these images for a variety of indoor and outdoor lighting situations as well as covering light extraction and making HDR kooks from an HDR photo of a light.

We will start the training by taking a look at our game development document as well as the artwork that we have. These will give us a better idea of the technical aspects of our models and their look. We'll talk about building the geometry and creating texture maps for pieces of our level like old oil drums, boards and lights. We'll also cover workflows between Maya and Mudbox for modeling, sculpting, and painting bits of organic debris to illustrate the enemy infestation. We'll finish up by talking about dressing the set temporarily in Maya as a guide for the final dressing in Unity. This course goes over the process for creating props and set dressing and the thoughts behind the decisions but it is not a step-by-step tutorial. If you'd like to get up to speed on modeling in Maya, I'd recommend Introduction to Modeling in Maya which goes over the tools we use here in greater detail. If you want a more step-by-step look at creating assets in Mudbox, we have a variety of training available, including Introduction to Mudbox 2012 which will get you started very quickly. So over the next hour and a half or so, we'll talk about creating the pieces necessary to dress our set and give it a realistic, aged and worn look.

We’ll get started by discussing the needs of our game in terms of user interface graphics and then learn how to set up a document in Photoshop to design them in. Next we’ll learn some strategies for building graphics and examine some possible pitfalls. Moving on, we’ll learn about different states of a specific graphic and how we can setup our file to make saving this type of graphic out a bit easier. After all the graphics for our game have been created, we’ll shift our focus to preparing them for Unity. We’ll learn about important things to consider when cropping and saving our files. Then we’ll wrap this course up by learning how unity handles transparency and some workflows we will need to utilize to accommodate this. After going through this course, you will gain insight into the process of creating and saving user interface graphics for our mobile game.

We will start by talking about some steps for starting your UV layout process as well as some important concepts that you should keep in mind whenever preparing your UVs and your textures for use inside of Unity. We will talk about the importance of hiding UV seams on your geometry, planning texture layouts on your objects to maximize efficiency, you will learn UV layout and geometry modification tricks that can dramatically enhance the use of your UV texture space, and we will spend time in Photoshop learning how the textures in our level were created.

The focus of this tutorial will be the creation of the character maquette entirely within ZBrush, with goal of creating a great looking rendered still as an and product. It is intended as an overall introduction to many of the tools within ZBrush which make the creation and output of this kind of illustration possible. The Image you see above was sculpted, textured and rendered in a single 9 hour day using these techniques.

Over the tutorial we will learn how to efficiently model by only modeling what we need and how to reuse basic base meshes as starting points. Then we will look at how to efficiently UV map, looking at techniques to quickly produce distortion free UVs. Then using Ambient Occlusion bakes as starting points for our textures we will look at a efficient and repeatable texturing process. We will then look at how to pose our characters, setup shaders to replicate advanced effects such as refraction and sub-surface scattering, before setting up render passes and layers for compositing. Finally we will bring it all together in Photoshop using our layers to composite and adjust our image before looking at some final techniques to complete our 3D Illustration.

This video collection will walk you through creating your own high dynamic range images. And not only just getting an HDRI we look at what makes an HDRI more realistic, stylized, and more interesting for your lighting. We begin with the equipment necessary to create an HDRI image. We cover two methods of gathering the initial images. First the chrome probe ball used in gardens everywhere. Next the fish eye lens which can gather 360 degrees of your view. After you create several HDR's you'll be matching the lighting in your video footage or just enhancing your studio lighting in no time.

We’ll begin this project by creating a procedural dirt shader for our ground cover. Then we'll hop into Photoshop to create a photographic texture for our road. We'll then add some detail using more procedural textures to break up the edges of the road and create a broken concrete feel. From there we will set up a particle system for our tires and create render layers and passes. Finally we will composite our shot using the Maya Precomp feature and Maya Composite. We'll learn how to color correct our passes, add various blurs and composite everything together into an integrated shot.

We will get started by learning how to place files into both Illustrator and Photoshop. Next we will compare this workflow with both the copy and paste method as well as the drag and drop technique for moving artwork back and fourth. Along the way we will learn about smart objects, paths as well as shape layers and how we can work with each in Photoshop. We will also learn how Illustrator can open, import and receive pixel based artwork. To wrap things up, we will examine a workflow that will allow us to bring a layered Illustrator file into Photoshop without rasterizing our vector objects. After completing this course, you should have a good grasp over how these two powerful programs can pass artwork back and fourth to achieve top notch results on a project.

