1. Design & Illustration

Design & Illustration Learning Guides

Discover our selections of the best free design tutorials on a range of topics, all in one place. If you want to brush up your Photoshop skills or learn a new piece of software like Adobe XD, you’ll find learning guides here to help you do that. Or maybe you want something more specialised, like learning how to draw textures or how to paint hair. We’ve got guides to help you with that too.

Just browse through the list and click on a topic that interests you to discover more and to find links to our hand-picked selection of free tutorials, designed to teach you that new skill or software as easily and enjoyably as possible.

  1. Model, Texture, and Render an Interior Scene

    2 Posts
    In this beginner/intermediate series, you'll learn how to create and render a realistic interior scene in Cinema 4D and V-Ray. The first part focuses on modeling the room and creating the furniture, and the second part covers material creation, lighting, rendering, and final post production.
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  2. Create a Realistic Nokia 5800 in 3D Studio Max

    2 Posts
    In this multi-part, hard surface modeling, texturing, and rendering tutorial, you'll learn how to quickly create a realistic looking Nokia 5800. The techniques shown in this tutorial can easily be applied to other 3d applications, and the methods of making the phone itself are fast, and very efficient. Though the resulting mesh will not be perfect, the final render will still look great.
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  3. Complete Manga Character in Blender

    3 Posts
    In this three part intermediate to advanced level tutorial series, professional Blender artist, Karan Shah will walk you through the creation of a ready to animate video game character using Blender. Modeling, UVMapping, Texturing, and final mesh topology are all covered in detail, making this a must see for any Blender character artist!
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  4. Realistically Stylized Eyes

    3 Posts
    This multiple part series focuses on creating simple, yet effective, 3d eyes that can be used in either CG illustrations, or animations. This series of tutorials covers all of the necessary steps, from modeling and unwrapping, to texturing, rigging, and animating the eye.
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  5. Model a Photo-realistic Swiss Army Knife in Modo

    3 Posts
    Subdivision modeling is an extremely powerful tool that can allow you to add high levels of detail to your models in a relatively short amount of time. In this series, professional Modo artist, Matt Braeley, will demonstrate how to model a photo-realistic Swiss Army knife, using polygonal and subdivision modeling techniques in Modo 302.
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  6. Model a High-Poly Car Wheel in 3D Studio Max

    2 Posts
    The wheels are an often overlooked, but an extremely important element in perfecting the look of any car, and the many techniques and tools needed to properly build them can be applied to nearly any hard surface modeling project. In this intermediate/ advanced level tutorial, you'll learn how to model a detailed high-poly car rim and tire from blueprints in 3D Studio Max.
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