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Filesize Reduction Guidelines | Substance 3D Designer

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Substance 3D Designer

Substance 3D Designer

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  1. Substance 3D home
  2. User guide
  3. Glossary
  4. Getting started
    1. Getting started
    2. Activation and licenses
    3. System requirements
    4. Overview
      1. Overview
      2. What is a Substance 3D file?
    5. Workflow overview
    6. Shortcuts
    7. Tutorials & learning
  5. Interface
    1. Interface
    2. Customizing your workspace
    3. Home screen
    4. Main toolbar
    5. Preferences
      1. Preferences
      2. Project settings
      3. Version control
    6. Explorer
      1. Explorer
      2. Send to... / Interoperability
    7. Graph view
      1. Graph view
      2. Link creation modes
      3. Graph items
        1. Graph items
        2. Dot node (also Portal)
        3. Frame
        4. Comment
        5. Pin
    8. Library
      1. Library
      2. Managing custom content and filters
    9. Properties
    10. 2D view
    11. 3D view
      1. 3D view
      2. Material properties
      3. GLSLFX shaders
      4. Switching your shaders to OpenGL Core Profile
      5. Iray
    12. Dependency manager
  6. Resources
    1. Resources
    2. Importing, linking and new resources
    3. Bitmap resource
      1. Bitmap resource
      2. Bitmap painting tools
    4. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      1. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      2. Vector editing tools
    5. 3D scene resource
    6. AxF (Appearance eXchange Format)
    7. Font resource
    8. Warnings from dependencies
  7. Substance graphs
    1. Substance graphs
    2. Substance graph key concepts
    3. Creating a Substance graph
      1. Creating a Substance graph
      2. Graph instances / Sub-graphs
    4. Exposing a parameter
      1. Exposing a parameter
      2. Parameter presets
      3. Visible if: control visibility of inputs, outputs and parameters
    5. Graph parameters
    6. Inheritance in Substance graphs
    7. Output size
    8. Values in Substance graphs
    9. Publishing Substance 3D asset files (SBSAR)
    10. Exporting bitmaps
    11. Exporting PSD files
    12. Sample Substance graphs
    13. Warnings in Substance graphs
    14. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      2. Atomic nodes
        1. Atomic nodes
        2. Bitmap
        3. Blend
          1. Blend
          2. Blending modes description
        4. Blur
        5. Channel shuffle
        6. Curve
        7. Directional blur
        8. Directional warp
        9. Distance
        10. Emboss
        11. FX-map
        12. Gradient (Dynamic)
        13. Gradient map
        14. Grayscale conversion
        15. HSL
        16. Levels
        17. Normal
        18. Pixel processor
        19. SVG
        20. Sharpen
        21. Text
        22. Transformation 2D
        23. Uniform color
        24. Value processor
        25. Warp
        26. Output
        27. Input
      3. Node library
        1. Node library
        2. Texture generators
          1. Texture generators
          2. Noises
            1. Noises
            2. 3D Perlin noise
            3. 3D Perlin noise fractal
            4. 3D Ridged noise fractal
            5. 3D Simplex noise
            6. 3D Voronoi
            7. 3D Voronoi fractal
            8. 3D Worley noise
            9. Anisotropic noise
            10. Blue noise fast
            11. BnW spots 1
            12. BnW spots 2
            13. BnW spots 3
            14. Cells 1
            15. Cells 2
            16. Cells 3
            17. Cells 4
            18. Clouds 1
            19. Clouds 2
            20. Clouds 3
            21. Creased
            22. Crystal 1
            23. Crystal 2
            24. Directional noise 1
            25. Directional noise 2
            26. Directional noise 3
            27. Directional noise 4
            28. Directional scratches
            29. Dirt 1
            30. Dirt 2
            31. Dirt 3
            32. Dirt 4
            33. Dirt 5
            34. Dirt gradient
            35. Fluid
            36. Fractal sum 1
            37. Fractal sum 2
            38. Fractal sum 3
            39. Fractal sum 4
            40. Fractal sum base
            41. Fur 1
            42. Fur 2
            43. Fur 3
            44. Gaussian noise
            45. Gaussian spots 1
            46. Gaussian spots 2
            47. Grunge concrete
            48. Grunge Damas
            49. Grunge galvanic large
            50. Grunge galvanic small
            51. Grunge leaks
            52. Grunge leaky paint
            53. Grunge map 001
            54. Grunge map 002
            55. Grunge map 003
            56. Grunge map 004
            57. Grunge map 005
            58. Grunge map 006
            59. Grunge map 007
            60. Grunge map 008
            61. Grunge map 009
            62. Grunge map 010
            63. Grunge map 011
            64. Grunge map 012
            65. Grunge map 013
