The emphasis over the course of the series is on the texturing, which is covered in two of the six installments, and principally the aging and wear of materials.

Please Note: Chapters 1 - 3 are non software specific and instead deal with techniques and principles common to designing and building an environment. The author has used 3ds Max to build the scene and therefore Chapter 2 references the Max interface, however the methods are equally applicable to all packages.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - Importance of references
The series begins with a look at the importance of reference material, how to go about gathering some, and how to transpose these references into some concept sketches and a concept/production painting.

Chapter 2 - Modeling overview
This chapter goes on to deal with a general modeling overview, which will be non-software specific. This is followed by a look at Photoshop and some general preparation of textures, along with tips on removing seams and tiling problems.

Chapter 3 - Preparing the textures
This chapter focuses on Photoshop and, more specifically, the job of preparing textures, including painting out seams and making images tileable.

Chapter 4 - Texturing principles
This chapter focuses on texturing principles such as mapping and unwrapping bump, specular and normal maps along with combining textures.

Chapter 5 - Texturing principles
This chapter covers using masks and adding dirt and grime.

Chapter 6 - Lighting and rendering
The final chapter discusses lighting and rendering techniques and show how a simple lighting rig can be set up, along with different render passes ready for a final composite in Photoshop.

Resource files
All the free content that accompanies this tutorial, including relevant resources and scene files, can be found in the Aquarium eBook download folder.