Montesdeoca et al. - Henry model © Oculus Story Studio

Watercolor Shader Style

The Watercolor shader style brings real-time watercolor to 3D objects and animation within Autodesk Maya!
3D Watercolor animation in real-time.

The Watercolor shader style emulates the traditional watercolor animation aesthetic, without the usual flickering associated with when showing multiple watercolor paintings in sequence. Based on the award-winning research of Montesdeoca et al. and Bousseau et al., we are continuously improving upon it with new effects and controls.

Main Features

  • Pigment-based effects such as pigment turbulence and bleeding
  • Edge-based effects such as edge darkening and gaps & overlaps
  • Canvas-based effects such as paper granulation and distortion
  • Canvas advection attached to the underlaying motion
  • Use VertexFX and NoiseFX to attach effects onto the animation
  • Use proxies to control the style with invisible objects
  • The stylization is also available in Nuke for Indie/Studio subscribers to add the watercolor style to offline renders (i.e., Arnold, Renderman)

The style can be art-directed at each level of control in Flair with its custom materials and tools. More information found in the Flair documentation.

The Spherebot in a watercolor style, 3D model by Bastien Genbrugge

Featured examples