            66. Grunge map 014
            67. Grunge map 015
            68. Grunge rough dirty
            69. Grunge rust fine
            70. Grunge scratches dirty
            71. Grunge scratches fine
            72. Grunge scratches rough
            73. Grunge shavings
            74. Grunge splashes dusty
            75. Grunge spots
            76. Grunge spots dirty
            77. Liquid
            78. Messy fibers 1
            79. Messy fibers 2
            80. Messy fibers 3
            81. Microscope view
            82. Moisture noise
            83. Perlin noise
            84. Plasma
            85. Caustics
            86. Voronoi
            87. Voronoi fractal
            88. Waveform 1
            89. White noise
            90. White noise fast
          3. Patterns
            1. Patterns
            2. 3D linear gradient
            3. 3D volume mask
            4. Alveolus
            5. Arc pavement
            6. Brick 1
            7. Brick 2
            8. Brick generator
            9. Checker 1
            10. Cube 3D
            11. Cube 3D GBuffers
            12. Fibers 1
            13. Fibers 2
            14. Gaussian 1
            15. Gaussian 2
            16. Gradient axial
            17. Gradient axial reflected
            18. Gradient circular
            19. Gradient linear 1
            20. Gradient linear 2
            21. Gradient linear 3
            22. Gradient radial
            23. Height extrude
            24. Mesh 1
            25. Mesh 2
            26. Panorama shape
            27. Polygon 1
            28. Polygon 2
            29. Scratches generator
            30. Shape
            31. Shape extrude
            32. Shape mapper
            33. Shape splatter
            34. Shape splatter blend
            35. Shape splatter data extract
            36. Shape splatter to mask
            37. Splatter
            38. Splatter circular
            39. Star
            40. Starburst
            41. Stripes
            42. Tile generator
            43. Tile random
            44. Tile random 2
            45. Tile sampler
            46. Triangle grid
            47. Weave 1
            48. Weave 2
            49. Weave generator
        3. Filters
          1. Filters
          2. Adjustments
            1. Adjustments
            2. Apply color palette
            3. Auto levels
            4. Channel mixer
            5. Chrominance extract
            6. Clamp
            7. Color match
            8. Color to mask
            9. Contrast/Luminosity
            10. Convert to linear
            11. Convert to sRGB
            12. Create color palette (16)
            13. Grayscale conversion advanced
            14. Hald CLUT
            15. HDR range viewer
            16. Height map frequencies mapper
            17. Highpass
            18. Histogram compute
            19. Histogram equalize
            20. Histogram range
            21. Histogram render
            22. Histogram scan
            23. Non-uniform histogram scan
            24. Histogram select
            25. Histogram shift
            26. ID to mask grayscale
            27. Invert
            28. Lighting cancel high frequencies
            29. Lighting cancel low frequencies
            30. Luminance highpass
            31. Min max
            32. Modify color palette
            33. Pow
            34. Quantize color (Simple)
            35. Quantize color
            36. Quantize grayscale
            37. Replace color
            38. Replace color range
            39. Threshold
            40. View color palette
          3. Blending
            1. Blending
            2. Color (Blend node)
            3. Color burn
            4. Color dodge
            5. Difference
            6. Dissolve
            7. Linear burn
            8. Luminosity (Blend node)
            9. Multi switch
            10. Switch
          4. Blurs
            1. Blurs
            2. Anisotropic blur
            3. Blur HQ
            4. Non-uniform blur
            5. Radial blur
            6. Slope blur
          5. Channels
            1. Channels
            2. RGBA merge
            3. RGBA split
            4. Alpha merge
            5. Alpha split
            6. Pre-multiplied to straight
            7. Straight to pre-multiplied
          6. Effects
            1. Effects
            2. 3D texture position
            3. 3D texture SDF
            4. 3D texture surface render
            5. 3D texture volume render
            6. Ambient occlusion (HBAO)
            7. Ambient occlusion (RTAO)
            8. Anisotropic Kuwahara color
            9. Anisotropic Kuwahara grayscale
            10. Bevel
            11. Bevel smooth
            12. Cross section
            13. Curvature
            14. Curvature smooth
            15. Curvature sobel
            16. Diffusion color
            17. Diffusion grayscale
            18. Diffusion UV
            19. Directional distance
            20. Edge detect
            21. Emboss with gloss
            22. Extend shape
            23. Flood fill
            24. Flood fill mapper
