Behind the Magic

Contests

Wasteland Wonders Challenge Winner Kostis Keritis

Meet Kostis Keritis, winner of the Wasteland Wonders Challenge.

Contests

Through the Rift Challenge Winner: Devon Rush

Discover how matte painter and 3D generalist Devon Rush created his Stranger Things–inspired artwork, including his process, technical insights and creative inspiration.

Contests

Through the Rift Challenge Winners

Discover the winners of MattePaint’s 'Through the Rift Challenge', and read the judges’ highlights.

Interview

Meet Jessica Ferry, Westeros Awaits Challenge Winner

Meet Jessica Ferry, winner of the Westeros Awaits Challenge! From her first spark of inspiration to the final cinematic matte painting, Jessica shares her journey as a Senior Environment Artist and Digital Matte Painter, her creative process, and the stories behind her evocative Westeros landscape.

Academy

Adding Overscans to Your Image in Photoshop

In this new MattePaint Academy tutorial, you'll learn a fast, non-destructive way to add overscans in Photoshop so your matte paintings stay flexible in production.

Learning

Common Matte Painting Mistakes to Avoid (And How To Fix Them)

Digital matte painting can bring entire worlds to life, but even skilled artists can fall into common pitfalls. From perspective mismatches to flat compositions, learn the most frequent mistakes in VFX matte painting—and how to fix them to achieve professional, believable environments.

News

Westeros Awaits Challenge Winners

The Westeros Awaits Challenge has come to a close, and the realm has its victors! 🎉 From towering castles to stormy skies, discover the winning artworks and celebrate the incredible talent of our MattePaint community.

Academy

Adding Background Mountains to a Plate

Learn how to add background mountains to a plate in this matte painting tutorial. Discover how to mask, place, and blend elements using color correction and atmospheric perspective—essential skills for matte painters, compositors, and environment artists.

Academy

Quick and Simple Plate Cleanup in Photoshop

Plate cleanup is one of the most essential skills in VFX. In this Academy tutorial, you'll learn how to quickly and simply remove people and objects in Photoshop while preserving the integrity of the plate—a crucial workflow for production-ready matte painting.

Academy

Fixing Sky Dome Seams in Photoshop

Learn a fast Photoshop technique for removing visible seams in a sky dome HDRI, ensuring seamless lighting and reflections in your VFX shots.

Academy

A Smarter Way to Present Matte Paintings for Dailies in Nuke

Learn how to present your matte paintings efficiently using Nuke’s Switch node in this new MattePaint Academy tutorial, including a fast, production-ready workflow for dailies.

Academy

Set Extensions in Photoshop: A Practical Workflow

Learn how to integrate mountains, water reflections, and layered elements—as well as how to prepare your Photoshop file for compositing—in this new MattePaint Academy tutorial.

Academy

Speed Up Your Blender Workflow

In Blender, small tools can make a big impact. This MattePaint Academy tutorial explores six practical tips optimise your workflow, save time, and stay organised in production.

Academy

Elevate Your Sci-Fi Skies With Planets and Stars

Learn how to transform empty skies into cinematic sci-fi environments with planets, stars, and atmospheric effects in this new MattePaint Academy tutorial.

Academy

Creating Clean Alphas in Photoshop: Practical Masking Techniques

Learn how to create clean, production-ready alpha masks in Photoshop in this new MattePaint Academy tutorial.

Academy

When (And Why) To Use Emissive Materials In Blender

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create realistic, glowing light sources in Blender with emissive materials. We'll cover setup tips, render settings, and how to control light visibility, helping you make better-informed lighting choices.

Academy

Streamline Blender's Default Startup File

Optimize Blender for production with a tailored startup file. This tutorial helps digital matte painters, lookdev artists, and 3D generalists work faster, stay organised, and launch every session in a ready-to-work state.

Academy

Light Linking in Blender 4.0

The long-awaited addition of light linking and shadow linking in Blender 4.0 gives artists far greater lighting precision. In this new MattePaint Academy tutorial, Andy shows us how to make the most of these game-changing new features.

Academy

How To Master Three-Point Lighting in Blender

In this new MattePaint Academy tutorial, you'll learn how to build a professional three-point lighting setup in Blender's Cycles renderer.

Academy

How To Cut Render Times in Blender's Cycles—Without Sacrificing Quality

Blender’s Cycles engine delivers beautiful results—but it can be slow. If you’ve ever struggled to hit a deadline because your frames were still rendering, this new MattePaint Academy tutorial is for you.

Academy

Creating Fast, Flexible Layouts with Blender’s Cube Diorama Scene

In this new Mattepaint Academy tutorial, we're exploring Blender's Cube Diorama demo scene with a focus on viewport performance, visual accuracy, lighting fidelity, and speeding up the layout and lighting workflow.

Learning

Freelance vs Studio Work in VFX: Which Path is Right for You?

Wondering whether to go freelance or look for employment with a VFX studio? In this post, we break down both options to help you decide.

Academy

Fix HDRI Lighting Issues in Blender

Using HDRIs in Blender doesn’t always give the expected lighting results. This tutorial explains why HDRIs may fail, how to set them up properly, and production-friendly techniques to achieve realistic lighting in3D scenes.

Learning

When Art Is Your Job: A Guide to Living Creatively

Maintaining your creative energy isn’t just a luxury - it’s essential. With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide to help you live creatively throughout the pressure and fast pace of a career in VFX.

Interview

Breaking Into the VFX Industry: Angeliki’s Journey

While she now works on blockbuster projects like Star Wars: Ahsoka, Godzilla Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Westworld, and more, Angeliki's professional digital matte painting journey began at the MattePaint Academy.