Lesson 1Practical recipes for common interior materials: painted walls, hardwood floors, wool/linen upholstery, leather, polished wood, chrome/brushed steel, glazed ceramicsConstruct practical material configurations for typical interior items. Adhere to step-by-step guides for painted walls, hardwood floors, fabrics, leather, polished wood, metals, and ceramics, emphasising credible reactions under diverse lighting conditions.
Painted wall and plaster materialsHardwood floor colour and gloss controlWool and linen fabric roughness setupLeather sheen, wear, and patinaChrome, brushed steel, and ceramicsLesson 2Understanding and selecting base colour, roughness, metalness, specular and IOR values with real-world referencesGrasp the fundamental PBR parameters and their connection to actual surfaces. Acquire skills to select base colour, roughness, metalness, specular, and IOR values using empirical data, reference guides, and visual assessments against genuine materials.
Base colour ranges for common materialsRoughness values and surface glossMetalness vs specular workflowsUsing IOR tables and presetsMatching references through iterationLesson 3Advanced maps: anisotropy, sheen, translucency and when to use them for upholstery, brushed metal, glass and ceramicsDiscover when and how to apply advanced shading maps to depict intricate surface properties. Examine anisotropy for brushed metals, sheen for fabrics, and translucency for slender materials like curtains, frosted glass, and ceramic coatings.
Anisotropy for brushed and machined metalsSheen layers for cloth and upholsteryTranslucency for thin surfacesControlling directionality and flowPerformance impact of advanced lobesLesson 4Photographic reference measurement: sampling real materials for colour, roughness, and specular valuesComprehend methods to record real materials via photographic references and basic measurement approaches. Master sampling colour, roughness, and specular values accurately and converting them into dependable PBR inputs for shaders.
Lighting setups for reference photosNeutral colour calibration and grey cardsSampling base colour from photographsEstimating roughness from highlightsDeriving specular and reflectance valuesLesson 5Creating layered materials: diffuse+coating, clearcoat, subsurface scattering for fabrics and skin-like materialsCraft layered materials integrating various scattering elements. Master building diffuse plus coating layers, clearcoat varnishes, and subsurface scattering for fabrics and skin-resembling materials, upholding physical credibility.
Diffuse base with reflective coatingClearcoat for varnish and automotive paintSubsurface scattering for skin-like mediaFabric fuzz and thin-layer behaviourManaging energy across layered lobesLesson 6Creating believable glass and liquids: IOR, absorption, caustics handling, thickness and refraction tintingProduce persuasive glass and liquids using physically sound parameters. Understand IOR, absorption, and thickness effects on refraction, colour, and caustics, plus engine-specific methods to maintain stable and efficient renders.
IOR choices for glass and common liquidsAbsorption distance and colour falloffModelling thickness for correct refractionHandling caustics and firefliesFrosted, dirty, and imperfect glassLesson 7Texturing workflows: tileable vs unique UVs, scale management, trim sheets and micro-detailUnderstand how varied texturing methods influence realism, reusability, and efficiency. Contrast tileable and unique UV arrangements, sustain consistent scale, and employ trim sheets and micro-detail maps to enhance depth without excessive memory use.
Tileable textures vs unique UV layoutsConsistent texel density and scaleTrim sheet planning for hard-surface assetsMicro-detail maps for added realismAvoiding visible seams and repetitionLesson 8Principles of physically based rendering (energy conservation, Fresnel, microfacet models)Examine the physical foundations of PBR shading models. Investigate energy conservation, Fresnel reflectance, and microfacet principles, observing how they inform parameter selection and elucidate modern BRDF behaviours.
Energy conservation in shading modelsFresnel reflectance and viewing angleMicrofacet distribution and roughnessBRDF components and lobe structureCommon PBR model limitationsLesson 9Material optimisation for render engines: balancing fidelity with memory and render time (texture sizes, UDIMs, proxy maps)Optimise materials for production rendering while retaining vital details. Select texture resolutions, utilise UDIMs judiciously, and develop proxy or packed maps to lessen memory demands and accelerate look development and final renders.
Choosing efficient texture resolutionsUDIM layout and when to use itProxy maps for lookdev and previewsChannel packing to save memoryBalancing quality with render timeLesson 10Using and authoring texture maps: albedo/diffuse, roughness, metallic, normal, height/displacement, ambient occlusion, curvature/ao bakerInvestigate primary texture maps in PBR shading and their interactions. Master proper application of albedo, roughness, metallic, normal, height, ambient occlusion, and curvature maps, alongside baking processes for supplementary detail maps.
Albedo vs diffuse and colour hygieneRoughness and metallic map authoringNormal vs height and displacement useAmbient occlusion and curvature bakingChannel packing and map compression
