Tech art & DCC workflow
Technical art sits between art and code: DCC tools, import pipelines, Houdini, Blender, texture workflows and rigging. This section covers getting content into Unity cleanly and building pipelines artists can use. 91 hand-picked Unity guides, tutorials, videos and repos, kept current.
- How My RGB Pipeline Supports Mods
Describes an RGB color pipeline for art and how it supports modding.
youtube.com · May 2026 - Replicating the Shadowglass 3D pixel-art technique
Recreates the Shadowglass look for first-person 3D pixel art, explaining how the technique works.
tesseractc.at · ~Feb 2026 - Patreon: Render Texture
Patreon post about using render textures in Unity.
patreon.com · ~Jan 2026 - Jack Gutmann interviews Harry Alisavakis on shaders and tech art
Long conversation about shader work, tech art practice and breaking into the industry.
youtu.be · Dec 2025 - Yooka-Replaylee: A fresh coat of paint
Concept artist's behind-the-scenes look at reimagining a platformer's look with new tech.
unity.com · Nov 2025 - What vertex color is and why to use it
Explains vertex colour as cheap per-vertex data for gradients, masks and texture-free stylised art.
bsky.app · Nov 2025 - bobacupcake's tutorials index
Collection of shader and VFX tutorials with animated gifs, consolidated on the creator's site.
bobacupcake.com · Nov 2025 - Quantum shard shader walkthrough
Sculpting a crystal shard and building its glowing, sparkly shader step by step.
bobacupcake.com · Nov 2025 - How PlaySide Studios Built KILL KNIGHT's Visual Identity
An art pipeline and development challenges behind a stylized action game's visual identity.
unity.com · Oct 2025 - CD bagel shader walkthrough
From a 3D-scanned donut to an iridescent CD-like shader: model, textures and shading choices.
bobacupcake.com · Sep 2025 - Level layout and terrain workflows in Survival Kids
Terrain and level-building workflows built for fast iteration and fewer reworks in Survival Kids.
unity.com · Sep 2025 - Tips to Increase Productivity in Unity 6
Tips for working faster across Unity 6 toolsets, for both artists and programmers.
unity.com · Jul 2025 - Hue-shifting colours for nicer shadows
Colour tip: darken shadows by shifting hue as well as brightness to avoid muddy tones.
bsky.app · Jun 2025 - Technically Art issue 141 (17 Jan 2025)
Curated weekly roundup of shader, VFX and tech art posts and links.
halisavakis.com · Jan 2025 - Technically Art issue 140 (22 Nov 2024)
Issue of the tech art newsletter collecting insightful Bluesky posts about shaders, VFX and tools.
halisavakis.com · Nov 2024 - Master Class: Being a Tech Art Detective
Master class on investigating rendering issues as a technical artist.
youtube.com · Sep 2024 - How to Author Scenes and Prefabs with Version Control
Best practices for authoring scenes and prefabs under version control while avoiding merge conflicts.
unity.com · Jul 2024 - Shader Graph Tutorial for Unity HDRP & URP | 2022 LTS
Building realistic environment materials with Shader Graph in HDRP and URP, using 25-plus ready-made assets.
unity.com · Jul 2024 - GitHub - omid3098/OpenFlowMap
Repo: flow map tooling for Unity.
github.com · Aug 2023 - Unity 4D #4: Creating 4D Objects
Explains how to create four-dimensional objects for the Unity4D extension.
alanzucconi.com · Jul 2023 - Pivot-baked fracture shader (Blender cell fracture + Shader Graph)
Post showing a pivot-baked fracture shader made with Blender cell fracture and Shader Graph.
mastodon.gamedev.place · Feb 2023 - Add Motion to Concept Art | Simon Trümpler | EXP Expo 2022
Talk on adding motion to concept art.
youtube.com · Oct 2022 - Simon’s Tech Art Learning Materials | Simonschreibt.
