NPR Painterly Shader Pack: Arcane and Anime
Style

The Final Fern Shader: The exact shader I used for my latest Fern project is now included!

Optimized & Lighter: The node network has been heavily optimized to be lighter and compute faster in your scenes.

Maya 2026 Ready: Fully tested and compatible with Maya 2026.

Three "Plug & Play" Shaders: You get the original Zuko shader, the Chibi Fern Watercolor shader (from Update 1.5), and the brand-new optimized Fern shader.

40-Minute Video Tutorial: Learn how to customize and apply the shader to different geometries and lighting conditions.

Customizable Framework: You will learn how to tweak and customize this shader depending on your specific artistic goals.

Procedural Textures: Normal brushstrokes, displacement brushstrokes, and my favorite overlay textures for compositing.

...and Kirby!: You'll get a free Kirby model included in the package, with the shader already applied and the Substance Painter file. This means you can dive right in and start playing around immediately.

Detailed Documentation: Step-by-step instructions for easy reference, eliminating the need to re-watch the video constantly.

Skill Level: This tutorial requires an intermediate/advanced level in Maya/Arnold and a solid understanding of the Node Editor.

Free Resource: Before buying, check out my free document "Inside Zuko", where I discuss the process of creating a character with this shader. You can find it on my Gumroad or ArtStation.

Texture Dependency: For the best results, use hand-painted textures. The shader is designed to complement high-quality textures, not replace them. (Note: This tutorial does not cover painting techniques, but I provide additional resources to support your learning).

Compositing: Depending on your references, compositing might be needed. While the Zuko example is pure 3D out of the box, projects like Mario and Fern rely on compositing (like adding overlays on top) to achieve the final 2D look. This overlay technique is included in the tutorial.

Lighting Limitation: The shader is unaffected by light color temperature; it only reacts to light value (intensity).