Designing Sci-Fi Props for Film

Photoshop, Fusion, Maya & Substance Painter Workflow with Kris Turvey

In this 3-hour workshop, concept artist Kris Turvey demonstrates his complete workflow for designing and modeling a sci-fi prop for production. Beginning with his mind-mapping process to generate ideas, he explains how to develop concepts quickly with quick sketching in Photoshop. He then demonstrates how simple techniques using the Airbrush and Selection tools can take your ideas to a more advanced presentation stage. 

Moving on from Photoshop, Kris takes a selected design into Fusion, showcasing the various parametric 3D modeling techniques he uses to create fabrication-ready 3D models. To complete the workflow, he then demonstrates how to take your final Fusion model into Substance Painter to apply materials and generate final presentation renders efficiently. 

Throughout the workshop, Kris shares an in-depth look at his key design principles for designing objects that quickly and effectively communicate their functionality to an audience. By the end of the tutorial, artists will have developed a sound understanding of the professional techniques needed to underpin strong designs and will understand how to develop a solid pipeline for future concept design projects. 

Kris’s final Fusion file is included as a downloadable project file with this workshop.