Simon's tech art course learning materials and slides.
simonschreibt.de · Aug 2022 - How to (Not) Create Textures for VFX
Advice on how not to create textures for VFX.
youtube.com · Jun 2022 - GDC/ADDON 2022: How (not) to create Textures for VFX
GDC 2022 talk on mistakes and best practices when creating textures for VFX.
simonschreibt.de · May 2022 - GDC 2018: Creativity of Rules and Patterns - Designing Procedural Systems
Designing procedural systems as rule languages and patterns, with Houdini-style building examples.
youtube.com · Jul 2021 - Technically Speaking Challenge Stained Glass — Joyrok
Tech art write-up on a stained glass effect for the Technically Speaking challenge.
joyrok.com · ~Jun 2021 - Math in Art - Game Dev Bill
Explains embedding math in art to make shaders cheaper.
gamedevbill.com · Sep 2020 - joyrok
Joyrok's tech art post comparing two game engines.
joyrok.cargo.site · ~Sep 2020 - Modeling with Tiling Textures | onlineportfolio
Portfolio page on modeling with tiling textures.
tylergibbonsart.wixsite.com · ~Sep 2020 - Generating Perfect Normal Maps for Unity (and Other Programs)
How to generate accurate normal maps for Unity and other programs from a high-poly model.
bgolus.medium.com · Feb 2020 - Konsoll 2018: Oskar Stålberg - Developing The Bad North Look
Procedural techniques, technical challenges and art reasoning behind Bad North's minimalist island look.
youtube.com · Jan 2019 - Santa Hat
Patreon post modeling a Santa hat.
patreon.com · Dec 2018 - Baking Shaders into Textures
Bakes shader calculations into textures instead of computing them on the fly.
ronja-tutorials.com · Oct 2018 - Handpainted Stone Tiles
Patreon post on handpainted stone tiles.
patreon.com · Oct 2018 - Dragon Head
Patreon post modeling a dragon head.
patreon.com · Aug 2018 - Gradients Cloth
Patreon post on gradient-textured cloth.
patreon.com · Apr 2018 - Handpainted Grass
Patreon post on handpainted grass.
patreon.com · Apr 2018 - Pine Tree
Patreon post modeling a pine tree.
patreon.com · Mar 2018 - Handpainted Rock
Patreon post modeling and painting a handpainted rock.
patreon.com · Feb 2018 - Modular Wall
Patreon post on a modular wall kit.
patreon.com · Feb 2018 - Fantasy Shields
Patreon post modeling fantasy shields.
patreon.com · Jan 2018 - Toon Faces
Patreon post on toon-style faces.
patreon.com · Jan 2018 - Fish
Patreon post modeling fish.
patreon.com · Dec 2017 - Alien/ Fantasy Plants
Patreon post modeling alien and fantasy plants.
patreon.com · Nov 2017 - Gradients Metal
Patreon post on gradient-textured metal.
patreon.com · Nov 2017 - Spooky Props
Patreon post modeling spooky props.
patreon.com · Oct 2017 - Cool Stuff with Textures
Talk on using textures for purposes beyond color, at the Digital Art Conference 2017.
simonschreibt.de · Sep 2017 - Gradient Setup
Patreon post on setting up gradient textures.
patreon.com · Sep 2017 - Stylized Tree
Patreon post modeling a stylized tree.
patreon.com · Sep 2017 - Stylized Layered Rocks
Patreon post on stylized layered rocks.
patreon.com · Aug 2017 - Jacket & Trousers
Patreon post modeling a jacket and trousers.
patreon.com · Aug 2017 - Gradient Materials
Patreon post on gradient materials for stylized art.
patreon.com · Jul 2017 - Hands
Patreon post on modeling hands.
patreon.com · Jul 2017 - Bat Wings
Patreon post on modeling bat wings.
patreon.com · Jul 2017 - Toon Skulls
Patreon post on modeling toon skulls.
patreon.com · Jul 2017 - Minotaur
Patreon post modeling a minotaur character.
patreon.com · Jun 2017 - Stylized Hair
Patreon post on stylized hair.
