Introduction to Mari - Getting Started with Texturing

In this elaborate video tutorial, we cover everything you need to know in order to get started with Mari 4 from the Foundry. Mari is an amazing texturing tool, used when you need the highest quality of textures. We hope that you learn a lot from this tutorial. We'll be sure to create a lot more Mari tutorials in the future!
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[@xraycaseyx]

This might be the best introduction tutorial I ever saw

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! Really appreciate it.

[@jackyll]

Love that you guys put out a Mari video. Would love to see more videos doing a deeper dive into Mari, since they don't seem to be as available as other texture software vids like Substance.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! For sure, we're definitely going to go deeper into Mari in the future where we cover some pretty neat texturing techniques and processes. /H

[@JapjeevSinghKohli]

Can you people go over NODE BASED TEXTURING from beginner to advance series! It would be great to watch!

[@FlippedNormals]

Hell yes! It's on our list. We'd love to make a more elaborate premium tutorial focusing on this.

[@JapjeevSinghKohli]

FlippedNormals ah! that would be lovely! Thanks a lot! Really looking forward for it. ;)

[@MartyRxMurdeRz]

Once you go node based you will never go back lol..

[@JapjeevSinghKohli]

@Davin Yes! it is somewhat like Designer. In fact, almost all the node based texturing are same you just need to know the nodes and its working! ;) It is never complex to understand but you can make something really complex! ;)

[@georguebler6029]

I think Meshmen Studio has a whole playlist for node based texturing. He also only focuses on Mari on his channel. Very helpful as well.

[@Jens48404]

Sooo happy for this! Good Mari tutorials are hard to come by. Please do more in the future

[@vladimircools6967]

I'm just started out with Mari and this is a kick-ass tutorial........ THX guy's

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic - thank you! :)

[@alikkadoum3614]

I think this is the best channel about CG/VFX in KZbin. I'm newbie into Mari, but I learned a lot with your help. Also there are almost no tutorials about Mari 4+ online. According to your videos you are the Professional VFX Artist well diving in Mari. It would be honor for me, if you will make a series of lessons including sharing layers, preps for another engines, etc. Thank's for everything guys! I appreciate all your efforts!

[@irenasmitakova8758]

Absolutely incredible what all and how you can cover fundamentals in 1 hour! And everyone understands. Cannot wait for another tutorial :)

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic! Thank you :) Part two is now out.

[@irenasmitakova8758]

great, just one little question, I followed your tutorial and tried to apply the tiled texture, but the texture doesn't appear, instead the obj turns to blue colour? is it because I have the non-commercial version? or?

[@b3uys93]

11:04[light adjustment] 15:59[paintbuffer setting/painting] 31:23[layers] 49:22[paint through tool]

[@b3uys93]

18:35[paintbuffer setting/hot key]

[@LoganKehoePower]

Im learning so much from you guys thanks for the tutorials!

[@FlippedNormals]

Great, thank you! :)

[@Tritoon710]

More in-depth Mari please, love to see how you work and prepare your textures (topics like using textures with no shadows baked) and how you paint with displacement meshes etc.

[@FlippedNormals]

For sure, we'll definitely do videos on this :)

[@cgutopia1655]

mightybake is used to bake for mari

[@gabrielmoro3d]

Absolutely amazing. Love your way of explaining things. Very grateful!

[@Rokinnful]

You really deserve to have more subscribers guys. You do a really great job !

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! Much appreciated :)

[@carolinahuerta7408]

You guys saved my life, you guys are awesome, I literally just want to eat your channel!!! hahahaha (Also, watching these kind fo videos makes me wonder why the hell did I pay college?)

[@daniboiyy]

right!

[@ArgentaOfficial]

a i g h t

[@Nachtadler7771]

Thank you so much guys for making this tutorial! It is really hard to find good tutorials on Mari pls keep going on making these. It would be really great to have a mari tutorial about the PBR workflows in Mari :)

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot! We have this on our list :) Would be awesome to talk about it.

[@sarabotelho4248]

Amazing tutorial man!