Using these tools and features, we can now incorporate high-quality 3D elements directly into our design layouts without having to rely on any sort of external 3D application. We will begin this course by learning how to adjust the OpenGL settings in Photoshop in order to have faster feedback and response when working with 3D objects. We will also learn how to move our objects and virtual cameras through the 3D workspace in Photoshop. From there, we will learn how to apply materials and textures to our 3D objects, utilize the Repouss© feature in Photoshop to create 3D geometry from scratch, work with 3D lights, shadows and rendering, as well as highlighting many other tools, tips, and workflows that will allow you quickly begin using these features in your own projects.

ZBrush is a great tool for putting together characters. You can create base geometry, sculpt and paint your meshes, build accessories and clothing, and work seamlessly between other applications. In this course, we'll go through the process of building up a high resolution character from start to finish using ZBrush as our main application. We'll explore the use of zSpheres in building out our base mesh. We'll use GoZ to quickly take geometry between ZBrush and Maya, although the methods used will apply to other applications as well. We'll also use a bit of Photoshop to edit and create some texture maps we can use in ZBrush to add sculpt and color detail. If you're new to ZBrush, I encourage you to first check out the introductory courses, as well as the courses on some of the new features in ZBrush 4 like Shadowbox and Spotlight. We're going to cover a lot of ground and, in the end, you'll have a finished character, along with the tools you need to create your own high resolution character models.

Creating believable environments comes from an efficient combination of 3d models and textures. Depending on the purpose of the set, detail can be created through the use of actual geometry, or we can add detail strictly through texture maps. For this project, we'll build a disused sci-fi environment. We'll start the process by building the geometry for the environment using a variety of modeling tools. Once the geometry is completed, we'll create uv layouts for the different pieces that will allow us to minimize the number of texture maps needed. Once the UVs are complete, we'll look at a number of ways we can create different textures in Photoshop. Although you can follow along with the project, there will be a number of opportunities for you to really customize your environment and once we're done, you'll be able to apply what you've learned to your own work.

We'll begin by learning about two popular packaging designs for CDs. After learning a little about our client, we'll begin designing the front cover of a CD insert in Photoshop. While working on the front cover, we'll learn how we can incorporate various other elements into our design, including a vector logo and textures. Next, we'll move on and begin to create the back cover of our insert, taking into account the lyrics that will appear on top of it. Finally, we'll move over to InDesign to create the layout of our insert. Here we'll learn about several features, including paragraph styles and character styles that will make the process of completing our design more efficient.

When trying to create highly realistic, lifelike characters, the importance of the eyes is often understated. In fact, the eyes are one of the most important aspects to consider when creating characters that truly look and feel alive. During this course, we will learn how to create highly realistic eye textures from scratch using Photoshop, and in a way that gives us a high degree of flexibility and control over the textures' color variations and other details. Once the texturing has been completed, we will jump into Maya, where we will discuss shading and rendering techniques that can give the eye a highly realistic final look. Along the way we will be exploring many additional tips, tricks, and workflows that you will be able to use both in Photoshop and in Maya to help create more believable, realistic eyes for your characters.

When trying to create highly realistic, lifelike characters, the importance of the eyes is often understated. In fact, the eyes are one of the most important aspects to consider when creating characters that truly look and feel alive. During this course, we will learn how to create highly realistic eye textures from scratch using Photoshop, and in a way that gives us a high degree of flexibility and control over the textures' color variations and other details. Once the texturing has been completed, we will jump into Softimage, where we will discuss shading and rendering techniques that can give the eye a highly realistic final look. Along the way we will be exploring many additional tips, tricks, and workflows that you will be able to use both in Photoshop and in Softimage to help create more believable, realistic eyes for your characters.

Architectural visualization is an invaluable tool for being able to see a building, often inside and out, before constructing it in real life. Seeing structures in 3d will often highlight issues that may not be apparent when looking at drawings and plans. We'll start by building up the geometry of the two buildings from scratch, using many of Maya's modeling tools. We'll use deformers to create sweeping curves and we'll use existing geometry to add detail like balconies and rails. With the modeling complete, Kyle will take you through the process of adding materials and textures to the geometry. You'll also go through the necessary steps for adding appropriate lighting and setting up your renders. In the end, you'll have a nice final render with your custom built 3d building sitting in a real location.

When trying to create highly realistic, lifelike characters, the importance of the eyes is often understated. In fact, the eyes are one of the most important aspects to consider when creating characters that truly look and feel alive. During this course, we will learn how to create highly realistic eye textures from scratch using Photoshop, and in a way that gives us a high degree of flexibility and control over the textures, color variations and other details. Once the texturing has been completed, we will jump into 3ds Max, where we will discuss shading and rendering techniques that can give the eye a highly realistic final look.