patreon.com · Jun 2017 - Fantasy Swords
Patreon post modeling fantasy swords.
patreon.com · Jun 2017 - Toon Eyes
Patreon post on toon-style eyes.
patreon.com · May 2017 - Base > Finished 'Cute'
Patreon post taking a cute base mesh to a finished character.
patreon.com · May 2017 - Tiny Environment Concepts
Patreon post on tiny environment concepts.
patreon.com · May 2017 - Stylized Rocks
Patreon post modeling stylized rocks.
patreon.com · May 2017 - Applying Palette
Patreon post on applying a palette to models.
patreon.com · Apr 2017 - Gradient Tricks
Patreon post on gradient texture tricks for stylized models.
patreon.com · Apr 2017 - Quadruped 'Hunter' Base
Patreon post on a quadruped hunter base mesh.
patreon.com · Apr 2017 - Humanoid 'Cute' Base
Patreon post on a cute humanoid base mesh.
patreon.com · Apr 2017 - Stylized Ruins
Patreon post modeling stylized ruins.
patreon.com · Mar 2017 - Humanoid 'Strong' Base
Patreon post on a strong humanoid base mesh.
patreon.com · Mar 2017 - 'Lazy' Unwrapping Extra
Patreon extra on the lazy UV unwrapping workflow.
patreon.com · Feb 2017 - Palettes
Patreon post on color palettes for stylized game art.
patreon.com · Feb 2017 - Palettes 2
Patreon post continuing color palettes for stylized art.
patreon.com · Feb 2017 - Tree Build-up
Patreon post building up a tree model.
patreon.com · Feb 2017 - 'Lazy' Unwrapping
Patreon post on a lazy UV unwrapping workflow for stylized models.
patreon.com · Jan 2017 - Stylized House
Patreon post modeling a stylized house.
patreon.com · Jan 2017 - Prototyping with Primitives
Patreon post on prototyping game art with primitive shapes.
patreon.com · Jan 2017 - Character Build-up
Patreon post building up a character model.
patreon.com · Jan 2017 - Alpha 1 – My Top 5 Usecases
Five favorite use cases for the alpha channel.
simonschreibt.de · Jan 2016 - Fallout 4 – The Mushroom Case
Looks at the mushroom case in Fallout 4.
simonschreibt.de · Dec 2015 - Sacred 2 – Fake Mirror
Explains the fake mirror trick in Sacred 2.
simonschreibt.de · Jul 2015 - Handmade Normal Maps
Looks at handmade normal maps and what went wrong.
simonschreibt.de · Dec 2013 - Lego – Studs
Explains how Lego games render the studs on bricks efficiently and convincingly.
simonschreibt.de · Jun 2013 - Dungeon Keeper 2 – Walls
Shows how Dungeon Keeper 2 builds its dungeon wall visuals from simple geometry and textures.
simonschreibt.de · Jun 2013 - Lego Batman – Crawler
Explains the crawler trick in Lego Batman, a game effect the author found impressive.
simonschreibt.de · May 2013 - Stylised Tree Development
Portfolio write-up on developing stylised trees.
benedicttargett.wordpress.com - Shaders Case Study - Dead Cells' Character Art Pipeline
Case study on the character art pipeline used in Dead Cells.
youtube.com - Technical Art in Assemble With Care
Technical art overview from the Assemble With Care lead developer at ustwo games.
medium.com - Andy Green – Principal Technical Artist
Technical artist and programmer's portfolio homepage.
andytech.art - A New & Unique Approach to Creating Mirrors for Games in Unity
Describes a mirror rendering approach faster than ray tracing and more detailed than screen space reflections.
80.lv - 2D Tech Art Chronicles: Lerp — Joyrok
Explains lerp-based image layering in a material for 2D tech art.
joyrok.com - 2D Tech Art Chronicles: Gradient Mapping — Joyrok
Explains gradient mapping with an atlas texture in Unreal for 2D tech art.
joyrok.com