Nuke
Maya
Adobe Photoshop

3D Matte Painting

Name: 3D Matte Painting
Price: 74 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Author: Steven Cormann

Steven Cormann

Create cinematic matte paintings with depth and realism as Steven Cormann guides you through pro techniques in 2D and 3D. Build stunning environment shots and elevate your portfolio with industry-ready workflows.

Advanced5h 40m52 Videos

$74

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Artwork by instructor Steven Cormann

Expand your horizons.

Looking to add some dimension to your matte paintings? ILM and Axis Animation lead matte painter Steven Cormann will teach you to create cinematic environment shots, from scratch to final comp utilizing professional studio techniques.

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Artwork by Nicolas Leon Flores

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After signing up for our courses, many of our students have broken into the industry, leveled up their skills, and got hired for their dream jobs. With over 10,000 students from around the world, you'll be in good company.

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Artwork by Nemanja Djokic

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What you'll learn

A guided path through every stage of the course, broken down into focused lessons you can work through at your own pace.

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Lesson 1
Planning
Steven will first take you through his past projects, showing the skills he acquired throughout his career in order to break into the VFX industry. He will then address some of the most common questions about matte painting as a discipline, and take you through VFX breakdowns of some of the most popular films to explain how their effects were achieved. You will then begin conceptualizing your project for this Course by using the Brief Builder tool, and assemble all the photographic references you will draw from in future Lessons.
- 1h 7m
- 12 Free Videos
- Project Files
Lesson 2
Foundation
You will start by blocking out your shot in 3D. Steven will walk you through each step necessary to bring your vision to life in its most basic form. After this, you will take your scene into Nuke and create a workflow for future changes to flow smoothly through every piece of software you use.
- 1h 31m
- 13 Videos
- Project Files
Lesson 3
Advanced 3D
In this Lesson you will do the majority of your scene's modeling work. You will go over shaders, color spaces, effects, and vegetation. After this, you will render your scene and be ready for the upcoming final step in the process.
- 1h 8m
- 11 Videos
- Project Files
Lesson 4
DMP and Comp
This is where your whole project comes together. You will rebuild your renders from the previous Lesson inside of Nuke, and move into the Photoshop painting part of the process. You'll then merge your CG with your 2D elements using compositing, adding various flourishes to make everything shine. Finally, Steven will take you through the steps of a professional delivery pipeline, so that you can be ready for any studio environment.
- 1h 52m
- 16 Videos
- Project Files

Meet your instructor

Steven Cormann

Steven Cormann is a freelance VFX and concept artist specializing in full-CG shots, matte painting, and art direction for film and animation. With a decade of experience, he has contributed to projects for ILM, BLUR, Amazon Studios, Netflix, Axis, and major titles like Jurassic World, Love, Death & Robots, Rings of Power, and Call of Duty. His work blends cinematic worldbuilding with high-end visual storytelling across film, games, and advertising.

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$74
- Instant access to this Course
  Once you've signed up for this Course, you'll have unlimited access to it as long as you have an account!
- 5 Hours of lectures
  This includes all of the premium training which is included as a part of this course.
- 1 Hours of bonus content
  Bonus Content typically includes materials like unedited video recordings, past mentorships, and extra tips & tricks. To see a full list of content, check out the Lesson List below!
- Download project files
  Download all of the materials created for this course, so you can poke around in the source files, or follow along with the instructor.
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Bundle and save an extra $55.50

Buy the Matte Painting Bundle.

Buy Intro to Matte Painting, 3D Matte Painting, and Advanced Matte Painting together in a bundle to learn the entire pipeline and save an additional 20% during checkout. Two courses for a low price. You have no more excuses!

3 Courses
3D Matte PaintingIntro to Matte PaintingAdvanced Matte Painting
16h 9m
Total Bundle Duration
125 Videos
Video Lectures in Bundle
Save 25%
Bundle Discount

Retail Value$222

Bundle Discount-25%

Bundle Price$166.50

Bundle Details

tons of workflow crap and programs i would have never thought of trying.... PEEP DATTT!!!1

beeple

Designer

My career as a concept artist started after taking these courses. Much of what I learned I applied to my portfolio and in a couple months ... I got my first job.

Elias Ravanetti

Concept Artist & Illustrator

Learn Squared gives me the freedom and flexibility to learn from the best in the industry at my own pace.

David Tilton

Freelance Concept Artist

Our students have awesome jobs.

Join a devoted community of over 20,000 students from around the world.

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Course Lesson Plan

Here's a full list of all the videos in this course.

5 hours 40 minutes
Total Bundle Duration
52 Videos
Video Lectures in Bundle
9.5 GB of Files
Downloadable Project Files

Tools Used
?
The tools listed below are used throughout the lectures of this course. Using alternatives is definitely possible depending on your proficiency, but we can only recommend using these listed softwares.