            25. Flood fill to Bbox size
            26. Flood Fill to gradient
            27. Flood Fill to grayscale/color
            28. Flood Fill to index
            29. Flood Fill to position
            30. Flood Fill to random color
            31. Flood Fill to random grayscale
            32. FXAA
            33. Glow
            34. Mosaic
            35. Multi directional warp
            36. Non-uniform directional warp
            37. Reaction diffusion fast
            38. RT irradiance
            39. RT shadow
            40. Shadows
            41. Shape drop shadow
            42. Shape glow
            43. Shape stroke
            44. Summed area table
            45. Swirl
            46. Uber emboss
            47. Vector morph
            48. Vector warp
          7. Normal map
            1. Normal map
            2. Bent normal
            3. Facing normal
            4. Height normal blender
            5. Height to normal world units
            6. Normal blend
            7. Normal combine
            8. Normal invert
            9. Normal normalize
            10. Normal sobel
            11. Normal to height
            12. Normal to height HQ
            13. Normal transform
            14. Normal uncombine
            15. Normal vector rotation
          8. Tiling
            1. Tiling
            2. Make it tile patch
            3. Make it tile photo
          9. Transforms
            1. Transforms
            2. 3D texture offset
            3. Auto crop
            4. Cartesian to polar
            5. Clone (Filter node)
            6. Mirror (Filter node)
            7. Noise upscale 1
            8. Noise upscale 2
            9. Noise upscale 3
            10. Non-square transform
            11. Non-uniform rotation
            12. Polar to cartesian
            13. Quad transform
            14. Safe transform
            15. Skew
            16. Symmetry
            17. Symmetry slice
            18. Trapezoid transform
        4. Material filters
          1. Material filters
          2. 1-click
            1. 1-Click
            2. Bitmap to material light
          3. Effects (Material)
            1. Effects (Material)
            2. Height blend
            3. Material height blend
            4. Season filter
            5. Snow cover
            6. Water level
          4. Transforms (Material)
            1. Transforms (Material)
            2. Material transform
          5. Blending (Material)
            1. Blending (Material)
            2. Material adjustment blend
            3. Material blend
            4. Material color blend
            5. Material switch
            6. Multi-material blend
          6. PBR utilities
            1. PBR utilities
            2. BaseColor / Metallic / Roughness converter
            3. Base material
            4. PBR Albedo safe color
            5. PBR BaseColor / Metallic validate
            6. PBR Dielectric F0
            7. PBR Metal reflectance
            8. PBR render
            9. PBR render mapping
          7. Scan processing
            1. Scan processing
            2. AO cancellation
            3. Atlas scatter
            4. Atlas splitter
            5. Clone patch
            6. Color equalizer
            7. Crop
            8. Material clone patch
            9. Material crop
            10. Multi-angle to Albedo
            11. Multi-angle to Normal
            12. Multi-clone patch
            13. Multi-color equalizer
            14. Multi-crop
            15. Smart auto tile
        5. Mesh-based generators
          1. Mesh-based generators
          2. Mask generators
            1. Mask generators
            2. Bottom to top
            3. Cloth wear
            4. Dirt
            5. Dripping rust
            6. Dust
            7. Edge blur
            8. Edge damages
            9. Edge dirt
            10. Edge notch
            11. Edge select
            12. Edge speckle
            13. Edge wear
            14. Fiber glass edge wear
            15. Grease
            16. Ground dirt
            17. Leaks
            18. Leather wear
            19. Light
            20. Mask builder
            21. Metal edge eear
            22. Paint wear
            23. Selective dirt
            24. Sun bleach
            25. Surface brush
          3. Weathering
            1. Weathering
            2. Cracks weathering
            3. Fabric weathering
            4. Leather weathering
            5. Metal weathering
            6. Moss weathering
            7. Rock weathering
            8. Rust weathering
          4. Utilities (Mesh-based generators)
            1. Utilities (Mesh-based generators)
            2. 3D planar projection
            3. Material mesh data blender
            4. Material selector
            5. Mesh data combiner
            6. Triplanar
        6. Spline & Path tools
          1. Spline & Path tools
          2. Working with Path & Spline tools
          3. Path tools
            1. Path tools
            2. Paths format specifications
            3. Paths 2D transform
            4. Mask to Ppths
            5. Paths to spline