[@anxhelo7383]

i though Mari was hard , thanks guys as always you are the best

[@zedtophackshacks5754]

installed quickly, thanks a lot

[@boudewyn]

Im going to watch this a whole lot

[@diegorob93]

Nice! We need more Mari stuff :D

[@FlippedNormals]

Hell yea! More Mari stuff coming soon :)

[@HunterJohn1119]

You guys are the best! I was just looking for this.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@mene2172]

Hard Surface texturing would be awesome as well!

[@JKierbel]

About what you guys are wondering at 33:19 ("Are blending modes affected by bit-depth?") I think the answer is "Yes and no". It could be put "simply" by saying "Yes", but it would be mostly wrong for the sake of a quick answer when the correct answer is actually "No". You guys seem to have a good handle on this issues so I'm gonna try to explain it properly to the extent that I can. Some Blending modes are linear math operations in which the range of the input values for the operation can be any number, however big or small, and they will work just fine. For example a "Multiply blending mode" is only a multiplication and so it doesn't matter if you are multiplying "2x2" or "343954x788.4", the math operation that is being performed will work as intended. Same goes with Add, Subtract, Divide, Difference, to name some. However, if you look up the math for some other blending modes (like Screen or Overlay, for example) the operations are relative to the value ranges of your inputs. "Overlay" would do a multiplication on the "bottom half" of your values, and a Screen operation on the "top half" of your values, but to be able to tell which is the "middle value" in order to separate those halfs, you need to be working with "constrained values" (they could be 0 to 1 clamped floats, or integers at 0 to 255 at 8bpc, 0 to 1023 at 10bpc, 0 to 65535 at 16bpc, etc). Now, let's say in Photoshop, when you're working at either 8 or 16bit-depth, your values (max and min) are constrained to either 0-255 or 0-65535 integers as "0-100%" and they would not go above nor bellow that. 0 is black, 255(or the others) is white, so all blending modes would work. When you're at 32bits, in Photoshop that's the only floating point mode, it disables the operations which math functions would no longer make sense with values that can go above "1"/"100%", since values are "unbounded" (more on that later), so, to continue the example of Overlay: What is *half N* if "N" is undefined? Since this is a math thingy, not a software issue, this logic applies for all software using the same math formulas in there Blending modes operations. Neither bit-depth nor "Float Vs Int" is what ultimately determines this, even though it might be somewhat related because of practical usage of different formats and assumptions some software may make based on that. In mathematical terms this is simply a "bounded values vs unbounded values" matter. There is a formula that was made to fit certain range of values: if data fits that range it would work as expected, otherwise: not. But then again, we're not talking about mathematical abstractions here, this is a Color Management thing. And in this area we shouldn't really talk about "bounded vs unbounded", which doesn't really makes sense in this context, but "Display Referred vs Scene Referred" workflows instead, which is the true heart of this issue. When working in a Display Referred workflow your values will always be limited to a maximum, you are tied to an output device, the only "valid" data would be that that can be represented. You're saying "255" or "65535" is white, and above that there is nothing, nothing can be brighter, that is the max. It's a "device-dependent" way of working. Then your Overlay blending mode can say "this is the top value, half that would be middle grey" (depending on gamma-encoding) and work all around from there. In a Scene Referred workflow what matters are true light ratios and values, independent from what can be shown, and it has no "roof". You still have a limited amount of values to be stored even at 32bpc, but it is so broad that you can represent with precision real life ratios, and you're only bounded chromatically by whatever reference color-space you're working in. Data "beyond the amount that we can store" do not hold the same importance they have in a Display Referred workflow because it's focused on ratios between values, not the way they would be displayed on a certain device. So the real answer is that you can use any Blending mode when working in a Display Referred workflow, but there are a certain amount of them that don't apply when working in a Scene Referred one.

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic! This is an amazingly reply. Really appreciate you taking the time!

[@beinaidoPichaido]

Very cool tutorial, you guys have a great dynamic. Cheers!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a bunch! :)

[@Uncoded2K10]

I cant wait to watch this, because i need hella help on Mari, havent got a clue how to work it. look forward to it/.

