Handpainted Diorama Course [FULL WORKFLOW]

Polish the ground model to harmonize with cliffs, edit rock forms with knife tool, add edges and varied shapes, scatter stones for a natural, cohesive diorama composition.

Model the tree by adjusting forms and details, add edges, split roots, and refine cylinders to shape a unique, non-mirrored diorama ready for game or portfolio.

Finish a diorama by polishing the ground and cliffs, refine cracks with the knife tool, join roots to the tree, recalculating normals and optimizing UVs for a clean final mesh.

Week three covers creating UVs for all models and exploring mapping, then jumping into the code to start color binding and finishing with line arts.

Explore basic hand-painted workflow in 3dcoat: set uv map with mesh, customize background and view, bake occlusion, adjust brushes and textures in texture editor, use layers and export to photoshop.

Create line art defining cracks, scratches, and damage on rocks and cliffs, add ornaments and magical elements, and vary line sizes for a dynamic diorama.

Apply directional highlights on corners, cracks, and scratches in your handpainted diorama with a hard brush, using varied hues and long strokes. Avoid shiny textures on rock and wood.

Paint ambient occlusion to add depth, focusing under the tree and along rocks. Apply a colorful overlay around 50% opacity to the ground and test by hiding objects.

Paint emissive effects to make skin shine, add reflections from mrvs, and build foliage using the instructor's personal pipeline.

Week 5: emissive demonstrates creating a dedicated emissive layer, painting separated ground zones with soft brushes, and enhancing rune stone and ground glow via Photoshop post-processing before reimporting textures.

Paint reflections on roots, rock, and runestone with a soft brush and warm dark blue, adjusting ambient lighting; refine lines, outlines, and reflective highlights for final polish.

Finalize textures by applying ambient occlusion gradients and pixel polishing, preparing the diorama for rendering. Render in Marmoset or Sketchfab, upload the scene, and set up lights and effects.

Polish the diorama by finalizing textures, baking ambient occlusion for the 3D coat texture, adjusting hue and gradient overlays, and refining details before renders.

Set up materials and lights in Marmoset for week 6 of the handpainted diorama course, use additive shaders for smoke and sparks, and render for your portfolio.