Nuke
Maya
Adobe Photoshop

Free Preview
Watch Free Preview
Lesson 1
Planning
Steven will first take you through his past projects, showing the skills he acquired throughout his career in order to break into the VFX industry. He will then address some of the most common questions about matte painting as a discipline, and take you through VFX breakdowns of some of the most popular films to explain how their effects were achieved. You will then begin conceptualizing your project for this Course by using the Brief Builder tool, and assemble all the photographic references you will draw from in future Lessons.
1h 7m
Total Lesson Duration
12 Videos
Video Lectures in this Lesson
Project Files
Downloadable Project Files
Introduction
Course OverviewPreview01:26
Lesson OverviewPreview01:42
Past ProjectsPreview12:16
Matte Painting Basics
Common QuestionsPreview11:52
Anatomy of a Matte PaintingPreview08:52
Camera ProjectionsPreview07:39
Workflow PlanningPreview01:16
Breakdown ExercisePreview00:27
Brief Builder
Brief Builder IntroPreview06:26
ReferencesPreview10:51
KitBash3DPreview03:57
Conclusion
HomeworkPreview00:37
Lesson 2
Foundation
You will start by blocking out your shot in 3D. Steven will walk you through each step necessary to bring your vision to life in its most basic form. After this, you will take your scene into Nuke and create a workflow for future changes to flow smoothly through every piece of software you use.
1h 31m
Total Lesson Duration
13 Videos
Video Lectures in this Lesson
Project Files
Downloadable Project Files
Introduction
Lesson Overview01:13
Blockout
Setting Up the Scene05:21
Blocking the Shot06:16
Animating the Camera04:35
Dividing Into Layers04:12
Look Development
Basic Terrain Shaders06:53
Lighting and Atmosphere15:10
Bash
Rendering02:53
Moving into Nuke09:31
Filling in Coverage11:37
World Machine15:53
Refining07:28
Conclusion
Homework00:40
Lesson 3
Advanced 3D
In this Lesson you will do the majority of your scene's modeling work. You will go over shaders, color spaces, effects, and vegetation. After this, you will render your scene and be ready for the upcoming final step in the process.
1h 8m
Total Lesson Duration
11 Videos
Video Lectures in this Lesson
Project Files
Downloadable Project Files
Introduction
Lesson Overview00:48
Detailing
Detailing the Architecture07:50
Detailing the Water09:41
Color Spaces05:09
Vegetation
SpeedTree07:53
Scattering13:56
Rendering
Adjusting the Lighting04:36
Volumes06:09
Rendering07:14
Conclusion
Basic Animation03:50
Homework00:56
Lesson 4
DMP and Comp
This is where your whole project comes together. You will rebuild your renders from the previous Lesson inside of Nuke, and move into the Photoshop painting part of the process. You'll then merge your CG with your 2D elements using compositing, adding various flourishes to make everything shine. Finally, Steven will take you through the steps of a professional delivery pipeline, so that you can be ready for any studio environment.
1h 52m
Total Lesson Duration
16 Videos
Video Lectures in this Lesson
Project Files
Downloadable Project Files
Introduction
Lesson Overview00:58
Nuke
Rebuilding the Renders06:41
Matte Painting
Compiling the Background12:08
Separating Photo Elements05:03
Blending the Mountains09:58
Testing in Nuke07:37
Projections with Proxy Geometry12:46
Extending the Background08:54
Enhancing the CG09:46
Compositing
Animating Clouds05:22
Ground Fog05:26
Environmental Effects10:49
Final Touches08:24
Delivery
Tech Checks06:11
Final Render02:16
Conclusion
Homework00:37

Homework can be cool.

Check out some of the amazing work 3D Matte Painting students have created by doing their homework.

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3D Matte Painting

Steven Cormann

Expand your horizons.

Our students are badasses.

Start learning for free.

What you'll learn

Planning

Foundation

Advanced 3D

DMP and Comp

Meet your instructor

Steven Cormann

Sign up any time

Try it.

Buy it.

For teams.

Bundle and save an extra $55.50

Buy the Matte Painting Bundle.

beeple

Elias Ravanetti

David Tilton

Our students have awesome jobs.

Course Lesson Plan

Tools Used ?The tools listed below are used throughout the lectures of this course. Using alternatives is definitely possible depending on your proficiency, but we can only recommend using these listed softwares.

Lesson 1

Planning

Introduction

Matte Painting Basics

Brief Builder

Conclusion

Lesson 2

Foundation

Introduction

Blockout

Look Development

Bash

Conclusion

Lesson 3

Advanced 3D

Introduction

Detailing

Vegetation

Rendering

Conclusion

Lesson 4

DMP and Comp

Introduction

Nuke

Matte Painting

Compositing

Delivery

Conclusion

Homework can be cool.

There's no homework yet

Tools Used
?
The tools listed below are used throughout the lectures of this course. Using alternatives is definitely possible depending on your proficiency, but we can only recommend using these listed softwares.