[@Exagerardo]

tnks

[@jayachakkaravarthy]

It's been a long time and awesome tutorial...

[@CherylynnLima]

Do you have any tips for speeding mari up? It takes AGES just to hide and unhide a layer for me..

[@FlippedNormals]

Lower bit-depth (8 instead of 16), fewer udims and lower texture resolution. You can also try to cache you layers.

[@farkasminijobs4081]

works for me

[@nefelic.2021]

Do I need to know 3D modelling (or drawing) to become a texture artist? Will I lose time trying to learn 3D modeling first? Also can I be self taught or should I follow some courses?

[@whippet_boy8594]

great tutorial. thanks

[@CherylynnLima]

Also, do you have a video talking about those uv sets in those squares?

[@dllxtt]

I didn't open Mari yet after this tutorial, but feels like I'm done :D

[@MeshmenStudio]

What makes you think you are done?

[@olimeredith4903]

easy install, ty

[@sergeimuliar6717]

You are realy good teachers!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@introvert3794]

u r a great moddeller bro

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks man!

[@dopaminz]

really cool tutorial, the mask is it no more based on the facing ration of the camera ?

[@MeshmenStudio]

mari texture projection is still camera based for texure projections

[@Ruyanisme]

1 (ONE) hour (HOUR)! Super Awesome.

[@rKringtonezone]

Mari or SP(Substance painter) which to use and when to use??????

[@whitelight739]

Thanks!!

[@douka3993]

we need (want) a long ass premium tutorial on Mari from you guys!!!!

[@FlippedNormals]

Coming! ...at some point. It's definitely something we want to do.

[@natecastronovo]

It would be great if you guys did a comparison between Mari and Substance Painter.

[@FlippedNormals]

This is a great idea! Putting it on our list :)

[@JB-rh1ir]

Maxon Bodypaint did this kind a projection buffer painting too.

[@MeshmenStudio]

Did you use maxon?

[@MathiasJ89]

You guys make this stuff way more easy to understand and fun than most other instructors :D Thanks for that. Question. If you paint a colour layer like the crocodile scales, how would you then match a roughness or metalness layer or something else to it? So it shines on the right parts of the scales for example. Do you somehow convert the colour layer, or is it a case of handpainting a whole new channel?

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! This is actually why we often start off with painting a really good bump/displacement map instead of color, as you can then easily use the bump map to create a roughness map and such from that. It's a lot easier to turn a bump into a color map, than the other way.

[@interactivedealers3320]

please make a video on how to increase the performance of mari

[@rox591]

I think i love you guys ahahahhaha,thanks a lot

[@Grimren13]

Yo, doesn't really matter, but like 96% sure a 970 ti doesn't exist might wanna double check that. Could be that you're thinking of the 1070 ti

[@darijozivkovic7931]

You simply make 5-6 videos, and everything will be awesom-O :D

[@mikart3d]

Wait a minute, so Mari does not have things like baking normal & curvature maps for future painting method (using a high poly model as a baking source)? Like using curvature map as mask??? The model itself looks ugly simply because I cannot see any normal map baked into it. Until now, I've never seen a painted model in Mari that looks appealing in realtime render within the app, can anyone show me if there is any video showing that? I'd be glad to discover more about Mari since I'm more familiar with SP. Cheers

[@MeshmenStudio]

You cant bake normals directly, i guess mari came from vfx background primarily. Normals was not used that much, more displacement instead. However in vfx we use other methods to bake utility passes. Now usin extension pack for mari you have options to use substance automation toolkit.to be fair when flipped normals recorded this some of the new shaders was not available either

[@mikart3d]

@@MeshmenStudio Clear, that's why SP is still up for realtime texturing :) but Mari is perfect for high detailed results though. Thanks!

[@ChristopherBruin]

Would be nice to see skin texturing using XYZ displacements, and exporting & rendering in Vray/Arnold

[@christophelargillier7769]

Great stuff !!, any tips to disable the windows alt menu in Mari, I can not reconfigure the Alt + F without opening the file menu ?

[@yaojason4759]

where is the model?