            6. Paths polygon
            7. Preview paths
            8. Paths warp
            9. Quad transform on path
            10. Paths select
            11. Paths vertex processor
            12. Paths vertex processor simple
          4. Spline tools
            1. Spline tools
            2. Paths to Spline
            3. Point list
            4. Scatter on Spline color
            5. Scatter on Spline grayscale
            6. Spline 2D transform
            7. Spline (Cubic)
            8. Spline (Poly quadratic)
            9. Spline append
            10. Spline bridge (2 Splines)
            11. Spline bridge (List)
            12. Spline bridge mapper color
            13. Spline bridge mapper grayscale
            14. Spline circle
            15. Spline fill
            16. Spline flow mapper
            17. Spline mapper color
            18. Spline mapper grayscale
            19. Spline merge list
            20. Spline render
            21. Spline sample height
            22. Spline sample thickness
            23. Spline select
            24. Spline warp
            25. UV mapper color
            26. UV mapper grayscale
        7. 3D view (Library)
          1. 3D view (Library)
          2. HDRI tools
            1. HDRI tools
            2. Blackbody
            3. Color temperature adjustment
            4. Exposure
            5. Exposure preview
            6. HDR merge
            7. Nadir extract
            8. Nadir patch
            9. Panorama 3D position
            10. Panorama rotation
            11. Gradient 2 points
            12. Gradient linear (HDRI)
            13. Line light
            14. Physical sun/sky
            15. Plane light
            16. Shape light
            17. Sphere light
            18. Straighten horizon
  8. Substance function graphs
    1. Substance function graphs
    2. What is a Substance function graph?
    3. Create and edit a Substance function graph
    4. The Substance function graph
    5. Variables
      1. Variables
      2. Built-in variables
      3. Get a variable value
      4. Create a variable
    6. FX-maps
      1. FX-Maps
      2. How it works
      3. The Iterate node
      4. The Quadrant node
      5. Using Substance function graphs in FX-Maps
        1. Using Substance function graphs
          in FX-Maps
        2. Iterate and $number variable
        3. Using the Sampler nodes
        4. Using the Set/Sequence nodes
    7. Warnings in Substance function graphs
    8. Sample Substance function graphs
    9. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      2. Function nodes overview
      3. Constant nodes
      4. Vector and Swizzle nodes
      5. Get nodes
      6. Sampler nodes
      7. Cast nodes
      8. Operator nodes
      9. Logical nodes
      10. Comparison nodes
      11. Function nodes
      12. Control nodes
  9. MDL graphs
    1. MDL graphs
    2. Main MDL graph concepts
    3. Creating an MDL graph
    4. MDL library
    5. Exposing parameters in MDL graphs
    6. Substance graphs and MDL materials
    7. Exporting MDL content
    8. Warnings in MDL graphs
    9. MDL learning resources
  10. Bakers
    1. Bakers
    2. Bakers legacy interface
  11. Best practices
    1. Best practices
    2. Filesize reduction guidelines
    3. Graph creation etiquette
    4. Performance optimization guidelines
  12. Pipeline and project configuration
    1. Pipeline and project configuration
    2. Project configuration files - SBSPRJ
    3. Configuration list - SBSCFG
    4. User preferences - Automating setup
    5. Retrieving the installation path
    6. Environment variables
  13. Color management
    1. Color management
    2. Spot colors (Pantone)
  14. Package metadata
  15. Scripting
    1. Scripting
    2. Plugin basics
    3. Plugin search paths
    4. Plugins packages
    5. Plugin manager
    6. Python editor
    7. Accessing graphs and selections
    8. Nodes and properties
    9. Undo and redo
    10. Application callbacks
    11. Creating user interface elements
    12. Adding actions to the Explorer toolbar
    13. Using color management
    14. Using spot colors
    15. Logging
    16. Using threads
    17. Debugging plugins using Visual Studio Code
    18. Porting previous plugins
    19. Packaging plugins
    20. Scripting API reference
  16. Technical issues
    1. Technical issues
    2. Warnings and errors
    3. Cannot create/load a project
    4. Application does not start
    5. Crash when rendering graphs
    6. Parameters not working as expected
    7. Incorrect image output
    8. 3D View issues
    9. User interface issues
    10. Python issues
    11. Substance model graph feature is missing
  17. Release notes
    1. Release notes
    2. All changes
    3. Version 14.0
    4. Version 13.1
    5. Version 13.0
    6. Version 12.4
    7. Version 12.3
    8. Version 12.2
    9. Version 12.1
    10. Version 11.3
    11. Version 11.2
    12. Version 2021.1 (11.1)
    13. Old versions
      1. Old versions
      2. Version 2020.2 (10.2)
      3. Version 2020.1 (10.1)
      4. Version 2019.3 (9.3)
      5. Version 2019.2 (9.2)
      6. Version 2019.1 (9.1)

