Advanced Texturing & Lighting for the VFX Pipeline

Overview

Faculty: Animation
Duration: 6 Weeks – Tues & Thurs 6pm – 9pm
Delivery: Online
Level: Intermediate

Start Date: 24th June 2025
Course Director: Ronan Coyle
Fees: €800

COURSE CONTENT

This intensive 6-week course is designed to equip students with industry-relevant skills in advanced texturing and lighting, using modern physically based rendering (PBR) workflows. Students will explore the full process of texturing assets within Substance painter and Maya for the production pipeline: from material creation to cinematic lighting in Maya. The course culminates with the creation of a turntable showreel piece that demonstrates their understanding of the VFX texturing and lighting pipeline.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

● Understand and implement the PBR workflow across different engines.
● Master Substance Painter’s toolset for high-end texture generation.
● Set up advanced materials and shaders in Maya’s Arnold renderer.
● Use lighting techniques to create dramatic, cinematic presentations.
● Produce a polished showreel-ready turntable of a textured and lit asset.

DETAILED COURSE CONTENT

Week 1

Introduction to PBR & Asset Prep

Understanding Physically Based Rendering
Overview of texture maps: Albedo, Roughness, Normal, Metalness, AO
UV unwrapping best practices
Importing and organizing assets

Week 2

Substance Painter Fundamentals

Project setup and mesh baking
Smart materials and procedural texturing
Masking techniques and paint layers
Exporting maps for Maya/Arnold

Week 3

Advanced Texturing Techniques

Weathering, dirt, edge wear, decals
Emissive and opacity maps
Material variation for realism

Week 4

Introduction to Lighting in Maya

Light types and setups (Key, Fill, Rim)
HDRI-based lighting
Arnold render settings
Basic AOVs and Render Layers

Tools & Software

Substance Painter (primary texturing tool)
Maya + Arnold Renderer (primary lighting/rendering tool)
Photoshop (optional texture refinement)

Week 5

Cinematic Lighting & Rendering

Advanced light linking and shadow control
Creating mood through color temperature and exposure
Introduction to look dev workflows

Final Deliverable

Each student will produce a fully textured and lit asset turntable, rendered in Maya with Arnold, suitable for inclusion in a VFX showreel or portfolio.

Week 6

Final Project – Showreel Turntable

Scene assembly and asset finalization
Camera animation and framing
Portfolio feedback and critique session

TUTOR

Ronan Coyle

– Lecturer in Advanced 3D Texturing

With over two decades of experience in the animation and visual effects industry, Ronan Coyle brings a deep, multidisciplinary understanding of digital art to the classroom. His career spans advertising, feature films, and content for major streaming platforms, where he has contributed to high-end 2D, 3D, and VR game projects. Ronan’s expertise is rooted in both industry practice and academic research, having worked as a rapid prototype and game interface designer at MIT’s Media Lab Europe and at Maynooth University.

An award-winning short film animator and creator of striking winter projection installations, Ronan combines technical mastery with artistic vision. His approach to advanced 3D texturing is informed by years of hands-on experience and a passion for tactile, hand-drawn creativity. Whether working on cutting-edge digital interfaces or detailed texture maps, he brings precision, innovation, and a professional approach to every project and lecture.