3D Creative December 2015

3DCREATIVE MAGAZINE | Texturing sci-fi ships with MARI
Explore MARI texturing with Rory Björkman…
An overview of the MARI UI and palettes we’ll be using
In this section of the tutorial, we’ll be looking at how to texture a sci-fi
airship model using MARI.
Overview of the MARI workspace: Before we begin, here’s a brief
01 overview of the MARI workspace. You can click between the 3D
painting view under the Ortho tab, and flat UV mode under UV tab depending
on the need. If you cannot remember a button function, just let your cursor
hover over the button for a few seconds and it will reveal its purpose in a
small pop-up tab. In the top-left is the save button – remember to save often.
Now let’s get texturing!
Ambient occlusion: After importing the geometry, the first step for
02 texturing our airship is generating ambient occlusion (AO). Select all
of the mesh, and under the Objects menu, select Ambient Occlusion. Then
under your Procedural tab in the main shader, select Geometry and then
Ambient Occlusion.
The AO may have hard edges which can be smoothened using the Blur tool.
First right-click on your AO procedural layer, then ‘Convert to Paintable’ and
use the Blur tool to soften any edges that are jagged. Be sure to save your
project as you go.
Texturing crevices: Now the AO is complete we need to go over the
03 ship with the Brush tool. By pressing the ‘K’ key, you can access the
brush sets. I find the Velvet Touch brush (under Organic Brushes) is good for
soft organic build-up. To reduce the brush size, press the ‘R’ key and left-click,
then push up and down or left and right according to the size and fall-off. For
the brush opacity, press the ‘O’ key and left-click, and slide left and right. Use
these tools to softly build up darkness in all the crevices on the ship.
Creating the model’s ambient occlusion (AO)
Using brushes to add texture to the ship’s crevices
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