Using Photoshop CS4 Extended, we now have the ability to paint textures directly onto our 3D mesh, allowing us to significantly streamline the texturing process. Through these lessons, we will discuss concepts such as painting textures directly onto your 3D mesh, projecting 2D details onto your geometry, painting and exporting multiple maps, as well as discussing many other texturing tools now found in Photoshop CS4. With these new features, we no longer have to jump back and fourth between multiple applications to see the result of our texturing. And with the ability to paint directly on our 3D geometry, we can create textures much faster, and with much higher precision.

When building low resolution models meant for real-time applications, texturing will play a big part in communicating a lot of information about that model. Many of the details that we are unable to add when modeling can be simulated with textures. In addition, we can simulate lighting effects or occlusion in textures. In this course, we'll go through the process of preparing our model, an antitank gun, for texture by creating and assembling useable UV layouts. We'll then use a variety of techniques in Photoshop to paint texture maps for the gun. Finally, we'll bake out an ambient occlusion map that we can integrate into our texture. Upon completion, you'll have a textured gun, but you will also have the knowledge you need to start creating textures for your own models.

When building props, especially lower resolution models meant for real-time applications, it's a good idea to balance the detail you want to achieve with optimal resolution. Much of the detail you will want to add can be achieved with textures. In this course, we will use a variety of modeling tools to build a piece of artillery. We will model sufficient detail in specific areas to create a good silhouette and we'll look at ways to speed up our workflow by duplicating existing geometry. Upon completion, you'll have a low resolution gun that you can then finish with some UV and texture work. You'll also be able to apply the same techniques to building your own low resolution props.

In this series of lessons we will explore workflows for creating a realistic island scene using Softimage and Photoshop. We will begin by setting up our various lights, materials, and shadowing effects within Softimage, giving us a good foundation for adding further details in Photoshop. We will bring our rendered image into Photoshop and add details such as shaded foliage, enhancing shadows and highlights, creating more natural weathering and erosion patterns, atmospheric effects, and much more. Using these techniques, we will be able to use both Softimage and Photoshop to create a finished image much faster, and with more control than if we tried to use only one of these applications.

Popular highlights include: Stereoscopy Overview; Rules of Safe Stereo; Anaglyph Filtering; Stereo 3D workflow; After Effects Camera Rigs; 3D Objects in After Effects; Mathematics of Stereo Imagery; Creating Interactive Guides to Help Visualize; Color Correcting Stereo Imagery; Composting Stereo Pair Renders from Maya; Expressions; Controlling Zero Parallax; Interaxial Separation; Creating a Camera Dolly System; Animating Cameras with Dolly System; Photoshop 3D Layers; 3D Assets with Photoshop; Assembling Multiple Compositions with Expressions; Zero Parallax Controls in 3D Scene; Interaxial Separation Controls; Avoiding Keystoning and Other Stereo Distortions; Creating a Stereo Camera Rig for Photoshop 3D Objects.

Popular highlights include: Stereoscopy Overview; Rules of Safe Stereo; Anaglyph Filtering; Previewing Stereo Images; Zero Parallax; Interaxial Separation; Frustrum; Customizing a Safe Volume; Creating Custom Stereo Rigs; Rendering Stereo Images; Compositing Stereo Pairs in After Effects; Anaglyph Effects in Photoshop; Loading Built-in Stereo Rigs; Python Scripting to Modify Stereo Rigs; Stereo Camera Settings and Defaults; Off-Axis Camera Types; Converged Camera Types; Parallel Stereo Camera Types; Extending Maya Stereo Camera with Expressions; Cross Converged Viewing; Parallel Pair Viewing.

Popular highlights include: Texturing Workflow Overview; Painting Texture Guides in Maya; Creating Seamless Textures; Adjusting Sub-D UVs to Minimize Distortion; Integrating Maya and Photoshop with PSD Networks; UV Snapshots as Texture Guides; Adjusting Pen Sensitivity on Tablet; Photoshop Brushes and Settings; Adjusting Layers with Curves; Adjusting Hue, Saturation, and Value; Blending Detail with Layer Masks; Color Maps for Bump and Specular; Creating Procedural Textures in Maya; Texturing with Photographs; Opening 3d Models in Photoshop; Generating Individual Texture Maps; Dodge and Burn Tools for Details; Smudge Tool to Blend Texture Detail; Eliminating Texture Seams.

Popular highlights include: Conceptual Development; Solutions to Design Challenges; Polygon Modeling Techniques; Using Smooth Preview; Converting Smooth Preview to Polygons; Thumbnails to Complete Designs; Using 3D to Pre-visualize Models; Automotive Terminology and Design; Creating Creases with Edge Loops; Adding Realism with Detail; UV Mapping Techniques; Applying Chrome Surface Materials; Building Car Paint Materials; Creating Brushed Metal Effects; Using the Text tool; Rendering with Final Gather; Adding HDRI Lighting; Texture Creation in Photoshop; Creating Tiled Bump Map; Building Textures with UV Snapshots; Manipulating Edge Flow with Split Polygon Tool; Creating Fitted Panels; Adding Glowing Panels.