[@psy237]

as warped as the grid looks like in ortho, isn't the mesh also like that.... meaning, doesn't it distort if you paint at the wrong angle and paint on something that's a little further away from camera? wouldn't that be bad practice? :) great introduction though, thanks for all the detailed information!!

[@MeshmenStudio]

in mari you paint on to a canvas almost like painting on a sheet of glass. You do have to be carful sometimes not to paint in to skewed perspective. But you have masking to help as well

[@psy237]

@@MeshmenStudio ty :)

[@jayachakkaravarthy]

We need creature texturing in Mari...

[@FlippedNormals]

Definitely going to do this!

[@jayachakkaravarthy]

Thanks and you guys are awesome...

[@leecaste]

Yes please!

[@bao007fei]

Why my paint brush often snap to the middle of the screen? And Ctrl+Z often active zoom function?

[@vanshun]

mari software is for high polygon or low polygon? i'm confuses

[@FlippedNormals]

It works for both, but it's designed for high poly :)

[@vanshun]

mari can bake high to low polygon?

[@Roozy_Persepolis]

So,I am seeing a lot of hype and interest in switching to The Node based texturing. Do you think the traditional way you re using is better or Node graphs,especially in a production?

[@MeshmenStudio]

Im using nodegraph and never looked back. Its more flexible and non destructive. Sure might be a bit of a headscratch at first but once passed this its really hard to go back

[@md.abid-ar-rafi4622]

Hello... Its a nice intro... But was that a Low poly or high Poly Mesh? And don't we need to bake the high poly details into the low poly then paint? Or the Mari works in different way? Help me please. Thanks in advance.

[@MeshmenStudio]

mari can not bake gigh poly data into lowpolly and generate normal data if that is what you ask

[@MadPonyInteractive]

More Mari tuts please.

[@AnthonyRosbottom]

Great video. Isn't a Photoshop layer group [with a mask] the same thing as a Mari layer stack?

[@ChristinaMcKay]

In PS you can't use different masks for one paintlayer like in Mari, there is no way to stack/group the masks. Only image layers themselves can be in the group, like Pixellayers, Adjustment Layers etc., each with max 2 masks (the usually pixel mask and the vector mask, and the latter only makes sense if you want to cutout clear shapes). In addition you can put a mask on the group itself, which then effects all the layers in the stack, and you can nest those groups, if you want to have more flexibility with the masks, but it isn't possible to do it like in Mari where you can stack several masks.

[@slimjim681]

How do you guys go about doing things like glass and subsurface scattering with texture painting?

[@FlippedNormals]

It's a tricky one, as you dont really have any good way of previewing this in Mari. I usually just set it up in the shader and work from there. Do some approximations as to what the maps should look like, put them in the shader and then render and see if they hold up. Im optimistic that in the future, we'll get better real time tools to help with this.

[@shubhamgurav1813]

Can u pls do videos on how to do shading in mari? Like painting spec and rough channels which is really imp as u guys said mari is dumb it doesn't has readymade materials like substance painter

[@FlippedNormals]

Yes, this is on our list. More Mari tutorials to come!

[@star172able]

My question is my teacher show use how to put black and white dots it tells you how shiny and no shiny for like a plant 🌱. She show us in Mari and can you show how you do that pls.

[@MeshmenStudio]

are you talking about roughness values here?

[@Giga3D811]

Mari jusy feels kinda backwards to Substance, especially now that cross Udim painting is available in Substance. But thanks alot for the video. Was damn informative. cheers guys

[@dessybalandrano7136]

Hi FlippenNormals!!, what are specs of your workstation??

[@gauravscreativecanvas]

Its batter then susbstance im using susbstance from 3 year but it was peace

[@murrowboy]

What is the difference between texturing in Substance painter and Mari? I know Mari seem to be used for ultra high def realistic renders like human faces. While substance painter is more for games? Or are they 2 completely different programs? Please help I can't find a comprehensive definition of one vs the other online.

