How To Create Stylized Grass Material That Looks Fresh After Rain

Introduction

Hello, my name is Seo Won Lee, and I'm a 3D Environment Artist based in South Korea. I specialize in texture and material creation, mainly using Substance 3D Designer. Currently, I'm working in game development from Jeju Island, while also exploring new opportunities.

The Stylized Grass Project

I went through a creative slump for a while: I couldn't create anything I felt truly proud of. In Korea, there's a saying: "After the rain, the ground hardens." It means that after hardship, we can become stronger.

That message deeply resonated with me, and I wanted to express it visually through this project. I aimed to capture that quiet moment after the rain, when water gathers on muddy ground and the clouds are reflected in the puddles. This project was my way of reclaiming my creativity, and I'd like to thank Texture Artists Joygon2323 and Hosun Lee for inspiring me to begin this journey.

Workflow

First, I used a black-and-white mask to separate the grass and soil areas. To create the desired shapes, I combined the Shape node with the Vector Morph Grayscale node.

I created the shape of the grass blades. Using the generated blade shape, I used the Splatter Circular node to form clusters of grass. These clusters were then connected to a Tile Sampler Grayscale node. I also connected the grass area mask I made earlier to the Mask Map Input to control where the grass appears.

Next, I created an image that combines the soil and water areas.

I wanted to give the water area a sense of reflecting the clouds.

To create the look of water pooling, I used the following nodes to generate the border area where the water and soil meet.

By using the parameters in the Tile Sampler Grayscale node, you can control the area of the water as well as the amount and placement of the grass and flowers.

Conclusion

It took about five hours to create this material. The most challenging part was expressing the reflection of clouds on the water. Because the space was limited, it was difficult to achieve a natural-looking reflection.

I often find inspiration in everyday things, ordinary scenes that suddenly feel special. When that happens, I try to visualize those moments by adding my own imagination through Substance 3D Designer. There's a strong desire in me to share the emotions I felt with others through my work.

I hope my interview was helpful. Thank you very much.

Seo Won Lee, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine