Join Joel Bradley for an in-depth discussion in this video What is a substance?, part of Learning Substance Designer.
- So what exactly is a substance? Well from a purely technical point of view, a substance is a package or archive file using the .spfar suffix, that when imported to the host application, becomes accessible to the UI as an editable map type that can then be placed inside a material or materials, in order to give the user access to a parametrically-driven texturing system. The parameters exposed to the user can range from the straightforward and simple, as changing the map size and resolution, up to much more complicated texturing effects, such as adjustable edgeware, surface corrosion, and even the blending of multiple material types on the same piece of geometry.
From an artistic point of view, the benefits that come from using such a parametric system are huge, as any changes we make to the component parts of the material, well they are instantly incorporated and then updated. This fact alone makes substances an extremely versatile and powerful texturing system. Adding even more weight to that statement is the fact that substances can be used in a wide range of host applications that support the .spsar format. So, in 3DS Max, Maya, Modo, Unreal Engine, Unity, and more, all of which allow the use of substances in their texturing and material pipeline.
In fact, if game creation is your thing, the full PBR, or Physically-Based Rendering, Viewport, along with the ability to create your own output type template, means that Substance Designer is compatible and able to work with pretty much any game engine on the planet, even a custom in-house solution.
Author
Updated
5/4/2016Released
8/26/2015- Creating a new substance graph
- Importing resources
- Setting up lighting
- Generating maps
- Creating material outputs
- Using generator nodes to create surface detail
- Using filters to create amps
- Publishing a substance
- Importing substances
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
Q: This course was updated on 05/04/2016. What changed?
A: We added 10 new tutorials covering the changes in the most recent versions of Substance Designer. Check out the videos in the new chapter, "5.1 to 5.3.4 Update Highlights."
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 19s
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Using the exercise files4m 3s
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What is a substance?1m 49s
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5.1 to 5.3.4 Update Highlights
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Intro2m 12s
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Enabling the Iray renderer4m 15s
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Using Iray controls3m 8s
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Easy Environment controls2m 49s
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Rendering custom resolutions3m 48s
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Other small changes2m 26s
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1. Setting Up the Project
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Importing resources3m 48s
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Working with the 3D view4m 41s
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Setting up lighting4m 47s
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2. Generating Maps and Detail
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Creating material outputs3m 34s
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Framing our outputs4m 16s
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3. Building Up the Material
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Making the metallic map4m 13s
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Applying material effects8m 32s
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Publishing a substance3m 44s
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Conclusion
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What's next?2m 44s
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Video: What is a substance?