[@MeshmenStudio]

I come from a VFX background and traditionally Mari was used for massive asset with many UDIMs. Now we use a combination of the two. Painter is layer based and quite fast for small to mid sized assets and Mari for larger complex assets. We use painter or designer for baking in most cases and creating materials and most of the time the content might end up in Mari towards the end where we do the finalizing

[@fractalelement857]

hi, i just installed mari 4 non-commercial and imported a mesh (its uvd) and cannot paint . What is the problem ?

[@duhamousa7501]

Try checking if you can paint of the layer you are on (if it is procedural you cant), and check if your udims (unwrapped mesh) exists in the positive side of the UV space

[@vasiligavoyani1819]

quadro RTX 4000 or geforce 2080 TI RTX is better ?

[@murrowboy]

Can someone please explain what's the difference between this and substance painter? Do both of them do the same thing?

[@MeshmenStudio]

Painter and mari is similar but yet again not. Painter is using layers while Mari can use layers or nodes for texturing. The infrastructure behind the two differs a bit in how they handle the underlying data. Mari can handle massive amounts of udims while painter might feel faster on small asset. Its a but what your needs are. I use both but usually end up in mari in the end

[@christianlee1423]

does mari recognize different materials to a single mesh like substance painter?

[@MeshmenStudio]

you have a material system in Mari, you can define a material based on a shader

[@leecaste]

A bit off topic question, for this kind of creature do you guys build a muscle and tissue simulation system or just use a "regular" rig? Thanks 🙂

[@FlippedNormals]

Definitely using pretty advanced muscle sims for this, at least if they are hero creatures.

[@nxtlvl2116]

if u can cover node base 39:10 i never know there is node in mari i am not that good in node base system but i love it in nuke and substance desginer

[@FlippedNormals]

We'll do a separate video on this in the future :)

[@leonwilliam2028]

here i come MARI.good thing you have perpetual license

[@IGarrettI]

how do you think Mari compares to Substance painter?

[@FlippedNormals]

We actually talk about this in our 3D software video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4O0aJ-upc1qaKs In short, they are both amazing, but with different use cases. Painter is far cheaper and easier to run, learn and to get up to a good level in your textures, but mari cant be beat when it comes to the raw power and performance. No way you could work with a 50 UDIM character in Substance, while thats fairly standard in Mari. /H

[@darijozivkovic7931]

I'm watching this video again, and it's very good. But one thing is a problem (not on your side). Problem is that non-commercial MARI is limited. Hope one day it will not be.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! Yes - it's a bit annoying, particularly with the UDIM restrictions.

[@darijozivkovic7931]

Guys don't mention it. Just continue to do good tutorials, and always improve yourself.

[@jurandfantom]

47:12 - tools

[@shiing1122]

Hey friends, at what subdivsion should I export my model from ZB into Mari? Especially if my model has several million points?

[@alikkadoum3614]

Depends on your goal. If you have your normal map, AO, etc. baked, you can go around 10k to about 500k polys. Also, if your video card can handle such dense meshes. Remember, you should have UVed your model before texturing. UVing million-poly meshes might be a struggle. So think of what do you expect from model. Is it gamedev, production, static render, etc. If you have questions, you can PM me, I'll try to answer you as good as I can)

[@shiing1122]

@@alikkadoum3614 thanks for the reply Alik. I had asked this question about 2-3 weeks ago so I managed to find some answers within that time. Texturing isn't my comfort zone so I've been tackling that subject head-on as I do have to learn it and be good at it. I was working on a production likeness model for my portfolio, so I did the retopo and UV'ing in Maya before I brought it back into ZB. I decided to export it into Mari at subdiv 4 @450k poly. Although I know that I could get away with exporting it at 120k or less since XYZ doesn't rely on polycount for quality. I'll be sure to let you know if I have any question, thanks!

[@alikkadoum3614]

@@shiing1122 You're welcome, mate!)

[@TheKevphil]

Is a Quadro P2000 acceptable (5 GB VRAM)?

[@FlippedNormals]

Might be, though it's probably worth testing it out using the non-commercial version.

[@combojerman28]

sorry what was all about ? uv space in newtons? damn! that is new from me.

[@user-gm4lo8hu4i]

Do you import the high poly model or low poly?

