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Build gritty, stylized detail fast—go from first polygon to a glowing, portfolio-ready lantern in a single class.

You will model in Blender, unwrap clean UVs, bake and texture in Substance 3D Painter, then light, composite, and render a cinematic arc-shot loop back in Blender. Expect a practical, end-to-end pipeline with smart materials, disciplined UVs, and a render stage that flatters your work.

You will need Blender 4+ and Substance 3D Painter. If you can move, select, and navigate in Blender, you are set—everything else we will cover step by step.

You will also get curated references, a matching render-backdrop texture, and an optional helper to speed up compositing inside Blender.

What You Will Make

A game-ready fantasy lantern with clean topology, consistent texel density, grounded PBR wear, and warm emission—ready for your portfolio, a game scene, or look-dev reel.

Here is what I have not talked about yet, but it quietly separates “nice prop” from “hire this artist now.” We will build a tiny art-direction playbook around the lantern: what story it tells, how that story informs edge softness, surface contrast, and where the viewer’s eye lands first. I will show you a quick way to pick three visual pillars (shape language, material read, and focal glow) and test every decision against them.

It sounds fancy, but it is just a ruthless way to avoid muddy, indecisive work.

Skillshare Class Map (by Lessons)

Lessons 1–3: Orientation & Concept – Class overview, reference selection, silhouette goals.
Lessons 4–9: Modeling Blockout to Detail – Primary forms, bevel strategy, symmetry, tidy modifier stacks.
Lessons 10–12: Static-Mesh Prep & Export – Apply what is needed, fix shading, prepare FBX/OBJ.
Lessons 13–16: UV Unwrapping & Texel Density – Island strategy, packing, distortion checks.
Lessons 17–19: Baking Setup in Painter – Normal, AO, curvature, quick bake validation.
Lessons 20–26: Smart Materials & Stylized Finish – Metal, wood, stone, glass; generators plus light hand-paint.
Lessons 27–30: Blender Shader Rebuild – Principled setups that mirror Painter intent.
Lessons 31–33: Lighting & Studio Stage – HDRI base, motivated fills, exposure balance.
Lessons 34–36: Compositor Polish – Bloom, subtle mist, contact emphasis for readable depth.
Lessons 37–39: Arc-Shot Animation – Camera pathing, timing, avoiding emission clipping.
Lessons 40–42: Render Settings & Export – Output passes, codec choices, thumbnail framing.
Lessons 43–46: Troubleshooting & Wrap-Up – Common bake fixes, shader tweaks, presentation tips.

What You Will Learn

Model hard-surface forms with bevels, mirrors, and clean stacks; collapse to a stable static mesh for export.
Unwrap with consistent texel density and pack UVs for painless baking.
Bake curvature, AO, and normals; drive believable edge wear, dust, and dirt in Painter.
Build reusable smart materials for stylized metal, wood, stone, and glass.
Rebuild shaders in Blender, light with HDRI plus motivated fills, and add compositor polish.
Animate a smooth arc-shot loop that shows off form, materials, and glow.

We will also look at naming, versioning, and export discipline—the boring bits that keep you fast. You will leave with a consistent file structure, suffix rules for mesh and texture variants, and a simple “one-click” export preset that keeps scale and orientation bullet-proof between Blender and Substance 3D Painter. When a client asks for a tweak two weeks later, you will know exactly where to touch the pipeline without knocking everything over like Jenga.

Presentation matters, so we will build a thumbnail on purpose, not by accident. You will learn how focal length, camera height, and a single motivated rim light can make the silhouette read on a tiny screen.

Class Project

Create your own stylized lantern: model → UV → bake → texture → render a short arc-shot loop. Use the included references, backdrop texture, and the optional helper for the compositor and stage. A manual setup path is shown if you prefer.

You will build a repeatable loop—decide, test, evaluate—that turns “I hope this works” into “I know why this works.” It is not magic. It is just good craft, done deliberately.

Why This Skillshare Class Stands Out

End-to-end clarity: Blender → Painter → Blender with no hand-waving.
Stylized realism: Purposeful wear and readable materials, not random grunge.
Reusable systems: Smart materials, lighting, and a studio stage you can apply to future props.

Who This Class Is For

Blender users: You want a practical route from first polygon to final image.
Prop/Game artists: You need clean UVs, solid bakes, and dependable smart materials.
Stylized artists: You love grit and character without losing readability.

In this Blender + Substance 3D Painter class, we go end-to-end: blockout, bevel strategy, static-mesh cleanup, UV packing, AO/curvature/normal bakes, stylised metal/wood/stone/glass stacks, emission that glows without clipping, and a polished arc-shot loop back in Blender with HDRI lighting and compositor bloom/mist/contact pop.

See you in class—and until next time, happy modelling everyone!

Neil & Luke

Lahoya Delasbrujas

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