Creating Production-Ready Hero Assets using Mari by Michal Zsigmund

This workshop walks through a complete hero asset pipeline, from high-detail texturing in Mari to final look-dev in Gaffer. Michal Zsigmund shares the exact techniques he uses in production to create professional diffuse, roughness, and bump maps, then shows how to set up a scene in Gaffer for studio-quality lighting and shading.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Leverage Mari’s Extension Pack and Smart Mask system for high-quality textures
• Use Mari’s Bakery System to bake essential utility maps
• Create professional diffuse, roughness, and bump maps
• Transfer masks for secondary high-frequency bump details
• Export textures from Mari and build a look-dev scene in Gaffer
• Understand each node in Gaffer and how it fits into a studio pipeline

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Foundational understanding of texturing and shading workflows
• Tools: Mari, Maya, Gaffer
• Hardware: Dedicated GPU recommended for viewport performance

📝 Description

This workshop is built around a practical, production-focused approach. Michal starts by showing how to get the most out of Mari and its Extension Pack, particularly the Smart Mask system. You’ll see how to export a mesh from Maya using Alembic, then jump into Mari’s Bakery System—a newer feature that bakes the utility maps feeding those Smart Masks.

From there, the focus shifts to creating the core maps: diffuse, roughness, and bump. Michal shares specific techniques he relies on in real production environments to generate clean, professional results. You’ll also learn how to transfer masks to build secondary high-frequency bump details, adding that extra layer of surface realism.

Once texturing wraps up, the course moves into Gaffer, the open-source, node-based lighting and look-dev tool from Image Engine. Michal breaks down each node and explains how it functions within a studio pipeline. If you’re used to Katana, Gaffer will feel familiar—and this section gives you a solid foundation for using it in your own work.

The workshop is aimed at intermediate to advanced artists who already understand the basics of texturing and shading. It’s not a beginner tutorial—it’s about refining your workflow and picking up techniques that translate directly to studio work.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Intermediate to advanced texture artists looking to improve their Mari workflow
• Look-dev artists wanting to learn Gaffer for studio pipelines
• 3D artists interested in a complete hero asset production workflow

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Michal Zsigmund is a professional texture and look-dev artist with experience in high-end production environments. His work focuses on creating detailed, production-ready assets for film and visualization. Through this workshop, he shares the practical techniques and pipeline knowledge he’s gained from working on real projects.

🏁 Final Result

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have a complete workflow for creating production-ready hero assets—from detailed texturing in Mari to a fully set-up look-dev scene in Gaffer. You’ll understand how each tool fits into a professional pipeline and be ready to apply these techniques to your own projects.