[@FlippedNormals]

I actually often do both: High poly to see what the textures looks like in the render and low poly for performance. You can easily switch between them under Objects - Versions.

[@Demigodish4o3]

What software do you recommend for painting WoW-like textures? (other than photoshop)

[@RyoMassaki]

I would recommend 3D Coat, i saw some Blizzard guys using it.

[@x3Crisis]

3dcoat

[@FlippedNormals]

I'd probably recommend Substance Painter. Its great for stylized work.

[@crimsonBen]

Thanks for your Video guys!! hmm i am not a tech-guy, so...du you think this is enough performance to run mari?: 16 GB RAM Intel Core i5-7500 @3,40Ghz GeForce GTX 2060 6GB ?

[@FlippedNormals]

Should be! Try out the non commercial version and see if it works :)

[@crimsonBen]

FlippedNormals i will! just saw free version

[@darijozivkovic7931]

Guys did you ever tried OSL (Open Shading Language)?

[@FlippedNormals]

No, we havent used it yet. Looks very interesting, though.

[@md.abid-ar-rafi4622]

How to import zbrush sculpted fine details into mari?

[@MeshmenStudio]

If you have maps exported as displacement textures you can import them , i use 32bit channels for this

[@cielwzx8213]

Mari 4.7 for beginners one maybe .......

[@MeshmenStudio]

What about mari 5?

[@jirivehovsky1912]

it would be great, otherwise great guys! .-)

[@daniboiyy]

anyone know if a gtx 1060 max q (6gb) is good for mari?

[@FlippedNormals]

That should be fine

[@vinayakvk607]

how about hard surface​ ...

[@correiaivan]

Mari hotkeys Reaction - blender to me haha

[@muhammadirfanzawar1221]

How to Download this software

[@FlippedNormals]

You can find a free non commercial version of it on the foundrys website.

[@muhammadirfanzawar1221]

@@FlippedNormals Sir send me download link.

[@AnubisTheMaster]

Ma duds what about budget Gpu's for rendering expecially? Gtx 1030 ? or Quadro K420? dunno

[@fractalelement857]

49:32

[@DanielJocson256]

Can I get help? my paint through tool keeps using a flat color instead of using the details of the image that I'm projecting onto the mesh. I'm struggling to figure out why this is occurring in this recording. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3-phqCoqMpmbbs

[@MeshmenStudio]

your paint through mode was set to stencil, thats why

[@karlpj1]

There is no point to use Mari other than films

[@vaibhavthakur1674]

+1

[@alexport5419]

take my money

[@schmoborama]

33:18 Guy #2 asks about blending modes with differening bit depths, because Photoshop has different things that work / don't work for different bit depths ; This goes waaaaaayy back, to the 90's at least ; whenever dick-bag Adobe would deign to support a new format, they'd only update a handful of features/filters to work with the new mode, *saving them for later updates*. When 16bit (non-float) was first introduced to the industry, Adobe casually aded it a while later, but only had about 4 filters that worked with it. The next major update, it was fully supported. When higher bit depths came along, same thing again. They trickle out as few things as possible to justify an update. Other programs were fully supporting the formats years earlier, and ran a hell of a lot faster too. I use Nuke now for ANYTHING I would have done in Photoshit - how many fucking decades will it take them to offer nodes anyway? Every ludite painter from the 90's has to die first?

[@MeshmenStudio]

mari have a blending colorspace for 8bit data, this would be overlay for an example. If working in linear 16bit data this blending colorspace should be turned off for overlay to work properly

[@schmoborama]

@@MeshmenStudio that sounds terrible - reduce your quality / lose data, just for blending modes to work?? Overlay works with float in nuke, why wouldn't it in mari? mari should do what nuke does ; convert everything to full float, do the math, then let you convert it to whatever you want

[@MeshmenStudio]

@@schmoborama overlay works in any bitdepth in mari thats what advanced color management mode is for, its just Mari can work in both 8bit , 16but or 32. Everythhing internally of you set it up correctly is calculated in 32bit

[@psychogenie6991]

First !

[@jadedsoul1]

totally unuseful.....

[@quyentranghoang5321]

Amazing tutorial man!