Lucas Ridley runs through how to create a realistic snow shader in Maya using procedural techniques in Arnold Render.

Digital Creator School posts a look into working procedurally with Arnold in Maya to create a nice looking snow shader. The tutorial by Lucas Ridley covers working with Maya and Arnold nodes to build a shading network that is flexible and essentially resolution independent.

Snow is a great shader to build using procedural techniques. All it takes is a little bit of noise and some knowledge of Arnold’s shading system. If you want to have a look at another variation on a snow shader with Arnold, have a look at Arvid Schneider’s tutorial which details surface scattering, sparkles, and glints.

Lucas Ridley an animator working for at places like ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Psyop, and now Naughty Dog. Ridley directed short films for LEGO and other brands. “I’m currently teaching online at a school I recently created called DigitalCreatorSchool.com and will be trying to put out weekly free content like this tutorial on my blog and YouTube in addition to member-only content on DCS,” Lucas notes.