Popular highlights include: Understanding Properties of HDR Images; Using 32-bit Color Space; 32-bit Image vs. 8-bit Image; Shooting Multiple Exposures with Camera; Bracketed Camera Exposures; Using Mirrored Ball for Environments; Naming and Organization of Exposure Sequences; Assembling Multiple Exposures into one HDR Image; Assembling Panoramic HDR Images; Removing Unwanted Subjects from Images; Color Correcting and Image Enhancement; Adjustment Layers for Image Alterations; Tone Mapping HDR Image for Low Dynamic Range Output; Setting up Image-based Lighting in XSI; Final Gathering in XSI; Setting up Multiple Render Passes; Rendering HDR Images from mental ray.

Popular highlights include: Setting up base materials in ZBrush; Filling Subtools with Color; Painting Illuminated Panels; Painting with Symmetry; Isolating Portions of Subtools; Working with Polygroups; Cavity Masks to Emphasize Detail; Painting Wear into Armor; Adding Color Variation; Layering Color and Detail for Skin; Blending Textural Detail with Alphas; PolyPainting Techniques; Photoshop Integration with ZApplink; Cloning Photographic Detail; Painting Scarring and Decay; Converting PolyPaint Colors to Texture Maps; Painting with Projection Master; Using Cavity Maps as Texture Guides; Editing Textures in Photoshop; Assembling Textures in Photoshop; Painting Specular Maps in ZBrush.

Popular highlights include: HDRI Overview; Understanding Properties of HDR Images; Using 32-bit Color Space; 32-bit Image vs. 8-bit Image; Shooting Multiple Exposures with Camera; Bracketed Camera Exposures; Using Mirrored Ball for Environments; Naming and Organization of Exposure Sequences; Assembling Multiple Exposures into one HDR Image; Assembling Panoramic HDR Images; Removing Unwanted Subjects from Images; Color Correcting and Image Enhancement; Adjustment Layers for Image Alterations; Tone Mapping HDR Image for Low Dynamic Range Output; Setting up Image-based Lighting in Maya; Final Gathering in Maya; Reducing Animation Flickering; Rendering HDR Images from mental ray.

Popular highlights include: Proportion and Scale; Modeling from Reference; Understanding Art Direction; Finding Focal Points; Modeling Smooth Shapes; Various Smoothing Methods; Creating Useful Topology; Rerouting Edge Flow; Attaching Geometry; Modeling with Deformers; Adding Detail Strategically; Procedural Textures; Creating UV Layouts; Texturing with 3D Paint Tool; Painting Texture Guides; UV Snapshots; Creating Textures in Photoshop; Shader and Material Setup.

Popular highlights include: Resolution Considerations; Using UVLayout from Headus; UV Layout in Maya; UV Snapshot; Reference Images as Texture Base; Blending Multiple Images; Warping Textures to Fit UV Layout; Color Correcting Texture Sections; Blending Seams; Blending Between Multiple Maps; Texturing NURBS Surfaces; Adding Realism to Hair with Transparency Maps; Creating Procedural Eyes; Creating Eyelashes with Transparency; Troubleshooting UV Seams; Moving Details with Photoshop Tools Disclaimer: Some photographic reference contains nudity and is intended for mature audiences.

Popular highlights include: Hard Surface Modeling Techniques; Modeling with Texture; Modeling to a Camera; Strategically Adding Detail; Simulating Aging and Decay; UV Layout Techniques; Using UV Snapshots; Integrating Maya and Photoshop; Generating Displacement Maps; Texture Painting with Photoshop; Layering Textures; Tiling Textures; Generating Procedural Maps; Adding Architectural Elements; Creating Interior Illusions with Textures; Connecting Maya Texture Nodes; Complex Scene Management; Scene Optimization for Rendering.

Popular highlights include: Normal Maps; Occlusion Maps; Depth Maps; UV Layout; Implementing Ultimapper; Painting Textures in Photoshop; Baking Indirect Lighting and Shadows into Texture Maps; Game-Friendly Animation Rigs; Adjusting Envelope Weights; Walk Cycle Animation; Exporting Game Assets to OGRE; C++ Programming; Real-time Normal Mapping; Real-time Parallax Mapping; Polygon Reduction Tool; * XSI Essentials and higher is recommended for several lessons.

3D Layers, a feature introduced in Photoshop CS3 Extended, are extremely useful for editing textures. The 3D layers system automatically updates the model's texture every time you save it. This means you don't have to export the texture and switch programs to see the result in 3D!