In this page

Overview

Filsesize factors

Filesize comparison

Overview

In some cases the total filesize of Substance 3D assets (SBSAR) can be an important factor. This page covers a few critical areas and settings to keep in mind when trying to reduce filesize.

Filesize is mostly determined by embedded bitmaps. They are files that are linked, embedded or baked and added to the Substance 3D Designer file (SBS) as a resource. Only bitmaps that are used in a graph i.e. connected to an output either directly or through the node chain are published in the Substance 3D asset. In an Substance 3D file, bitmaps have no impact on filesize, as all bitmap resources are still stored outside of the file.

Caution:

Make sure the Output size property of all Bitmap nodes are set to the Absolute inheritance method. If that is not the case, their referenced Bitmap resource will be saved at the default 256*256 resolution in the published Substance 3D asset file, which will impact the quality of one or more outputs.

Filesize Factors

There are a few different factors affecting total filesize of the SBSAR. They are listed below with an short explanation.

Obviously has a large effect. Use the smallest resolution possible, keeping mind that you might also want your Substance file to work in large resolutions. You can use standard resolution-masking tricks to make smaller Bitmaps seem larger.

Found in: external software, or import/re-export bitmap in Designer.

Set in your Image Editor before export, the color mode also has an effect on filesize when using Raw bitmap format. Grayscale only bitmaps are smaller than RGB(A) images.

Found in: external software, or import/re-export bitmap in Designer while setting up Output nodes correctly.

The file format of your images makes a difference, though it can be ignored in some cases. A program like Photoshop allows for slightly more control over JPG compression and can sometimes offer a decent middle road.

Found in: external software, or import/re-export bitmap in Designer.

What mode you set the Bitmap node to also has an effect on how Designer will compress the file, using a Grayscale mode file as a color bitmap in the graph will result in larger files. Make sure to set these correctly!

Found in: Bitmap Node properties.

On the Resource properties you can choose between "Raw" and "Jpeg" compression. This can have considerable effect on the final result.

Found in: Bitmap Resource Properties, through Explorer window.

When using "Jpeg" Bitmap format, the slider below can affect quality and filesize. This slider does not behave very predictable, but 1 tends to correspond to the highest quality JPG compression, and 0.5 tends to give the smallest size.

Found in: Bitmap Resource Properties, through Explorer window.

When publishing to SBSAR, you have a choice between "Auto", "Best" and "None" for compressing, these can make a considerable difference if you are using the "Raw" bitmap format. Also has a large impact on export speed. Generally not recommended to use "none as it offers no quality increase.

Found in: final publishing settings for an SBSAR package.

Filesize comparison

The table below shows the influence of all settings on each other. Bitmap used is a 4096x4096 image of generated noise, exported from Photoshop as either 24-bit TGA or JPG at quality 8. TGA's were also exported as Grayscale and RGBA mode.

The Graph just places a single Bitmap Node connected to a single output. Bitmap mode is set according to source file mode.

While the table on the right is not fully conclusive, the following can be learned when comparing visual results and file sizes:

  • Raw Bitmap + Compression Best gives the best quality with an acceptable filesize.
  • Pre-compressed source files can give reduced filesizes in most cases, but at a quality cost.
  • Smallest filesizes, but worst quality is obtained with JPG package format at quality 0.5.
  • Grayscale is not always smaller in filesize, but will have higher quality than color at similar settings.
Note:

Jpeg Bitmap Format

It's important to note that special maps that require high accuracy such as Normal maps, Vector Maps and others should probably not be set to Jpeg compression, as this will lead to much more visible artifacts!

Source image

Color TGA

Color JPG

Grayscale TGA

Grayscale JPG

Raw Bitmap Format

Compression mode: None

48 MB

48 MB

16 MB

16 MB

Raw Bitmap Format

Compression mode: Best

9.11 MB

3.37 MB

5.06 MB

4.75 MB

Jpeg Bitmap Format

Compression quality: 1

5.09 MB

1.94 MB

6.30 MB

2.49 MB

Jpeg Bitmap Format

Compression quality: 0.5

231 KB

230 KB

626 KB

569 KB

Jpeg Bitmap Format

Compression quality: 0

407 KB

433 KB

990 KB

808 KB

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