Soulburn Studios Art Lessons

How Do I Shade / Texture Stuff?: Shading Workflow Overview

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1) Gathering Reference

Probably the most important thing you can do to make your project successful, even for objects that don't exist in real life. Sometimes we get so excited making an object in 3d that we don't stop to first think about and observe the thing we are going to make. Spend the time to get good reference! Use original sources (real photos, observation) more than processed sources (other people's paintings, images, films).

Here's some places to get Reference:

Take your own photos (get a camera, even a cheap camera, iphone is fine most of the time)
Client
Get photos from library, books, web
Films
Other artists work
Create an Archive (Morgue) of reference photos (Mine is 92,000 files / 41 Gig)

2) Identifying Visual Details

Pick the 5 to 10 things that make this object look the way it looks and write them down.

Example, Rock:

Rough surface (Not Shiny)
Cracks
Large crinkly bump
Smaller grainy bump
Grey/yellow color
Spotty color pattern

Example, Fire Hydrant:

Three color of paint (Yellow, Grey, Green)
Paint has a slight bump
Paint is slightly reflective
Paint chips off to reveal metal base
Metal base is dull, dark grey
Rust

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